WINK news anchor Cayle Thompson says he “learned the hard way” that nobody is safe from identity theft. “We don’t know yet how my identity was stolen, and we don’t know who did it,” he said, revealing that someone tried to take out at least two loans in his name. It was the beginning of a months-long saga that has yet to end:
My producers allowed me to take the rest of the day off. Phone calls had to be made, letters drafted, and emails sent. I called my bank and mortgage company. I called the three credit reporting agencies and requested a free fraud alert on my accounts. I spoke with a woman at the Federal Trade Commission and filled out an FTC Identity Theft Affidavit. I went to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and made a full report. I visited the Social Security Administration office on Colonial Boulevard.
Thompson says he was alerted to the theft by his human resources manager at WINK, who received paperwork indicating an unemployment claim filed in Thompson’s name. “My hackles went up because I knew it was fraud,” Karen Seiferth said in a story Thompson reported on his experience.