Any advice?
I'm about to file the police report. That's how recently I learned about this.
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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