Identity Theft

[crashdive123]

I am now officially the victim of identity theft. Somebody in California has been opening credit cards and getting cell phones in my name. It's troubling (polite was of saying I'm sooooo pizzed). This was initially caught by my credit card issuer. So far, to my knowledge I've caught the two credit cards and cell phone (a nicer phone than I own by the way) before I incurred any charges. I have signed up for Life Lock because of this. I'll let you know how that service works.

[canid]

good to hear you caught it before incurring any debt, but be sure to keep it monitored nonetheless.

in some cases you'd pretty much have to go vigilante to get anything done about it.

[Winnie]

Good lord, it must be a dreadful feeling. I hope nothing more happens.

[canid]

my identity is pretty safe for the moment: at present not even the shadiest of business would dare grant me credit.

[Justin Case]

Wow, Sorry to hear about that crash, You are Very lucky it was caught early ! (If anyone steals my identity the only thing they would be able to do is pay some bills ,LOL)

[Pocomoonskyeyes3]

Don't think that just because you don't have Stellar Credit, that it can't happen to you.... Some "business" in another country got hold of my bank info and was charging $40/month to my account for some type of "Services" That I have no clue who they are or what "Services" they provide. Even though I told my bank about it they let it ride. Only when I reported my Bank to the BBB and threatened to close my account was anything done about it. My bank ended up reimbursing me about $120 of THEIR money. The crooks in another country are laughing about it I'm sure. $40/month may not sound like much, but if they had 100 people's account info it all adds up. Most people wouldn't even notice that amount missing each month, and would assume it was a legitimate charge. Really.... Who steals $40/ month, every month? But if they had that much from each of the "Active" members on this forum alone, It's a sizable amount of money.Especially in some countries that this type of fraud occurs in, where our Laws do not apply and they walk away scot-free.....all the way to the bank....:mad::taz::cursing::censored:

[Old GI]

My ex- tried to get a credit card in my name after the split. Had a watch on it and she's now being watched very closely.

[RangerXanatos]

When I opened up my banking account, I went ahead an applied for a credit card (JIC). The manager who was setting me up said I was denied (probably because I have zero credit) and I would get a letter in the mail stating why. I still haven't gotten tht letter and it was over a year ago. So it makes me wonder if someone has stolen my zero credit and turned it into bad credit?

[Rick]

Crash - File a report with your police department so you have it on file. Also, place a password with the three credit reporting agencies and have your profile locked with them. That way no one can apply for credit (not even you) without specific security measures being observed.

Go out to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp and pull a copy of your credit report from each of the agencies. The report is free (1 report annually) and you'll be able to see if anyone has opened any other credit in your name. You're credit score can be pulled but there is a charge for that. About $8.00 per agency.

You may need to file the police report with the three credit agencies to prove your identity has been lifted.

Good luck.

[Justin Case]

When I opened up my banking account, I went ahead an applied for a credit card (JIC). The manager who was setting me up said I was denied (probably because I have zero credit) and I would get a letter in the mail stating why. I still haven't gotten tht letter and it was over a year ago. So it makes me wonder if someone has stolen my zero credit and turned it into bad credit?

You can check it yourself http://banking.about.com/od/loans/a/freecreditrpt.htm

For Security, I think I would use the phone number rather that putting you info out there in cyber space,,


BTW,, My credit sucks,, Forclosure and a repo....

[Justin Case]

sorry Rick, we were posting at the same time,,,, :blushing:

[Rick]

No problem. Good information can't be posted too often.

[RangerXanatos]

I have also heard that anytime your credit is checked, whether by you or someone else, that it actually lowers your credit. Is this so? It seems counter-productive.

[crashdive123]

Crash - File a report with your police department so you have it on file. Also, place a password with the three credit reporting agencies and have your profile locked with them. That way no one can apply for credit (not even you) without specific security measures being observed.

Go out to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp and pull a copy of your credit report from each of the agencies. The report is free (1 report annually) and you'll be able to see if anyone has opened any other credit in your name. You're credit score can be pulled but there is a charge for that. About $8.00 per agency.

You may need to file the police report with the three credit agencies to prove your identity has been lifted.

Good luck.

Yep. Did all of that. I've been given two addresses that they used in California. Neither of them are real addresses. If I get a real one, I'm sensing road trip.:sneaky2:

[Justin Case]

Yep. Did all of that. I've been given two addresses that they used in California. Neither of them are real addresses. If I get a real one, I'm sensing road trip.:sneaky2:

where was the phone shipped to ?

[Winnie]

My ex- tried to get a credit card in my name after the split. Had a watch on it and she's now being watched very closely.

My ex tried the same thing, what he didn't know was I'd closed all my accounts and re-invented the new me under my maiden name. :)

[crashdive123]

where was the phone shipped to ?

Two different addresses in Bell California for the credit cards. No such address exists, so I've got no idea how that is pulled off. Don't have an address yet for the Android phone with all the bells and whistles was sent.

[Justin Case]

Two different addresses in Bell California for the credit cards. No such address exists, so I've got no idea how that is pulled off. Don't have an address yet for the Android phone with all the bells and whistles was sent.

Maybe its calls can be tracked by serial number ??? not sure if that's possible.

[crashdive123]

The service was cancelled before the phone arrived. I suppose they got a free phone that they can use with another provider, or under another name. Verizons fraud department does not investigate to prosecute unless their loss is in the thousands.

[Justin Case]

Yeak, Its pretty easy to "Unlock" them > http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-unlocked-phone.htm

[Rick]

RX - To answer your question, it depends on the reason the credit check was made. If a credit card company that you have a card with is keeping tabs on you or a company wants to check your credit to send you those 4 million credit card offers you received last month then the answer is no. You did nothing to prompt a change in your credit so there is no impact to your score.

