People using your name/info and getting credit cards.. ugh. (1 Viewer)

[Doug R]

I found out today that someone used my name and SSN (I suppose) to get a credit card and racked up a small chunk of change on. The creditors called me asking for their money
I lost my wallet months back and thought I had everything covered but someone still managed to pull this scam.
Anyone else ever had this problem? Any advice? Naturally I'm cancelling this card that's not mine, then contacting their customer service to report fraud. Next I'll get my credit pulled and make sure nothing else is on there. Then someone mentioned that I can get a notice on my credit report that I wish to be contacted by voice (w/ password) when someone applies for credit with my info.
Really depressing this could happen.. I forget how easy it is to just get a credit card. Sigh, oh well. Hoping for the best,
Doug

 

[Bob McElfresh]

You should also contact the local police and file a report. You should also document every thing that happens and keep it in a file. You may need it months down the road.

 

[Doug R]

Thanks Bob!

 

[Mike Voigt]

This is identity theft and actionable. Keep records, report it to the police. Make sure the credit companies know this also.

Mike

 

[Sarah S]

Never, ever, cary your SSN card in your wallet/purse. If you lose this, or someone steals your wallet/purse SSA can not mark your number as being lost or stolen & will try its absolute best not to give you another one. (They try to reserve that for people in Federal Witness Protection Program and similar situations. )

If you put a password on your credit report, remember to do this with all three major credit bureaus. (Trans Union, Equifax & Experian). The credit bureaus don't really comunicate with one another & what shows up on one company's record wll not automatically show up on all.

If this keeps occurring, you can get the Federal Trade Commission involved & they will gladly try to set up a case against the person/persons involved. Their phone number is 1-800-438-4338 (I think).

Last but not least, if you are old enough to be receiving yearly Socal Security Statements, make sure all the earnings being reported are yours. While people may not be able to rack up enormous amounts of debt using your info, they still might sell it to someone who wants to work & is frustrated by the delays INS has.

 

[Brian Mansure]

Doug,
You are definitely going to want and report this to your credit card companies and so forth but I'm not so sure your local police will do much.
I would suggest contacting your State's Attorney General's office. Most of the Attorney General offices have departments or teams that directly handle identity theft cases.
Good Luck and I hope that everything gets taken care of.
edit:
I have found a link that may help you out...
Link Removed
Brian

 

[Danny R]

but I'm not so sure your local police will do much.

You might consider contacting the local branch of the Secret Service (believe it or not). They are the police force responsible for tracking down credit card fraud, counterfeit currency, etc. This is because they are part of the treasury department.

 

[Ralph Summa]

I had a $500 live VISA card sent to my house about six months after we bought our home. The name on the card was Jack Mehoff. My wife called the credit card company and they wouldn't let us cancel it "without Mr. Mehoff's social security number." My wife was telling the customer service rep, "read the name on the card!" The woman had no clue. When she finally got it, she still wouldn't let us cancel the card. We ended up destroying the card, but we were nervous that our address was on it.