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Sandra Yi ReportingFemale Victim: "I look like the perpetrator to the other victim, when in actuality, I'm actually another victim caught in this chain."
Her identity was stolen, but she was made to look like the thief. This woman didn't even know she was tangled in a fraud scheme. Monday night at 10:00, we told you about another identity theft victim. Someone stole his account number and used it to forge checks. A West Jordan woman saw our story and found out she was involved in the whole thing.
That woman saw part of her name on a forged check we showed in our story last night. Turns out she had no idea she was a victim. Police say that's true in most cases.
Male Victim: "I've been doing business for 25 years, and nothing like this has ever happened."
Writing a check cost this man his privacy. Someone stole his account information and forged two checks for thousands of dollars. The checks were made out to a woman in West Jordan. They listed her full name and address.
Female Victim: "The minute I saw just the glance of my name on there, I felt even further violated. This fellow out there thinks that I'm the perpetrator of the crime, when actually I'm a victim myself and trying to clean up my own mess."
Her purse was stolen six months ago. She closed all her accounts, but just recently someone was able to use her information to open a bank account. That tied her to the other victim's fraud case.
Female Victim: "We're just finding out from there, that this is becoming a much bigger incident and crime than I ever imagined."
The two victims have become tangled in the scheme. Police say that's typical because identity thieves often sell someone's information for money.
Det. Dwayne Baird, Salt Lake City Police Dept.: “This kind of information is often used on a networking type situation where people pass this information around.”
This woman knows there are other victims out there because the bank has returned stolen checks that are in her name. She's still trying to sort it all out.
Female Victim: "ID theft now is so prevalent. You have to be cautious no matter where you are, or who you are."
Salt Lake City Police are investigating the case. They say our best defense against identity theft is education.
