Sprint PCS - dunned for another person's account - identity theft - still working to resolve

# 3 for October 12, 2003

Complaints.com received the following on October 11, 2003:

From:

RE: Sprint PCS - dunned for another person's account - identity theft - still working to resolve On September 23, 2003 I was notified that Sprint PCS had "written off" an account for a cell phone that was issued in the state of Tennessee under the name Lisa Anderson with a Memphis address. When I contacted Sprint PCS regarding this matter I was told the account was opened on January 14, 2002 by the above named individual, however, my name is Elizabeth Anderson and I reside in Beaufort County, SC where I have lived at the same address for over 5 years and oddly enough, have had the same home phone number for the last 7 years. Funny, my home phone carrier is also Sprint.

Imagine my shock at them wanting me to pay for a cell phone issued to another individual who they say used my information (except the first name was different) and they lived in another state, gave a different address than mine and did a credit check, which by the way shows a "Fraud Alert" due to the same thing happening with MCI back in 2001.

When I tried to talk to their "Fraud Management" people, Kathy & Denise, I got nowhere fast. They want me to send them all kinds of personal information, notarized proof of residence, utility bills, tax records, etc. and then they will decide whether I should be responsible for these charges.

I made a police report but since the crime was committed outside SC my local police have no jurisdiction so I was directed to the Memphis office of the FBI then to the US Atty in the Charleston SC office who turned it over to the Secret Service for investigation. In the meantime, Sprint has told me to pay this bill and if they decide I don't owe them the money, they will refund it within 120 days. Right! If not, they can bill my home phone.

They are not even interested in taking responsibility for giving a cell phone to someone other than myself without my authorization or first checking with me as directed to by the credit bureaus who placed the "Fraud Alert" on my record. How can they get away with this you ask? Simple, they have third party stores sell their phones and services and then tell you they have no copies of these contracts to send you, will not give you any further information like which Radio Shack sold the phone/services, etc.

The Secret Service and the FBI told me that this is one of the biggest and fastest growing identity theft schemes currently going on. I, too, think it is time for a class action suit against these phone companies that try and skirt the law, defraud consumers who are not their customers and refuse to provide information on a bill they demand payment for when they know it is not your bill.

They think that it is too much trouble for you to pursue because the bill is not large enough. Sprint is wrong on this one. I have contacted a class action attorney because, as the Secret Service Agent stated, many thousands of others have had the same thing happen to them, so I think we can achieve a class status.

Do you know that they are not even required to have a picture id or run a credit report before selling the phones/services at third party stores. There is something inherrently wrong with this scheme and the phone companies need to be held accountable for their third party agents activities and a lot more concerned with defrauding innocent people.

I have also contacted the local television stations consumer advocate and investigative reporter and have set up a meeting with a reporter to help get this "Consumer Alert" out. Someone could be doing the same thing to anyone of you. I was never sent a bill, I just happened to call my local Sprint carrier to make changes on my local home service and was told their was a "flag" on my account regarding my written off account with Sprint PCS.

Anyone who has had this happen to them by any of the phone companies, etc., please feel free to contact me at Email User

Thanks,

Elizabeth Anderson