Illegal immigrants turn to identity theft to thwart checks

Associated Press - January 4, 2008 1:24 PM ET

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Air Force veteran Marcos Miranda is 1 of thousands of identity theft victims caught up each year in the crackdown on illegal immigrants.

His plight comes as the government develops more sophisticated electronic employment verification systems. That is driving undocumented workers to assuming the real names and Social Security numbers of U.S. citizens like him to avoid detection.

IRS has demanded thousands of dollars from Miranda for back wages someone else earned at a slaughterhouse in Holton, Kansas. He's also been arrested on unpaid traffic tickets that were not his and his once high credit rating has plummetted.

Employment-related fraud comprised 14% of the identity theft complaints nationwide -- and about 11% of those reported by Kansas victims in 2006.

Kansas ranked 29th in the nation with 1,626 identity theft victims.

This is definitely becoming a major problem all over the country.  I would love for there to be a tamper proof system of identity for everyone.  This is hurting so many people.

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