plus $25 court costs and restitution. He paid his fine and his probation period is over. I called this bank, AFSCI, after his prosecution, which had initially refused to prosecute him and refused to take my name off of the account. I told them to take my name off the account, that he had been prosecuted and asked if they wanted the case number. I was told, "No, I do not want the case number and no, we will not take your name off of this account." About a year and half later, and after his employment at that agency, I was able to have my name removed from the account, but it had been passed onto another agency at that point and was not an easy task.

I suppose the point of my trying to get him prosecuted was so that I could prove the accounts were fraudulent and my credit reports could be cleared completely of these accounts. I have come to find that his prosecution has had little to do with the state of my credit reports. When A.J. Woodson filled out the credit applications, the only identification he needed was my name and social security number. The address, previous address, mother's maiden name, birth date, phone numbers, and place of employment were listed erroneously on the credit card applications, but he was still granted the credit. I thought that the banks would be liable since they did not verify this information, but verifying this information is optional by law, which relieves them of any responsibility.

I also had problems with all of the banks having these accounts removed from my credit reports, even after A.J. Woodson fully confessed in writing to all of the banks involved and all three credit reporting agencies that he took these accounts out without my consent or knowledge, that he wanted to take full responsibility for their balances, and he had no affiliation with me.

I have a low to moderate income. I do not know how far people in my income bracket pursue these cases. I had heard horror stories about people hiring an attorney to clean up a mess like this, but all they would end up with was a fat bill from an attorney who was not able to resolve a thing so that is why I pursued it myself. I ran into so many brick walls that I think most people would have given up long before now yet I continue to fight this losing battle. Every piece of personal data on my credit reports has been incorrect at one point or another since this began. Accounts that have been taken off later came back as "disputed". My birthrate, place of employment, address, previous address, spelling of my name and my social security number have been incorrect on them at one time or another. I have documented nearly every phone call and every correspondence made throughout this ordeal and resented it every step of the way, not to mention the emotional turmoil it has caused

me.

This has been going on for four and a half years and my files are now divided into years. Since the Fair Credit Reporting Act was amended in September 1997, I have had two credit reports come back entirely clean and one report come back with one mistake. I have not double-checked to see if these reports are still clean, but in the past whenever 30 days had passed, a bunch of fraudulent data would return which I did not understand. I probably have around 30 copies of incorrect credit reports. I was finally told that the banks send tapes to the credit reporting agencies every 30 days so the reason why incorrect data kept popping back up on my credit reports was because one or more of the banks had not entirely remove my name from their databases. When I asked the credit reporting agency which bank/s the false information was coming from, they could not tell me. They also told me that there was information on my credit report that showed up on their computer, like "ghost accounts", which would not show up on my copy of the credit report.

In addition, I have had to deal with the type of personality that would steal

someone's identity. According to one of the collection agencies, A.J. Woodson had credit reports under five separate names, which he had ruined. And the reason it took so long to prosecute him was because when the Springfield Police Department contacted him about the forgery, he told them that he had a sister named Celene Cross with a social security number different by one number than mine and that he had signed the check in good faith. He sent notarized letters to the banks stating that the reason Celene Cross had to be contacted through him was because her ex-husband (whose name changed a couple of times) was stalking her. After about six months of this run-around, a Detective from the Springfield Police Department and the Postal Inspector from Springfield caught him at work and told him he was going to have to produce his sister.

A few days later A.J. Woodson, who cooperated with the police throughout this ordeal, went into the police station and told them the "real" story. He told them he met a stripper who called herself "Sherry " at a bowling alley who sold him the use her name and social security number to take out credit since he had ruined his with a Sears credit card for $500 to $2,000, depending on who you talk to.

Apparently, the description he gave them was close to mine. When I talked to the Postal Inspector he said to me, "Look lady, we only to have time to pursue those cases we think are worth prosecuting and if he convinces the right people that he's telling the truth, YOU'RE going to have to submit to a polygraph." Woodson later wrote a letter to me stating a friend gave him my name and social security number.

The only types of credit card applications I receive in the mail now are secured credit which state, "regardless of your past credit history" on them. His address with my name on it is now part of God only knows how many mailing lists which are sold to God only knows who. For example, on September 15, 1998 I had a $2,500 live loan check thumbtacked to my bulletin board which I was thinking about cashing since I had wanted to expand my business, but had no credit with which to do so. As I looked more closely at the check, which was dated June 1998, it had A.J. Woodson's (wrong) address on it.

For a while I tried applying for credit every six months and would get denied for obviously bogus reasons such as "length of residence too short". Even after I accepted my credit was bad and realized I was going to have to reestablish it even though I did not ruin it to begin with; I tried to get a credit card using my dad as a cosigner. I then learned that credit card companies won't do that unless you're a college student. I have quit applying for credit. When Andrew Wilder was making travel arrangements for me to come and testify, he asked me if I had a credit card to pay for my food and lodging and told me that I would be reimbursed. I told him I had bad credit reports so, therefore, I did not have a credit card.

