Comments on: My Mom Stole My Identity

By: sarah

sarah — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:13:17 +0000

I am so glad i am not the only in this situation. My mother got a catalogue out in my name a few years ago now without my permission. I started to realise when i found a letter for an overdue payment in my name and people started ringing the house phone saying I have an outstanding bill.My mom said its probably just prank phone calls.

This year i moved into a house with my boyfriend which we are renting, I went to buy a knew settee on finance and I was refused, when I started questioning this my mom immediately said she would pay for the settte for me and I could pay her back each month (she had recently won some money) I was still confused so I checked my credit report and found out there were two catalogues out in my name. I immediately put two and two together. I confronted my mom who said she had recently paid off the outstanding debt so didn’t understand why I was so upset, she doesn’t realise that it is now too late the damge is already done and my credit score is terrible. I worked so hard for years and I thought my score would have been excellent.

People think I am being over the top when I say she has ruined my life but she has! I cant get a car, loan or even a small overdraft and i’m not even considering buying my own home because I know that can’t happen. People say maybe its a good thing and it will mean I will never have debt because I have to buy everything but im sorry I could never possible save to buy a nice car etc.

Does anyone know if I can get this off my name without getting my mom into trouble? Its somtimes gets me really down, my mom tinks everything is fine as I no longer mention it to her .

By: Marie

Marie — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:37:38 +0000

The same thing happened to me. My Mother used my identity when I first started working. She said that she needed money for her business. It is her main source of income to support my younger sister. So I agreed. So a few years after, I got married, got a house and then one day, I got a call from my Mom that she is not going to pay the credit cards anymore. I advised her to sell her business and just work outside, but she did not listen. Now I have to file for bankruptcy and in the verge of losing my house. I just found out too that she has some gambling problems, that she was using my credit cards to pay for it. Now she is doing the same thing to my Brother. My brother right now is afraid that he might not get approved with his student loan. The sad part is that she is still trying to contact me because she needed money. She already ruined my future and including my husband’s credit since we have joint accounts together. She put a strain on my relationship with my husband and now my Mom does not have anybody to turn to but my younger sister who takes all her verbal abuse! I want to have my sister move in with me, but what can I do? My hands are tied, I am on chapter 13 bankrutpcy with no spare money to hand out.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:04:42 +0000

I just found out that my brother stole my deceased Father’s indenty. When my Father died, my Mother gave my brother the house that my father built. Since that had been their address for many years, credit card offers kept coming to that house. My brother decided he would use this situation to his advantage, and he got credit cards in my Father’s name. If we turn him in, he will go to jail and they will lose the house since he took out a mortage on a Paid In Full home. There were 4 of us children, and 2 of us did not inherit anything. Since he was the only boy, he got the house. He has filed for bankruptcy twice, so he felt this was his last chance to afford his lifestyle. We don’t know what to do.

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By: Lorainne

Lorainne — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:05:21 +0000

My husband is under a very similar situation.. It all started back in 2000 when his mother convinced him to get a credit card for her by using his information and in time she took out six credit cards in total.. she was paying for the credit cards up until 2003.. we did not know about all of the other credit cards as she took them out without his consent.. recently we got his credit report; he wanted to check his credit as he had applied for a job that requires a credit check.. (he hasnt been called).. but we learned that he is in about eight thousand dollars in debt.. and to make matters worse his sister also used his SS# for a phone bill and her ex husband applied for credit from an address in which he was living back in 2000-2001!! They all claim they are innocent and that the cards have been paid off.. but the credit report shows other wise.. my husband is in a tough situation he has begun with the reporting of identity theft and had the alerts placed on his credit but now is debating whether to proceed with the police report.. his mother has shown no simpathy and it has really affected the both of us.. maybe someone can suggest something that can help me persuade my husband to do the right thing…

By: Lori

Lori — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:12:39 +0000

My sister works part time for a bank and took out credit cards in both my name and my brothers. I’m very hurt and like Jennifer, I feel like my sister died, like the person I knew no longer exists. I thought we were friends but things will never be the same, not for a long time. My sister took out $1000 in my name and $300 in my brothers. Luckily I caught it in time and my parents were able to pay it off for me. I don’t think it affected my credit. She kept telling me that it was a mix up at her bank the reason I kept getting the statements. I’ll never trust her again. I want nothing to do with her. She also has never explained to me why she did it. From what I could see she used the card to waste money, going out to eat and cash withdrawals. I don’t know what to do, how do get over the sadness.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:44:32 +0000

