Jill Carlson thought it was just a mix-up when she received a package from Ebay she says she did not order.
But the next day, when she found a notice telling her to pick up another package, she got suspicious and spoke to the post office clerk.
”Is there a way to stop packages from coming to my house, there is something going on?” asked Carlson.
Turns out, thieves stole her identity, opened an Ebay account in her name and began ordering online with the intent of picking up the packages before she retrieved them.
”Just by chance, they missed two,” says Carlson.
Jill discovered the woman who stole her identity, Stacy Wallin, was part of a house painting crew she hired years earlier.
Wallin and her crew knew Carlson`s schedule, which was why they were able to grab packages from her home without anyone noticing.
”It became more personal at that point, the anger level was intense,” says Carlson.
Though Jill didn`t lose any money, the damage done to her credit was devastating.
”I did have major problems with my credit report because all of a sudden you are late with a payment. They stole credit card statements out of my mailbox. They stole credit reports out of my mailbox. It took me probably a year to start rebuilding my credit.'
The process is not easy.
”It`s amazing how hard it is for you to prove you are the actual person. It`s easier for them to change your records than it is for you to go back and prove that you are who you are,” says Carlson.
”Prosecutors, both federal, state and local and the judicial officers have realized that ID theft is not a victimless crime and it impacts the very fabric of the American economy,” says E Woodson, a U.S. Postal Inspector.
Postal inspectors say ID theft is growing at an alarming rate and can happen to anyone.
”Many of these victims cannot afford this and one act of ID theft can impact their lives. They can`t pay for a child`s education, they can`t get credit,” says Woodson.
Order an annual credit and check to see if all of the accounts and addresses are yours and that no one else`s name is your account.
As for Stacy Walin, she was sentenced to more than three years in prison and she was ordered to pay more than $35,000 in restitution.
