The story of my ID Theft continues. If you recall, a person in the Miami, Florida had lifted my name and social security number (SSN) and was using it to open five phone accounts with Verizon Wireless. I stumbled upon this crime when I was attempting to open my own account with the same company. Obviously, they wanted to know why I would want another phone since I already had so many, and, by the way, when was I going to pay for the $1,200 bill that I owed them?

Immediately, I called the three credit agencies and listed Fraud Alerts on my accounts. This is an alert that lingers on the credit report for at least 90 days and as long as seven years if you request it in writing. Now – part two of this incredible issue.

Just a few days after I placed the fraud alert on my credit files, I received a call from Sprint PCS – asking if I had indeed requested another set of phones to be placed on my account, bringing that up to six phones. If I didn’t return the call, they were going to shut down the phones as there was an awful lot of activity being placed on them.

I immediately called them back and found out that this person was at it again. Fortunately, the fraud alert was at work and my credit was being protected – but not my peace of mind.

In checking back with Verizon, I found out that the ID thief had finally made a payment on “my” account – but I forgot to ask them if it was with a credit card – more than likely, it was.

Since those early days, I have now received two more calls from credit issuing agencies – another phone store and a credit card company, asking if I was requesting accounts through their companies. I told them no and they would decline the request.

The most frustrating part of all of this is that while there seem to be systematic processes in place, they are all for after the fact protection. Even the police told me they really can’t do anything but open a case for you so that you have evidence to offer to a credit agency that you’ve opened a case with the police and shouldn’t be responsible for any bills the ID thief has run up on your account.

The fraud investigators from the companies want to help, but admit that there’s not a lot they can do but close down the account and start collecting a paper trail – if they can find one.

Typically, the ID thief has your SSN and name; uses it to open accounts; then charges merchandise or services on the account until the account is shut down. The Fraud Alert at least disables them from opening new accounts. When this happens, he eventually quits using the SSN and name because it has become evident that he’s been “caught” and he can’t use the information any longer.

One investigator (they won’t give out their names on the phone) told me that once the SSN and name become unusable, they’ll let it lay low for a while and possibly sell it to another ID thief to use in the future. The investigator said watch out in a about a year, more erroneous information could show up on my credit report.

So – how does this affect my credit and ability to get credit? If I’ve caught it early enough, it doesn’t, according to the fraud investigators. It becomes a nuisance, in that every credit application must first be approved after the agency calls you on the phone number in your credit report to make sure you’re who you say you are. (This will mean companies issuing immediate credit, say online or at a retail store, won’t be able to issue that immediate credit – you’ll have to go home first and let them call you.)

What to do? Several sites exist to deal with credit fraud. One of the three major credit reporting agencies, Experian, has listed these tips for those who have been victims of credit fraud and those who want to protect themselves from this crime:

Published: March 14, 2003

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Mr. Carr has covered real estate since 1989. He is the author of Real Estate Investing Made Simple. Got a personal real estate issue? Post your questions and comments at Anthony’s blog: commonsenserealestate.blogspot.com.