Losing Your Identity

Imagine getting ready in the morning, finishing your coffee, and heading out the door to start another day at work. As you approach your car, you get a sense that something isn't quite right. You then notice the broken glass beside your car door. That is what Mark found one Tuesday morning in Calgary, Alberta. At first, it was only the annoyance of having to deal with the window repair and replacing the few stolen CDs...but with a sinking feeling, Mark realized that he had also left his wallet in the car, which apparently was not missed by the thief early that morning. He quickly returned to his home and made the necessary calls to the banks and credit card companies to begin the long, tedious process to cancel and replace all of his cards. At the suggestion of a friend, he also registered with a credit monitoring agency to try and avoid identity theft problems.
 
After a couple of months, Mark has forgotten about the incident (window has finally been repaired, cards have been replaced). But then an e-mail notification appears, making him aware that he has applied for a credit card. Then another email arrives the following morning. Mark quickly contacts the company and learns that someone has used his information to open department store cards. He runs into an unexpected barrier when he requests that information on these applications be sent to him, but, due to privacy laws, they are unable to comply. Because information on the credit card applications does not match his, they are unable to release any information. They do, however, cancel the cards due to suspected fraudulent activities.

Months later, Mark is still subscribing to the credit monitoring service to ensure there are no further attempts to open credit accounts. In Mark's experience, he has found that there may be a lull of activity for several months at a time, and then several fraudulent accounts opened within a week. He must follow up on every unauthorized transaction and account to ensure that his name does not end up going to a collection agency like those of so many other identity theft victims do.

Mark is one of the lucky ones. He was proactive and made sure to take the recommended steps after he had his wallet stolen. He was diligent in monitoring credit inquiries long after the car break in. If it wasn't for that, he could be dealing with a much worse situation today. Many people who are not aware of the necessity of protecting their identity find themselves applying for credit or mortgages and being refused due to poor credit ratings. Thieves have managed to get personal information from these individuals, max out credit cards in their names, leaving them problems that that will take several months (if not years) to correct. Everyone must remember and be cognizant of how important it is to protect one of the most important things to a person - their identity.