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Friday May 31 11:46 AM EDT Maryland Woman's Identity Stolen by Her Real Estate Agent Washington, DC - WJLA 7 A Maryland woman's identity was stolen from someone she could not protect herself from. It all began after she put her house up for sale. JoAnn Thompson's life had been complicated enough, with a house for sale in Bowie, another being built in Atlanta and the constant travelback and forth. Then she got a bill from Home Depot. "I don't have an account with Home Depot and they said yes you opened an account. They had my social security (news - web sites) number, my address, my license number," said Thompson. Thompson thought she'd become a victim of Identity theft, so she called the Credit Bureau and got more bad news. "They told me not only had that person opened a Home Depot account, but opened a Lowes account and Sears account and more things," said Thompson. Then the police called to say they'd recovered some of Thompson's belongings in the possession of a Real Estate Agent operating out of an Edgewater office. Thompson realized the agent, Cheryl Young of Glen Burnie had been in her home around the same time her safe full of personal documents disappeared. "Ijust feel violated," said Thompson."She took all of my info and its out there." Young was arrested, but released on bond before police discovered the extent of the alleged crime. As for Thompson, she now knows Identity Theft can happen to anyone. "I bought a shredder after this happened to me," she said. As for Cheryl Young, she no longer works for the real estate company and she is wanted on a burglary charge for being in possession of Thompson's belongings. Crooks can get enough information about you to steal from a simple credit card or even on of those offers for a new credit card. Experts say shredding any financial document before throwing it out is a good way to protect yourself. © Copyright 2002 WJLA-TV |