Credit Card Debt Management

In the midst of advice about love, life and how to get movie star hair, Glamour magazine had a great article on identity theft in its December issue. It focused on a San Francisco woman who had her identity stolen not once, but twice, before she tracked the thief down and confronted her face-to-face in a Starbucks. This woman literally chased the thief through the streets of San Fran until the police could meet up and take over.

Make no mistake: This thief tracking was the result of months-long, obsessive, minute, detailed work on the part of the victim. In other words, it ain’t easy. In fact, it’s nigh impossible but a couple lucky breaks like an ATM camera still and a forgotten (forged) ID at the local bank helped it happen. The thief lived only a couple blocks away, had a drug habit and very expensive tastes in clothing and accessories. She had been watching her victim’s every move. This is an extreme case that has all the makings of a modern Hollywood blockbluster. The article expressed the frustration many identity theft victims feel when police tell them the crime is low priority.

This is common because ID theft often involves interstate dealings, which typically becomes a federal issue. It is also very, very rare to catch the thief, so many police forces have all but given up trying. Some need to hire an extra detective just to handle the ID theft caseload and the funds simply aren’t there.

A couple things to keep in mind here: In this story, the victim’s greatest ally was the bank. After all, you’re not the only one who lost money; the bank also has a vested interest in catching the thief. Secondly, it is rare for the identity thief to be a stranger, as in this case. Most often the thief is known by their victim, and sometimes the two are even related.

Unfortunately, the Glamour article isn’t available online, but you can access Glamour’s great compilation of side information on ID Theft recovery here. The highlights: Report it to police, the FTC, all financial institutions and lenders with whom you have dealings, the three major credit bureaus and take detailed notes throughout the process.