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GOVERNMENT RECORDS
Careless file clerk releases too much
Yolanda requested a copy of her file from the California Student Aid Commission. When it arrived, she was shocked to find that in addition to her file, the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and phone numbers of 20 other people were in the same envelope as her record. She wondered what might have happened if that information, especially the SSN information, had gotten into the hands of an unscrupulous person. 04-1188-96
Asking too much for too little
Kelly is a tax accountant in a small desert town. She received a letter from the city alerting her to an upcoming audit of her files. In order to determine if she is paying the proper amount for her business license, they want to see her federal and state tax returns for the last three years, in addition to her business records. She wonders if she can refuse them access to her files. Kelly thinks the city is being penny wise and pound foolish. If she were lying about her business's income by even as much as $100,000, the increment in her business tax would only amount to about $30. As an accountant, she knows that the cost of sending auditors to her office and to the other businesses in her city is costing much more than the increased revenue that might be obtained. She says this smacks of Big Brother. 07-782-96
CYBERSPACE
Snooping made easy on the Web
Jerry is the security director of a large defense contractor. In recent years, thousands of people in facilities all over the country have been laid off. Jerry is concerned that a few of them might be so enraged as to threaten the lives of the company's executives. A relatively new service on the Internet, a joint project between Yahoo and Database America, allows easy access to the names, addresses and phone numbers of millions of people. The information is compiled from phone books as well as the computer files of Database America, a company which gathers demographic and consumer profile data on nearly every adult in America. Jerry wants to inform the company's higher echelon employees about this and other services, both on and off the Internet, in which name and address information might be obtained by disgruntled former employees. He also wants to tell them how to keep their names off such lists. He requested all of the PRC's fact sheets. 05-1001-96
Fighting junk e-mail
Janie is crusading against unsolicited e-mail. She is upset that when you post messages to Usenet groups, your email address can be harvested and lead to junk email messages sent to you. She has decided to fight back by appending a contract on her postings. She "charges $2,000 to review commercial mail." 03-675-96
CREDIT REPORTING
A hard time getting it fixed
Ginger and her husband wanted to buy a house. But when they ordered their credit report, they discovered there were three erroneous items on it. Getting them off proved to be difficult. "They all treat you like you're guilty," said Ginger. 05-515-95
Debra has ordered credit reports from each of the three bureaus--TRW, Trans Union and Equifax. Two of the three contain serious errors, a particularly troublesome situation for her because she and her husband are due to close on a new house in 30 days. They could lose the deal. Their reports contain negative credit data from another person. Debra says it has been very difficult to get the bureaus to clean up the errors. 03-156-95
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS
All in the family
Georgia's father-in-law Tom has the same name as her husband. Tom is, according to Georgia, a "crooked CPA." He had declared bankruptcy several times and can't get credit in his own name. So Tom uses his son's Social Security Number to obtain credit, and then taunts them about it. 02-97-96
"Put your Social Security Number to work for you," says the ad
The Chicago Sun-Times advertised its sweepstakes in the Sunday paper. The ad promised $100,000 in cash prizes. All the reader had to do was enter his or her Social Security Number, name and address on the entry form and send it in. In fact, the more often one entered, the great their chances. SSNs would be drawn to determine the lucky winners. The person who notified the PRC about this practice was outraged that the Sun-Times would base a sweepstakes on the SSN, especially since that number is the key to consumers' finances and can easily be used by a fraudster to impersonate them by, among other things, opening up credit accounts in their name. 10/95
UNWANTED MAIL SOLICITATIONS
They won't listen when he says 'no'
Andrew has been very successful reducing unwanted mail solicitations to a mere trickle. But he continues to have trouble with the Dataquick company. It sells information it obtains from county property assessment records, which is considered to be public record, to mortgage companies and other real-estate related companies. He has repeatedly asked Dataquick to remove him from the database. They repeatedly refuse, stating that since it's public record, they are not obligated to heed his request. Unfortunately, as we told Andrew, there is no law which mandates that a junk mailer stop sending solicitations, except when those mailings are deemed pornographic. 05-192-96 media ok, we have his email address Other hotline callers have also complained about Dataquick. 10-258-95
