Thread: 10-year-old girl victim of ID theft

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10-year-old girl victim of ID theft

By Mary Anderson -- Staff Writer, The Courier-Tribune
Posted: 07/29/06 - 09:08:27 pm CDT




STAR — All Shelly Kern wanted was better health insurance coverage for her children.

In the process, she uncovered a time bomb with an eight-year fuse that would have gone off when her daughter, Hayley, turned 18.

What she learned was that a man, an illegal immigrant in his 20s, had been working under Hayley’s Social Security number for the past six years.

Kern found out quite by accident when Hayley’s application for the North Carolina Children’s Health Insurance Program was initially rejected because her earned income was too high. Hayley is 10 years old. She doesn’t have any earned income.

That was on June 20. After futile visits to the regional Social Security Administration and Employment Security Commission, Kern was referred to law enforcement. Star Police Chief Dempsey Owens and Lt. Randy Knight investigated and found that a man in Harrisburg, N.C., had been using the Montgomery County child’s Social Security number for the past six years.



That revelation has put a whole new twist on identity theft.

Martha Sheriff, director of the Randolph County Department of Social Services, said her agency has not found a case of a child’s number being fraudulently used, but would have no way of knowing unless the parent applied for a DSS program like child health insurance.

“We have not encountered this, but you just don’t think of a child’s identification being used that way. This is scary,” Sheriff said.

Jim Sanders, director of Social Services in Montgomery County, said this incident was just scratching the surface of a very sensitive issue.



“This is becoming a very big problem. Using a child’s number is rare, but it does happen. When we found out what happened, the child in question was not denied insurance, but we have no enforcement authority and counseled the mother to take immediate action, which she did,” Sanders said. “The big problem will be in 8-10 years when a child whose number is being used enters the work force or applies for college aid.”

A tangled web

It could be a lot worse than earned income, said Pamela Alsobrook at the Employment Security Commission office in Troy.

“People don’t think about all the bad things that could happen,” Alsobrook said. “This mother needs to be sure this Social Security number is not attached to the criminal record. At this point, no one knows if that is the person’s real name, so the Social Security number is going to be the tracking number.”

Alsobrook said there is no way to know how many children’s numbers are being used fraudulently. They may not find out for years when they turn 16 or 18 and apply for a job, driver’s license or college aid, only to find out they have a criminal record, have judgments against them and owe thousands of dollars — and it will be up to them to clear their names.

Star Police Chief Dempsey Owens said the Social Security number will not be attached to the charges in this case, because it involves fraudulent use of a Social Security number. But, he added, Kern will have to be vigilant as the case goes through the court system to be sure the number is not used.

Star police have charged Juan Carmona Rosario, 28, of Cascade Place, Concord, with seven counts of financial identity fraud, one for each year, including this one.

Rosario has worked at Galvin Industries in Cabarrus County since February 2000 and company officials told Star Police Lt. Randy Knight that Rosario was a good worker whom they didn’t want to lose.

The president of Galvin Industries called Knight to be sure that a mistake hadn’t been made because Rosario was a man of good character and an excellent employee. Galvin officials have told Rosario they will have a job for him when he gets legal identification.

Rosario could also be a victim in this instance, said Knight, who ran a background check on Rosario and found only a couple of traffic violations.

Rosario does not speak English. Through an interpreter, Knight learned that when Rosario came to the U.S. from Mexico at age 22, he was told he needed “work papers” to get a job. The working papers acquaintances provided was a Social Security card with Rosario’s name and a fraudulent number. He believed the number was the “work papers” that allowed him to work in the U.S. Knight said Rosario was at a loss to understand what he had done wrong.

“He kept insisting that this was his ‘work paper,’ ” Knight said. “At that point, I advised him to contact an attorney because he clearly didn’t comprehend the problem. What we hope is that he will give the information on how he got the Social Security card to his attorney, who can pass it on to the district attorney, who then will contact Cabarrus County to investigate the source of the card. It was obvious that Rosario had never been in Montgomery County.”

Rosario also has a North Carolina driver’s license.

A Montgomery County magistrate placed Rosario under a $600 secured bond with an Aug. 8 court date.

Responsible employers

DSS Director Sanders said employers have to take more responsibility for hiring people with fraudulent identification.

“Industry helped create this problem and industry needs to take more responsibility to solve it. The legislature has to come up with better verification methods,” Sanders said.

At the Employment Security Commission, Pamela Alsobrook agrees. She said ESC is watching and hoping for state and federal legislation. She would like to see agencies linked to share information and to get better information from the Social Security Administration.

The only information the SSA will give out to ESC or employers is to verify whether or not a Social Security number is a valid number.

“I want to know if it is valid for the person sitting across the desk from me,” Alsobrook said.

