Any advice?
I'm about to file the police report. That's how recently I learned about this.
Printable View
Any advice?
I'm about to file the police report. That's how recently I learned about this.
That sucks. You have a tough road ahead of you, but it's not impossible to get out of. Just keep your chin up, and gather as much documentation and evidence as you can get. You pretty much know what you need to do. I've been there, too. Seven years later and I'm just now getting things back together.
Might want to do a search on your ssn with one of those info brokers that sell your personal info (which they think they own, because it's apparently only data) and see if you can deduce to what extent that your info has been compromised.
Why am I telling you this, you know what to do. We're all here for you.
CC# has said it all really
just try to keep yourself focused
don't let 'em grind you down
I don't do prayer
but you will be in my thoughts
I wish you well
Pax
You can get your credit report online fo $10 from equifax:
https://www.econsumer.equifax.com/co...ard=cpo_detail
Or free by mail at:
Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
You may want to call this number first and find out what info they need by mail or they may let you give them the info over the phone.
1-800-685-1111
Actually, as a victem of identity theft, with a police report, you should be able to get a free report from all three major bureaus.
It's the little things like that I wish I knew ahead of time. I've started this out of order, I did the credit check first and I'm doing the police report soon.
Bye bye 40 bucks
Soda,
This has happened to a few people I know. As a result, I took some precautionary measures. For starters, you can get all 3 credit bureaus reports for free, once a year. (Equifax, Experion and Trans Union are the 3 major bureaus). I don't know if you can request them online or have to snail mail the requests (for the free reports). In addition to that, you can get a credit watching program with any of the 3 bureaus I believe. I currently have a credit monitor with Equifax (although it wasn't cheap).
Next step is to check all your credit reports and make sure you go through each account and verify that you did indeed open that particular account. Look for all transactions as well for each account. If you disagree with any account listed, you can challenge it and the credit bureau will investigate it. I have removed a couple bad accounts this way (because I had paid them off and the credit bureaus never showed it). Trust me, they don't give a sh*t about your credit history. The only person that will take the time to straighten out your credit history will be you. They love to mark up your credit history with bad accounts and take their sweet ass time removing mistakes they made. It sucks. Trust me. Good Luck to you buddy.
Hi Soda,
If you think your identity has been stolen, here's what to do:
1. Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. The fraud alert tells creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you're entitled to order free copies of your credit reports, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports.
2. Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit (PDF, 56 KB) when disputing new unauthorized accounts.
3. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place. Get a copy of the report or at the very least, the number of the report, to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.
4. File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can better assist you.
View or print an easy-to-follow brochure on how to Deter, Detect, and Defend against identity theft. For more in-depth information on recovering from identity theft and help with specific problems, read Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft.
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
Federal Trade Commission: Your National Resource About ID Theft
Identity Theft: What to Do if It Happens to You
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm
Identity Theft Victims Guide
Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft
(formerly: "ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name")
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft.htm
Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft
hope these help...if I knew where you lived I would have narrowed it down to State.
Eg ;)
Soda,
From your blog, I think this may be useful:
Key Illinois Identity Theft Laws
- If you are a victim of identity theft, you have the right to file a report with your local police department. A copy of this report should be useful for victims who need to document that a theft has occurred, or who choose to place an extended fraud alert on their credit report.
- Insurance companies can no longer print your social security number on your insurance cards. Under this law, if your insurance company has been using your social security number on your insurance card, they must replace that card with a new identification number by January 1, 2006.
- All businesses will be prohibited from publicly posting your social security number or printing it on any cards as of July 1, 2006, unless they already had been using your social security number in that manner and you do not ask them to stop.
- Public and private universities, government agencies, non profits, and businesses must notify you if your personal information has been stolen as of January 1, 2006.
- Identity theft victims may place a security freeze on their credit report to prevent thieves from taking out credit in their name as of January 1, 2006
The Chicago Metropolitan Identity Fraud Task Force (CMIFTF) phone number is (312) 781-4545. Relevant since this is where at least one occurance took place.
Complete text of IL's ID theft statute (720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/16G).
I plan on following up with my steps on http://www.thebillygoatcurse.com, it probably won't be as exciting as the bob kema series but I think it will be much more useful. ;)
Thanks for the support
I read the title of this thread and was hoping for a link to some article on identity theft as I didn't think I'd ever see a thread about you being a victim of it. Sorry to hear that. Good luck with the battle.
You can actually get a free report from all three yearly.Quote:
Originally posted here by 576869746568617
Actually, as a victem of identity theft, with a police report, you should be able to get a free report from all three major bureaus.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/...reereports.htm
Here is another link to obtain all 3 reports for free;
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
I recently found a charge to Match.Com through my debit card. I called my bank and notified them that it was fraudulent and that I would be calling match.com to get refunded. The bank offered to reverse the charges, and also notified me that there was another charge on the same day to match.com through the joint account that my wife and I have. So not only did someone get my debit card number, they also got the debit card number for our joint account. I have used the debit card for my account numerous times, but neither of us have ever used the joint account card online.
