[IP] Woman's ID Stolen by Dozens of Suspected Illegals
Begin forwarded message:
From: EEkid@xxxxxxx
Date: June 18, 2006 8:36:11 AM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Woman's ID Stolen by Dozens of Suspected Illegals
Woman's ID Stolen by Dozens of Suspected Illegals
Social Security Number Used, She Owed $1 Million in Taxes,
DUBLIN, California (June 17) - One woman's Social Security
identification number has been used by at least 81 people in 17
states. Though impossible to verify in every case, information
gleaned from criminal investigations, tax documents and other sources
suggest most of the users were probably illegal immigrants trying to
get work.
Audra Schmierer, a 33-year-old housewife in this affluent San
Francisco suburb, realized she had a problem in February 2005, when
she got a statement from the IRS saying she owed $15,813 in back
taxes - even though she had not worked since her son was born in
2000. Perhaps even more surprising, the taxes were due from jobs in
Texas.
Schmierer has since found that her Social Security number has been
used by people from Florida to Washington state, at construction
sites, fast-food restaurants and even major high-tech companies. Some
opened bank accounts using the number.
The federal government took years to discover the number was being
used illegally, but authorities took little action even then.
"They knew what was happening but wouldn't do anything," said
Schmierer. "One name, one number, why can't they just match it up?"
Her case is an example of an increasingly common problem: Many
thieves are able to steal personal information because employers do
not have to verify Social Security numbers or other documents
submitted by job seekers.
The situation has long drawn fire from anti-illegal immigration
groups, but Congress has only recently moved to fix it. Both the
Senate and House of Representatives have passed immigration-reform
bills that call for employers to verify Social Security numbers in a
national database.
Homeland Security officials have taken it a step further, calling on
Congress to allow the Social Security Administration to share
information with immigration-enforcement agents at work sites.
Under current law, if the Social Security Administration or the
Internal Revenue Service find multiple people using the same Social
Security number, the agencies send letters informing employers of
possible errors.
The IRS can fine employers $50 for each inaccurate number filed, a
punishment that companies often dismiss as just another cost of doing
business.
"Sending letters is the limit to what can be done," Social Security
spokesman Lowell Kepke said. "We expect that will be able to fix any
records that are incorrect."
The information on mismatched names is seldom shared with law
enforcement agencies.
When Schmierer called the IRS, she learned that numerous people were
using her Social Security number. Officials said the erroneous
balances would be eliminated, but the agency would have to correct
the problem again in future years.
"They told me they couldn't do anything else," Schmierer said.
IRS officials declined to talk about Schmierer's case, citing privacy
laws.
Schmierer has done a little investigating of her own, combing through
tax bills sent to her for names and locations of employers who hired
people using her number.
She has also obtained more than 200 W-2 and 1099 tax forms that
contained her Social Security number but different names. Schmierer
provided copies of the records to The Associated Press.
Most of the people who used her identification number worked multiple
jobs in the same year, though some remained at the same company for
several years. The top wage earner made $39,465, but most reported
income of less than $15,000.
Schmierer filed a police report after learning one man had used her
information in 2003 at janitorial and landscaping companies near
Haltom City, Texas.
Investigators found the man, who told officers he had bought a fake
Social Security card at a flea market, according to a police report.
He was not arrested.
Schmierer tracked down other people, finding that her number had been
used to get work but not to access her credit card or bank
accounts. What started as a hassle turned into a major headache
earlier this year when she sought work through a temporary agency
that learned her Social Security number had been used by a woman in
Texas two years earlier. The agency could not hire Schmierer for more
than a month while the situation was clarified.
"How do you prove that you are you?" Schmierer said. "It's like you
are guilty until proven innocent."
While returning from a trip to Mexico with her husband last year,
Schmierer was detained for four hours in a Dallas airport by
immigration officials. The reason: a woman using her Social Security
number was wanted for a felony.
Schmierer never determined how her number became so widely used.
Sellers of fake documents often make up numbers and use them repeatedly.
Schmierer's number became so compromised that Social Security
officials finally took a rare step used only in extreme cases: They
gave her a new one.
Schmierer hopes that will end her frustrations, but she suspects her
old number will continue to be misused.
"It's clear to me that because my number has been used for so long,
it's not going to stop," she said.
http://articles.news.aol.com/business/article.adp?
id=20060612142909990008
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