In December, my office was notified that the identity of one of the men I conserve was possibly stolen. It came in the form of a letter from the IRS informing him that someone else had reported income using his social security number. Just last week, I received a writ from an Illinois lawyer including my guy as a defendant in a lawsuit concerning property owned in that state. He doesn’t own property in Illinois. Heck, he doesn’t own property in Connecticut or any other state, for that matter. He resides in a group home. Wrong guy. Oops!
Yes, it appears his identity was truly stolen. A look at his credit report showed a lot of mortgages and loans in his name. Great. What a mess.
If you are a victim, the first step is to contact the police department where the suspected identity theft occurred, if you can pin it down. For example, if you know that someone applied for a loan in Manchester, Connecticut using your social security number, file a report with the Manchester Police Department. If you don’t know where the theft occurred, contact the police department in your town. There are several reasons you will not want to miss this step.
Contact one of the three major credit bureaus to request a fraud alert and to ask them to include a statement that creditors should get your permission before opening any new accounts in your name. Absent a police report, you can only request a 90-day alert. With a police report, you can request an extended fraud alert that lasts 7 years. You only have to notify one credit bureau as they are required to notify the other two on your behalf. They are: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.
Order your credit report from all three credit bureaus and examine it carefully. If there are creditors you don’t recognize, contact the creditor and the credit bureaus immediately. Note that you are entitled to a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once per year. Even if you don’t think you’ve been the victim of identity theft, you should check your credit reports often. To obtain your free credit reports, go here.
Contact you bank, utility companies, loan companies … anyone with whom you have a legitimate account. Let them know that your identity has been stolen so that all appropriate alerts may be placed on your accounts.
If you suspect that someone may be using your social security number, you should alert the IRS immediately. You don’t want to end up fighting a huge tax bill that doesn’t belong to you.
Contact the post office to determine if anyone has filed change of address forms in your name.
Report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Although they don’t get involved in consumer complaints of this nature, the information helps them to investigate fraud and can lead to legal action. They can be reached by calling 1-877 438-4338 or online here.
For information on how to safeguard your identity, go to the Department of Consumer Protection’s tip sheet here.
Most of all, be vigilant. Beware of e-mails asking for personally identifying information. Pay attention to your credit card statements. Don’t give out your passwords.
Wish me luck as I try to solve this nightmare for my conserved guy.
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Disclaimer: The information, comments and links posted on the blog do not constitute legal advice. I will not respond to any specific legal questions in the comments section of this blog. Read my entire disclaimer.
copyright 2012 Irene C. Olszewski
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Today, in protest to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) legislation now pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, major online sites such as Wikipedia’s English language site threatened to go dark in protest. It made good on the threat. Today, the page displays the following message:
With the election season in full swing, it’s anyone’s guess how things will progress. Meanwhile, the State of South Carolina has caused a ruckus with its newly enacted photo ID for voters law. Critics say that the law, which requires all voters to produce a photo ID prior to voting, has the potential to disproportionately keep black voters from exercising their right to vote. The two political parties are at strong odds over the new law, which is sparking racial tensions.
For those who missed it, the Connecticut Law Tribune’s annual Forecast issue was published on Monday. I was asked to contribute a piece for the publication on my 2012 predictions for LGBT legal issues. If you don’t already have your copy in paper form, you can view the article online.
t for those hallowed courthouses. I’ve had it with people in ripped jeans and dirty tee-shirts. I understand that not everyone can afford a suit and tie … I’d be happy if they just tucked in their darn tee-shirts! And ladies (I use the term quite loosely here) … this is not a street corner. ‘Nuf said. I’m expected to dress appropriately. I expect my clients to dress appropriately. Why isn’t everyone expected to dress appropriately?
eir doors, leaving the community without the goods and services they need. That must change. I’m thinking about one family-owned restaurant that shut its doors when the chain restaurants moved into town. In just a few years, something like 5 chain restaurants have occupied that same space. The mom and pop eatery had been around for more than 20 years. Do the math.
The Connecticut Judicial Branch recently announced that it is making all disclosable documents relating to court orders and notices in civil cases remotely accessible to the public through the Judicial Branch’s website.
Divorce lawyers shake their heads in dismay when self-represented parties come into our offices after a divorce is over and want us to fix something they messed up because they didn’t know how to handle the issue in the first place. In many cases, it’s simply too late. The issue can’t be fixed. There are some things you can do yourself but divorce (especially when children and property are involved) isn’t something you should gamble with. Even the best divorce lawyers hire a divorce lawyer when they are going through the process themselves. There’s a good reason for it. Divorce is emotional and a skilled objective third party will usually serve you better than your emotionally-charged self will serve you. It just happens to be true. For more information on divorce in Connecticut, visit my website’s divorce page 
Rather than file motions and attend numerous court hearings, everything is negotiated out of court in a series of meetings. When complex financial issues are at the core of the divorce, collaboratively trained neutral financial professionals and pension attorneys can be brought into the process. If there is difficulty formulating a mutually acceptable parenting plan, a collaboratively trained child specialist can be added to the team. When the divorcing couple is having communication issues that prevent them from coming up with reasonable and rational solutions, a collaboratively trained neutral coach may be used. The collaborative model is meant to be civil and respectful rather than adversarial (which is the hallmark of a litigated divorce). Each party can rely on the advice of his or her individual lawyer to guide him or her through the process. This model works best when both parties are reasonable people who are willing to fairly negotiate and try to find solutions that best serve themselves and their family. For more on the collaborative divorce model, I invite you to read a couple of my selected previous posts on the topic 
When there is a serious imbalance in power and control (real or perceived), the process may not yield the desired results. In the mediation model, the parties mutually retain the services of 
Whether we like it or not, we are all going to meet our demise one day. I’m not particularly looking forward to it, mind you — but I know that I have to think about it in practical terms because it will most certainly affect those I leave behind. The emotional component aside, when I my time comes, my loved ones will have to deal with the settlement of my estate. I don’t want that to be more difficult for them than it has to be. To that end, I should plan much better than I already have.
