Stolen Identity 2.0

I used to be a fairly regular cyclist. When I was a Freshman in college I blew my savings to buy a supercool hybrid mountain bike, the cost of which I won't reveal, since it's a drop in the bucket compared to what real fanatics like b-friend like to spend on bikes.

The point is, I spent a disproportionate amount of my savings on this thing. I bought it the summer I was home from school and kept it in my parents' garage. I rode it every day for hours.

One morning, three weeks into my affair with my new bike, my mother woke me up with a consoling look in her eyes.

"It's gone, Baby." she said.

Immediately I knew what she was talking about. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to confirm what she was telling me. Everything else in the garage was where it had been left, but there was an empty space where my bike used to be. I learned that, while the garage door couldn't be opened from outside the house, the lock on the side door had been broken. No one ever went in or out of the garage that way, and no one had ever broken in the 15 years we'd lived there, so my parents never fixed it; they just put things up against the door to thwart entry.

I was secretly furious at my dad for never fixing the door--and for not filing a claim with his insurance; he didn't want to part with a deductible. But I was also grief stricken. I went to the police station every day to see if my bike had been found. I would have taken it back, even if it had been painted over or damaged. Just as bothered as I was about the bike being stolen was the way it had been stolen. Whoever stole it must have been watching me those weeks I'd been riding it. They'd seen me placing it carefully back in the garage, wiping off any dirt on the frame like it was a Picasso. This was not a disembodied theft. This person knew I loved the bike.

I suppose the feeling is not unlike the one I'm experiencing now--as a victim of Identity Theft. All this talk in the Social Media world about protecting and consolidating identity and all of the cool tools that make it easier for us to do business online. And yet, I'm still worried about the offline worlds. I still wonder if we are equipped to deal with the issue of stolen identity, when the greed and callousness that are behind these crimes seem to have become an accepted aspect of a wired society.

I've written extensively about my adventures trying to clear my credit, but let me quickly recap: I've recently been victim to credit card identity theft to the tune of $8,700 (and who knows what else at this point). All of the charges were racked at SF restaurants (I'm shocked no one has yet to investigate the pizza parlor where my identity thief spent $60-$70 almost every other day for a month). Since discovering this, er, discrepancy on my credit report I've spent mornings on the phone with the Chase fraud department, who always need to forward my call to a sub-fraud department, and fending off collections agents who call, not-so-conveniently, early on Sunday mornings.

Here's the status: I've received a letter from Chase stating that all charges have been cleared and my credit status will be restored pronto. I jumped for joy when I received this letter; here was written proof that all of this was a mistake, no more nice-but-in-over-his-head-service-reps promising me everything would be fixed on their end.

I thought it was all over, until the next bill I received from Chase, which just arrived. It seems the nice folks over there decided to issue me a brand new card--to replace the one I never wanted in the first place--and have transferred all of the interest from the fraudulent charges to this account. In other words, I'm still on the hook.

As I sit here, listening to the holiday tunes they play for us poor saps on hold, I think of how their unseasonal music selection belies their inability to be on-point with just about everything during this debacle. I received three affadavits to sign and send back to the company before the holidays clearning me of the charges on the false card. I worried that by not signing and faxing all of them I might not be heard. Perhaps it takes asking three times before your name can be cleared.

All this ID theft and red tape has gotten me down. I almost can't believe how much I'm affected emotionally by all this. I feel like someone just stole my brand new bike and more. They've ripped off precious hours of my time that I've spent on the phone rectifying the situation, and sleep I've lost when collections agencies call at strange hours. Looking at all the charges, which were placed within two blocks of my last apartment in San Francisco, I wonder if the perpetrator is someone I knew, someone who was watching. I'm not sure what I want more--to know who stole my identity or to never find out.

I read a very useful article in Real Simple Magazine about ID theft that points readers to a site for coping strategies for victims of identity theft. Yes a site exists! I've been embarrassed by how upsetting all of this has been, but this Web site made me feel oh-so-justified for my angst. According to the site:

Identity theft is a complex problem. Therefore, it is not surprising that some victims react as survivors of prolonged, repeated trauma, much like battered women or prisoners of war. In fact, victims may compare the crime to rape or torture. Some feel like they are experiencing a form of "post-traumatic stress disorder" for a short time.

