ID theft victims feel burned by state’s ‘hotline’

Thursday, June 28, 2007 | 7:21 a.m.

The call is free, an 877 number.

A cheery female voice lets you know that the state's program to help clear your name if you've been a victim of identity theft "is being updated and should begin ..." - drum roll, please - "June 1." July 4 is right around the bend, folks.

But in case you're dismayed by the apparent disconnect at the Nevada Attorney General's Identity Theft Passport program, the voice reassures: "This recording will be updated on a regular basis."

Not one to be deterred, and a bit desperate after somebody apparently used her credit cards on a gambling Web site this year, Las Vegan Jennifer Perizzolo called (877) 213-5227 for help last month. Seven times. No one answered. She left messages. She never got a call back.

The phone number, which calls itself a "hotline" and still had the same announcement on its answering machine Wednesday afternoon, is advertised on the attorney general's Web site.

Perizzolo got it from a brochure on the program that Metro Police gave her. The idea is that the attorney general, working with law enforcement, gives you a card, showing who you are and that you've been a victim of identity theft.

She is not alone in needing the help, because Nevada is second in the nation, behind only Arizona, in identity theft crimes, with 120 cases for every 100,000 residents.

Perizzolo was one of a group of readers who called the Sun after a story Tuesday revealed that the program had not helped a single person of the 300 who had applied since it began in January 2006. State officials said this week the problem was a lack of funding.

Keith Munro, chief of staff at the attorney general's office, said Wednesday that up to 40 of the 300 people who have applied to the program would soon get letters saying their applications have been processed.

The cards themselves, however, would still take some time - because the printer is broken. Munro said he hoped the printer would be fixed soon, and added that he aims to have work on all 300 applications completed by the end of July.

When told about the 877 snafu, he said, "I'm not familiar with this message , but I'm going to get on top of it." Later Wednesday, Munro called back to say a new message had been taped.

The hotline's problems suggest that hundreds more - including many who hang up on hearing a month-old message - perhaps were left in the lurch during the past 18 months. Munro, though, said staff told him most messages to the number had been returned.

Liz Jeckewicz of Las Vegas may be among the newest members of the waiting-for-a-call-back club.

She had been trying since December to help her son clear up an apparent case of identity theft. She said Metro's Northwest area command prepared a crime report, but told her that nothing could be done because the crime was committed in 2001, though it wasn't noticed until 2006.

No one in Metro told her about the state program. A Metro official did not return calls Wednesday.

When Jeckewicz read Tuesday's story, she called the toll-free number with renewed hope.

She wound up leaving a message. "I felt like it was useless to talk to a machine," the 72-year-old said.

Undaunted, she got the Las Vegas number for the attorney general. A woman answered the phone. And how did she try to help Jeckewicz?

"She gave me the 877 number."