This is so heartbreaking to hear these stories. My future mother-in-law opened 17 credit card accounts in my fiances name…a total of 90 thousand dollars in debt she has accumulated, in his name, that is all credit card ID fraud by his own mother. We are working with the banks but it is a very long and tedious process to get the debt in her name alone. This will effect us for many many years. In the meantime, the companies have put a lien on our new home because of her….until things are resolved. I have to tell you, she has ruined her own son because of her self-centered and selfish ways. She has even come out to me and told she doesn’t care. They won’t take our phone calls…they hang up on us. The only time I ever wish to see this woman again is when she’s dead, so I see for myself she is indeed dead and out of our lives forever. I hate her!!! How can a mother do this to her own son? I can’t even compute how a mother can be so evil to her own child. She’s a piece of trash. This has put great strain on my relationship with my fiance…..I invested my son’s college fund in the house that now has a lien on it. I’m furious!! She’s a liar and THIEF…and she doesn’t care.

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:53:19 +0000

I have had a similar experience with my mother, as the OP had with hers. Lets start by saying my mother and I have the same name. Awesome right? When I was in college I started to get letters in the mail from collectors for verizon, and hospital bills and the local electric company. As the original poster loved her mother, I love mine. And will not bagger her. Although I should probably get to the bottom of this. Anyway, I had my mothers mortgage on MY credit report…So supposedly I owed payments on a home when I was 3? My parents got divorced around that time, and the courts decision was that whatever medical bills I had from that time until I was out of school, were the responsibility of my parents. My mom gets hospital bills and throws them out. Here I am now, paying the rest of a 1,345 dollar medical bill, thats what I know about, all I know is every month my credit score keeps getting lower and lower. I have my mothers phone, electric, mortgage, and my medical bills that they are resposible for. I cant even get approved for a $300 credit card. I pay all of my bills on time..it just totally sucks

By: AmbigAmumnTuh

AmbigAmumnTuh — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:38:18 +0000

Hi, cool site, good writing

By: Steph

Steph — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:18:09 +0000

-I just wanted to say that I am also in that exact situation. I left for Air Force Basic Training this past summer and during that time I had no credit cards or anything.
-During the time that I was at BT and Tech School I started receiving phone calls from collection agencies. I had no clue what they were talking about so I just told them they had the wrong person. Plus, I was in BT, why and how would I get these credit cards?!
-My mother flew down to my BT graduation and also made various flights everywhere else and also flew my step dad down with her. All under my account. Directly out of my checking account. She somehow got ahold of my information for my checking account and after all had been done, totals up to $8000.00. She had done this plenty of times to the other members of the family including my father, and her own mother, sister, and brother.
-No one in the family had ever brought this to the police because it was their daughter, wife, and sister. They just figured that it would get better.
-I filed a police report against my mother at the age of 19. I did not know what to do and she completely ruined my credit and financial history. I need that back. I get married this summer and I cant even get a house without using my fiance’s credit. I hate the situation but i needed to do it. I am waiting for court to get back to me on the outcome.

-And for the person who thinks that this is wrong to press charges. You need to put yourself in our position. It hurts like hell to have you know that you are trying to put your mother behind bars for money, but you try to live like that for the rest of your life. Cant get a house, car, credit cards, jobs let alone. It is not easy at all and people who use identity theft, they need to know they are committing a crime… a felony. So don’t judge and say that it was wrong.
Try to put yourself in our position.

By: Esther

Esther — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:38:15 +0000

It’s frustrating to read the comments blaming the victim for actually trying to fix their financial situation. We have a friend whose father caused her to be put into debt and legal problems, basically through fraud. She didn’t want to report him, even though they already had a horrible relationship. Now it is OVER TEN YEARS later and she and her family are still dealing with the results. It doesn’t “go away”. Would you say that someone should put up with being brutally beaten repeatedly by their parent just because “how could you report you parent”? That attitude existed in society for way too long, and thankfully most people now understand that an abusive situation needs to be reported. Well, this is financial abuse of a child and a criminal act as well.