ATLANTA,None — Shannon Smith admits when she went inside the Georgia Dome to watch the Atlanta Falcons play the Philadelphia Eagles she never thought she’d be a victim of identity theft and possibly part of a large crime ring.
Smith tells Channel 2 consumer investigator Jim Strickland she parked her car at the game with her check book inside, and because it was a new account she left the PIN there too. A thief took advantage and evidence from canceled checks suggests the thief had unauthorized access to several other checkbooks in other metro Atlanta counties.
"We realized once we got home our wallets were actually gone," said Smith, the owner of two metro hair salons.
Smith said she alerted Navy Federal Credit Union at 1 a.m. and was told all withdrawals would be frozen. She checked her account later and noticed the charges.
"I noticed all the activities that happened and I thought, ‘Oh my God! How did this happen? How could they go into this account if they stopped payment?’" she said.
Smith's statement showed cash withdrawals of $400, $500, $500, $1,000 and $1,000 all on the day after the game. The thief even deposited checks drawn on closed accounts at other banks. Navy Federal Credit Union charged a $15 fee each time. The credit union would not comment on Smith’s personal account, but did confirm it has provided surveillance video to police.
"I'm devastated. I've never had this happen to me before, so it's the first time I've experienced it," said Smith.
WSBTV
