Porter knows first-hand problem of identity theft

Suzanne Struglinski

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2004 | 11:14 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., opened his credit card statement last year and found thousands of dollars in charges for merchandise he knew he did not buy.

He called his credit card company, which flagged the account and told him he would not have to pay for the purchases he did not make.

The company also advised him of several ways thieves can get hold of anyone's credit card number, from receipts or other documents in the garbage that had his number on it.

Whoever had his account number bought clothes and stereo equipment all over the country in states Porter had not visited. Porter had other problems during the last 10 years including two other instances of his credit card account being used and two cases of his cell phone number being cloned for unauthorized use.

The previous credit card charges included thousands of dollars in calls made from airplane telephones and other merchandise purchases.

"They had a good time," said Porter, who now uses a paper shredder to destroy anything with an account number on it.

Phone numbers appeared on his cell phone bill for area codes he did not recognize. He filed police reports on the cell phone problems, but did nothing beyond calling his credit card companies on the charges.

"There are steps I didn't know to take," Porter said, who now tries to use his first-hand knowledge of the problem to help Nevada residents.

"My life has been very public for the last 20 years," Porter said. "But we get calls constantly from constituents on this."

Nevada ranked second in the nation for identity theft victim complaints filed last year, according to the most current statistics available from the Federal Trade Commission.

Las Vegas residents filed 1,727 identity theft complaints in 2003 out of the 2,541 total complaints submitted from Nevada consumers. Henderson residents filed 270 complaints. The ranking is based on victims per 100,000 population.

"The number is probably three, four, five times that," said Porter, noting that the official tally includes only complaints filed with the FTC.

Porter is one of the many who was victimized but did not file a federal complaint, but he now has information on his congressional website and in his office on what people can do if their identities are stolen.

Credit card fraud tops the list of identity theft in the state, with phone or utility fraud, and bank fraud in the top five and 192 people have filed complaints on attempted identity theft.

Porter wants to use his unfortunate experience to promote National Consumer Protection Week, which runs through Saturday. Now in its sixth year, the FTC, the Federal Citizen Information Center, the Federal Communications Commission and several other government and nonprofit groups use the week to promote better money money management and raise awareness of identity theft.

He also plans to have town hall meetings in Las Vegas and Henderson on identity theft this year with local law enforcement and other groups that can help.

"I want an opportunity for people in the valley to come in and talk to the experts," Porter said.

Porter will never know who used his number or how the person got a hold of it, but he encourages people to examine their credit card and cell phone bill to make sure they are only paying for things they have purchased or used.

If they do see charges they did not make, they should not only call their card company, but also credit bureaus. And they should file formal complaints with police and the FTC.

President Bush signed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 into law in December that aimes to help stop identity theft.