Woman's ID Stolen by Dozens of Suspected Illegals
Social Security Number Used, She Owed $1 Million in Taxes, CNN Says
By PETER PRENGAMAN, AP
DUBLIN, California (June 17) - One woman's Social Security identification number has been used by at least 81 people in 17 states. Though impossible to verify in every case, information gleaned from criminal investigations, tax documents and other sources suggest most of the users were probably illegal immigrants trying to get work
Audra Schmierer, a 33-year-old housewife in this affluent San Francisco suburb, realized she had a problem in February 2005, when she got a statement from the IRS saying she owed $15,813 in back taxes - even though she had not worked since her son was born in 2000. Perhaps even more surprising, the taxes were due from jobs in Texas.
Schmierer has since found that her Social Security number has been used by people from Florida to Washington state, at construction sites, fast-food restaurants and even major high-tech companies. Some opened bank accounts using the number. The federal government took years to discover the number was being used illegally, but authorities took little action even then. "They knew what was happening but wouldn't do anything," said Schmierer. "One name, one number, why can't they just match it up?" Her case is an example of an increasingly common problem: Many thieves are able to steal personal information because employers do not have to verify Social Security numbers or other documents submitted by job seekers.
The situation has long drawn fire from anti-illegal immigration groups, but Congress has only recently moved to fix it. Both the Senate and House of Representatives have passed immigration-reform bills that call for employers to verify Social Security numbers in a national database. Homeland Security officials have taken it a step further, calling on Congress to allow the Social Security Administration to share information with immigration-enforcement agents at work sites.
Under current law, if the Social Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service find multiple people using the same Social Security number, the agencies send letters informing employers of possible errors. The IRS can fine employers $50 for each inaccurate number filed, a punishment that companies often dismiss as just another cost of doing business.
When Schmierer called the IRS, she learned that numerous people were using her Social Security number. Officials said the erroneous balances would be eliminated, but the agency would have to correct the problem again in future years. "They told me they couldn't do anything else," Schmierer said. IRS officials declined to talk about Schmierer's case, citing privacy laws. Schmierer has done a little investigating of her own, combing through tax bills sent to her for names and locations of employers who hired people using her number.
She has also obtained more than 200 W-2 and 1099 tax forms that contained her Social Security number but different names. Schmierer provided copies of the records to The Associated Press. Most of the people who used her identification number worked multiple jobs in the same year, though some remained at the same company for several years. The top wage earner made $39,465, but most reported income of less than $15,000.
Schmierer filed a police report after learning one man had used her information in 2003 at janitorial and landscaping companies near Haltom City, Texas. Investigators found the man, who told officers he had bought a fake Social Security card at a flea market, according to a police report. He was not arrested.
Schmierer tracked down other people, finding that her number had been used to get work but not to access her credit card or bank accounts. What started as a hassle turned into a major headache earlier this year when she sought work through a temporary agency that learned her Social Security number had been used by a woman in Texas two years earlier. The agency could not hire Schmierer for more than a month while the situation was clarified. "How do you prove that you are you?" Schmierer said. "It's like you are guilty until proven innocent."
While returning from a trip to Mexico with her husband last year, Schmierer was detained for four hours in a Dallas airport by immigration officials. The reason: a woman using her Social Security number was wanted for a felony.
Schmierer never determined how her number became so widely used. Sellers of fake documents often make up numbers and use them repeatedly. Schmierer's number became so compromised that Social Security officials finally took a rare step used only in extreme cases: They gave her a new one. Schmierer hopes that will end her frustrations, but she suspects her old number will continue to be misused.
"It's clear to me that because my number has been used for so long, it's not going to stop," she said.
REMEMBER.. The illegal aliens are only stealing the SS#'s of people that AMERICANS don't have the time to steal themselves! ~CW~
Social Security Number Used, She Owed $1 Million in Taxes, CNN Says
By PETER PRENGAMAN, AP
DUBLIN, California (June 17) - One woman's Social Security identification number has been used by at least 81 people in 17 states. Though impossible to verify in every case, information gleaned from criminal investigations, tax documents and other sources suggest most of the users were probably illegal immigrants trying to get work
Audra Schmierer, a 33-year-old housewife in this affluent San Francisco suburb, realized she had a problem in February 2005, when she got a statement from the IRS saying she owed $15,813 in back taxes - even though she had not worked since her son was born in 2000. Perhaps even more surprising, the taxes were due from jobs in Texas.
Schmierer has since found that her Social Security number has been used by people from Florida to Washington state, at construction sites, fast-food restaurants and even major high-tech companies. Some opened bank accounts using the number. The federal government took years to discover the number was being used illegally, but authorities took little action even then. "They knew what was happening but wouldn't do anything," said Schmierer. "One name, one number, why can't they just match it up?" Her case is an example of an increasingly common problem: Many thieves are able to steal personal information because employers do not have to verify Social Security numbers or other documents submitted by job seekers.
