One stinkin’ apple
What a yo-yo week this has been. On one hand, there’s the Navy’s spectacular rescue of Richard Phillips from Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Then yesterday, a former Navy yeoman was sentenced in an identity theft scam in Fort Worth, Texas. Click here for the story in Tuesday’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
This was no small-potato scam. And my husband and I were among the victims.
Cora Dixon spent years stealing the identities of her shipmates. For that, she got 15 years and was discharged under “less than honorable” conditions. Let’s just call it what it is: bad conduct. Way bad.
In an odd twist, I drilled for months in the same office with Ms. Dixon, all the while knowing she was being investigated for swiping my identity. She hardly spoke as she sat behind the receptionist desk wearing her Navy winter blues. Now she’ll wear an entirely different uniform.
Ms. Dixon and her cohorts deliberately targeted mobilized reservists, which is when we’re most financially vulnerable, unaware or unable to fix things that go awry.
For instance, while I was on the USS Blue Ridge in Yokosuka, Japan, in August 2005, my ATM Visa card stopped working. Fortunately it happened toward the end of my three-week tour because I had no access to cash and no idea why.
Turns out, Bank of America had detected suspicious behavior and blocked use of the card. When I got home, I learned that someone charged hundreds of dollars while gambling online.
Our first ID theft experience came when someone went on a check-writing spree using our account. The damage was in the thousands. Bank of America took the financial hit on that one, but it took substantial time and effort to close the account and start fresh. Just re-establishing direct deposits and automatic payments was huge.
Also, in 2004, some guy was caught trying to cash a check at a Dallas grocery store using a driver’s license in my husband’s name.
Financial hiccups such as these happened repeatedly over the last several years. We always wondered why - now we know.
We were also lucky. Either we caught the irregularities, or the bank did, before too much damage was done. We didn’t lose any money, since the incidents were clearly fraudulent. What we did lose was time. And, of course, trust.
Ms. Dixon was not a true shipmate. She’s an anomaly in what is otherwise a trustworthy organization. No wish of “fair winds and following seas” for her.
Just good riddance.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
I'm glad to hear you guys weren't hit that hard financially. Except your stolen information can come back at you anytime. I'll pray it doesn't.
Keep up the great work!