A woman who had her identity hijacked by fraudsters has spoken of her ordeal, after more than £8,000 worth of debt was racked up in her name.
Tracey Davies, 45, was targeted by identity thieves Joanne Bertha Hart and Nicole Hart after a house swap.
The pair moved into Ms Davies’ home at Grey Crescent, Tir-y-Berth in August 2015 as part of a housing association swap programme, with Ms Davies moving into their Caerphilly town property.
Using Ms Davies’ personal details, obtained from letters sent to her old address, Hart and Hart opened up several credit cards and catalogue accounts in her name and bought electronics, clothes and white goods, in addition to withdrawing cash through ATMs.
Ms Davies was first alerted to the fraud after a debt collection agency sent her a letter in October last year demanding she pay £1,200.
She said: “It was shocking to open that letter and see that someone had spent that amount using my details. I found it quite alarming at the time.”
After contacting the debt company, she was advised to speak to Experian, the credit reference agency, who told her that her credit score had dropped drastically from 97% to just 3%.
She added: “I knew that something was wrong but it was shocking to hear how low my score had dropped. I couldn’t quite comprehend it.
“It will take time to build back up, but eventually my rating will rise. I’ve never had credit cards or loans, and don’t want an overdraft.”
Police were called and traced the credit activity to the pair’s address in Tir-y-Berth.
They eventually charged the Harts with several counts of fraud by false representation.
Joanne Bertha Hart, 39, and Nicole Hart, 37, who was originally charged under her birth name of Nathan John Hart, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, October 14.
They were each handed 12-month prison sentences, suspended for 12 months, and each ordered to carry out unpaid work totalling 300 hours.
Ms Davies has spoken of her ordeal in a bid to warn others to be vigilant in protecting their identity.
She said: “I want people to be aware of identity theft and fraud. It’s just distressing, knowing the ease at which someone took my identity, especially when it’s someone you think you know and have the measure of.
“I thought they were nice people.”
Identity theft is a major concern for the public.
According to a recent survey carried out for the organisation Get Safe Online, 77% of people in Wales said their top concern is identity theft.
James Jones, Head of Consumer Affairs at Experian said it was important for victims of identity theft to act quickly.
He said: “Discovering your personal details have been used to take out credit can be a distressing time. However, it’s very important to act quickly.
“Getting a copy of your credit report will reveal any credit applications and accounts in your name, helping you spot fraudulent activity.
“Experian’s dedicated Victims of Fraud service will help you with this so you can set the record straight as quickly as possible and reclaim your identity.”
Nicola Smith, Executive Director of Linc Homes, the housing association involved in the swap of Ms Davies’ home, said: “In the last 12 months, we handled 36 mutual exchanges and the majority of them take place very smoothly, so it’s really disappointing to hear about what happened to Ms Davies in this instance.”
She added: “As with any house move, it’s the responsibility of the individuals to either redirect their post or inform all relevant contacts and organisations of their change of address.”
When contacted by Caerphilly Observer, Joanne and Nicole Hart said they did not wish to comment.