Employers are required to have an I-9 form on file for every employee for inspection by the Immigration and Nationalization Service (INS). That form requires two forms of identification which is usually a Social Security card and a driver’s license or state-issued picture identification card. The Social Security numbers can be checked by calling a number at the Social Security Administration which verifies that the number is a valid Social Security number, but gives no further information.

Sanders said they have had cases where a Social Security number for an adult was being used fraudulently and earnings were being recorded in two states at the same time. The impossibility of that should get somebody’s attention, Sanders said.

Shelly Kern wonders why the Social Security Administration can’t include the birth year of the holder of a Social Security number when they verify the number.

“Then any employer would know a 4-year-old was not applying for a job in a mill,” Kern said.

Protect kid’s identity

The only places a child’s Social Security number should be recorded are on the parents’ income tax returns, medical insurance forms and at schools, which do not use the Social Security numbers as tracking numbers. DSS needs the number only if the parents apply for benefits for the child.

Parents are urged to protect their children’s numbers by being very careful. Don’t leave the numbers where any other person can see them. Shred any paper with any Social Security number on it.

A spokesman at the N.C. Attorney General’s Office said they are aware of instances where children’s identities have been compromised, but unless there is a reason to check, the use could go undetected for years.

The Attorney General advises parents to never give out a child’s Social Security number unless it is absolutely necessary. Ask the doctor or school or anyone who asks for it if they can use another identifying number.

Clearing your child’s name can be just as frustrating and infuriating as clearing an adult’s name. Kern said maybe more so. First, she was referred to the regional Social Security Administration office where she was told there was nothing they could do. They sent her to the Employment Security Commission. Neither agency nor the DSS has enforcement powers, so Kern went to the Star Police Department.

The first step, Chief Owens said, was to obtain a Social Security statement from the Social Security Administration. Anyone can request this statement and Alsobrook recommends that parents request one annually for their children.

A Social Security statement can be requested online at and the statement will be mailed to you.

Law enforcement can get a quicker response than individuals if the number is in question. The statement does not identify the contributor to the Social Security account, but does have the name of the company paying Social Security into that account. With that information, Owens contacted Galvin Industries to find out the name of the employee using that number and the Cabarrus County sheriff’s office cooperated by serving the warrant on Rosario.

If a parent finds Social Security wages have been paid into their child’s account, the parent will need the services of a law enforcement agency. Because of privacy issues, a business will not give out the name of an employee to anyone who asks.

When Kern tried to order a credit report on her daughter, she hit obstacle after obstacle.

0nline, the credit reporting agencies want credit information that her daughter, at age 10, does not have and she cannot get a credit report for Rosario, no matter that the Social Security number is fraudulent. She has appealed to the N.C. Attorney General’s Office for assistance.

The problem of fraudulent use of Social Security cards has become so prevalent, the Attorney General’s Office offers a kit for identity theft victims to walk them through the process of clearing their names.

Randolph County Sheriff Litchard Hurley said his office hasn’t had a case of a child’s identity being used, but he knows the adults can count on a year or more of persistent calls and letters to get their identity cleared. Then, they have to be constantly alert for years and keep all their records in case something pops up again. Kern said she is keeping everything in case Hayley runs into problems when she grows up.

“I am going through this headache and heartache to protect my daughter,” Kern said. “Maybe knowing what can happen will alert other parents to check on their children’s identities and they won’t get the surprise we got.”

Fake cards

Sometimes, Alsobrook said, people just make up numbers that are valid.

There may even be an art to that, said Capt. Pete Blue of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. About two years ago, Blue was given a computer disc by a man who had been charged with selling fraudulent Social Security cards. Blue said the card was allegedly purchased “overseas,” but the owner wouldn’t say where.

“It (the program) looks like a roulette wheel spinning on the screen, then it generates random Social Security numbers. Every number I have had verified checks out and it belongs to a real person,” Blue said.

Several years ago, a brokerage house selling Social Security cards and other identification was discovered in Candor in Montgomery County and the operators were arrested.

Such places are all over the country, according to a report on the news program “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio. On the July 10 broadcast was a story of a family-run business operating out of Mexico that has provided high-quality fake identity documents to people entering the United States illegally for the past two decades. This company sold franchises to people in the U.S., providing them with the technical know-how and equipment to produce tens of thousands of fake documents.

Pending legislation

Ed McDonald, Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, who represents Randolph in the 6th District, said legislation is constantly being proposed, but none has reached the U.S. House floor so far.

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, has introduced H.R. 1078, which increases penalties for “stealing or selling” Social Security numbers. The bill was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 27 and Barton hopes to bring his bill to the full House in September.

