I Didn’t Know About Identity Theft

I want to give you some facts about identity theft. Nine million people have their identities stolen every year, as estimated by the FTC. Take a moment and let that number sink in. Nine million is a very large number. Think it can’t happen to you? Think again. It is quite likely that you or someone you know has had their identity stolen in some form or another. If you are under the impression that you don’t have to worry about identity theft, then you are setting yourself up to be a victim.

I didn’t used to think about identity theft until it happened to me. Somebody took my debit card information and used it to gamble away my life savings. My husband and I lost over $10,000 in the mess after spending the money to try to rectify the situation. The worst part about identity theft for us was that the bank acted like they didn’t believe that it was somebody else who used my debit card. You see, it was up to me to prove that it wasn’t me who made the transactions because I still had the card and had used it in the past to play games on the internet. I also had used it during the time that the thief was using it and therefore the bank had to assume that it was me who was gambling away $500 at a time. You see, my identity was stolen several years ago, in 1999, and the banks and other agencies didn’t know that much about identity theft.

It was only a few months before my identity was stolen that Congress had passed the current laws about identity theft that made it a federal crime. Unfortunately, though, these laws have not been much of a deterrent for people who steal identities. Apparently it is very easy to do and, while more and more people are getting caught, many are not.

I’m not sure how somebody got my debit card information, but I do have a couple of theories. I often use my debit card to pay for purchases at restaurants. I blindly hand my card to my server and allow her to walk away with it. It is quite possible that she could have made an impression of the card and kept the number. I also use my debit card on the internet to make purchases. At the time, I didn’t know about identity theft and wasn’t on the lookout for the https at the beginning of the url, which ensures that the site is secure.

I didn’t know about identity theft and have been sorry for nine years. I’m not sure that I will every fully recover from my plight. If you don’t know about identity theft, take the time to educate yourself. It can happen to you.

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