Identity thieves are stealing credit reports

PITTSBURGH — Target 11 has learned that identity thieves are posing as loan officers to steal people's credit reports. Once they have that information they can trash your good name. Target 11 Consumer Investigator Robin Taylor uncovers how the scheme works.

What's frightening about this crime is that anybody can be a victim. All it takes is someone with a little computer know-how to hack into a database.

Once they have your name, Social Security number and date of birth, they can steal your credit report and then rack up charges in your name.

"All I want to do is protect myself, and quite honestly anyone else who is listening," said Nancy Gelzheiser as she sat down to tell me her story.

The Whitehall woman was paying her Discover Card bill when she noticed an unauthorized charge for $14.95 to one of the major credit bureaus.

When she called Experian, they asked, "'Do you know a Joseph?' I said no. 'Do you know a Donald?' No."

And that's when the nightmare began. Gelzheiser found out thieves had accessed her credit report and even had it sent to a phony address.

Fraud investigators say, with all that information, the crooks could open credit cards in Gelzheiser's name, run up big bills and trash her good credit.

"It's frightening. It's aggravating. It's time consuming," said Gelzheiser.

Gelzheiser notified her bank and the credit bureaus. She closed her Discover Card and even had the credit bureaus put a fraud alert on her accounts, but she's still worried and wants to warn people about this new type of crime.

"I want them to know this can happen to you. It's not something that happens to somebody else. It can happen to you, so very innocently," said Gelzheiser.

Identity theft is the leading consumer crime in the country, affecting 11 million Americans.

United States postal inspectors investigate these crimes.

"It's the number one crime that you can't stop yourself from being a victim," said Tammy Mayle, a postal inspector in Pittsburgh.

Remember shredding your paperwork? Well, these day crooks aren't digging through your trash. They're hacking into computer systems, gaining access toSocial Security numbers, passwords and even your mother's maiden name. And they're harder than ever to prosecute.

"It's still the same crime, but the crime now, the perpetrators are overseas. They're hiding behind the Internet," said Mayle.

Once they've got a credit card in a stolen name, they can rack up thousands of dollars in charges, even buying gift cards which are harder to trace.

"By the time the credit card gets shut off, they've moved on to the next credit card," said Mayle.

In Gelzheiser's case, fraud investigators think she stopped the thieves before they did any real damage.

"Make sure that you check things, because if you don't you may be in my situation, and it's an unpleasant situation," said Gelzheiser.

The fraud alert puts a big road block in the way. Since the crooks are looking for easy targets, investigators say they are likely to move on to their next victim.

Gelzheiser caught this early by going over her bills carefully. I recommend you do that as well.

WPXI