Would you know what steps to take if you discovered your identity had been stolen? Last night I spoke with and old friend who's elderly mother was the victim of identity theft a couple of years ago. It was very sad as this dear old lady lost the lot and had to declare bankruptcy. Even though this has nothing to do with my debt elimination I decided to post about it today. Why? Because I can't stand these scumbags!
Here is what has been pieced together with the wisdom of hindsight.
My friends mother is a sweet lady who had always been active in the church and believed in helping others. Lets call her Pearl. Pearl lived alone and was becoming more forgetful. Her family lived away and even though they kept in phone contact they only visited every few months.
Pearl met a woman at church who told her she had escaped from a violent marriage. She said she was in hiding from her husband. Pearl offered her a safe bed in her home until she could get on her feet. The family now know that she was a professional con woman with a criminal background. Her story gave her a cover for convincing the old lady to keep her movements and activities all a secret. So the family did not find out she had moved in for some months. The con woman also used this story to convince others to keep secrets and avoid attention.
Once inside Pearls home she had access to all the financial records. Pearl had a book with all her accounts details, insurance policies, identification and financial records listed. She had put everything in a folder so that if ever something happened to her the family could easily find and access the information. Unfortunately so can a criminal. The con woman now had all the personal information required to open accounts online, conduct transactions and steal an identity. Simple!
Pearl lost all her life savings in about 12 months, approximately $42,000. She had debts of almost 20,000 run up in her name. Pearls signature was on all the documents with the credit companies. It appears this woman initially convinced Pearl to loan her money by telling her she needed to take legal action against her husband. Later she became more aggressive and intimidated her. Everyone hopes there was no violence, we will never know. Friends and family began to notice changes in Pearl who resisted all efforts from her family to find out more.
When Pearls family started to get suspicious they tried to get rid of the woman. But it was too late. As they were in the process of trying to decide what to do next the Police raided Pearls house one night and the con woman was arrested. She is now in jail for other offences. It turns out she was in hiding from the police, not an abusive ex-husband.
No money is able to be reclaimed, the woman can't be prosecuted for what she did to Pearl because Pearls memory and health is worse and she is in a care facility. She could never testify to what happened due to her health. Her family decided the stress and expense of trying to prosecute this woman was not worth it.
The family were left to sort out the mess. Creditors don't care about the circumstances. They just want money! The family had to declare bankruptcy on Pearls behalf. Pearl has no money left except her weekly pension.
Now it might be easy to think this only happens to other people but that is the point of my post. Pearl and her family are just average, hardworking honest people. Pearl had helped out people before, she was raised to to offer a helping hand when you can. Initially the family was not suspicious. Pearl had shared her home with students and others at different times over the years. After all, Pearl met her at church. She seemed so genuine!
Con artists are professionals at their jobs! They make a living our of fooling people. So don't think it can't happen to you or someone you know. It does happen and the emotional and financial consequences are devastating.
To find out more about identity theft check out these sites. (they are not affiliate links)
Identity Theft Stories
Identify Theft Resources
Identity Theft Kit
Identity Theft: Don't Become a Victim
Identity Theft Resource Centre
Patrick has a great blog entry on Identity Theft: Jury Duty Scam
Another blog post: My Mum Stole My Identity
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