Cheryl has a similar problem. She joined the Audubon Society and specifically told them not to give her name to any other organizations. They did not heed her request. To make matters worse, she gave gift contributions to four friends, and they started to receive unwanted solicitations from other organizations. Cheryl complained to the Audubon and got her money back. 02-1029-96
Bob B's war against junk mail
Word of Bob B.'s (real name) victories against junk mailers recently traveled around the world. When Bob writes checks to merchants, he appends a contract on the backside, stating that if the merchant sends mail solicitations to him, he will charge them $1,000 for each violation. Bob has received unwanted mail from several merchants, despite the contract. He has taken several of them to small claims court and won a couple victories. The media have learned of Bob's success and have trumpeted his feats far and wide. 3/96
TELEMARKETING CALLS
A pushy survey group
Mary, an elderly woman who lives in a seniors complex, received several calls from a particularly aggressive research organization. They have been calling her unlisted number every evening demanding that she comply, even though she has told them she does not want to participate in the survey, which is on the subject of health. Mary became tired of the harassment and contacted her state senator's office to complain. The office contacted the PRC. We both called the survey firm's office and complained on behalf of Mary. The assistant director was unaware of any harassing behavior, but vowed to investigate it. 06-678-96
A relentless crusader against telemarketing calls
Bob A. (real name) has filed and won several suits against telemarketers who violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by calling him after he has told them not to. He has also won suits against companies which fail to send him their written "do not call" policies when he so requests. He has taken his crusade to the media and has appeared on NBC's Dateline. Bob is an active member of Private Citizen. 6/96
MEDICAL RECORDS
Not the kind of help he wanted
Roger visited a chiropractor for a treatment. He decided not to return for more treatments. But the office's receptionist read his medical file and contacted him on her own. It turns out she is an independent salesperson for Super Blue Green Algae. She noticed that he had the same ailment as she had, and having been helped by this product, she contacted him to interest him in purchasing the product from her. We told Roger about California's medical records confidentiality law and suggested he notify the chiropractor about the privacy lapse of his receptionist. 11-142-95
It's a state law
Wendy has breast cancer and is seeking treatment from her HMO. She was contacted by the Northern California Cancer Center to participate in the Young Women's Breast Cancer Survey. Her health provider had disclosed her condition to this group without her consent. Wendy was very upset and told us she "feels violated." We found the state law that allows such disclosure and informed her of it, a small consolation for one whose privacy has been abused. 11-98-95
Careless records clerk spills the beans
Daniel's wife Flora at one time had spent some time at an alcoholism rehabilitation center. The records of her stay were on file with her doctor, and were marked in big letters on the top, "Confidential: Do Not Reproduce." Flora was involved in litigation with an insurance company, in a matter that had nothing to do with her residence at the rehab center. The insurance company subpoenaed some of her medical records. Despite the clearly marked label on the top of her rehab-related records, her doctor's office nonetheless sent them to the insurance company and to other doctors involved in the suit. Daniel told us that the inappropriate release of those records indirectly affected Flora's ability to settle the suit. 10-287-95
A billing office's boo-boo
The billing office used by Samantha's doctor sent her a copy of her Blue Cross bill. Attached to it was the record of another woman, complete with her name and Social Security number. Samantha called the billing office to complain. She was told that the mailing was meant for her doctor, not for her, and that they had made a mistake. 05-103-96
IDENTITY THEFT
Bad timing
Frances is getting a divorce from her husband and because she will be on her own for the first time in 25 years, she does not want to start out on the wrong foot -- with a bad credit report. But she recently learned that someone has been using her driver's license number to write bad checks. So she herself can't write checks, and she's worried if she gets a bad credit report, she won't be able to rent an apartment. She has contacted the DMV but they told her it's not their problem. One of the retail stores that received a bad check from the imposter has told her they don't believe her story. She says that she'll need to spend lots of time and lots of money on long distance calls with retailer credit card departments to straighten this mess out. 07-101-96
