My purse was stolen in November of 2002 and I was petrified I would suffer from Identity Theft. Of course I reported all of my credit cards stolen and called the bank to cancel all of the checks in my checkbook. For the next several years, I checked my credit report diligently but nothing ever appeared that was questionable. Naturally after years go by, you have a tendency to more or less forget the incident and go on about your life. Apparently that is what this thief was counting on; that I would eventually believe that nothing bad was going to come of my purse being stolen and I would stop checking my credit reports regularly.
When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, I lost everything and had to apply for financial assistance. That is when I found out I was indeed the victim of Identity Theft after all. Every single application was rejected due to bad credit ratings. I couldn’t believe it, because my credit had been impeccable. When I checked my credit reports, I was completely stunned! Within an 8 month timeframe I had on my report a repossessed car, a delinquent power and cable bill for an apartment somewhere in Texas (I have never lived in Texas – only visited a few times), 2 delinquent Visa cards in the amount of almost $3000 and my credit score had dropped from over 800 to 353! At a time when my credit was most needed to recover from the devastation of the storm, no one would lend me a dime! Fortunately, I was finally given assistance from FEMA, the Red Cross and the state sponsored recovery fund, but it took me nearly 2 years to straighten out my credit reports. The Texas power company never did remove their entry on my report because, they said there was no proof that I didn’t set up power for a friend even though I never physically lived in the state myself.
I have never gone through anything so frustrating and infuriating as this; trying to figure out how to prove I was not responsible for these debts. Beware everyone! Do not become complacent as I did, and don’t think that Identity Theft cannot happen to you, because it can! Check your credit reports regularly!
Originally posted 2009-10-29 09:27:06.
