DALLAS — Drugs, cash, weapons. That’s what Dallas police found inside an apartment near downtown Dallas.
"Found quite a bit more than what we were expecting,” said Lt. Julio Gonzalez.
It was the financial crime's unit that made the discovery while investigating an identity theft case.
Police say two suspects were living in the apartment. They were renting it under a Keller's woman's name, whose identity had been stolen.
"What it goes to show is that there is a reason why the bad guy is hiding his true identity and living here and what they are doing,” said Lt. Gonzalez.
WFAA spoke with the victim's husband, who asked we not release their names. He says he first discovered his wife's identity had been stolen while running a routine credit report check.
"And I noticed a large amount of mainly what looked to be rentals, real estate transactions that were going on and they were hard inquiries. That's where businesses are pulling our credit report to check your credit history to see if you qualify," he said.
He tracked down 18 addresses across North Texas, including the one in Dallas. He turned the information over to police agencies and to a Department of Public Safety detective.
"He confirmed that there were two people living in that unit under my wife's name and social security number," the husband said.
The couple isn't sure how the identity was stolen, but somehow the suspects got the wife's old license and social security number.
“And it was an old copy of a driver’s license from when we lived in Florida years ago and even had an outdated address and the license had expired when we moved to this area," the husband said.
Police say there are ways to protect yourself from identity theft, including shredding all documents, and they say no legitimate agency like the IRS is going to ask you to provide personal information over the phone so they say be suspicious of emails or phone calls asking for your information.
Dallas police say identity theft is a huge problem especially with holiday shopping underway. They say you need to beware and check your credit report at least once a year.