Theft of Identity: Data Rape
| Jurisdiction | United States,Federal |
| Citation | Vol. 24 No. 1 Pg. 23 |
| Pages | 23 |
| Publication year | 1995 |
1995, January, Pg. 23. Theft of Identity: Data Rape
Computerized information superhighway pirates are stealing credit reports of unknowing victims and using the stolen data to commit application fraud. Victims describe it as "data rape," and it can happen to anyone.
In May 1991, Steven M. Shaw, a used car salesman in Florida, used his employer's credit bureau terminal to access the credit reports of Stephen J. Shaw, of Washington, D.C., and other Shaws with the name "Steve" from national consumer reporting superbureaus. He obtained the reports and began making applications for credit with banks, retailers and credit card companies in the identities of the various victims Shaw. Using the same terminal, he re-accessed the reports to monitor and enlarge the fraud.
After more than $100,000 had been rung up in credit in Stephen J. Shaw's identity alone, a fraud analyst noticed discrepancies in the victim's report when the defrauder made application. A report inquiry was made. To Stephen J. Shaw's shock, his credit reports reflected that he lived in another state and had many thousands of dollars of debt and countless credit inquiries, due to the volume of fraudulent applications.
The number of cases of theft of identity is growing exponentially.(fn1) Victims like
In early 1989, John Stevenson began receiving harassing calls from bill collectors regarding accounts opened by a defrauder in Stevenson's identity. After receiving his credit reports from the various
After its initial investigation, TRW removed some of the fraudulent accounts. TRW claimed that other subscribers "insisted that the account[s] [were] Stevenson's."(fn3) A fraud warning statement was finally added to Stevenson's report in December 1989. In February...
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