I suppose having $8,700 charged in my name isn't quite as daunting as having, say $100,000, or having a warrant out for my arrest because someone stole my Driver's License info. But all infringements of privacy have a deteriorating effect. Since we moved into our rented home, B-friend and I have been getting voice automated calls for someone named Anita Jones. We can't reason with the caller because the voice is automated. The caller offers a number to call, which we do, to tell this company to stop calling us, and it leads us nowhere. Every few hours we get a call; we look at our caller ID and know not to pick up. We called the phone company, but they can't do anything unless we file a police report. I ask, against whom? The voice is not unlike the robot sidekick in Lost in Space.

I consider this episode my cross to bear for the time-being, but I would feel a bit better if I imparted some resources from this recent debacle.

• For coping strategies around Identity Theft and resources: The Identity Theft Resource Center
• Privacy Rights Clearninghouse offers resources and others' stories of identity theft, including another woman's rant against Chase Bank, when her 5-year-old son started getting credit applications from the clueless provider--Chase get the hint! This section is great for determining companies that are like Velcro to these linty parasites. Some great facts I got from this site: "The crime of identity theft is on the rise. Recent surveys show there are currently 7-10 million victims per year," and "Generally, victims of credit and banking fraud are liable for no more than the first $50 of the loss. (15 USC sec. 1643) In many cases, the victim will not be required to pay any part of the loss."
• Many identity thieves steal pre-approved credit card and insurance offers before they reach your home. To disallow credit services from selling your credit and mailing info to credit card and insurance companies, and thus stanching the flow of needless, ignored credit offers, register here.
• And to stem the phone calls, register here.

And if you are Anita Jones--get these morons off our back!

credit fraud Chase credit identity theft

Comments

[Steve]

It is painful just reading your description of the whole ordeal but your lively spirit will eventually win over.

Here you can dowload two free songs from Sufjan Stevens that might bring a bit of contentment back.

http://snipurl.com/CasimirPulaskiDay
http://snipurl.com/ManOfMetropolis

[Stacie]

Jory-
Just hearing about the run around that Chase is giving you is enough to make me want to cancel my card with them. What awful service.

[John Richardson]

Hi Jory, I found your site from a link on Troy Worman's site. Great Blog. I have been the victim of identity theft in the past (4 cards taken out in my name) and it isn't any fun. It takes months to clear up and the police and other officals could care less even though it amounts to grand theft. American Express is one of the better companies if you need to change cards. I am currently fighting fraudulent charges on my domain account and the domain company (Registerfly) is impossible to work with. You really find out who the good companies are when you have a problem! Good Luck... John

[Rinatta]

Jory
that's terrible. Identity theft on a small scale has happened to me in the past, and it's sure no fun. I remember wanting to find the person and "get" them, turn them into the police, outsmart them, catch them. But in this game they win if you let this thing run your life. My best to you. Rinatta

[simon]

as for getting annoying automated calls from a machine. get yourself an answering machine with the zapper feature in it. when those automated machines call, your phone won't even ring and that number will be blocked.

[John]

I think these two worlds online and offline don't difer a lot. It's really painful when you've reached something to lose it because someone with less abilities wanted to have it.
http://astra-design.com/corporate_identity.html

[Shane]

I am gettin loads of nigerian money scam emails. In particular one about Anita Jones wanting to give me $15m because she is dying of breast cancer.. what a joke. How could anyone fall for this

[Trusted ID vs LifeLock]

life lock puts alerts in your credit file so that Credit Reporting Agencies have to go through extra steps to access your information. I think that they should always have to go through these extra steps. I guess the Credit Reporting Agencies are all upset about this because it ends up costing them more money because they have to do more work

[3 credit scores]

You can contact the three major credit reporters and request that your credit be on a review status or something like that