FIGHT BACK : NEW LAW MEANS HELP FOR VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT FRAUD.

Byline: David Horowitz 

A new law called the Identity Theft and Assumption Act of 1998 gives victims the right to file police reports and get back claims for damages. The law makes identity theft a felony punishable with from three to 25 years in prison.

The Federal Trade Commission has been appointed to serve as victims' advocate in helping them find the correct law enforcement agency to prosecute their cases. Identity theft is estimated today to involve a half-million people in this country.

I realized someone was using my identity when strange purchases from cities I didn't travel to were popping up on my credit card bill. When the credit card company checked out the charges, they traced them to a stranger who had somehow lifted my card number and mail-ordered several hundred dollars worth of merchandise to his home. The man was never caught. He moved on to another city without leaving a forwarding address. I was lucky, because my card number was instantly canceled.

Some identity cloners are very smart and find ways to use individual financial profiles to run up bills on others' accounts. It's easy to protect yourself from becoming a victim. Check your credit reports at least once a year. Your bank or credit union can give you information on how to accomplish this.

If you get any pre-approved credit offers you don't want, shred them or destroy them in some other way. Don't give any personal financial information to anyone, particularly companies that run contests or giveaways. Credit card and social security numbers are best left off personal checks.

And finally, check your bills and compare them with your receipts. Any irregularities should be reported immediately.

Recently, in California, a Motor Vehicle's investigator arrested a woman who was using a fraudulent driver's license and a social security number that she had obtained from a Colorado woman who had no idea that someone had taken the information from her.

She found out months later that someone was using her identity by changing her Colorado address to a California address in order to allegedly get credit cards, loans and even a home by using the woman's driver's license and social security numbers.

The identity thief was arrested and held on $200,000 bail for a number of charges involving identity lifting, including fraud. In the meantime, the Colorado woman is trying to clear a credit record riddled with debts.