'I hunted down the woman who stole my life'

The nightmare started in November 2006 when Karen Lodrick received a voice mail from a bank asking if she had made any large withdrawals recently. Karen assumed it was a bank error. She was told that a new debit card had been order through her phone. She canceled it immediately. After asking around the neighbourhood, Karen learnt that mailboxes had been broken into and letters containing personal information stolen.

Karen originally thought that the thief had only stolen $600 and was not too worried about it. She was horrified, however, when she visited the bank a few days later and found out that about $10000 was gone. She immediately filed a police report. With no money, Karen could not even buy groceries.

5 months later, Karen spotted her identity thief at a Starbucks cafe. She first spotted her coat, an unkempt jacket Karen recognized from a CCTV she saw of the identity thief. The thief had worn it while withdrawing money from an ATM. She alerted the police and a friend.

Karen followed when the con artist left the cafe, all the while trying to persuade her to stop and wait for the police. In desperate attempts to shake Karen off, the thief tried throwing away her wallet, enter taxis and buses and walk in complicated circles. Karen did not give up even after she almost lost sight of the thief three times. Finally the police arrived and the thief was caught.

The thief, Maria Nelson, had at least 60 previous arrests and was probation at that time. After pleading with the judge, she was sentences to only time plus probation.

Although identity theft is not a large problem in Singapore, I feel we still have to be careful not to give out our personal information unnecessarily. This is especially true as technology becomes more advanced and it becomes easier to access bank accounts and credit card companies.

I also feel that Karen Lodrick is a very brave woman. To be able to chase and intimidate a criminal for more than half an hour is not easy. The worst part was facing a mountain of bills and debts that she was not even responsible for. I think that if I were in Karen's shoes, I would have succumbed to the pressure. This story is a testimony to all of us that as long as one perseveres, even in the worst situations, things will turn around. For now, I am just glad that Karen's story has a happy ending and I hope she will be able to get her life back on track financially soon.