When Axton Betz-Hamilton set up her first utility bill at college, she soon realized something was very, very wrong.

It turned out she’d been a victim of identity theft—and it had destroyed her credit rating.

In 2001, when she was a 19-year-old student, Betz-Hamilton’s new utility provider demanded a $100 security deposit to turn on her service, citing her credit score.

“I thought it was because I didn’t have enough credit,” she told Fortune. But when a copy of her credit report turned up in her mailbox six weeks later, she learned the opposite was true.

  • LifeOfChance@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    14
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    My wife found out recently that when she was 5 she apparently opened a credit card that went unpaid. To get it removed was a full time job…

    • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.id
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      1 year ago

      Doesn’t credit card debt go away after 7 years? If I’m doing the math right, your wife must be pretty young if it’s still an issue.

      • joker125@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        Possibly, but identity theft cases usually involve much more bureaucracy than just ignoring the debt.

      • meliaesc@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        Just because the card was opened when she was 5 doesn’t mean that’s the last time it was used…