A bad news roommate
Ashley is a professional actress who once roomed with another actress, Diana. Ashley learned the hard way that Diana is a professional fraudster. Diana found Ashley's Social Security number and has been giving it to employers whom she works for. She specializes in worker's comp scams and has been impersonating Ashley since 1991. Ashley was able to change her SSN but that hasn't stop the imposter from continuing to implicate her in wrongdoing. Ashley has gone to the District Attorney and to the City Attorney, but said they have done nothing to help her. She is reluctant to take Diana to court because she does not want her face associated with this case. Casting offices do not want to hire actors who are in any way associated with negative publicity. 06-002-96
Unshredded trash is an imposter's best friend
The Sacramento Police Department called Marianne to tell her that someone has made a fake driver's license using her name. A large drugstore chain had tossed old job applicants into the trash without shredding them. An imposter, or possibly a crime ring, found the applications and has been using them to made fake IDs. Marianne was unable to write checks for a time because the imposter had used her driver's license number. Marianne was able to clear her name with SCAN, the check verification company. But she has not been able to convince one discount store that she is not the writer of bad checks which they think she is. They continue to send her collection notices. 05-1249-96
A mistake in the national crime database
Bradford is an executive with a well-known company. Unfortunately, he is also known as a drug dealer to law enforcement and customs officials because of a law enforcement database having linked his name with that of a known felon. Bradford must carry a letter with him at all times which proclaims his innocence. He often travels overseas on business and when reentering the U.S. is pulled aside for further investigation when he goes through Customs. Recently drug agents barged into his home and arrested him at gunpoint in his bedroom. They had not done a thorough job of researching his record on the crime data base and thought they had finally got their man. Bradford was able to explain his innocence to them. 05-1229-96
Be careful what you carry with you
Patrick was recently traveling in Mexico. When parked outside a hotel, all his documents were stolen from his brief case. These included his passport, checks for four checking accounts, 35 credit cards and his original Social Security card. Even though his camera, laptop computer and cellular phone were also in the briefcase, these were not stolen. It has been 1-1/2 weeks since the incident, and he has not yet had any indication that his documents are being used by someone else. He ordered the PRC's identity theft fact sheet so he could take as many preventive steps as possible to thwart the thief's use of his documents. 05-96-0836
The imposter is in jail
Carolyn called the PRC to thank us for helping her 1-1/2 years ago. She wanted to give us an update on her case. She had been impersonated by a woman who stole the identification information of 14 women from a medical office. Law enforcement investigated her case apprehended the imposter, who is now in jail. Carolyn continues to get letters from collection agencies demanding that she pay the imposter's bills. She recommends that everyone use a special password associated with all credit and bank accounts -- and that the password be something other than mother's maiden name. 05-650-96
A bad news friend
Victoria first learned that she was a victim of identity theft a year ago when she went to open a bank account. Her application was denied because the bank discovered adverse information about her on Chexsystems, a check verification service. The imposter turned out to be a friend of Victoria's, now a former friend. The imposter not only wrote bad checks in her name, but opened up seven credit card accounts in her name. Victoria hired an attorney to help clean up the mess. This has cost her $5,000. 05-430-96
Double damage
Robin has been impersonated by two different people, one being her sister. She was denied a department store credit card recently and learned that someone has obtained her Social Security number, has applied for a credit card in her name, has ordered merchandise from a home shopping channel on cable TV, and has given her a bad credit report. Robin reports that her sister has also impersonated her in the past. Her sister has a criminal record and has spent time in jail. Robin says she "feels violated." She has "lost all faith in the system." Robin has had to hire an attorney to clear her name from her sister's. She has been told that once your name is associated with a crime, it can never come off. 05-687-96
