Please Tell Me How This Happen???

As an identity theft victim I give you this advice in addition to the bank account advice. You and fil need to fill out police reports of theft of the items. The dl and the checks. If you do not you will be on the hook for whatever this woman does and she can so some major damage. You will have to sign a separate paper for each check she has forged with your bank and make sure you send copies to the pd for your file. she Call the credit reporting agencies and follow the recorded instructions for id theft and the 90the day fraud alert. You also have to notify the treasury department. They don't do anything but send you a packet but it is or was a requirement. And every item that comes up file charges. Also for your f I l if he is a senior get help from the local senior center to further protect him

you have received good advice....also contact your local district attorney's office and ask for ID theft/fraud ...many have divisions for it now and this woman could be doing it to others.....best of luck to you!

You've gotten some good advice already but to answer "how does this happen?" A friend of mine had a similar situation, she had to get an attorney and it took months to straighten it all out. She paid by check at a store (a major chain discount store), the cashier made a copy of her check. It had her name, address the routing and bank account numbers. It also had her drivers license number since they sometimes write that on the check when you pay. Also had her signature. This person went and got a drivers license under my friends name (but changed the address so it was sent to her & had her picture on it) and then had checks made that had my friends name, and bank routing numbers. Then they went to stores and used the checks to purchase Visa & American Express gift cards in amounts up to $500 each. The fraud detective told her that these people then use those give cards in exhange for drugs. It's a sly way for them to get cash equivalent because they can't just get a debit card for the other persons account. The detective was the person who said it was probably the cashier at a place where she had written a check. This is so scary to me - you can't even write a check for groceries without worrying about it. Now I only use checks to pay bills, shopping is done with plastic or cash.

Jennie S gave you some great advice, and you also need to report this to all three of the credit bureaus. You need to let the banks know and freeze the account. Change account numbers. Notify DMV and get them to cooperate and see if they'll change your husband's DL to a new number. That may mean changing things over on all of your banking accounts and mortgage and other important documents. Notify the social security office in case she managed to get a hold of social security numbers.

Information is so public nowadays it is crazy. There was a time when SS#'s were never given out and identity theft was unheard of. Now lots of people have their personal numbers printed on their checks. Any person who received a check to pay for a service like lawn mowing or a bill like the Electric has that information at their fingertips. It is easy to get it.

I feel bad for your family. A long time ago "friend", she was barely an acquaintance but told everyone we were best friends, had a husband who was near death. She took his check book one year before Christmas and bought herself thousands of dollars worth of stuff plus Christmas for everyone.

She signed the name on the check as Mrs. XXXX, if she was asked for an ID she told them she didn't have it with her and most of them just went ahead since it was Christmas She bought TV's, clothes, all sorts of things that she had been wanting for a long time The account had been empty for a long time, their money was in a joint account in a different bank.

When the checks all started bouncing and they got notices in the mail she acted like she had not written the checks, basically she committed identity theft and fraud. She did not get caught!

He passed away and since she had NEVER even been a signer on the account they could not hold her responsible. She had a whole house full of new items and got away with it.

You need to close the checking account. Also, your husband needs to probably sign an affidavit and anyone else who is on the account stating no knowledge of this crime. He will probably also need to get a new Drivers License number.