The summary of the bill in the Congressional Record includes this information:

“The practice of stealing, selling and using Social Security numbers from juveniles began over 20 years ago in southern California and has spread throughout the country. Apparently, the SSNs are obtained through brokers, who are primarily Permanent Legal Residents. The ‘brokers’ physically monitor court house records of newborns, and obtain their birth registry issued SSNs from open public records, or from other Permanent Legal Residents/Naturalized Citizens who are employees of city and county government that have access to tax records.

“The reason this illegal practice has been relatively successful is that the IRS/SSA doesn’t note that one to five year old children shouldn’t be working, despite the SSA records that show the age of number holders. Also, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is not known for pursuing this line of investigation.”

In North Carolina, Social Security numbers are not on birth records nor are they ever recorded in Register of Deeds offices. The parents are given the paperwork at the hospital and the Social Security cards are sent directly to the home address.

How to report ID theft

According to the websites on identity theft, the use of your Social Security number by someone else to obtain credit, loans, telephone accounts, or other goods and services should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC collects complaints about identity theft from those whose identities have been stolen. Although the FTC does not have the authority to bring criminal cases, the FTC can help victims of identity theft by providing information to assist them in resolving the financial and other problems that can result from this crime.

The FTC puts your information into a secure consumer fraud database and may, in appropriate instances, share it with other law enforcement agencies and private entities, including any companies about which you may complain.

You can reach the FTC directly by calling toll-free at 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-433. The FTC can also be reached at its website at .

There are several websites with information on identity theft. Just type in “identity theft NC” for a list.

Somebody in Washington should get off their butts and take responsibility when these criminals steal SS numbers. They failed to secure the border, they should have to straighten out the mess.

This mother shouldn't be responsible for tracking this case through courts and making sure her daughter's number is cleared.

I tried to find contact info for this Galvin Industries in Cabarrus County but couldn't come up with anything.

I thought it was a felony to use a fraudulent SS#. Or does this only apply to us and not the invaders?

I was able to find a site with info about what to do WHEN somebody steals our numbers. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/cre ... ft.htm#How

I agree it should not be up to the victim of identity theft to clear their name it should be up to the government agency which failed to catch the identity fraud. Social Security should be held accountable for knowing that numbers are being used fraudulently and notifying law enforcement when they encounter it. This poor woman has to go through all of this because our laws are not enforced.

Alsobrook said there is no way to know how many children’s numbers are being used fraudulently. They may not find out for years when they turn 16 or 18 and apply for a job, driver’s license or college aid, only to find out they have a criminal record, have judgments against them and owe thousands of dollars — and it will be up to them to clear their names.

had_enuf and ismith,

This is one of my hot buttons. That Social Security won't tell the legitimate holder of a SSN that there's a change is unconscionable. A citizen can't even check their own number.

I'm no computer expert, so help me out, those of you who are...but wouldn't it be relatively easy to write a program to kick out a number for any change?

As far as the VICTIM having to correct this, and watch it for life...this is JUST PLAIN WRONG !!!!!

Pat:

I have a couple of friends who are true computer geeks, and the answer to you question is YES,

You can set any sort of "triggers" in a computer program. The IRS does it with income tax returns. One of my computer geek friends worked as a contractor for the IRS for two years. One of the things he did was set those "triggers" into the tax programs.

If certain things fall out of the statistical norm, the program alerts an agent to review the return.

It isn't rocket science. It's computer programming.

Thanks, CW,

I thought it SHOULD be easy to do.

So, rhetorical question, why doesn't our own gov't protect us, since it would be easy to do? The same program, IMO, could fire off a letter to the correct holder that there was a change, to check on it. Then the Social Security Administration should be able to, OH GOSH, GEE WHIZ, HELP the correct citizen.

Perhaps, because the gov't doesn't 'want to'?

Perhaps, because the gov't doesn't 'want to'?

NOW, you've got it!!

I've noticed a slight increase in deceased persons SS# being used by applicants. The report comes back as not valid because it belonged to a deceased card holder and even gives the date of death. So, it's more important to not use a dead person's SS# than to protect living U.S. citizens from having their numbers used fraudulently?

I know, it's important to most of us not to have any id used fraudulently but...what are they thinking?

I also checked my son's death certificate to see if anyone had used his name to get a social security number. I don't know how the other counties in other states do it, but here in Guilford County when he died, they stamp the word DECEASED across it so nobody can use it illegally.

Originally Posted by ruthiela

I also checked my son's death certificate to see if anyone had used his name to get a social security number. I don't know how the other counties in other states do it, but here in Guilford County when he died, they stamp the word DECEASED across it so nobody can use it illegally.

Ruthiela, I don't know if the Social Security Administration checks with country death certificates. You might take this one step further and check with the SSA.

It would make sense if they did, but it's always a good idea to double check.