Timothy takes action
A former roommate was able to find Timothy's identification documents and, among other things, obtain a driver's license in his name. The ex-roommate bought a car, obtained credit cards, and even rented an apartment and signed up for phone service -- all in Timothy's name. Timothy took the imposter to court, who pled guilty. The imposter served time and is now on probation. But he is up to his old tricks again. Timothy now has a court order against any further use of his name by the ex-roommate. Timothy says that this ordeal, which stretches back to 1991, has "taken a psychological toll" on him. 05-376-96
A computer security expert who's upset at his bank
Bernie is a member of a 401(k) plan. The plan's administrator now allows access to the plan via an automated phone system. Bernie, a computer security expert, is upset that in order to access information about one's own account, you have to key in your Social Security number. He knows how easy it would be for someone else to dial into the system and learn information about his account. He has not been able to convince the 401(k) plan's administrator to allow him to use another access number. But he did succeed in getting his bank, with assigned him an ATM PIN number consisting of the last four digits of his SSN, to give him a different number of his choosing. The bank has another practice which bothers Bernie. It displays the SSN right above the mailing address, and it shows through the plasticene window on any mail that he receives. Bernie sees "huge opportunities for fraud" in these careless practices. 05-380-96
They don't even look alike
Annette's wallet was stolen. The thief has since written bad checks in her name and has used credit cards of both her and her husband. Annette wonders if anyone pays attention to driver's license photos. The thief is white and Annette is African-American. Annette has had her driver's license number changed. This experience has come at a bad time for Annette and her husband because they're in the process of buying a house and they have bad credit. Annette says it has also been an expensive experience. She has to pay $10 every time she needs a notarized affidavit stating she is not the crook. 05-358-96
The thief must be quite a talker
Van's Social Security number and driver's license number were obtained by an identity thief. The imposter managed to obtain six cellular phone accounts in Van's name as well as several gas credit accounts. Van learned about this when one of the gas companies wrote him a letter alerting him to the fact that he had been a victim of fraud. 05-150-96
The student loan fraudster
Catherine's purse was stolen several years ago. The thief took out student loans in Catherine's name in two states. She has been successful in clearing her name in New York, but the student loan authority in California refuses to clear her name. 04-1764-96
The imposter kept a diary
Madeline has been going through living hell for nearly 4 years. Her imposter has established a number of credit card accounts, giving Madeline a bad credit reports. She says that "dealing with the credit bureaus has been impossible." Erroneous information keeps occurring. She even got dropped by her insurance company because they thought her driver's license had been suspended, when in fact she had only obtained a new one. Her imposter got caught and the court date has been set. It turns out that the imposter traveled all over the U.S. using Madeline's name on credit cards. The crook kept a detailed diary of all her travels and exploits. Madeline says this experience has taken a heavy toll on her. She says it's like "rape." She doesn't think she'll ever feel free of anxiety again. She says we at the PRC are the only ones who have been at all useful to her. 04-912-96
Her identity was temporarily erased
Someone else's credit history was on Yolanda's credit report -- the same last name but a different Social Security number. Somehow, in the process of repairing this error, her entire TRW file was erased. She learned this when applying for a credit card. Equifax data was used to re-create her file at TRW. 04-873-96
A change of address did him in
The crook filled out a U.S. Postal Service change of address card so Tony's mail was sent to New Jersey instead of his California address. Tony lost $4,500 on one credit card. Another credit card company mailed a cash advance check, which the imposter was able to cash in for $6,000. Tony complained to the Post Office about this matter but has not heard back from them. He is elderly and ill and is upset this has happened to him. 03-666-96
The thief's on the video
A "friend" of Sharon's stole her wallet. She was able to use Sharon's ATM card to withdraw money from her bank account. The bank gave the video to the police department, showing that the person who withdrew the money was not Sharon, but the other person. But the bank is holding Sharon responsible for the theft and has told her to sue the thief for the money. The bank turned the matter over to a collection agency. The imposter is also using Sharon's credit cards. Sharon says the police won't investigate the case. 02-935-96
