While many identity theft cases have been reported on this website during the past year, there are a few stories that rise above the others in terms of uniqueness and how they impacted the ongoing debate on how to combat identity theft. Here are five interesting identity theft stories from 2009:

• May 2009: As if finding work in tough economic times wasn’t already hard enough, this story from WHAS-TV Channel 11 in Louisville, Kentucky showed how a jobseeker named Michael Anderson discovered first-hand how identity theft can turn the dream of landing a job into a nightmare. Unfortunately for Anderson, another man with the same name, date of birth, and social security number kept showing up when potential employers ran pre-employment criminal background checks – and this OTHER Michael Anderson had an extensive criminal record that included indecent behavior with a juvenile and assault. As a result, no one would hire him.
• July 2009: In what has to be one of the longest cases of identity theft on record, the Associated Press (AP) reported the shocking story of Tom Lesh, 66, of Coos Bay, Oregon, who had suffered from identity theft for 35 years – in other words, over half of his life. Lesh said he has known since the 1970s that his identity was stolen by a friend of his brother and he had spent, in his words, “thousands of hours” over the decades since repeatedly trying to clear his name and correct his financial records and credit history by writing letters to credit card companies, banks, and government agencies – and even appealing to the alleged identity thief’s mother for help.
• August 2009: In case there are still those who believe identity theft only happens to people with little or no financial acumen when it comes to matters of money, an exclusive report from Newsweek revealed that the nation's chief banker and the man credited by some with saving the world from another Great Depression, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, was just one of the hundreds of victims of a sophisticated identity theft ring that stole over $2 million from consumers and financial institutions across the country, proving identity theft can happen to anyone.
• September 2009: A report by the Seattle Times showed that identity theft victims could strike back at criminals who steal their identities by telling the story of how Michelle McCambridge, a 23-year-old retail store clerk and college student, helped bring down an identity theft ring after a chance face to face meeting with the woman who stole her identity. The fast thinking McCambridge had the store security cameras zoom in on a fake ID the identity thief was presenting with another woman's name, an action which set in motion a federal investigation that ultimately brought down an identity theft ring.
• October 2009: An article on the website for the Lexington, Nebraska newspaper The Lexington Clipper-Herald tells the story of an identity theft victim who ended up in jail twice for a crime he didn't commit, once after being robbed and calling the police for help. Joe Salazar, 38, of Omaha, Nebraska, spent a night in jail after calling the police to report a burglary at his home, and he also spent two weeks in jail – including last Christmas and New Year's Day – after being pulled over for speeding, all because the identity theft victim had an arrest warrant for failing to appear for sentencing in a drug case meant for an identity thief using Salazar's name.

These are just a few of the literally millions of stories about identity theft. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, identity theft and fraud increased 22 percent in 2008, affecting nearly ten million Americans. Overall, approximately 1.8 million more adults fell victim to identity fraud in 2008 as compared to 2007, the first year-over-year increase since Javelin began collecting data in 2004.

To help protect against identity theft, “personal” background checks – where people perform background checks on themselves – can ensure that personal information is current, accurate, and secure. While many background check firms only service businesses, MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in consumer requested and applicant supplied background checks – offers individuals affordable “personal” background check services. Over one million individuals have purchased background checks through MyBackgroundCheck.com.

For more information about personal background checks, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

pr@mybackgroundcheck.com