The problems encountered by someone whose identity has been stolen by a criminal who then commits crimes in the name of the identity theft victim are tremendous.  For Wesley Taylor, his problems began in 2008 when his wallet was stolen thereby providing the thief with the information necessary to also steal Taylor’s identity.  The thief, Timothy Ware committed crimes including murder using the name and Social Security number of Taylor and although Taylor has no criminal history, his records show otherwise and while he has successfully had some of those false convictions removed from his record, others remain.   Taylor has been falsely arrested and denied bail merely because crimes were committed by someone using his name.  Now he is suing the City of Indianapolis in an effort to clear his name.

TIPS

If you find that you are a victim of criminal identity theft, you should hire  lawyer and contact the police and the District Attorney’s office to straighten out the matter.  File a report indicating that you are the victim of identity theft.  It will be necessary for you to confirm your true identity through photographs and fingerprints. In addition, show law enforcement authorities your driver’s license, passport or any other identification that you might have that contains your photograph.

Get a letter from the District Attorney explaining the situation to have available if you are ever stopped for a traffic violation and your record is checked.  A few states have Identity Theft Passport programs through which anyone whose identity has been stolen by someone who uses it to commit crimes can, upon proving their identity, receive an Identity Theft Passport that protects them and confirms their true identity .  Even if your state does not have an Identity Theft Passport program, get a letter from the law enforcement agency that arrested the person using your name known as a “clearance letter” which indicates that you have not committed the crimes which were done by the identity thief who used your name.  Keep this document with you at all times.