A Nebraska woman is angry after someone used her name, Social security number and date of birth to incur more than $200 in U S West telephone bills at a University area apartment.
Shelly Thompson said the information was most likely stolen from her hospital records since it was the only place in Minneapolis with her Social Security number and date of birth. It is unknown where the information was obtained.
Thompson came to the Fairview-University Medical Center in 1998 for a kidney transplant.
Minneapolis Police Sgt. D. Smyser said identity fraud is a common occurrence. Once victims prove to creditors that they are not responsible for the debt, little else is done.
He said it is possible the information was obtained from a medical clinic, but it is difficult to prove because often the person who stole it sells the information to someone else.
Smyser said people should periodically request copies of their credit report to make sure they have no unwarranted debt.

ù The Days Inn on University Avenue in Stadium Village received a bomb threat Saturday night.
An unknown person called employees at the hotel and told them there was a bomb in the building.
Minneapolis police responded to the call and asked everyone to evacuate the building while they performed a search. Employees declined to evacuate the building because they believed the threat was just a prank.
An employee with the Days Inn said the hotel had received several prank calls earlier in the night and was not alarmed by the threat.

ù A University dental student recovered his car Thursday after it was stolen and a sign was put on it that read, “Free car, please take.”
According to police reports, the suspect removed the car from the garage and onto the street, placing the sign on the windshield. The owner had left the keys in the car in case someone needed to get into the garage. The car was returned three days after he filed his report.

ù Matt Bullard, who was arrested last September for hanging from Moos Tower on the East Bank, was cleared last week on two of three charges he faced.
Bullard was charged with fourth-degree burglary and disorderly conduct, but a Hennepin County district court judge threw out both at a hearing Friday. Bullard still faces trespassing charges for the incident.

Thomas Douty welcomes comments at [email protected].