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Colorado Company Makes Unusual ID Theft Pledge

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May 8, 2008 10:18 pm US/Mountain

Colorado Company Makes Unusual ID Theft Pledge

Reporting
Jim Benemann
DENVER (CBS4) ― If you believe what many experts say, it's not a matter of "if" you will become a victim of identity theft, but "when" you will become a victim.

Charlie Weidman and Anita Jantz both found that to be true. But they also both found help from a Colorado company that offers an unusual guarantee.

Charlie Weidman wears a fannie pack full of documents proving he is who he says he is. But when he first found out that his identity had been stolen by a criminal named Hugh Pettifield, he says, "I had no clue where to turn on the criminal issues."

Anita Yantz still gets letters from collection agencies even though the woman who stole her identity and bought four houses has already gone to prison. She spent more than 600 hours trying to fix her credit history.

Both Charlie and Anita ended up seeking help in Denver at a company called ID Watchdog. For customers of ID Watchdog, the company monitors dozens of databases that store personal information, including medical, criminal, employment, housing and financial data.

"All of these databases are potential backdoors into your identity," according to Justin Yurek.

In a sense, the company takes all the personal information that changes every time you file your taxes, every time you go to court for something, every time you get a paycheck, every time you get a new credit card and gives that data back to you.

If the company finds a problem with your records, a resolution team member takes on your case. And ID Watchdog offers a simple guarantee.

"We won't stop fixing your credit until the data that changed when it was stolen looks like it did when it was clean."

But Agent Kevin Hyland from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation says that consumers also run a risk giving their personal information to any company that promises to guard against identity theft.

"Citizens have to be very informed about any company they give their personal information to, including companies that promise to protect your identity," warns Hyland.

For Charlie Weidman, the long nightmare came to an end after ID Watchdog led authorities to Hugh Pettifield and Charlie could recapture his good name.
And Anita Jantz doesn't owe $1 million for four houses she never bought.
Thanks to ID Watchdog.

"They got me back my good credit score," says Jantz, smiling, in the living room of the one and only house she has bought.

Additional Resources

Here are some resources if you think you might be a victim.

-- Visit the Colorado Attorney General's Identity Theft prevention and information page on their Web site.

-- FBI Internet Fraud Web site

-- National Identity Theft Resource Center

-- Federal Trade Commission Fighting Back Against Identity Theft page

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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