FLORENCE — Police are asking for the public’s help to identify a woman who used someone else’s identity to open charge accounts at local businesses.

“The victim lives in New York and she was contacted by someone from Home Depot asking about an account she was trying to open up in Florence,” Florence police detective Jerry Pearson said. “The woman has never been to Alabama and didn’t know anything about an account.” Pearson said the victim contacted Florence police and it was determined that a woman using the New York resident’s name and Social Security number had opened accounts at Kohl’s, Sears, Belk, Dick’s Sporting Goods and J.C. Penney.

He said the woman was denied credit at Home Depot, Best Buy, T.J. Maxx and Lowes.

“How she got this lady’s name and identification is something we are still trying to determine,” Pearson said. “Right now, we’re trying to identity the suspect.” He said on Oct. 19-20, the woman using a fake New York identification with the name Jackson made purchases of clothes and electronics along with other items on credit at the local stores.

Anyone knowing the identity of this woman is asked to contact Florence police at 256-768-2728 or Shoals Crime Stoppers at 256-386-8685.