One of the little discussed, but very serious aspects of identity theft occurs when your identity is stolen by someone who then commits a crime using your name.   A recent incident involving Raquel Clark of Wichita, Kansas illustrates this problem.   Ms. Clark was arrested and spent four days in jail recently for crimes committed by a woman who stole Clark’s identity, created phony IDs and used those IDs when she was picked up on criminal charges in the past.  Once authorities were able to confirm that Raquel Clark was not the woman whom both Kansas and Texas law enforcement were seeking, she was released, but not until four days had gone by.

TIPS

If you find that someone has committed crimes with your stolen identity, clear the matter up as quickly as possible with the District Attorney and then get a letter from the DA that you can carry with you at all times so that if you are stopped by a law enforcement officer, such as for a simple automobile violation, you will be able to show that you are not a criminal although such information may still, in some instances, come back to appear on your record.  You can find more detailed information about criminal identity theft in my book “50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age.”