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What is it like to have your identity stolen?
By karen | June 26, 2008
Have you ever thought what it would be like to have your identity stolen?
First of all, someone is pretending to be YOU.
Your social security number begins leading a second life, renting an apartment, acquiring property, credit cards, a medical history, a criminal record. You won’t know it’s happening for months, even years.
And the way you find out will be life-changing. Typically, you’ll get a call from your bank notifying you that your checking account is overdrawn. Then you find that the money in your savings is gone. You start getting calls from collection agencies about a debt you never took on, like a credit card or a car loan. The problem keeps snowballing, and you are really all alone with it.
On top of all that is the emotional impact. The Identity Theft Resource Center conducts an annual AFTERMATH STUDY among victims. More than 49% of respondents reported a stressed family life; 22% felt betrayed by unsupportive family members and friends. They expressed feelings of anger; betrayal; being unprotected by police; personal financial fears; sense of powerlessness; sense they were grieving; annoyed, frustrated or exhausted; sleep disturbances; an inability to trust people. Long-term emotional responses included suicidal; feeling captive; ready to give up; and felt that they have lost everything.
Topics: blog home, karen lodrick's blog |
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