Identity Theft???

OMG I don't even know what to say, I got a credit card in the mail yesterday, activated, with a balance that I never applied for. I had it cancelled and did a fraud report with the credit agencies. I got a free credit report there are 6 loan accounts opened in my name recently, auto insurance, and sprint phones showing my my credit. All of which are not mine. I am on the phone holding with credit agency now. I just had to vent, I don't know whether to be angry or cry!

OMG, that is just horrible! hope they can help you. Ugh, wouldn't ya just love to find the jerk who did it?
Hmm, you may want to start using a middle intial or something now.

We just got an email here at work today that our work credit card number was stolen and used at Sears for $400+ on misc items! What are misc items? We had to cancel and get a brand new card ASAP.

Good luck squirtle...let us know how it goes.

I have been on hold 18 minutes now, grrrr thank you for holding please stay on line for the next available agent, like I have any choice.

Ugh, do not give up however frustrating it may be. I've read about this, make sure to check EVERY credit card statement you have from now on.

I had my card stolen a few years back, makes you feel violated, huh? the girl got some good shoes too!!!



makes me so mad that people do this and just do not care about your life. ARGGGG.

Good luck, good luck!!!

omg tanya thats terrible, i wonder if you will find out who it is?
let us know what happens?

I'm so sorry to hear that!! That's a scary thought - identity theft!!!!
I wish we could do this to all the JERKS out there who would do this- then they'd hopefully learn and not do this again!

HOPE it works out for u! Let us know..

Ok this has happened to me in the past
Relax, i know it's hard no to as it's a really scary and shocking situation to be in.
It's good you checked out your credit history, what i also did was ring/ write to every company informing them of what has happened. Make it CLEAR that you did not open the accounts etc and so will not be held responsible to any expenses etc. that pretty much makes them take notice.
Some companies deal with this type of thing well, others admittedly don't.
Also report it to the police, i did so here in the UK but they were pretty much useless and said unless i have bailiffs knocking on my door etc then they cant do anything about it.
I have also had a security check thing put on all my cards, whereby if i use it, i normally get a phone call if it looks suspicious and i have a password on there. It means my card doesn't get accepted in certain places ie esp the internet, but for me the inconvinience is worth the peace of mind.

Apparently these fraudsters normally go through your trash and try and find something with your name and address, or card details on it. With me, they found something to do with my car (not a bill) then somehow faked a utility bill and took this to various banks to open different accounts.
i now shred EVERYTHING that has my name on it before i chuck it out. Invest in a shredder or burn everything.

I remember when i first found out what had happened, i kept gettting what i asumed to be junk mail from various companies and didnt open the letters. It wasn't until i was sat there bored one day and decided to see why i was getting so much. When i opened them one by one my hands were literally trembeling as i found account after account and loans and phone contracts had all been taken out in my name
At first i simply burst into tears, and couldnt work out why it happened to me, then i just got damn angry at the.......
But relax, it can be sorted out, do you have any idea how long this has been going on for??

Oh dear!! that's really worrisome, who has access to your social security information?!
I hope everything works out!
*crosses fingers*

How do you get a credit check? Are they free?

Oh this is terrible, Tanya! I'm glad you've discovered this so you can take care of it quickly! Please let us know what you find out!

We have a friend going through this same thing. It's been over a year and still going. You DO need to do a Police report, and contact the 3 main credit reporting agencies.

3 things.

Firewall your computers. No exceptions to that.

Turn off "Autocomplete" in windoze. If you make a purchase using a Credit card it stores that info on your drive. Anyone that can hack in will have everything they need to ruin your credit life. Anyone with physical access to the computer also has the ability to get your CC numbers and expiration dates..

Lastly, Buy and more importantly use a shredder for any documents that go into the trash.
Recently in Woodland Hills LAPD busted 5 people operating Credit Card and check scams from a hotel room. Where did they get their info??? Total amount scammed estimated by LAPD.....5 Million dollars.

From garbage cans.


Good luck Squirtle.



Jeff

What a nightmare. So they have found that my credit information had been linked to another person in my city with the very similar name to me. My credit report shows like 20 different addresses that I have supposedly lived at in the last 6 years, I am just 24 so since I was 18. 5 addresses are po boxes, the fraud lady at first thought there was a mistake and our information was somehow merged, but when they called one of the banks where there are 4, yes 4, outstanding loans, they had that girls name, but my social security number. They are doing some investigation into it. There is a cell phone, those 4 loans, car insurance, and phone and electric utility company on there. Including several inquiries into my credit, from places I have never applied and theres the credit card I got yesterday in the mail. I cancelled it, but they still have charged $178 to it. The fraud lady was kind of rude to me the entire time, like I was guilty of something. She started to slack off on me a bit towards the end of the call. But ugh, like I asked for this Now I have fraud alerts on my credit and I can't use my own credit card on line or it will be declined, I also can't apply for anything online because it will be automatically declined. What a mess

Oh, and I forgot to add this person will be turned into the state attorney's office tomorrow.

Oh and 1 other thing the first occurance of this was in 2001!

that's horrible. keep on the credit places because they will move like molasses in january. not kidding. it can take some people years to clean up their credit. those are the ones that have houses and all kinds of big stuff on them. geez, this is so awful. i feel terrible for you.

Tanya that is terrible. Thank goodness that card turned up or else you wouldn't have found out and it would have gone on for even longer. What do you have to do to clear all your credit markings now?

Supposedly, in 30 days the stuff that doesn't belong will be cleared. I told her I even wanted the inquiries that weren't mine off. (I heard those aren't good to have alot of). But I won't hold my breath.

I used to work at a credit card company and this happens all the time but is really on the increase in the last few years. I'm so sorry you are going through this!

File a police report right away and contact your bank, every credit card company you have a card with and credit rating agencies about your situation.Start a file, and record the name/time/date of everyone you speak to for future referral.

Here's a good website with further information on what to do:
Identity Theft

Thank you, I am going to check that site out. Thank you all so much for the advice. I am sorry I didn't thank you in my earlier post, I am just so frustrated, and still can't believe this has happened. I just hate that there are people out there who do this. It is so sad that there really are people that are so heartless that they would do this to another person.

Tanya! I just read this post. How awful!! I am very glad for you that you caught onto it, though. Imagine where it would be in a year if you hadn't! I understand that identity theft is at an all time high, and if your credit is really screwed up because of this #*@!& you can, under some circumstances, have a whole new Social Security number issued and basically start over. I know this because I was in a situation where I feared I was a victim of identity theft and researched every possible fix to the situation. Good luck, I know it's terribly frustrating, but keep at it, and keep records! I know it seems hindersome to write every single little thing down, but it will pay in the end to have it! And if you start feeling down about all this, remember...you're only 24! You are still very young and have tons of time for this to be fixed!
Take care and keep us up to date on what is happening! Good vibes headed your way from me and my lovely Stinky cat!

Tanya that's shocking!

As Russian Blue said Keep a file with names, dates etc...

So are you saying in 30 days you will be able to use your card again as usual?

Well, I can use my card, the fraud alert is more of a security issue. I may see if I can just keep it on there. Sure its annoying to not be able to use a card online, but I can use paypal and most places accept that. I thought about this alot last night and I still can't understand how the first occurance was 3 years ago and it never came up before? Also, how could I have gotten approved for that stuff at the bank! So many questions, I wonder if I will ever find the answers.