The situation has long drawn fire from anti-illegal immigration groups, but Congress has only recently moved to fix it. Both the Senate and House of Representatives have passed immigration-reform bills that call for employers to verify Social Security numbers in a national database. Homeland Security officials have taken it a step further, calling on Congress to allow the Social Security Administration to share information with immigration-enforcement agents at work sites.
Under current law, if the Social Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service find multiple people using the same Social Security number, the agencies send letters informing employers of possible errors. The IRS can fine employers $50 for each inaccurate number filed, a punishment that companies often dismiss as just another cost of doing business.
When Schmierer called the IRS, she learned that numerous people were using her Social Security number. Officials said the erroneous balances would be eliminated, but the agency would have to correct the problem again in future years. "They told me they couldn't do anything else," Schmierer said. IRS officials declined to talk about Schmierer's case, citing privacy laws. Schmierer has done a little investigating of her own, combing through tax bills sent to her for names and locations of employers who hired people using her number.
She has also obtained more than 200 W-2 and 1099 tax forms that contained her Social Security number but different names. Schmierer provided copies of the records to The Associated Press. Most of the people who used her identification number worked multiple jobs in the same year, though some remained at the same company for several years. The top wage earner made $39,465, but most reported income of less than $15,000.
Schmierer filed a police report after learning one man had used her information in 2003 at janitorial and landscaping companies near Haltom City, Texas. Investigators found the man, who told officers he had bought a fake Social Security card at a flea market, according to a police report. He was not arrested.
Schmierer tracked down other people, finding that her number had been used to get work but not to access her credit card or bank accounts. What started as a hassle turned into a major headache earlier this year when she sought work through a temporary agency that learned her Social Security number had been used by a woman in Texas two years earlier. The agency could not hire Schmierer for more than a month while the situation was clarified. "How do you prove that you are you?" Schmierer said. "It's like you are guilty until proven innocent."
While returning from a trip to Mexico with her husband last year, Schmierer was detained for four hours in a Dallas airport by immigration officials. The reason: a woman using her Social Security number was wanted for a felony.
Schmierer never determined how her number became so widely used. Sellers of fake documents often make up numbers and use them repeatedly. Schmierer's number became so compromised that Social Security officials finally took a rare step used only in extreme cases: They gave her a new one. Schmierer hopes that will end her frustrations, but she suspects her old number will continue to be misused.
"It's clear to me that because my number has been used for so long, it's not going to stop," she said.
REMEMBER.. The illegal aliens are only stealing the SS#'s of people that AMERICANS don't have the time to steal themselves! ~CW~
posted by Cerebralwaste at 9:34 AM
5 Comments:
I think it is time for drastic action. Do away with SS numbers and come up with some other method to identify people. Eyescans, DNA, fingerprints, something that cannot be replicated. Or legislation could allow people to receive a new SS#, but which would likely create new problems for the individuals. Stories like this make you want to get every illegal, strap a parachute on the, and do an Airborne operation over the outskirts of Juarez.
Still Colonel a certain self loathing side of our populous insists the "illegals" are a net plus to our country. That they (illegals) are hard working and only want to "provide" for their families and these type of cases are a nothing but a small "minority". And being "illegal" isn't really doing any harm to anyone. Tell that to Audra Schmierer, an AMERICAN who COULDN'T get a JOB in her own country because illegal aliens had stolen her identity. If that isn't irony I don't know what is. Well as the old saying goes.... ONLY IN AMERICA!
These illegals are getting this stuff form somewhere... prob from Americans who are getting paid big $$ for the SSNs. Unless they do something drastic, this stuff won't stop. Yeah, there are illegals wanting to work and take care of their families but, really, who cares. If these ppl aren't smart enought o access bank information and credit information w/ these SSNs, then there are Americans behind it. Altho, I did see a show once where there were a bunch of Asians behind illegal stuff going on in the States w/ fake documents and such.
When I couldn't find a job here, after first moving to Bahrain, the reception area at the place I was staying put me in touch w/ this guy who tried to sell me a "free visa". He wanted to charge me thousands for it... and it's illegal. And.. there are tons of ppl buying these things. Guess what nationality he was? Indian.
Pretty soon it'll be just like Bahrain in the States. Americans won't be working in most places, but the illegals will be.
Tooners a big illegal document manufacturing ring was just busted in Peabody MA. Too no ones surprise the leader of the ring was an illegal from Brazil. I also understand in the same bust they found some "credit card" swiping devices used to steal credit card numbers as well as lots of SS# . Good ones at that. While there is no doubt there are some American criminal elements involved most of these types of raids I have heard about involve, dare I say... ILLEGALS!
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