I Believe You: An ID theft victim’s journey from wrongful imprisonment to recovery
Summary: The following account is IDX member Jessica’s* true story of identity theft, wrongful imprisonment, and the path to reclaiming her good name. *Names have been changed to protect the identity of our member.
A nightmare come true
Jessica* was home eating dinner with her family when the county sheriff knocked on her door to arrest her. The charge? Grand theft auto, plus two felony counts of forgery in a different state. A state she’d never been to.
She was handcuffed and put in a police car. She was confused and scared, but nothing she said seemed to matter. To the cops, she was just another criminal professing their innocence. To the DA, she was a suspect who wouldn’t confess — a case to crack.
By the time she was released on bond weeks later, she’d missed Thanksgiving with her family, almost missed Christmas, and had been accused of four felony counts. She felt helpless. While her family stood beside her, the judicial system demanded proof that identity theft occurred.
Guilty until proven impersonated
We’ve all heard stories like this before, but few people understand exactly what victims of identity theft are up against. With other crimes, victims report a crime and law enforcement go in search of a suspect. With identity theft, it’s often up to the victim to prove they’re not the suspect.
No other crime requires a victim to report it, tell their story, and keep track of a multitude of different organizations that are handling the different occurrences. We can’t imagine treating victims of violent crime in this manner, but we do it to cybercrime and identity crime victims as a normal part of the process.”
Without an identity theft recovery expert working on their behalf, the average victim spends 100-200 hours attempting a DIY recovery — and 50% still have issues after 5 years.
Luckily, one of Jessica’s insurance policies included identity protection coverage with IDX. The rise of data breach and online privacy risks has made identity protection an increasingly popular employer-paid ancillary benefit — especially considering members don’t realize just how much they need coverage until they’re a victim.
A family member reached out to IDX, and soon Jessica was put in contact with a dedicated ID Care Specialist, Josh.
Who you gonna call when ID theft strikes?
The first time Josh and Jessica spoke, it was a heartfelt exchange for both of them.
Few people understand what victims of identity theft are up against better than the recovery team at IDX. They know how invasive fraud feels, how overwhelming financial and legal bureaucracy can be, and how helpless it can feel to be a victim. As such, Josh sees empathy and trust-building as an integral part of his job.
Josh recounts, “I told her, ‘I’m going to take care of everything. You need to sit down, relax, and enjoy your favorite beverage this evening because you are in good hands.’”
For the first time, someone believed Jessica right away. No question. No defending herself.
“We’re asking you to tell us what happened to you — not if you did it,” Josh explains. “So we can start finding answers and resources and tell you what we can do for you, and on your behalf.”
Josh explained that as an ID Care Specialist, his job was to help victims like Jessica find and remove fraud, recover from identity theft, and restore their identities — no matter how long it takes.
Fully-managed recovery removes the burden from victims
Working on a victims’ behalf is one of the things that sets IDX’s white glove, fully-managed recovery apart from other solutions. Our ID Care Specialists use tools like three-way calling and limited power of attorney to take on the burden from victims.
“We like to take as much of the paperwork as possible off the victim’s plate,” Josh says.
Often, resolving fraud is as simple as a notarized letter to a bank. In Jessica’s case, it’s much more complex. In addition to the criminal charges on her record, Jessica’s credit report revealed a slew of fraudulent accounts, including a car loan application, car insurance accounts, and numerous bad checks. But no matter how bad it got, Josh was right there to show the path forward.
Today, Jessica has been cleared of the initial arrest and check forgery and the charges removed from her record. The ruling on another set of charges from a different county is eagerly awaited — and Josh’s work won’t stop until Jessica’s identity is fully restored.
“It can be 30 days, it can be a year and half — we keep working until it’s done,” says Josh. “We don’t cookie cutter this. We take the time to get to know the victim and what they’re experiencing. We live it along with them.”
IDX Care Team’s tips for identity protection
Josh is just one of dozens of experienced ID Care Specialists who serve IDX members. Working long-term with a victim of identity theft is a key part of their job, but just as important is fielding questions and providing support that helps members proactively protect their privacy and identity. Whether that means walking a member through our online dashboard of privacy tools, helping decipher a credit report, or even reviewing a letter or email to determine if it’s legitimate or a scam.
As data breaches continue to rise, consumers are increasingly at risk for identity theft. And once one breach occurs, stolen credentials and private information sold on the Dark Web, often coupled with personal details scattered across the internet, easily becomes fodder for additional attacks.
Forward thinking organizations — like Jessica’s insurer — see this pattern and recognize identity protection’s role in data breach mitigation and response. That’s a great step to make proactive privacy protection easier for consumers. But it can’t happen fast enough for Josh.
“I like my job, but I wish it would go away,” Josh says. He has two tips for consumers to help make that happen:
Josh's two tips for fraud prevention
1) Be knowledgeable about fraud and how to avoid it
“The first sign (of fraud) will usually be unusual inquiries, so check your credit report.”
IDX members benefit from monthly credit alerts and other tools to simplify this vigilance. Members can access credit reports through the member dashboard. (And due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three bureaus are now offering free weekly online reports through December 2022.) For more peace of mind, our Credit Lock feature allows members to easily freeze their credit with TransUnion.
Josh also suggests keeping an eye on the mailbox. “Pretty much everything is eventually going to result in a piece of mail,” he says. (IDX coverage also includes Change of Address monitoring for this very reason.)
2) Be mindful of their information.
“Google yourself — see what is available. Check a data broker.”
Josh says knowing is half the battle. Once consumers see just how much of their personal information is out there, they’re compelled to do something about it.
Our ForgetMe data removal feature is a great place to start. A quick scan will tell you how many of the hundreds of data broker websites are selling your personal info — and how to stop them. IDX members can access ForgetMe by logging in to the dashboard. Not a member? Try ForgetMe for free with a quick scan »
IDX members can also use tools like Password Detective to check if their passwords have been compromised on the Dark Web, and Password Manager to make it easier to use secure logins for every account.
If consumers did those two things, Josh says, “I would consider my mission fulfilled.”
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of our members.
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