By Jamie Karras

LOGAN -- Involuntary Repossession. Those are the words that haunt Bryan Williams' credit report. Words he didn't put there, words he didn't know about. The amount? $22,000.

"I walked around very smug thinking my credit was perfect," said Williams, a Logan resident of 26 years.

It wasn't until he attempted to refinance his home earlier this year that the mortgage company told him that he had a problem with his credit, which startled Williams.

Flustered, Williams immediately pulled a copy of his credit report through Equifax, one of the top three credit reporting companies in the nation. It revealed that in November 2000, someone opened an account and bought $22,000 worth of goods -- which Williams assumes was a car -- in Memphis, Tenn. It was repossessed in February 2001.

"Tennessee is one of the few states I have never been to in my entire life," Williams said.

Williams' credit report also showed differences in his home address, date of birth, and place of employment. Williams has lived in the same house for 26 years, and worked for the federal government for 38 years. He found a phone number listed for the express purpose of disputing information listed on the credit report and made the call. Equifax said it would get back to him within 30 days.

Stolen Social Security cards can be used to obtain credit cards and open bank accounts. A thief can then make purchases and apply for credit in the victim's name, according to the Associated Press. The Utah Identity Theft Task Force said cases of identity fraud in Utah soared to 527 in 2002 from just 32 six years earlier.

Thirty days came and went with no response from Equifax.

"They have never once came to me and asked me if I had proof," said Williams. "[They provide] no avenue to submit it."

Williams has letters from the federal government confirming his employment for the last 38 years, and he has tax documents stating that he has lived in the same house in Logan for 26 years. Williams says Equifax doesn't seem to be interested.

In doing an on-line people search, Williams came up with a list of 265 Bryan Williamses who live in the Memphis, Tenn. area. However, he said there wasn't one that resides at the address listed on his credit report.

"If I had enough money I could do an investigation on all these guys," Williams said. "But it's $10 for this, and $10 for that.

Williams says the only recourse he has right now is to either wait seven years for the incident to get erased from his record, or, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), he has the right to submit a 100-word rebuttal. This explanation will be attached to his credit file.

"[There are] no laws to protect the consumer," Williams said. "The laws protect the banks and the credit reporting people."

According to CBSnews.com, every 79 seconds someone's identity is stolen, a new account is opened in the victim's name and the thief goes shopping. Identity theft can happen to anyone.

Williams said he has shredded every document that has come into his house with his name and address on it for seven years now, and it still happened to him.

"You don't have to be a person who shops on-line for this to happen to you," Williams said.

People don't realize how much information a person can access with just a Social Security number. It's not something that should be tossed around casually.

If Equifax's investigation produces nothing, Williams plans to file a police report and write a letter to the state attorney general's office. But Williams said even then it doesn't ensure that action will be taken.

Police often pass off cases of identity theft that do not originate or create victims in their jurisdiction because the investigations can be expensive and catch only misdemeanor offenders, according to an article in the Herald
Journal.

"If they just clear the report and they don't satisfy me with how it happened, then I will still pursue this guy," said Williams. "He's out there with my Social Security number.

Credit card numbers get stolen all the time, but those cases are pursued heavily because it is money out of the credit card company's own pocket, said Williams. It might take the identity of a prestigious figure to get stolen for the consequences to become bigger.

To fight identity fraud, Utah authorities are recommending harsher sanctions and a new crime of possessing another's identification, according to an Associated Press article.

Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the Unites States.

"Why aren't there laws to vigorously pursue these people?" asked Williams.

According to the Federal Trade Commission and a non-profit group called the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, to reduce the risk of becoming victimized by identity thieves consider the following: check your credit report once or twice a year, use your Social Security number sparingly and do not carry it in your wallet or purse, destroy credit card receipts, and close out unused or little-used credit card accounts.

Williams said that there is a sick feeling involved when your identity is stolen; similar to when someone breaks into your home when you're away.

"I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy," said Williams.

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