KPTM FOX 42: Omaha News, Sports and Weather; Nebraska News, Sports; kptm.com | Identity Theft Victim Advocating for Others
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Todd Unger
Omaha (KPTM) - Identity theft is one of the country's fastest growing crimes.
Close to 10 million Americans have pieces of their identity stolen every year.
Omaha resident Jaimee Napp knows all too well the disastrous impact it can have on one's life.
Five years ago, a co–worker stole her birth date, name and social security number. Using the vital information, the perpetrator tired to open up four separate credit cards in a span of just 20 minutes.
Napp tells FOX 42 it took months of digging on her own, and keeping up pressure on Omaha police investigators, for her case to get any traction.
"I felt like I was standing there talking, talking and talking, and no one was listening," she says.
Napp first visited with FOX 42 a few years ago. Since then, she has tried to turn her case into an example so others don't fall victim.
"I never imagined in a million years that giving my social security number to my employer would end up like this," she says. "I'm still pretty angry and I feel like I've been able to channel that anger in a good way."
The Identity Theft Action Council of Nebraska is Napp's brainchild. The group has a website which offers information on everything from victim information to how to protect one's identity using a secure pin number. The pin number was one of the cornerstones of new legislation Napp helped get passed in Lincoln last year.
"I feel like I'm preventing someone else from becoming a victim, or if they have become a victim, I'm letting the impact to their life become a little less," says Napp.
As always, Napp says folks should shred key paper documents, like old tax records or bills, to keep their identity safe.
For more information on the how to secure your identity, log onto http://www.idtheftne.org.
