> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Woman’s stolen identity taken on shopping spree - URL: https://www.smdp.com/womans-stolen-identity-taken-on-shopping-spree/ - Published: 2003-02-11T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T01:32:06.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Business, Pacific Palisades, #archive-import *Similar accounts of identity theft are on the rise in L.A. County* A Pacific Palisades woman had planned to do a significant amount of shopping this past holiday season, but she never counted on an extra $10,000 of her money being spent from here to Seattle. The woman, who asked to only be identified as “Jessica,” learned that her identity had been stolen the day before Thanksgiving. For more than a month, Jessica watched counterfeit checks with the number from a joint account she shared with her husband come in from stores she hadn’t shopped at. There were hundreds of dollars in charges from Nordstrom’s and Macy’s department stores, Ralph’s grocery stores, Sears, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Ross’ Dress for Less and J.C. Penny’s. The last fraudulent check was rejected on Dec. 30\. All total, someone had spent more than $10,000 on Jessica’s account. “Somebody called me from Bank of America’s fraud department and said, ‘Jessica you did so much shopping today,’” the Indonesian-born woman explained from her Palisades home last month. Jessica and her husband have been customers of Bank of America since 1983\. A joint checking account they share is used specifically to pay bills like the utilities and the mortgage on their home that overlooks the Riviera Golf Course. The bank informed her on Nov. 26 that someone had been using the checking account for something other than paying bills. The person used checks that had her husband’s name removed, the wrong sequence of check numbers, a fake phone number and driver’s license number, and a counterfeit bank logo on the check. But what remained on the checks was the correct account number and Jessica’s full name. “Our home and office had not been burglarized and we didn’t lose any checks so I don’t know where they got all the counterfeit checks,” she said. “I was really naive and didn’t know what happened.” Jessica soon realized she was a victim of identity theft. She immediately closed the joint checking account, filed a police report and got a lawyer. But that was just the beginning of her nightmare. Collection agencies began calling and writing nasty letters demanding that Jessica pay the unresolved bills. She called the department stores, who told her it wasn’t their problem and she had to deal directly with the collection agencies. Jessica was instructed by the West Los Angeles police department’s financial crime division to have a fraud alert issued so it would be on file with credit agencies that she is a victim of identity theft. She also was instructed to check her credit report every 30 days to see if other fraudulent activity had been recorded. By filing a police report, Jessica was able to get a signed and notarized affidavit stating she was a victim of identity theft to use as protection against the collection agencies. But one collection agency, Florida-based Daniel Trust who was collecting on behalf of Nordstrom’s, wouldn’t accept Jessica’s identity theft story. As she had tried to explain to the department store and the collection agency previously, Jessica wasn’t responsible for the charges. Jessica had been a regular customer of Nordstrom’s for years and was worried about her standing in their credit department. Jessica received a strongly-worded letter on Jan. 2 from Daniel Trust that read in part, “To be blunt, it’s not a disgrace to owe a delinquent debt, it only becomes a disgrace when you fail to address it and continue to do nothing about it.” Jessica had to spend several hours on the phone and filing paperwork to make sure her name was cleared at Nordstrom’s. A few days later, Jessica received a phone call from Nordstrom’s headquarters by a customer relations manager who apologized for the treatment she received. As police suggested, Jessica is keeping meticulous records of all correspondence relating to the crime. But she wonders when the nightmare will end and whether the person who stole her identity will keep using her information fraudulently. “For me, I thought I had lost my mind,” she said. “The scare of when it will be finished is on my mind always. “You feel someone is watching you all the time,” Jessica added. “You are afraid of everything... it’s like somebody is sleeping in your bed.” Jessica is not alone, she is the victim of a fast-growing crime that has topped the government’s list of consumer frauds for three years in a row. The Federal Trade Commission reports that 43 percent of roughly 380,000 complaints involved the hijacking of someone’s identity information last year. (See related story, page 9.) Regina James, a manager at Bank of America’s check fraud claim center in downtown Los Angeles, said counterfeit checks are common in identity theft cases. “Your account number is on every check you’ve ever written,” she said. “There is a lot of sophistication out there that people know about to change the checks.” Banks don’t always contact the customer if counterfeit checks are processed but the fraud department routinely checks a certain percentage of accounts every day looking for fraudulent activity. Some accounts may be flagged by the system if checks are paid but the bar codes show a different number on the check, James said. She suggests that people check their statements each month for unusual activity and check their credit reports routinely. Santa Monica Police Lt. Frank Fabrega said cases of identity theft are on the rise throughout Los Angeles County. “More and more people are using the Internet and buying online and not being as careful as they should be,” he said, adding would-be thieves have several ways of getting a hold of personal information about a person. “Even the junk mail has information that the suspects can use, especially credit card offers.” Fabrega suggests that any information about a person’s life should be destroyed before it hits the garbage can. “Every household should have a shredder,” he said. For Jessica, who composts all of her trash in her backyard, she will always be looking over her shoulder. “Be very careful about where you put your credit card and your ID,” she said. “The scum is everywhere.” > “Be very careful about where you put your credit card and your ID. The scum is everywhere.” — — JESSICA Identity theft victim *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 11, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021103.pdf?ref=smdp.com)