MUKILTEO- Police Chief Victim of ID Theft

This morning The Herald published an article about how Police Chief Rex Caldwell became a victim of ID theft in 2011. It shows that no one is immune from becoming a victim of ID theft.

The source of the theft was a public records request from a man with a grudge against the Kirkland Police Department, a former employer of Chief Caldwell, in the 1990’s. At the time, certain personal information was not redacted as it is now. This information was posted on the internet. The information came into the hands of a local criminal with a history of forgery, theft and drug addiction.

For more details on this story go to:

The Herald

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130418/NEWS01/704189940#Mukilteo%2526%2523146s-top-cop-shows-ID-theft-can-happen-to-anyone%0A

 

If you become a victim of ID theft you can have trouble with your credit and with bills that the ID thieves have created in your name.

To minimize the damage to your credit, you need to act in a timely manner. Here are the steps you need to take according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC):

1. Place an initial fraud alert with one of the three credit reporting companies.

2. Order credit reports.

3. Create an Identity Theft Report.

The FTC has an online checklist that helps you through the steps to complete these actions:

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft

 

To prevent ID theft, here are some resources that can help:

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office “Partners in Crime Prevention”-

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/JanFeb13.pdf

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Identity Theft Tip Sheet-

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/Identity%20Theft.pdf

National Crime Prevention Council ID Theft Prevention Tips-

https://www.ncpc.org/topics/fraud-and-identity-theft/fraud-and-identity-theft/tips-to-prevent-identity-theft