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Identity theft. (1 Viewer)

Paul McElligott

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Paul McElligott
I have been hit twice with identity theft this year. Someone has used my name and SSN to open cell phone accounts with two different companies. I've gotten hit with a bill for more than $800 from Sprint and last night T-Mobile called because they suspected someone had opened a fraudulent account in my name (they were right).

Tips:

Check your credit reports to see who is making inquiries and what accounts are open in your name. Make sure you recognize all of them.

If you detect indentity fraud, call the major credit reporting agencies (I'll post numbers when I have them handy) and have a fraud alert placed on your credit report. This will alert people to be extra careful about demanding proof of identity before letting people open accounts in your name.

If I ever decide to switch cell phone companies, T-Mobiles first crack over Sprint, if only for their more proactive approach to fraud prevention.
 

BrettB

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Sorry to hear about your troubles. Also, good advice, you can never be too careful.

Sincerely,
Paul McElligott
 

BrianW

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Brian
Brett: :laugh:

Before refinancing my home, I signed up for True Credit which is run by Trans Union, one of the big three credit reporting agencies. For $10/quarter, they monitor your credit report and email you when any new activity occurs, like when a new account is opened. They also provide services in the event any identity theft occurs. You also get to see your credit report (updated every quarter), which is very informative.

I've used this service for perhaps two weeks, but so far I haven't experienced any buyer's remorse. If my identity ever gets stolen, I'll let you all know how good their service really is.

On the other hand, I think most of us have viewed credit reporting agencies as "The Enemy (TM)." It's about time one of the big three credit reporting agencies stepped up to the plate and offerred a service that doesn't make us all feel like a commodity.
 

Eric_L

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Eric
I have worked in the industry and can tell you that by and large identity theft is most often perpetuated by someone you know. Second most often by an employee of a place where you have applied for credit (jewelry stores and auto sales are the most common)

Also it sometimes happens inadvertantly with people who have common names and/or senior/juniors.

A few rules:

1) Never put your social security number on your checks. I've seen it and it is about as stupid as it gets. Why not just get a shirt that says "Harley Davidson blows" and go to a hells angels meet while you're at it? You're just asking for it.

2) Don't even keep your social security card on you. Get it out of your wallet and put it in a safe place at home. Really, it is useless. It won't even get you into a bar.

3) Do not EVER give your social security number to anyone you haven't already decided to do business with. Not their staff, not thieir helper, not even their priest. Do not apply for credit until after you've agreed on a purchase. (car, jewelry, home electronics)

4) Don't apply for credit for anything but homes and cars. Really, do you need 15 different store cards when the all take VISA? You just open yourself up.

Do that and 99% of the risk of ID theft is gone. Here are the loose ends:

1) Don't mail bills from your mailbox. Use a public mail drop or your office. If you want to be real anal, get a po box for incoming mail.

2) Don't share any financial records with that deadbeat brother-in-law. or whoever.

3) Subscribe to magazines under a false name. (also helps with junk mail as you can just have the mail with that name forwarded to oblivion and use a new one)

4) Some would say forgo checks and use a debit cards. I say forgo checks and use a credit card (that you pay off regularly, keep balances on another card) Debit cards take cash out of your bank. If it is stolen you can get cleaned out and it can take a long time to be reimbursed.

5) Beware what sites you buy from. Keep it with verifiable good sites.

6) Never trust a man with two two first names or who shares a name with a city.
 

LewB

Screenwriter
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Feb 11, 2002
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The company I work for has told all their medical insurance providers that they must stop using the employee's SSN as their account number.
My auto/home insurance still does this :angry:
On the home front, I bought a cross-cut shredder for about $50. Once I pay a bill, I put any piece of paper with an account number on it in the shredder. I also keep an eye on my credit card receipts, some only show the last 4 digit of the account while others show the entire account number. All credit card receipts are checked against the statement and then shredded.
 

Denward

Supporting Actor
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Feb 26, 2001
Messages
552
Eric_L: Excellent post!!:emoji_thumbsup:

BrianW: The only problem with the automatic credit monitoring is that you're only covering TransUnion. If anything hits Equifax or Experian only, you still won't know about it. I've decided that I'm going to pull annual credit reports from all 3 agencies at a cost of about $40/year.
 

BrianW

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Brian
BrianW: The only problem with the automatic credit monitoring is that you're only covering TransUnion.
That's true, and it is a disadvantage. It's true that I may never know if someone examines my credit record from the other two agencies. But if someone does steal my identity and applies for a Visa card in my name, then I'm quite confident that the bank sponsoring the card would report this to all three agencies. I'm sure there are other things, however, that I'm not aware of that may slip through. Getting reports from all three agencies is a great idea.

Great post, Eric. I quit using my debit card years ago for the reasons you specify.

Another thing I do is frequently (as in almost daily) check my credit card and checking account balances over the Internet to make sure that only the expected charges appear, and to make sure that my payments get posted in a timely manner.
 

DavidMich

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Nov 27, 2000
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My debit card has the exact same protection as a Visa Credit Card. I am only liable for the first $50.
It's a Wells Fargo Platinum Debit Card. (It was free when I opened the account up 6 years ago....and still is)

Specify one of these from your bank, instead of a regular debit card.
 

BrianW

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Brian
My debit card has the exact same protection as a Visa Credit Card. I am only liable for the first $50.
That's true for mine as well. But don't let that lead you to believe that having your debit card number stolen is no more inconvenient than having your credit card number stolen.

When your credit card number is stolen, the worst-case scenario is that you'll discover the unauthorized charges with your next statement, and a phone call, and possibly a letter, to the issuing bank will clear it up.

When your debit card number is stolen, you may not find out about it until you begin to get notices in the mail that your checks are bouncing because your checking account has been completely emptied. And by the time you begin to get notices in the mail for bounced checks, it's too late to do anything to keep any remaining outstanding checks from bouncing. If any of these checks were for credit card, loan installment, or mortgage payments, then a delinquency for each occurrence may show up on your credit report that you must contest. And the bank won't replenish the money stolen from your account until it completes its investigation, which means you have to come up with another source of cash to make good on the bounced checks as well as find another way to pay future bills. You'll need to write a letter for every check that bounced to put in your credit report. And just because it wasn't your fault doesn't mean that the corner grocery store won't charge you a $35 bounced-check fee. You'll find out very quickly that your bank protects you only from unauthorized charges made on your account, not from the associated fees and penalties that result from bounced checks because your bank account was empty and you didn't know it. Even worse, creditors who received bounced checks may still raise interest rates to astronomical levels, charge late fees, and ding your credit record, just because they can. In a worst-case scenario, you may even have collections agencies harrassing you.

Even though they both say you'll be out a maximum of $50, one is a minor inconvenience, but the other is an absolute nightmare.
 

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