ID theft – part II
Today I went to the Durham Police Department to file an identity theft report because someone took out a payday loan using my name. When you research ID theft, most advice emphasizes the importance of filing a police report. However, the officer I spoke with said he cannot do a report because the crime did not take place in Durham. He said to call the police department where the crime was committed. Problem is, the crime was committed on the Internet, on the loan company’s website. But anyway, so I called the police department of the town in California where the address was that was given for the loan. Of course the address was bogus and that police department would not file a report either because I could not really prove that the crime was committed there, either. Great! Now what?
So I did a bit more research about this, and found a website that recommended contacting the State Attorney General’s office. So I called the NC DOJ and ended up speaking with their consumer protection guy. He said that such payday loans are actually illegal in North Carolina and the collection agency knows (or should know) that they cannot collect for such loans in this state. He said that the entire thing smells of a scam. He recommended I file a complaint with his office against the collection agency and that he then would be able to contact them and tell them to stop bugging me. I did that righ taway and I hope that that will be the end of it.
I was really impressed by how competent and helpful the consumer protection folks at the NC DOJ are. Isn’t it great when government works!? I am pretty hopeful that these guys can get that collection agency off my back.