http://www.statepress.com/issues/2006/09/06/news/697503

Students take back stolen lives
Illegal immigrants use Social Security numbers to find work

by Grayson Steinberg
published on Wednesday, September 6, 2006

John W. Fleming/Detroit Free Press/MCT

When applying for a loan two years ago, Liz Nguyen's record said she was employed at a restaurant where she never worked.

An illegal immigrant had allegedly fraudulently used her Social Security number to get a job there.

But Nguyen, an English junior, said this didn't bother her because her bank account was safe.

"None of my money was missing," she added.

Nguyen said the restaurant later went out of business and she never heard of any problems with her Social Security number after that.

Nguyen is not alone, said Ron DeBrigida, chief of the fraud and identity theft enforcement bureau at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. It's not unusual for an illegal immigrant to use a Social Security number fraudulently to get a job, he said.

He added, identity theft in Arizona is most often conducted by methamphetamine buyers and users that use victims' funds to finance their habits.

In 2005, Arizona had about 157 identity theft complaints per 100,000 people, the highest rate of any state, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Of 9,320 identity theft complaints in Arizona, 34 percent were employment-related fraud, 18 percent were credit card fraud and 14 percent were bank fraud, according to the FTC.

Illegal immigrants can't work in the U.S. without a valid Social Security number, so they recreate or purchase numbers, along with matching names, said Christine Connors, a document crimes detective for the Tempe Police Department.

"The only responsibility for the employers is to make sure the name belongs to the Social Security number," Connors said.

Workers using fraudulent Social Security numbers can harm the credit of unsuspecting victims, even children, De Brigida said.

"We've seen instances where a mother had young children she was taking care of on public assistance and [the state] denied her benefits because her 7-year-old son was making too much money at a construction job," he said.

Connors said it can take years for victims to find out what happened, especially if the person who took their Social Security number pays all their taxes.

Victims can tell whether identity theft has hit them if they check their credit reports for fraudulent activity, she said.

They can stop it by filing a police report and putting out a fraud alert on their Social Security number so nobody else can open a credit line in their name, Connors added.

Maricopa County has also cracked down on identity theft, DeBrigida said. County officials have created a new category for aggravated identity theft, for when victims lose $3,000 or more. They also imposed stronger penalties for buying, selling and trading Social Security numbers, he said.
English junior Michael Jorden said someone bought a $600 round-trip ticket from Paris to London on his credit card. Jorden spent two weeks recovering the money and had to cancel the card.

"I could have bought a refrigerator or something with that $600," he said.
Officer Bill Vanek, with the Tempe Police Department's Crime Prevention Unit, said taking protective measures is key to avoiding identity theft.

Such measures include receiving online statements instead of the paper variety for financial transactions, regularly checking credit with the major credit-reporting bureaus, shredding sensitive financial documents and refusing to give out personal information to unfamiliar institutions and people.

Jorden said he tears up receipts and shreds bank statements.

"It's a big hassle if someone steals your identity," he said. "It can really mess up your whole credit."

Justice studies and education senior Will Kofe said he tries to protect himself from identity theft by not writing personal information anywhere. He also avoids giving out his Social Security number over the phone unless it's absolutely necessary.

"You just have to try to limit giving [sensitive information] out to people you don't know," Kofe said.

Reach the reporter at: grayson.steinberg@asu.edu.