Trust is an important part of any relationship, including the one between a mother and her children. Once broken, it's not always easily fixed. Of course, there are levels of deception, ranging from little white lies to the more sinister acts that threaten to tear families apart forever.
A man has been left reeling after discovering that his mom secretly photographed his new girlfriend's identity documents and saved them on her phone. To make matters worse, when he confronted her about it, she claimed it was "no big deal." In a sickening twist, it later emerged she'd been keeping "files" on many other people for more than 20 years...
When he found out his mom had secretly photographed his GF's ID, he was shocked
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But he didn't realize this was just the tip of the iceberg, and things were about to get a whole lot more sinister
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Many netizens were baffled and some immediately suspected identity fraud for credit purposes
Things took a turn for the worse when the man learned about even more secret "files"
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Image credits: DΛVΞ GΛRCIΛ / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Here's what the law says about being in possession of someone else's personal data
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) defines identity theft and identity fraud as all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.
To clamp down further on such crimes, Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act in 1998.
"This legislation created a new offense of identity theft, which prohibits 'knowingly transfer[ring] or us[ing], without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law,'" explains the DOJ site.
Under the Act, a name or Social Security Number is considered a "means of identification." "So is a credit card number, cellular telephone electronic serial number or any other piece of information that may be used alone or in conjunction with other information to identify a specific individual," adds the Florida Office of Attorney General James Uthmeier.
In most circumstances, if you're found guilty, you could face a maximum term of 15 years' imprisonment, a fine, and criminal forfeiture of any personal property used or intended to be used to commit the offense.
There are a number of shady things someone can do if they get their hands on your identity documents and/or have enough identifying information about you. For example, they could apply for loans and credit cards, fraudulently withdraw money from your bank accounts, use your online accounts, or obtaining other goods and privileges, which they might be denied if they were to use their real name.
According the experts at Find Law, in order to convict someone of identity theft, prosecutors must prove specific elements beyond a reasonable doubt. The exact requirements vary by state but generally, the prosecution would have to show that you obtained, possessed, transferred, or used another person’s identifying information without their permission.
"If you have a legitimate reason for possessing someone’s private information, such as it being part of your job, it might be a viable defense against the charges," explains that site, adding that one of the most critical elements is intent. This means that prosecutors must prove you knowingly and willfully used someone else’s information.
Merely possessing another person’s information without authorization may not always be enough for a conviction if there’s no evidence of intent to commit fraud or another crime.
However, the experts warn that in some states there are separate crimes for mere possession of identifying information under certain circumstances, such as possessing multiple people’s information or possessing devices used to create fake IDs.
People were shocked and advised the man to speak to his siblings
A family discussion revealed that his mom is a very troubled soul with a lifelong pattern of disturbing behavior
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