Real-life cases of identity theft (and data breach)

According to statistics, identity theft has already affected 1 in 6 North American households. That's a shockingly high number – and getting higher all the time – and one that should make everyone sit up and take notice.

Nothing hits home like individual stories of fraud. See how surprisingly easy it can be to fall victim to ID theft. Learn the true reach and impacts of identity theft by reading some of these real-life cases.

Largest ID theft case in US history

On Dec. 29, 2009, Albert Gonzalez pled guilty for his role in the largest identity theft case in United States history. We've been watching this case over the past year, as more details emerged about how Gonzalez, a clever computer hacker, accessed and stole tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers from popular retail chains (such as 7-Eleven) and financial institutions. Gonzalez will receive up to 25 years in prison; two of his hacker colleagues are still fugitives.

Read more: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/hacker_convicted_in_largest_id.html

When the police won't help

Mark Gorst of British Columbia, Canada, knows who stole his identity. But since it took more than two years for him to notice the crime, the police say they can't do anything about it. During those two years, the thief (allegedly a former roommate) had set up new credit cards in Gorst's name. Again, Gorst didn't realize what had happened until it was too late for the credit card companies to offer any compensation. Gorst and his partner remain financially paralyzed, even reluctant to start a family with the thief on the loose and debt on their doorstep.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/09/28/bc-identitytheft.html
Watch the video: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/Money/ID=1280695304

35 year old case cracked

Just imagine the relief Oregon resident Tom Lesh must have felt when the man who had posed as him for 35 years was finally arrested! Over those decades, the thief racked up thousands of dollars in medical bills, bad debts and even filed for bankruptcy in Lesh's name. The real Tom Lesh was denied car financing and spent thousands of hours writing letters and calling credit card companies, government agencies and others to try to sort the mess out.

It's a fascinating story with (eventually) a happy ending: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/crime/Ore-victim-of-35-year-ID-theft-elated-at-arrest--52117612.html

ID theft victim ends up in jail

Every time Joe Salazar comes in contact with law enforcement – like the time he called the police to report a break in – police discover there's an arrest warrant out for him. The mixup has landed Salazar in jail twice. One time, it took almost two weeks for police to sort out that the Joe Salazar they had in custody was not the same Joe Salazar involved in a 2002 drug case. Unfortunately, the imposter Joe Salazar has yet to be found.

Read more, including the entire timeline of events: http://lexch.com/articles/2009/10/12/news/regional/doc4ad38d3f877ba085160489.txt

Social networking gone awry

Emma, age 15, had her identity stolen through a social networking site. The thief put up a false page, using pictures Emma uploaded, and added plenty of rude comments.

Read Emma's story, in her own words: http://www.bbc.co.uk/switch/slink/sexlovelife/reallife/identity.shtml

The above stories are just a small fraction of the millions of cases of identity theft that happen every year. While the loss or theft of your personal or financial information may be impossible to prevent 100% of the time, finding out about possible misuse of that data and stopping it quickly may help you avoid any long-term damage.

SpotMyID could prove invaluable in quickly detecting the criminal use of your identification or cards on the Internet. Sign up today! For just pennies a day, SpotMyID will scan the Internet for up to 10 pieces of your identification, cards or banking information.

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