Id Theft

Everyone is afraid of identity theft. It seems as if every couple of days there are new reports of Social Security numbers and other sensitive information stolen, lost or leaked. Just last week Countrywide Financial, which is now owned by Bank of America, said it would provide two years of free credit monitoring for customers whose confidential data were allegedly stolen by a former employee. But should you spend money to buy services that promise to protect you from identity theft?

U.S. regulators voted Friday for a policy that would require banks to notify customers in certain cases of identity theft -- a proposal that consumer activists called inadequate. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials said the proposal, which its board of directors approved, had nothing to do with recent disclosures of security breaches at information brokers ChoicePoint Inc. and LexisNexis, as well as at Bank of America Corp.

Data broker ChoicePoint Inc., the focus of a national furor over privacy, said Wednesday that it supported legislation that would allow people to see -- and correct, if necessary -- records the company kept on them.

After shoulder surgery last year, Lind Weaver was stunned when hospital bill collectors demanded that she pay for the amputation of her right foot. "Either you didn't do the surgery, or you did a really [shoddy] job of it," Weaver told them, sending along notarized photos of her toes, all still attached. "Either way, I'm not paying."

California residents have the ultimate weapon against identity theft -- but few know it. That may be changing, however, as a rash of security breaches putting personal information at risk has heightened public concern about privacy. The weapon is a little-known California law -- the only one of its kind in effect -- allowing residents to freeze access to their credit reports.

Federal officials raided six meatpacking plants across the country Tuesday in the culmination of a 10-month investigation triggered by allegations that illegal immigrants were using the stolen identities of U.S. citizens. The raids, all at plants operated by Swift & Co., resulted in arrests of workers on immigration violations and some existing criminal warrants, with charges of aggravated identity theft possible at a later date, officials said. The number of arrests was not immediately known.

Someone has stolen Ventura resident Melia "Georgie" Hahn's identity. She doesn't know who and she doesn't know how. But based on $1,200 in debts the thief racked up in her name, and reflected on her credit report, Hahn has a pretty good idea why. "All somebody needs is your name and Social Security number and they go shopping," said Hahn, a 45-year-old heavy equipment operator. "They are long gone before anyone finds out about it."

You didn't get just low prices at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, you also had a good chance of getting your credit card information and other personal data stolen. You can hardly live without credit and debit cards these days, but there are steps that can be taken to ward off the perils of identity theft, privacy experts say, even if caused by a giant information leak from some remote, windowless computer center. The stakes are high.

A West Los Angeles man serving in the Navy has been ordered to stand trial in Santa Monica Superior Court on charges of possessing and conspiring to sell 575 stolen blank military identification cards.

An Anaheim woman was arrested after she and her ex-husband allegedly stole more than 60 identification documents and used them to apply for credit cards during a three-year identity-theft scheme, police said Wednesday. Deborah Lee Redmond, 49, was being held at the Orange County Jail on suspicion of theft of identities and receiving stolen property. A $100,000 warrant was issued for the arrest of her former husband, Dennis Bruce Nickell, 54, of Anaheim.