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Tue, Sep 5, 2000 3:18 PM Subject: Identity Theft I recently became the victim of Identity Theft. A person in California attempted to apply for credit cards using my information. Fortunatly, a woman at Wells Fargo Bank noted that my actual address was in New York per the Credit Reporting organizations and she called me. Citi Bank Diner Club apparently is not so interested in solving this problem and issued a credit card to the individual in California. Fortunatly (supposedly) they had not yet mailed out the card and when I called them they stated that they would not mail it. This is the second time I have fell victim to banks who are more interested in opening accounts than ensuring the information provided is accurate. In 1987 I was manager of a local outlet of a national electronic store chain when my store was hit by an individual who wrote over $10,000 on a checking account with no money in it. The bank issued the checking account without verifying the address or phone number. Worse yet, the individual had just been released from jail where he had served time for writing bad checks. I hope that the workshop you are conducting will suggest laws which will require banks to verify information prior to issuing credit cards and checking accounts. Identity Theft can be stopped only by making it more difficult to steal someone's identity. The best place to start is with the people who are willingly allowing it to go on. -- Robert M. Gigon Jr. |