If, on the other hand, you apply for a new loan and a credit check is run then yes. Applying for a new credit card or line of credit can impact you as well.

More credit means more risk and they will look at not only your percentage of credit available to percentage of credit used but also your payment history. Have you been late on payments or defaulted? (rhetorical) then you can bet there will be an impact.

If you have a high score and only a few credit checks then the impact will be negligible. If you have a low score then it could impact you quite a bit. The same is true if you have several loan inquiries at the same time even if your number is high so you want to be judicious about allowing credit checks to be run especially if you are buying that new bedroom set on credit, applying for a new credit card and buying a car in the same month (ouch).

[Rick]

Oh yeah, you probably know this but your liability is limited to $50 per account. Just make certain it's reported to the card company within 60 days of receiving the bill (I think you've already done that, however).

[your_comforting_company]

had any strange calls offering you free stuff lately? I had a company call me a few weeks ago offering $250 in free gass vouchers, and $100 in coupons for walmart and some other stores. They only wanted $1.99 to pay for shipping, and while they were on the phone, I looked up the company on the BBB website which said it was bogus. Nothing is free. Never fall for it. After a few harsh words, they finally hung up on me.

[Rick]

If you really want to get back at a telemarketer then listen to their spiel. Time is money to a telemarketer so the longer you keep them on the phone, the less money they are making. If you tell them up front you aren't interested then you just helped them move on to the next call, saved them time, and increased their revenue stream. Weird, huh?

[canid]

we had 'round table' here in town call us offering up discounts.

the number was an east bay number. now, round table piza is headquartered in concord or some similar, but they claimed to be calling from our local place. it was probably legitimate, but then; if round-table is going to needlessly lie to us to drum up business, do they deserve mine? better safe than sorry.

[crashdive123]

we had 'round table' here in town call us offering up discounts.

the number was an east bay number. now, round table piza is headquartered in concord or some similar, but they claimed to be calling from our local place. it was probably legitimate, but then; if round-table is going to needlessly lie to us to drum up business, do they deserve mine? better safe than sorry.

There are a lot of scams like this - offering a free pizza - robbing you when you answer the door to get it.

[canid]

no worry about that, we have a strict no robbery policy.

[Justin Case]

no worry about that, we have a strict no robbery policy.

he he he :smash:

[nell67]

Put your number on the national No Call list to stop the telemarketers,also check your state government website for their their No Call list,the calls should stop once it goes into affect,if they don't then get as much info from the caller as you can,and file a claim against them,they can be fined for violating those no call lists


https://www.donotcall.gov/

[Rick]

Well, today is my turn in the bucket I guess. I was contacted by one of my credit card banks today that my credit card was used overnight to order NetFlicks. I've taken the appropriate precautions and asked the credit card company to notify me of the person's name and address that actually made the purchase. They said if they determine who it was they wouldn't be able to provide the information to me. I told them that was too bad because I have a nice present I'd personally like to deliver.

As of noon, I am also a Life Lock member.

I had made two purchases yesterday and I've notified both of the companies. Fortunately, or not, they are both smaller companies. However, when you make a purchase over the internet other companies such as the shopping cart company, card authorizing company and merchant services companies are all involved in that single transaction so the theft could have occurred at any point in the process.

I don't really like the Middle Eastern countries but I have to confess that stoning and caning are both gaining greater appeal with me.

[SARKY]

That is why identity theft should be a death penalty offense!

[crashdive123]

It really P'd me off that I felt I needed to get LifeLock. Since I've had it, they have stopped two credit cards from being opened in my name. Still P's me off though.

[Rick]

I called Netflix and they confirmed that someone attempted to do an authorization but failed zip code each time. Sadly, they wouldn't tell me the name of the person.

I'm not out anything, so far, but like you it just PXXX me off to no end that I HAVE to get Lifelock to protect myself from some dxxxxx crook.

I could have used a walking target, too, dang it.

[Justin Case]

Doesn't your Credit card protect you from fraudulent purchases ?

[Rick]

By law you are limited to the first $50 regardless of the amount charged as long as you notify the issuer within 60 days of receiving your statement.

In this case it was the issuer that notified me.

[Justin Case]

also, as far as netflix, That seems like a no brainer, If they send movies to somebody elses address or stream to another IP,, "Busted" .

[Justin Case]

By law you are limited to the first $50 regardless of the amount charged as long as you notify the issuer within 60 days of receiving your statement.

In this case it was the issuer that notified me.

oh,, i see....

[Rick]

In most cases what happens is what's called "carding". The crook goes to a website and attempts to use the card to order something. It really doesn't matter what it is as long as it doesn't cost much. They do that for several reasons. 1. They want to verify the card is good. 2. The purchase is low to prevent maxing out the card and 3. They want to avoid the issuer or the owner from realizing there has been a breech. I'm sure that's what happened here. The card was good but they couldn't pass the zip code because they didn't know it.

[crashdive123]

In my case, my personal info has been compromised. They aren't trying to use existing cards, just get new ones and phones, etc.

[Rick]

My BIL's father had an Escalade purchased in his name out of state. He became a member of Life Lock and so far they've stopped three additional purchases. Is their an open season on folks that steal identities?

[Justin Case]

You should have to show your birth cert or something to get credit,, I dont know, There must be a better way.

[crashdive123]

Today we get a letter asking about an on-line account that we opened (we didn't) with Amazon in my wifes name. We first called their fraud department and cancelled it and secondly (should have done this before) added LifeLock protection for her. They had already charged over a thousand dollars on the account. GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

[Rick]

I did both of us at the same time. I hate it but when there are low life, scum sucking, belly slithering, azzhole faced, thieves ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I'm really up for this caning thing. I may have to practice on someone for a half hour but I'm sure I can't get the hang of it.