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Testimony of John M. Harrison Rocky Hill, Connecticut 06067 Consumer Witness June 19, 2003 Senate Banking Committee hearing entitled “The Growing Problem of Identity Theft and its Relationship to the Fair Credit Reporting Act”.
Mr. Chairman, ranking members and members of the committee, I appreciate this opportunity to appear before your committee to share my experiences as an identity theft victim. My name is John Harrison. I am forty-two years old, a retired Army Captain and have resided in Rocky Hill, Connecticut since my retirement in December 1999. Until recently, I have been working as a corrugated salesperson since leaving the military. BACKGROUND: My introduction to the crime of identity theft began on November 5, 2001. On that day I was contacted by a detective from Beaumont, Texas who was investigating a Harley-Davidson motorcycle which had been purchased in my name and SSN. He tracked me down through my credit report. From that same credit report, the detective realized I was a victim of identity theft and he explained to me that someone had been using my name and SSN to open credit accounts and he pointed me in the right direction. On that very same day, I reported my identity stolen to the FTC through their website. I also contacted all three repositories, ordered my credit reports, initiated fraud alerts and began contacting creditors immediately. Once I received my credit reports, I filed a police report with Army’s Criminal Investigation Division which luckily had a branch near Hartford, Connecticut. Just one month later, on Dec. 12, 2001, Jerry Wayne Phillips was arrested in Burke County, North Carolina during traffic stop. He was riding the Harley-Davidson motorcycle the police officer in Texas was investigating. Phillips was indicted on federal charges in Texas, pled guilty to one 1
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count of identity theft, and is currently serving a 41-month sentence at a Federal Prison in Minnesota. What I’ve learned since November 5, 2001 is that Phillips gained control of my identity on July 27, 2001 when army officials on Fort Bragg, NC issued him an active duty military ID card in my name and social security number. In a taped interview, Phillips claimed the ID was easy to get. That occurred about 1-˝ years after my retirement as an Army Captain. DAMAGES: The military id combined with my once excellent credit history allowed Phillips to go on an un-hindered spending spree lasting just four months. From July to December 2001, Phillips had acquired goods, services, and cash in my name valued at over $260,000. None of the accounts were opened in my home state of Connecticut. He opened accounts as far south as Florida, as far North as Virginia and as far West as Texas. I’ve identified more than 60 fraudulent accounts of all types: credit accounts; personal and auto loans; checking & savings accounts; and utility accounts. He purchased two trucks through Ford Credit valued at over $85,000. A Harley-Davidson motorcycle for $25,000. He rented a house in Virginia and purchased a time-share in Hilton Head, South Carolina. One of the accounts opened by Phillips was with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). He also wrote bad checks in these exchanges. I originally disputed this account in March 2002 when AAFES attempted to garnish my military retirement pay. I was able to stop the garnishment by providing supporting documentation to AAFES. They made a second attempt to garnish my retirement in January 2003 for the same debt. Unfortunately, my letter to AAFES went ignored the second time and the garnishment began the end of January. Eventually and with the assistance of Congressman Larson’s office, the garnishment was stopped in March 2003 and AAFES refunded the money that had been taken from my retirement pay. I have always been somewhat distressed at the military’s involvement in the theft of my identity. They issued the fraudulent ID card that 2
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