Who do you think you are?

Somebody wants to be you.

With just a few bits of information -- a Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers or even just your birth date -- a thief can ruin your finances or possibly get you arrested.

Identity theft isn't new, but it appears to be a growing problem. It has affected 27.3 million Americans in the last five years, according to a recent survey by the Federal Trade Commission. Victims can spend months or years repairing the damage to credit or reputations.

Jackson police receive 15 to 20 such reports a year. Cape Girardeau police took 21 reports in both 2002 and 2003. Recently, arrest warrants were issued for Glover D. Cody Jr., 34, of St. Louis and Brett Leigh Turner, 26, of Jackson.

Cody was arrested Dec. 22 after he tried to cash thousands of dollars in checks from another man's account at three branches of US Bank in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston. Turner, who has not been apprehended, was charged in October with two counts of fraudulent use of a credit device. Police say he opened accounts in other people's names and charged thousands of dollars.

Getting personal information isn't difficult. Public court records, mail, wallets and even vehicle glove boxes contain many passkeys into a victim's finances.

In Cape Girardeau, Cody allegedly showed the staff at US Bank a falsified driver's license with his photo in place of the photo of his intended victim, Robert Aspley of St. Louis, said police Sgt. Rick Schmidt. Cody had Aspley's account number and asked to cash a counter check for $15,000.

'Are you in the bank?'

A staff member phoned the real Aspley as a precaution.

"They asked me 'Are you in the bank, right now?'" Aspley said. "Which they knew I wasn't."

That was his first indication someone stole his identity, he said. Aspley doesn't know the suspect or why he was chosen for fraud.

"That's what I'd still like to find out," Aspley said. "How did he come across this information, why did he choose me and how did he manage to get a legitimate driver's license so easily?"

Cody left the Cape Girardeau bank when staff stalled for more time. Bank officials put out an alert to other branches, but at the branch on East Main Street in Sikeston the suspect successfully cashed a check for $8,000, Schmidt said. He then went to another Sikeston branch on East Center Street to cash another check for $15,000 but was arrested by Sikeston officers. However, the $8,000 and a black car he was seen riding in with a female driver and two other men were gone, Schmidt said.

Cody was charged in Cape Girardeau County with two counts of forgery and one count of identity theft. His preliminary hearing has been set for Jan. 21. In Scott County, he faces two additional charges of forgery and one count of resisting arrest.

The FTC says businesses and financial institutions lost nearly $48 billion in 2002 and consumers lost $5 billion -- with average individual losses of $4,800 for businesses and $500 for consumers. More than half discovered the theft by monitoring accounts. Others learned of it when they were rejected for new credit or were alerted by their credit card issuers or banks.

While most identity thieves make purchases, the FTC said 15 percent of reports concern nonfinancial abuses -- the most common when a thief assumed a victim's identity when stopped by law enforcement or caught committing a crime.

The best defense

Protecting personal information is the best defense, said Cape Girardeau police detective Brad Smith.

"Be smart with your personal information," he said. "And disassociate yourself with those accounts as quickly as you can if you find out they've been used. Because it can take a long time to clear that sort of mess up."

He advises storing a copy of driver's license and credit card numbers, along with the toll-free numbers of the card issuers, in a safe place; carefully discarding or shredding mail with personal information; and using a secure mailbox for sending payments.

Aspley said this was not the first time he's been victimized. About eight years ago, someone used his personal information to open up credit card accounts and "charged up a storm," he said.

After the recent incident, he changed his driver's license number, bank and credit card accounts and placed his name on the fraud alert lists of the nation's three major credit reporting agencies. He intends to be even more protective in the future.

"The biggest thing I'll do is be more guarded about what information I give out and to whom," he said.

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160

How you can protect yourself

If your ID, credit or bank information is stolen, call these national credit reporting agencies to place a "fraud alert" on your name and Social Security number:

Equifax: (800) 525-6285

Credit Solutions: (800) 397-3742

Trans Union: (800) 680-7289

Other steps

Call the police right away to show creditors you took steps to avoid unwanted charges.

Cancel all credit cards as soon as you discover they are missing.

Contact your bank to close the old account and start a new one.

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or call (877) IDTHEFT.