Identity Theft

An unfortunate late night phone call from a collections agent alerted me to the fact that I am a victim of identity theft.

While I was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at University Hospital in Indianapolis someone stole my SSN, birthdate and name either from my medical records or possibly from my arm band while I was unconscious. The irony in this is that I am extremely protective of my identity. I never give my SSN if I can help it and Greg makes fun of me because I put almost everything except my toilet paper through the shredder.

While I was in the ICU, they opened a cellular phone account in my name and never paid on it. The bill was about $3,000. I have put fraud alerts with the credit reporting agencies and I will file an identity theft report soon. I worry that there are more accounts out there that I don't know about. Luckily the phone company wrote it off without too much trouble...just an afidavit for me to sign.

I usually try to find the positive or something good related to my problems or unfortunate events. With this I just can't think of anything good to come out of it except for the theif who enjoyed three months of free phone service.

Here's a good government site about how to protect yourself from identity theft.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/index.html