CAPE CORAL, Fla. A disabled Cape Coral woman recently became a victim of identity theft for the second time.
Someone filled out a loan application in her name with Easy Pay Finance, a California-based financing company. The application included much of her personal information, including her Social Security number, which George says she never gave out.
“It’s very frustrating. I am so careful,” George said. “My friends said they couldn’t believe that I got scammed again because I shred things, I don’t give out my Social Security number, I don’t give out that information.”
George’s full name was on the application, but some of the information was off. Her birthday is August 4, or 8-4, but the application had it as April 8, or 4-8. It also incorrectly stated that she owned a company in Louisiana.
Easy Pay had already run a credit check on George before they called, but they terminated the application once they realized she wasn’t the one who filled it out.
But George is surprised it even got to that point. She said she filed for a seven-year fraud alert with credit companies in 2013 after someone filed taxes in her name.
“I don’t know how they keep getting my information,” she said.
George receives Social Security disability benefits because of a debilitating back condition. Finances are tight, she said.
“If they would have gotten into my banking with all the information they had, I wouldn’t be able to afford to live,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to afford to eat.”
The Cape Coral Police Department, the IRS, the Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security Administration have all been alerted to the case.