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Released: December 13, 2011

Firms caught up in identity theft offer little help to victims

Source: David Lazarus, L.A.Times (Free Registration)

Victims of identity theft will tell you: The shock of being defrauded isn't the worst part. What really stings is having to spend days or even weeks undoing all the damage. At the very least, you'd think businesses caught up in bogus transactions would be ready and willing to assist in bringing the ID thief to justice. But Blanca Elizabeth Cervantes, 43, of Manhattan Beach found herself on her own after a collection agency said she owed $671.58 for a DirecTV subscription she never ordered at an address she's never visited. "It was obvious that my identity had been stolen," Cervantes, a pharmacist, told me. "But when I notified DirecTV, they did nothing to help." It's a problem I've heard from numerous fraud victims. And as someone whose identity has been stolen twice, I can personally attest to the languid response many businesses give to situations like these.

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