Here is a story that goes to prove that anybody can be a victim of identity theft and shows how important it is you do all you can do when it comes to avoiding identity theft.

Janet Jenkins is holds the top job in the state of Wisconsin’s Office of Consumer Protection. And she became a victim of ID theft. How ironic is that?

With her profession being entirely devoted to making sure that consumers don’t get scammed or otherwise taken advantage of, to have her become a victim of the very thing she fights against is, in a way, a bit comical. However, ID Theft is never a laughing matter and is something that you must do everything to prevent.

Here is what happened to Janet. She was checking here credit card statement online and noticed that there were a couple of charges for $116 each at a florist. Janet hadn’t purchased any flowers so she contacted the florist to see what was going on.

Turns out that the florist not only had her credit card information, but her name and home address. Somehow Janet had become that victim of ID theft.

She then contacted her credit card company, and come to find out that the identity thief had also done what is called “pining” the credit card account. There was a $1 charge that was on the account, which is the way that a retailer checks to see if the credit card number is valid and there is sufficient balance to complete the transaction.

In the end, Janet’s bank took card of the $350 worth of fraudulent charges and put a fraud alert on credit report to prevent any new accounts being opened up on her name without her authorization. This is a very critical element of identity theft prevention.

Janet has no idea how the identity thief got a hold of her information, but she is doing more now to protect her identity. This should be a lesson to everyone that not only can anybody become a victim of ID theft, but you should do everything in your power when it comes to protection against identity theft.