New Zealand identity theft victim chased by debt collectors over passport fraud

Aaron Doody's stolen passport was used to steal money from his bank account and set-up new phone accounts

When Aaron Doody's passport was stolen from his Wellington flat he cancelled it, called the police and his bank - and then believed that would be the end of it.

What he didn't expect was months of fighting debt collectors and credit rating agencies over the thousands being racked up in his name.

In January, Doody, 26, returned to his Newtown home to discover he had been burgled that day, the thieves making off with his passport, his flatmate's passport and two laptops.

Having reported it immediately, he says: "I kind of thought that would be it. We'd done everything we could."

But nine days later someone walked into a Waikato ANZ branch and withdrew $2000 cash from Doody's account.

The bank's fraud investigator later told him their security footage showed someone presenting a passport.

"I thought that would surely be it," he said.

But Doody's doppelganger has just started. Read more at the New Zealand Dominion Post....

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