Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

What do you do???

(BTW its not me...thanks God ) Its someone I know though

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

Anyone

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

Does this person who has this problem know who stole their identity?

How did they find out?

You can FM me if you want

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

Yes. I was the victim and it was/has been a PIA to deal with!

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

tell them to call a credit bureau (experian for example) and have alerts put out on their credit.

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

One of the first things I had to do (after I figured out what was going on) was fill out an police report. You then have to contact all of the credit agencies. If there is anything on the credit report, then you dispute charges. You also can make it so you can't be automatically approved for a credit card / loan, etc. It also depends on what has actually happened to her - the extent of the theft.

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

When did this happen?

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

Message edited 2/15/2007 10:34:40 PM.

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

Taken from DebG's post VERY GOOD INFORMATION!!!

1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of
first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook,
they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or
your
first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID
REQUIRED".
3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO
NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put
the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the
number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through
all the check processing channels won't have access to it.
4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone.
If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do
not
have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on
your
checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it
printed, anyone can get it.
5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both
sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my
passport when I travel either here or abroad.

Here's some
critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:
1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But
the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you
know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most important of all : (I never even thought to do this.)
3. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to
place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard
of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and
they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks
initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before
placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and
the thieves threw my wallet away This weekend (someone turned it in). It
seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.Now, here are the numbers you
always need to contact about your wallet, etc., has been stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3.) Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

i did. i had file a police report. the clerk asked me if they catch the person, do i want to press charges no fooling. it happened to me 2x's. the first time i was angrry the second time i got scared. with the second time, someone opened up a credit card in my name...a department store. i already had that card. after there investigation, the charges on the cards were cleared. i now have passwords on my cards

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

I did in college before NYS guidelines required the stopping of use of SS #'s.

I'll FM you Kathleen.

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

Yes.
Someone stole my identity and was able to have my law school loan statements sent to her house and she was also able to open a new loan under my name!!

I needed to complete a police report

Re: Has anyone ever been the victim of identity theft?

FTC site

That will get you started, good luck!