GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Officials are searching for a woman they say stole a Gwinnett County woman's identity to get a job at Equifax.

Tonia Leach said her identity was stolen by a woman who worked at a major U.S. credit reporting agency and investigators believe the identity thief is in the Gwinnett County area.

Leach first discovered that someone had stolen her identity after her credit report showed that Manpower and Equifax had conducted background checks on her. Since Leach had never applied for jobs there, she knew what happened.

Authorities said a woman stole Leach’s name, Social Security number and date of birth to get a job at Manpower, a temp agency. It was there the woman was also able to get a job at Equifax, a credit reporting agency.

A spokesman for Equifax told Channel 2 that the employee did not have access to any of their records.

“I didn’t understand how when you do a background check you check for a credit report but you do not pull up a picture from the DMV to see a picture to verify,” said Leach.

Investigator Jim Mayes said the woman may have gotten Leach’s information while working at a Gwinnett County apartment complex where Leach temporarily lived.

“I was able to track her movement as far as addresses she left, also through a personal reference she left from her last employment,” said Mayes.

The woman also opened credit cards in Leach’s name. Leach even got a bill from the IRS. Leach said her life has been turned upside-down.

“When the creditors call, they call me at 6, 7, 8, 9, every hour of every day. They will call you because they want their money. It was horrible,” said Leach.

Equifax released a statement that said, "We can confirm that an individual posing as Ms. Leach was employed with Equifax for less than a year, beginning in early 2006. There were no indications with the identification information that she provided or through the work history or the credit report that this was a stolen identification."

Again, a spokesman for Equifax told Channel 2 that the employee did not have access to any of their records.

The investigation is continuing.