Did I hear this correctly? identity theft

I'm watching CBS News and they had a segment on identity theft. Someone stole a woman's credit cards and license and took out mortgages under her name. They then took out equity loans on the houses. This is what CBS said:

SHE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MORTGAGES ON THE HOUSES THAT SHE NEVER BOUGHT!!!

How can this be true? How can you be responsible for debt that you never signed for or agreed to take?

And this woman is expected to say, "Thank you, Republicans. Can I have another?"

Dump the credit cards and the ATM cards with the logos, remove the direct deposit.

We are in the process of doing this. But all people need is a SS. phone no. and address to open an account right? So even if you don't own any credit cards, someone can still use your name and good credit.

I sure hope CBS is wrong on this.

...and dump all her obligations. Who is responsible for the debt? The person, or the name? The person didn't incur the debt, so if the name is responsible, why doesn't changing your name get rid of the responsibility?

it's so crazy but the corp have all the power.

Identity theft is another one of those scare tactics used to get you to agree to police state powers for the government.

That's EXACTLY what it is. I hate these fuckers.

But she's going to spend inordinate amounts of her time, and her money, getting the whole mess straightened out. Until and unless she can clear this up, her house cannot be sold, or refinanced. Never mind whatever other debts have been incurred falsely under this woman's name.

There are many stories out there of victims of identity theft who've spent years on their cases. It really can ruin your life, even if ultimately you don't have to pay for those falsely incurred debts.

Identity theft: the "gift" that keeps on taking.

Protect yourself: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt01.pdf
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft.htm

Here is another one:

Identity Thief Steals House
James Cook left on a business trip to Florida, and his wife Paula went to Oklahoma to care for her sick mother. When the two returned to Frisco, Texas, several days later, their keys didn't work. The locks on the house had been changed.

They spent their first night back sleeping in a walk-in closet, with a steel pipe ready to cold-cock any intruders. The next day, they met the man who thought he owned their house, because he had put a US$12,000 down payment to someone named Carlos Ramirez. The Cooks went to the Denton County Courthouse and checked their title. Someone had forged Paula Cook's maiden name, Paula Smart, and transferred the deed to Carlos Ramirez. Paula's identity was not only stolen, but the thief also stole her house. Even the police said they've never seen a case like this one, but suspect the criminal was able to steal the identity and the house with just Mrs. Cook's Social Security number, driver's license number and a copy of her signature.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/08/identity_thief.html