Credit Problems Are Minor Compared to Other Risks
My local Sunday paper contained an article about a woman in Georgia who, as a result of her identity being stolen, has been convicted of a felony. This only reinforces my belief that not only are we all at serious risk, the credit reporting ones may be minor compared to the possibility of criminal charges.
If your identity is stolen and the thief uses your identity to perpertrate a crime, you could find yourself facing criminal charges and conviction. This could result in job loss, family loss and/or loss of your individual freedom if you are imprisoned.
The victim from the news article was a single mother with two children, an honorably discharged veteran who was also a full-time student. A real estate license that she held, but was not actively working while in school, was at the center of the identity theft. Since the thief conducted the same real estate scam in several counties around the victim’s home, she faced charges in multiple jurisdictions.
Evidence proved the identity theft victim was not the perpertrator of the crime but, nonetheless, she was convicted in one of the counties. She was sentenced to 10 years probation, 100 hours of community service, a fine of $2500 and restitution to the scam victim of $975. This woman whose identity was stolen states clearly in the article that this situation has “ruined her life”. She faces an uncertain future while she stuggles with trying to have her name, records and reputation cleared.
That’s a tough pill to swallow if you are the victim of identity theft. The bottom line, none of us are safe from these type threats. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
If would like some guidelines for protecting yourself from identity theft under current regulations, please download a copy of my free report. (Simply click on Free stuff, under Pages on the right-hand side of the column, and follow the instructions.)
July 9th, 2005 at 10:46 am
“Evidence proved the identity theft victim was not the perpertrator of the crime but, nonetheless, she was convicted in one of the counties. She was sentenced to 10 years probation, 100 hours of community service, a fine of $2500 and restitution to the scam victim of $975.”
I just don’t get how she could be punished! This is absolutely frightening. The stories I heard involved credit nightmares but never anything like criminal charges!