Identity stolen

Mary Harris’s life has been turned upside down after trying to better herself.
In April, 52-year-old Harris applied for a job online in hopes of making extra money. In the application process, she gave the company her personal information because she thought the company was real.
After learning she got the job, the company sent her a check for $2,950 to purchase the items she needed to start her new job, plus an advance for her salary. However, the first red flag went up when she tried to cash the check, and her bank did not cash the check because it was a fake company.
No problem, because she was not out of anything, at least she thought.
Harris is on disability and receives a check each month. The check is put on a debit card and mailed to her. Section 8 also helps pay her rent because she is on a set income after having a stroke a few years back.
At the beginning of June, she received her disability card and tried to cash it at an ATM in Abbeville. She put it in, and it showed a zero balance. She thought there was something wrong with the ATM, so she went to another store and the result was the same. No money on the card.
“I freaked out,” said Harris, who volunteers at the Christian Service Center. “I called the credit card company to find out why. I learned a bunch of transactions were made on the card. I hurried and blocked the card, but it was too late.
The news gets worse.
She also had a prepaid debit card called a “Green Dot Card” with around $3,500. She put her Green Dot Card in an ATM and got the same result, zero balance.
In a week, Harris learned someone withdrew $4,000 from her Green Dot Card and disability card.
Her bad news does not stop there.
Not long after learning about being broke, she received word from Section 8, which helps pay her rent, that they were going to stop helping her pay rent because she was able to receive $20,800 loan through the Paycheck Protection Program. The money was to be used to help pay for her catering business.
First of all, Harris never applied for the loan because she does not own a catering business.
Since the beginning of June, she has been on the phone trying to correct the false information out there and explain to Section 8 that her name and personal information were stolen.
With the help of friends, family and the Christian Service Center, she has been able to keep her head above the water.
“I have not been able to sleep,” she said. “Last night was the first night I slept well. It has been a financial strain this month. I am now trying to piece everything together.”
After sitting down and backtracking, Harris figured out that someone could have stolen her identity when she applied for turned out to be a fake job online.
“They say if it sounds too good to be true, pay attention to that because it is,” said Harris. “I trusted this company and thought they were real. Now, I have to start over. I want to warn people and tell them to be careful when applying for a job online and giving out your personal information. I am really upset because I have to deal with this.”
Harris, who lives in Abbeville, said this is the second to worst feeling she has experience in her lifetime. The worst was in 2009 when her son Ernest Guidry was shot and killed north of Abbeville.
“All this has almost put me into depression,” she said. “I am very angry and hurt. Someone violated my private information, and I am trying to get it back. Everyone, be careful with who your give information to because it could turn your life upside down as it has done to me.”