Identity theft victim sceptical of solution

Mosgiel man Shane Pritchard is tired of being mistaken for another person with the same name and with a criminal record. Picture / Otago Daily Times

Shane William Pritchard has never met the man who shares his name - but he has come to know his criminal history intimately.

Over the past 18 years, Mr Pritchard has been plagued by fines run up by his namesake, accused of crimes he did not commit and had his bank account cleared out.

The 34-year-old has picked up nothing more than the occasional speeding ticket, but his nightmare has continued as police have struggled to cope with what they call "identity theft".

Otago police chief George Fraser has vowed to hold talks with other agencies involved in the catalogue of crimes to prevent Mr Pritchard facing any more charges.

Those agencies include the Ministry of Social Development, the Customs Service and the Ministry of Justice, and Superintendent Fraser said he was confident of their help as they all wanted "to get to the bottom of the matter".

"We are going to go right through everything and take sufficient steps so Shane will not have to suffer from this confusion any more," he said.

The Ministry of Justice said it first became aware of the Pritchard muddle in February 2004, when fines from the court in Mr S. Pritchard's name had to be withdrawn. Another fine was filed last month, which was also withdrawn.

The ministry was also working with police to help in withdrawal of fines filed from before this time.

Identity theft, which is estimated to cost Britons 1.3 billion ($3.36 billion) a year, typically involves criminals adopting someone's identity using details obtained over the internet. Almost five per cent of Americans are thought to have fallen victim to identity thieves.

What makes Mr Pritchard's case unusual is that the man responsible for the crimes shares his name, is just three weeks older than Mr Pritchard, who is from Mosgiel, and was born a few kilometres down the road, in Milton.

The case first came to light in 1997 when Mr Pritchard made a public appeal for help because he felt police were not doing enough.

After meeting Superintendent Fraser, he said was still not convinced it would be resolved.

"I remember sitting in the exact-same office in 1997 and being told it would be all cleared up," Mr Pritchard said.

"I just want to keep the lines of communication open."

Superintendent Fraser said it was too early to talk of a conviction resulting from the identity theft.

Solving identity theft

Police: "We are going to go right through everything and take sufficient steps so Shane will not have to suffer from this confusion any more." - Superintendent George Fraser.
Justice: "When it becomes apparent that an infringement has been filed with the Court with incorrect details, the ministry is committed to resolve the issue."
Ministry of Social Development: "Our staff are very cautious about making sure they have the correct client and always send a letter to a client if any changes are made." - Jane Mortlock, media adviser.

- additional reporting: NZPA