Criminals armed with only a few pieces of personal information such as anaddress and a social security number are able to fraudulently apply for creditcards under the victim's name. Currently there are no reliable identityverification systems in place to prevent thieves from receiving and using thecards. Identity theft losses totaled over $52 billion in 2002 and affectedalmost 10 million Americans.

"It's the worst customer service in America," said Drew, an identity theftvictim in 2003. "These banks are intent on issuing as many cards as possible-- and forcing their legitimate customers to deal with a complicated mess toprove their innocence when fraud occurs."

In Drew's case, the theft was particularly heinous. While fighting for hislife battling leukemia in a hospital, his identity was stolen by a hospitalworker. Health Associated Identity Theft (referred to as a HAIT Crime) isdifficult to fight because the victim must dispute fraudulent charges, contendwith hostile collection practices, and attempt to repair damaged creditratings from a hospital bed or convalescent home.

Drew is suing Citibank, Bank of America, Chase, Equifax, and Experian,claiming that they didn't verify application information, and is attempting tomandate that the credit industry verify an applicant's identity prior toissuing credit.

"Americans need to know that financial institutions are not only causingthe identity theft problem, but are forcing us to clean up their mess," addedDrew. "Even with all the other issues I'm dealing with, I decided I couldn'tlet this go on happening to others without a fight."

In addition to crusading against identity theft, Drew is dedicated toproviding advocacy and education to seriously ill patients and their families.Learn more at http://www.drewfoundation.org

SOURCE Eric Drew