I sent in a letter to my bank, and also the FBI, because I was concerned that it was an inside job or hack job at the bank. I haven't gotten a response from any parties yet regarding that, but within 5 days, the charges were refunded from match.com
The only other time something like this has happened to us is when my wife lost her purse about 7 years ago. Whomever found it used our checking account (checkbook in the purse) to order a bunch of porn. The bank refunded us our money, and we tried filing a police report. I went in a talked to a detective, and told him what happened. He said "I don't see how we could find this guy." I told him the company providing the porn requires an active email address, and I actually got it from them. I told him that they could subponea to get router logs to track this guy down. His eyes glazed over when I mentioned IP Address. Finally after I told him the bank refunded us our money he said "Oh, so you have no complaint, because you got all your money back." Damn hicktown cops.
Heh. You may wanna ask the wife if she has a match.com account.Quote:
The bank offered to reverse the charges, and also notified me that there was another charge on the same day to match.com through the joint account that my wife and I have.
That would make my day. I'd pack her bags ;)Quote:
Exactly what I was thinking... time to setup a transparent proxy at home!Quote:
Heh. You may wanna ask the wife if she has a match.com account.
I think that is one of the worse things that can happen to someone
I wish i could help you with some usefull info.
But unfortunatly i don't know much about this subject (i'm sure you do)
Good luck with it
Send me her picture and maybe I'll take her off your hands.Quote:
Any updates soda?
Yes, I went to the cops. The cop I spoke with said I needed to show them more to create a good police report. More details on my blog...
Have any of you ever filed a police report? What was your experience?
I've filed several police reports in my life. What a hassle. Don't look for much satisfaction. It's more of a formality than anything.
uh, yes, and no comment.Quote:
Have any of you ever filed a police report? What was your experience?
First off, I want to commend publically ShagDevil for his first post in this thread. It was good advice, and accurate.
Then Egaladeist followed up with some really good additional information, though I was confused by the use of us inI think one of the problems here is an understanding of what exactly has been "stolen"Quote:
Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can better assist you.
This may not comfort you, but:
As I understand it, your identity has not been stolen, but rather your SS number was used by another to obtain services that they may not otherwise have been entitled too? But it could have been a clerical error by someone? FAT FINGERS have been the cause of much consumer frustration.
You are going to have to check with laws for your state to ascertain if the SS number by itself falls under any identity theft statutes. If not, then your only other recourse for possible criminal prosecution may be through some of the links that Egaladeist provided. ( prosecution of which is doubtful as the statute of limitations has probably run out. )
In any case, it does not mean the local authorities can not take a report, it just means that you have to understand that they have no place to go with it. But providing them with little information other then a he said / she said scenario is useless to even you. Written documentation from company A and company B concerning the incident would provide them with something that you could use.
Remember, in most places it is a criminal offense to falsify information to police authorities and additional criminal offenses usually exist to supply or provide ( the term here is utter ) false documents, and yet another to create ( the term here is forgery ) said false documents which you supplied the police. So by providing the police with some type of documentation ( in other words, not hearsay ) entities like insurance companies or credit companies ( even cellular phone companies ) request police reports because they know they have an avenue to pursue if they discover your allegations to be false ( ie. jail time for you .... but in some circumstances, as insurance, civil penalties sometimes far outweigh criminal penalties!!!! )
But in many places, it is not a requirement to have a police report, they only say it is.
I hope I didn't confuse you with all that sh*t, but that is the way it is, and it is most times hard for the average person to understand unless they have been put through the grinder.
I know I am beating a dead horse here, but as I have said before, until all this came to light with identify theft within the past five years or so, many companies ( against federal law ) used the SS number as the end-all for identification. ( This is now changing, albeit slowly.)
I am not saying it will be easy for you to get this rectified, but with proper documentation and a little patience and perseverance on your part you should be able to.
By the way, to clarify the reporting agency stuff, I believe it is that the credit reporting agencies must provide you with a free report once a year, and if you have been the victim of identity theft, lock your credit free of charge, but you have to be able to prove you have in fact been a victim. If you want a report more often then that, or you want to lock your credit and have not been a victim ( or can not prove you have been a victim, ) you have to pay for their services.
I hope I have helped make it clearer.
Was used by two institutions, which means the client provided them both with the same number. Fat fingers at both institutions would be a slim coincidence.Quote:
As I understand it, your identity has not been stolen, but rather your SS number was used by another to obtain services that they may not otherwise have been entitled too? But it could have been a clerical error by someone? FAT FINGERS have been the cause of much consumer frustration.
On another note, (this isn't any solid evidence at all), but the apartment was rented in an area saturated with illegal immigrants. I don't like assumptions over certainties, but everyone I've told the address to has had that fact on the top of their minds.
I updated the blog again. And guess what, USAToday linked my Bob Kema series!
http://blogs.usatoday.com/techspace/...g_the_tab.html
Congrates on the USAToday linking ...
Why does this not surprise me?Quote:
... an area saturated with illegal immigrants.
In the two incidents, did the person use the same name in both? What I am getting at here is maybe this person bought a forged SS card on the street ( which just by chance had your number on it ) so they could obtain services like you speak of, and also appear to work legitimately in this country.
Did you check with the SS office in your area to see if the number is being used for employment anywhere under a different name? I don't know how much help they will be, but it might be worth a try.