If you ever become a victim of identity theft, you will experience a difficult and costly intrusion in your life. Sammy knows first hand how it feels because he lived an “identity theft nightmare” which lasted almost a year and cost him thousands of dollars in lost time and out-of-pocket expenses.

Sammy was charged for over $50,000 in credit that the thief stole in his name from various stores. He wrote nearly 100 letters and made scores of telephone calls to various agencies. He incurred out-of-pocket costs for postage, long distance telephone calls, travel expenses, and many other incidental expenses.

At age 74, Sammy was overwhelmed by the ordeal. He had a difficult time dealing with the mess that identity fraud had caused in his life. Fortunately, Sammy had close family and friends to help him during this crisis.

It started when Sammy received a telephone call from a woman who stated she worked for the state police. She had “bad news” for Sammy because someone was impersonating him, and she wanted him to help her find the man. First, however, she asked Sammy to confirm that he was the person being impersonated and asked him to confirm his identity by giving her his personal identification.

Sammy, unaware that he was being scammed by the woman, gave her his Social Security number and birth date, which was all that an experienced thief needed to steal his identity. Unfortunately, the woman on the other end of the telephone line was the thief and did not work for the state police as she claimed.

Of course Sammy didn’t know he was a victim of the woman who called him until thousands of dollars worth of bills came rolling in the mail to him the next month – bills for things he did not order and for things he never used.

It’s often difficult to get help with this crime. Sammy was very persistent, assertive, and savvy about what to do and how to get help from the system. He made his way through the bureaucratic “jungle” and now has his credit back again, but it wasn’t an easy task!

“The lady on the phone seemed so sincere, I still can’t believe she stole from me, and that I gave her my personal information without question,” Sammy said later. “I should have hung up the phone on her. I used to trust people more, now I realize I have to be more skeptical of people.”

Identity theft happens to people of every age. It takes an experienced con-man, or woman, just a minute to convince someone to give up their personal information over the telephone. Identity thieves can also get personal information from stolen purses and wallets, credit cards, and even trash thrown out which contains this information.

Sammy isn’t so trusting anymore, nor should anyone be. It’s a shame we can’t trust strangers anymore, but it’s the price we pay while living in our modern world.

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Use this link to learn more about identity theft.

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