MONTEZUMA, Ga. — Fran Dixon from Montezuma is working to get her number and other accounts back after she fell victim to identity fraud.
Dixon told 13WMAZ that it started after the power went out from Hurricane Helene.
"The internet was down and when it came back on, it came on for a couple of days, and then mine went off again," Dixon said.
She says she called Windstream, her internet provider, which includes her internet and house landline.
Dixon says she logged into another computer to get her emails and they were not there. She says a Windstream representative told her that her emails were forwarded to another account and the originals were deleted. She says she also wasn't getting her physical mail either.
"I went to the post office and found out that someone had gone online and put my mail on hold. So, I was not getting any mail at the house. And then when I started getting the mail back, I realized that I was getting notices from credit card companies that I had not set up credit card accounts," Dixon said.
Dixon says the credit card companies told her the cards were used to make purchases at Best Buy, Uber Eats and other services.
"When I talked to them, the lady asked me about Uber Eats and I said, 'Montezuma doesn't have Uber Eats as far as I know,'" Dixon said.
Dixon kept all the mail from places where she had fallen victim to identity fraud. Kelvin Collins, President/CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia says documenting everything was the right move.
"Then if you find that you have been victimized and you need to fill out a police report, or an affidavit somewhere, you've got those details that you're going to be back to refer back to," Collins said.
Dixon filed a police report, and called the Federal Trade Commission service and her bank to put holds on her accounts. She hopes no one will become vulnerable to the same situation she was in.
Collins says if you don't use your credit cards often, the best way to prevent fraud is put a freeze on your credit so no one can apply for a credit card in your name.