9/11 Terrorist Stole 19 yr old's ID

Avatar for independentgrrrl
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Registered: 03-26-2003
9/11 Terrorist Stole 19 yr old's ID
2
Wed, 04-21-2004 - 2:01pm
Man Trying To Buy Car Finds Out 9/11 Terrorist Took ID

Terrorist Apparently Used Allen's Social Security Number

UPDATED: 11:58 a.m. EDT April 21, 2004

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A young man went in to buy a car and realized he had been mistakenly identified as a terrorist.

Ryan Allen (pictured, left), 19, turned up on a government list that includes Osama bin Laden and members of al-Qaida.

Allen wanted to buy a new Chevrolet Cavalier. He filled out the paperwork at a Kansas City dealership and then the results of the credit bureau check came back.

"I filled out the credit thing. I'm probably sitting there an hour ... hour and a half," Allen said.

But the dealership's manager came back with what Allen thought was an odd question.

"'Have you ever been to Yemen?' I go, 'No,'" Allen said.

That was enough to pique Allen's curiosity. Apparently when Allen's Social Security number was entered in the computer, it came up as Ramzi Bin al-Shibh (pictured, right), one of the masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Bin al-Shibh is on a U.S. Treasury list of so-called blocked persons, including terrorists. Financial institutions check this in part to make sure someone opening a bank account is not doing it to fund terrorism.

Allen did not get his new car.

"Granted, I'm glad I found out about it now," Allen said.

Allen is not sure how a terrorist ended up with his Social Security number. He believes it has to do with the fact that his birthday falls on Sept. 11. After talking to the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Treasury, the FBI, lawyers, and local police, Allen said that he is still not sure how to clear his name.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/3026399/detail.html

Avatar for independentgrrrl
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 04-21-2004 - 2:06pm
Gov't agencies do *very little* to prevent identity theft, and even less to help any citizen who is a victim of this crime. This should be addressed by the 9/11 commission since the terrorists had used stolen ID's.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-05-2003
Wed, 04-21-2004 - 2:49pm
I think it is disgraceful what we do to victems of ID theft, something I would love to see fixed.