A Johnston County man enlisted in the US Army recently returned home from an eight month deployment to discover someone had stolen his identity.
The 24 year-old Archer Lodge resident said after being deployed in February someone stole his identity and used his personal information at a Cary auto dealership to purchased a 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup.
The soldier said he only became aware of the truck purchase when he returned home and checked his mail and found a bill from the Johnston County tax office for the property taxes due on the truck.
Johnston and Wake County authorities are jointly investigating. Officials are also looking for the truck now considered as stolen.
According to Military.com, soldiers need to take extra precautions while on deployment. Notify credit bureaus to place an “Active Duty Alert” on your credit file to ensure any unusual spending during a deployment is watched and handled immediately. Also, notify your commanding officers your identity has been stolen. Identity theft affects members of the military twice the rate of civilians.
