THE WOODLANDS, Texas – "I received a phone call from Target."
That phone call from Target's Fraud Department was Jo's first clue that her son's identity had been stolen.
"The first thing was, 'Did he open account?' I said, 'No, he doesn't live in the country.' I said, 'So it's not him,'" Jo said.
Financial crimes investigators said a guy caught on store surveillance video is the one who did, and not just at Target. They said the accused identity thief and his female companion went on several spending sprees, opening eight lines of credit at various retailers, including an instant bank loan for $4,300, all within 48 hours, in Jo's son's name.
"I was angry and I was shocked," Jo said. What stunned her even more was finding out from investigators that in one instance a little boy accompanied the pair.
"It makes it look more legit. You've got the family setting -- the dad, the young mother and the baby," said Sgt. L. Peterson, with the Harris County Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Division.
Nearly two months have passed since Jo receive the phone call from Target. She said she's no where near cleaning up the financial mess created by the guy in the surveillance video.
"A lot of money, and a lot of time and a lot of frustration. I would like to see them go to jail," Jo said.