Victim of identity theft waits on the thief
Was it fate that brought the thief directly to her that day? Hubris? Malice, perhaps
It was impossible to know. Yet there was Michelle McCambridge, a 23-year-old JCPenney salesclerk, looking at the woman who not long before had stolen thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, video game consoles and other merchandise by claiming to be Michelle McCambridge.
As their eyes locked, McCambridge felt herself go numb, a mix of adrenaline and anger. The woman in front of her stood impassively.
"Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s her, I can’t believe she’s there," McCambridge recalled thinking. "I remember wanting to go and knock her out myself."
The odds of an identity thief trying to pull a scam that involves one of her own victims must be a million to one, federal authorities said. In this case, McCambridge not only clued into the doppelganger, but her quick response helped topple an identity theft ring that had targeted more than 40 victims around Washington state.
"These are some of the most difficult cases to work because they’re so . . . time-consuming. But when Michelle recognized her and pulled the [store surveillance] video, it gave us a fighting chance," said Joseph Velling, the special agent for the Social Security Administration who led the investigation.
Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing frauds. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission received 313,982 complaints. But law enforcement authorities said that an estimated 65% of identity theft victims, probably mindful of the dismal odds of catching the culprit, never even call police.
McCambridge’s ordeal started in January when …