I recently purchased a business to expand my own which I would have done sooner, but I had to resort to borrowing money from my mother and am fortunate that my family has the resources to help me. I also recently purchased a house, which I also would have done sooner for which my father is co-signing the loan. It effects my business because I have to make orders COD.

I strongly advise against a national identification card. It appears that one with good credit is at risk for someone stealing his or her identity the way it is. There are so many databases, which exist all ready that you never know in whose hands your social security number will fall. It seems to me to have a picture, name and social security number on an ID card just makes it more easily accessible, like those which are used at Western Illinois University. I cringe whenever a student comes into

my store with their social security number on their check and advise them never to do that again. A.J. Woodson used my identification in ATM machines and over the phone. He is a black man and I am a white woman. I was a single new mother of a nine-month-old daughter running my own business when this came to my attention. It has consumed and continues to consume a tremendous amount of energy that I have not and do not have to expend. It has stunted my ability to establish independence. My daughter is now three-and-a-half years old.

On September 15, 1998 I called the bank which sent me the live loan check for $2,500 dated June 1998 to ask them where they had gotten the address on the check which was Woodson's. They told me they purchase so many mailing lists there was no was they could track down that information. I went to the post office to change my address from his to mine again, which I do about every six months, and realized this could go on indefinitely.

Mr. MCINTOSH. Thank you.

What I will do is ask each of the witnesses to give their testimony, and then I would like to explore even more, some of the problems you have had. That is just incredible. And it sounds like you ran into brick wall after brick wall both from the private sector and the Government.

Our next witness is Mr. Marvin Young, who traveled here from Oakland, CA. Thank you, Mr. Young.

Mr. YOUNG. Hi, how are you?

Mr. MCINTOSH. Good, thank you. Share with us a summary of your testimony. As I said, your written remarks will be put in the record in their entirety. But what happened in your case with the identify theft?

Mr. YOUNG. I am originally from Mississippi, and in Mississippi they put your Social Security number and date of birth on your driver's license. I don't know if they still do, but back then they did.

In 1989, I moved to Oakland, CA, where I live now. I moved in with a roommate who promised to help me find a job. I didn't have a job when I moved out. And that sounded really good, that he was going to help me find a job. So, he wanted some of my personal information, and I refused to give it to him because I really didn't know him that well at the time. But I did show him my Mississippi driver's license and from that he took my information off my Mississippi driver's license. He sent back to Mississippi and requested a copy of my birth certificate, and they actually sent it to him. And from that, my life has been really a living hell.

He opened up over 40 different accounts in my name. I have had warrants out for my arrest. I work for a bank called Bank of America back in Oakland. And it was really hard getting a job because they didn't believe I was the person I said I was. But when I got home one day, I received a certified letter from Sacramento, CA, saying I had a warrant out for my arrest for check fraud.

I did not even have a checking account myself. So what he did, he had actually taken my name and my Social Security number and date of birth and he rigged up some kind of fake driver's license where he was able to get a checking account in my name. He wrote over 150 checks, ranging from $5,000 up to $10,000. He opened up different businesses in my name in Oakland, CA. He went to Atlanta. He opened up businesses in Pensacola, FL. He had a condo there in my name. He bought a car in my name. And this goes on and on and on.

I bought a house in 1994, and I sold the house just recently and tried to buy another house. And I cannot even buy another house because they will not even give me credit. Back in 1993, I applied for a job at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, and it was really hard getting the job. I got the job. I worked there for 32 years. But they just took me through hell wanting to know who I was and all this.

And the only way I got the job is that the last job I had, working at the Bank of America, the manager had to write a letter saying this is really Marvin Young and, you know, I had to answer so many questions it was just so hard.

And even to this day, you know, applying for different credit cards and wanting different things, never been late making a pay

ment on anything, is just so hard. And I just hate to see this happen to anybody else because it is really not fun.

A month ago, I was on my way to work. I work for a company now called Tiffany & Co. And I was pulled over for speeding. The highway patrolman did a check on my California driver's license and she came back to the car and said, “I am sorry but I have to take you in." And I said, "Why? I was only speeding." And she said, "Well you have a warrant in Pensacola, FL, you have an outstanding driver's license back here and this is not going to work." I had on a suit and my tie and everything and I said, "Could you please call my job and let them know that I am here and you are ready to take me in?" And she said, sure. So she called and they verified that it was really me and the car that I was driving and my license plate. So she warned me and told me I should really get this thing back in Pensacola, FL, cleared up.

And even where I live now, I have gotten letters from my landlord saying that, you know, I might have to move because they did extra background checks on me and things just do not look good right now. So, it is just really hard.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Young follows:]