Tulsa couple victims of identity theft

A Tulsa couple is dealing with a stack of forged checks. Someone stole Bob and Judi Grove's checkbook recently and within four days, had written $2,500 worth of checks on their account. <br><br>The

Friday, July 26th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A Tulsa couple is dealing with a stack of forged checks. Someone stole Bob and Judi Grove's checkbook recently and within four days, had written $2,500 worth of checks on their account.

The thief bought, among other things, a computer at Best Buy for $600, party supplies at Wal-Mart for more than $400, a washing machine at Sears and groceries at Reasors. Judi Grove, identity theft victim: "So much of my energy and thoughts from work are taken up with this mess, so it's costing me time and money. It's costing all of us because stores increase their prices to cover these kinds of losses."

Even more frustrating is that the Groves aren't considered the victims in this case, since they closed their account. The businesses that accept the checks are the victims, but they often refuse to prosecute, preferring to just write off the losses.