Identity Theft?

[FleshNBones]

What are some of the signs that someone has stolen your identity?

 

I've gotten calls for several days in a row about "reducing credit card debt", and home refinancing. I didn't take it seriously because I never got a bill, I don't have a credit card, and I don't own a home. My checking and savings accounts look okay. I was probably on a calling list, but now I'm starting to wonder.

 

I am a little worried that someone out there is maxing out credit cards, and taking out mortgages with my identity.

[Trialbyfire]

One way to confirm if someone is using your identity is to check your credit information. If an unknown financing company(s) has done a credit check on you, it's probably the case.

[Lizzie60]

What are some of the signs that someone has stolen your identity?

 

I've gotten calls for several days in a row about "reducing credit card debt", and home refinancing. I didn't take it seriously because I never got a bill, I don't have a credit card, and I don't own a home. My checking and savings accounts look okay. I was probably on a calling list, but now I'm starting to wonder.

 

I am a little worried that someone out there is maxing out credit cards, and taking out mortgages with my identity.

 

Make sure noone knows your personal account numbers, or your xxxx shoot I have a blank..

 

I had my identity stolen once.. what a mess that was...

The two majors credit compagny have put a 'Fraud Alert' on my file.

I had my debit card cloned.. and my credit card was suspected of fraud.. the two last in about 6 weeks..

[Touche]

I found out that my ID was stolen when I tried to set up home phone service at our new house (last year.) My social security number was stolen. It was hell. I had to file a report and couldn't even establish phone service in my name. Ugh. But apparently my good credit wasn't ruined. Oddly, when I ordered (for no cost) credit reports from the three big credit companies, none of that showed up. Weird. My credit standing is still very good.

[FleshNBones]

Make sure noone knows your personal account numbers, or your xxxx shoot I have a blank..

 

I had my identity stolen once.. what a mess that was...

The two majors credit compagny have put a 'Fraud Alert' on my file.

I had my debit card cloned.. and my credit card was suspected of fraud.. the two last in about 6 weeks..

I pretty religious about shredding papers, receipts, and even addresses.

 

Should I call my bank, or the credit card company (for my debit card), or both?

I haven't gotten anything from them indicating a problem.

 

Am I the only person who gets regular telemarketer calls for debt reduction, and refinancing?

[Lizzie60]

I pretty religious about shredding papers, receipts, and even addresses.

 

Should I call my bank, or the credit card company (for my debit card), or both?

I haven't gotten anything from them indicating a problem.

 

Am I the only person who gets regular telemarketer calls for debt reduction, and refinancing?

 

No I do... I get calls, letters, emails... they are annoying.

 

I don't think there is a reason to worry... if nothing is indicating a fraud or something.. I say don,t worry about it..

 

Each time it happened to me.. they (bank) called me.. I had no idea... the 3 times.

[Gwyneth]

My identity was stolen summer of 2005, and I didn't find out until fall 2006. I had no indication that my identity was stolen.

 

I decided to run a credit report / check on myself for the heck of it. When the report came, I saw that my name had been changed, as well as my birthdate. Then I saw a credit line of $14,000 that was in use under my credit / social security, and no one was paying it.

 

Clever...

 

I tell you, I never freaked out and cried so hard in my life. I called my mother and she thought the absolute worse thing had happened since I wasn't making any sense as I was crying so hard. I was a mess...

 

I didn't just let it slide though. I did my research and made sure this mess was cleared within a month. And it was, thank the good lord.

 

First thing I did was contacted the credit lender--good ol' GE Money as in General Electrics () which a Home Store store in Brooklyn used to give their customers credit if let's say they wanted to buy a dishwasher or something. Well I finally after hours of trying to find the right person to speak to, come to find out that this was an inside job, and the Home Store store had been shut-down since so many identitify theft situations occured from this store.

 

It's nice to know GE went after the store and had it shut down, but what would have been nice is if someone would have told me that I had a credit line under deliquency...HELLO???? Is that asking too much? Idiots.

 

I also filed a police report and the detective working on my case worked hand-in-hand with the investigator at GE Money. Thankfully, my credit was back to normal within two months...

 

This schmuck also tried to get a TMobile account under my identity. Well TMobile wasn't at all stupid in realizing, "hmm, well this social security belongs to a girl named Gwyneth who is x years' old and lives in Manhattan...however the applicant's name is jane doe who is x years' old, and lives in whoseville." Doesn't take a genius to freakin' care and use some common sense to see that the profiles don't match up.

 

I have since froze my credit so even I cannot open or buy a car without unlocking my credit.

 

But let me tell you...

 

It seems SOOOO easy to steal someone's ID, but the minute you want your ID back, or put security warnings on your credit, it's Hell trying to get anything like a car or a phone account. What the consumers put you through is absolute Misery. But it's something I'll have to deal with forever...thanks to the thief who stole my identity.

[BiAxident]

I found out that my ID was stolen when I tried to set up home phone service at our new house (last year.) My social security number was stolen. It was hell. I had to file a report and couldn't even establish phone service in my name. Ugh. But apparently my good credit wasn't ruined. Oddly, when I ordered (for no cost) credit reports from the three big credit companies, none of that showed up. Weird. My credit standing is still very good.

 

I'm thinking I should check my credit report just to be on the safe side. What are the "big three" credit companies. I could probably Google in, but I've heard of too many companies which aren't reputable (I'm looking at you, freecreditreport.com)!!

[SnapCracklePop]

I've dealt with a few bouts of identity theft, and I agree it is a major pain to deal with. I had collection agencies after me for things I never bought... yet whoever signed up for services did so with my SIN. Took me 6 months to resolve that one...

 

Some tips:

Contact your credit bureaus and request security features to be added to your profile. By default there are none, meaning anyone can get your credit info without you being notified. Canada has 2 credit bureaus. USA has 3 I believe.

 

Shred anything with your name & address on it. And get a good shredder. Straight cut is not sufficient.

 

Do not discuss your utility bills with anyone at your door (or on the phone for that matter) looking to give you a discount.

 

Check your own credit report every so often. Note that if you did add security features, you must request info in writing along with copies of gov issued photo ID.