A case of embezzlement
Willy's former office manager embezzled $20,000 from his company. She also hot into his wife's personal records and obtained enough identification information to impersonate her -- to the tune of another $20,000. Willy's wife has contacted the three credit bureaus to flag her account for fraud. She has changed all her bank accounts and put special passwords on them. In addition, she has changed her driver's license and is in the process of changing her Social Security number. 02-277-96
The victim did jail time
Helen's wallet was stolen. The thief went to Nevada and got another ID made which contained Helen's information, but with the thief's photo on it. Because of the thief's misdeeds, Helen was arrested and taken to jail. The case was dismissed, but Helen still has problems. She is unable to rent an apartment. Landlords have told here that when they enter her Social Security number for a credit check, two names come up. 02-78-96
"It's your problem lady"
Beverly doesn't know how the imposter obtained her information, but she was certainly a high liver. The imposter bought a car in Beverly's name, bought jewelry at several jewelry stores, ran up department store charges, and went to several smaller shops where she purchased big-ticket items. Several of the stores where Beverly's imposter purchased items have told her, "this is your problem, not ours." The auto dealership is giving her a particularly hard time. She tried to get a police report, but was told that because her wallet wasn't stolen they won't give her one. 01-367-96
A thief with a similar name
Fred Smith lives in Utah, but someone in Los Angeles with the name Fredrick Smith (not the real name) is impersonating him and spending lots of money in his name. The imposter worked as a "temp" in a credit department of a major bank, and Fred thinks he was able to access his credit account. The imposter got his SSN, spent money on Fred's credit cars, got cash, and bought a car. This has been going on since 1994. Fred says the police authorities have been no help to him. They won't take a police report because they say he's not the victim, the credit card companies are. Fred has the imposter's name and address but the police won't go after him. Fred would like to sue the bank for negligence in hiring the imposter for their credit department. 01-256-96
He can't get a job
Someone stole Dale's wallet and apparently committed several crimes using Dale's name. Unbeknownst to Dale, his erroneous criminal record was entered into the data base of a background check company that provides data to retail stores who hire mainly sales clerks. Dale lost his department store job and has been unable to find work in other stores because of the bad record. He only recently learned that it's because of the erroneous information in the data base that he is not able to find work. He had not known the data base existed. 01-119-96
Someone is working under his name
Grant is unemployed. When he went to file for unemployment benefits, he was told he didn't qualify because it appears he is actually working. Grant discovered that someone is using his name and SSN for employment in a company in another city. The sheriff's department had a meeting with the company and was told by a company representative that the employee had been able to verify his ID. Grant was told that the burden was on him to prove his identity. 12-704-95
She can't afford the police report
Ethel is elderly. A neighbor stole her checks and bought merchandise at department stores totaling over $4,000. Ethel went to the police and made a police report. She has gotten several letters from creditors demanding that she pay the bills. When she explains that she is a victim of fraud, she is asked to provide a notarized affidavit, each of which cost money. She has also been asked to provide a copy of the police report. When she contacted the police department and asked for a copy, she was told it would cost her $10. She's on a fixed income and can't afford to pay. The PRC called the police department on her behalf and asked why a police report cost money. We were told it's considered a "user's fee." The police department offered to cancel the fee for Ethel. 11-67-95
They think he's the crook
Robert's checks were stolen from his mailbox. The thief used a lot of them at many different stores. Robert has since received many letters from the collection departments of these stores demanding payment. Even though Robert has provided his police report to the stores, they have sent the accounts to collection agencies nonetheless. Now he is being hounded by collection agents. This has been a "major hassle" for Robert. He has had to provide many notarized affidavits, each costing him $10. 10-208-95
His father's the thief
Aaron's father used his SSN to obtain credit. He applied for several cards and even bought a car using Aaron's name. 10-10-95
