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I read statistics which contend identity theft affects at least 8 million people per year. I was wondering if there is any member who has been a victim of identity theft. How much was your financial loss? Was it social security, medical or driver's license identity theft? After this experience, what pre-cautions do you think you could have taken in order to prevent it? How many hours did you invest in resolving your identity? I know that most people are minor victims of credit card fraud; however there are some people who take years to restore their identity. Please share your stories.
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I am raising my hand.
Someone stole my identity and opened something like 8 credit cards in my name. Immediately maxed them all out. They were nice enough to use my real phone # and address, so I found out immediately. I don't remember how much, but it was in the realm of $30k, borrowed in my name, in the course of 2 days.
Financial loss? Not much. I immediately called all the credit bureaus and card companies, and reported everything as fraudulent. I had to spend a few hours making phone calls and following up, no doubt.
I needed to notarize a lot of forms, but get free notary service from my employer, so that saved me some money. I also signed up for credit monitoring for about a year ($150???). There is no way to clear up everything with the "one free report" you get. There are now fraud alerts on all my accounts, and after a year of no further activity, I Felt comfortable dropping the 24/7 credit monitoring.
The credit was mostly ran up at jewelry stores and places like "Home Depot." The junk mail I get from them and notes about being a "wonderful customer" still piss me off to this day. I probably should call and get taken off the lists, but I've spent enough time on the phone with them. It's just annoying!
All in all, I had heard the stories, and though the experience wasn't fun, it wasn't near as bad as I imagined it would. They have really come a long way to protect identity victims' rights. It no doubt helped that I caught it immediately.
It seems pretty much they maxed the cards for 2 days, and were done. I don't it expect to come up again, particularly with the fraud alert on my accounts. The credit card companies clearly turn the other cheek in suspicious cases. The benefits must outweigh their losses. Lord knows why anyone would let you open a credit card and max out $5k in 5 minutes. In a different state!
Precautions? We were never able to find the source of the security breach. They had my maiden name and my married name, etc., etc. To this day I wouldn't be surprised if the information was stolen from a former employer, or one of my financial institutions. IT makes you realize who has your information - it's really everywhere - and not much you can do about it. You can't open an IRA or bank account without giving them all your personal info, etc. My opinion is that there was nothing that could be done. I shred everything and we have a locked mailbox, etc. I wouldn't even talk to the credit card company that reported the identity theft to me because they asked me for my SS# over the phone. I Was uncooperative, but ended up having to call all these places and give them my SS# to clear everything up. IT's ironic to have to divulge your personal information to a number of businesses you have never had contact with before, at a time when you just want to lock it up in a safe.
Going forward, though I know it doesn't matter in this particular case (they knew EVERYTHING about me), I no longer give my SS# to any place I know doesn't "need" it. E.g. doctor's office, etc. I have since learned that my date of birth is very private information and I pretty much share that with no one any more. When it's not needed, I use a psuedo birthdate. I understand I have to use my real birth date for my IRAs, etc. But I no longer share that information with anyone else.
I don't think it matters. I am pretty convinced it was a financial institution where my data was breached. That, or the government (more likely). IRS, FTB? I wil never know. -
I have a cousin who had her credit card stolen. They even got video from one store of the guy using her card. I do not believe she was responsible for any of the charges though.
Personally I have never had any problems, but then again, I am still very young. I have been amazed though at how many opportunities there are for my idenity to be stolen.
While I was in college, one of my chemistry classes required you to write your social security number across the top of the test. This way they would know you were who you said you where. Then after the test were graded, they were left in a box in a busy hallway for you to come by and pick up.
Every time I eat out and pay with my debt card, the waitress walks off and out of sight with my card. It would only take her a few seconds to jot my number down.
The occassional credit card offers that come to my mail box, or the statements themselves also could easily be picked up by someone walking their dog.Comment
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Every other time one of my credit cards expires a fraudulent charge shows up. Fortunately getting the charge removed was usually painless (one phone call and sign some paper work.)Last edited by Hypersion; 08-25-2009, 09:26 AM.Comment
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I've actually had 2 credit cards breached this year (never had before) in addition to my long story above. So, I definitely feel like identity theft is on the rise, in every form. Definitely been a real PITA these last couple of years.
I had one thing to add. When I mention my "identity was stolen" to anyone over like 40, they always say, "That's why I don't do any banking online or buy anything online." This is terribly misguided. Nowhere online does any individual store their name, maiden name, social security, and DOB. & you don't even need to disclose any of this info to open an online account or pay something online. Let's get real, most identity theft originates at a mailbox, or from a trashcan. Organizations are targeted more than individuals (for scores of personal info). Personal online banking is safer than using snail mail. It amazes me the false sense of security people have with their mail boxes and such.
I personally avoid the post office as much as possible. A mail theft ring was traced to our post office and that was enough for me. Caused a lot of headache for a number of our clients. The checks they sent to my boss were stolen, washed, and fraudulently used. I had my suspicions on the post office because anything I mailed from work would just disappear for many weeks. So I stopped using the post office as much as possible because of the missing mail more than anything. But yeah, there is a LOT of theft out there in various forms.Last edited by MonkeyMama; 08-25-2009, 05:16 AM.Comment
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She probably wasn't responsible. I am surprised anyone investigated that far. For me, it was, "we could care less your identity was stolen. We will just clear it up." IT's very disheartening that the credit card companies consider it a "cost of doing business" and no one had any interest in pursuing the thieves, in my case.Originally posted by myrdale View Post
You want to know why identity theft is on the rise? This is precisely why.Comment
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The CC company usually passes on the cost to the business with the fraudulent charge. The banks themselves are not out a penny.Originally posted by MonkeyMama View PostComment
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Thanks for MonkeMama. This is absolutely true. Most identity theft is conducted offline rather than online.Originally posted by MonkeyMama View Post
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RE: Identity Theft Experiences
Actually, mrydale I think that college kids are at the highest risk of identity. I will provide some sources that I have researched that suggest this. Your second sentence answers somewhat answers why this is true. 18-25 year old kids have the most opportunities for thier identities to be stolen.Originally posted by myrdale View Post
Many people do not understand the consequences of social security identity theft. I am glad that you pointed this out.While I was in college, one of my chemistry classes required you to write your social security number across the top of the test. This way they would know you were who you said you where. Then after the test were graded, they were left in a box in a busy hallway for you to come by and pick up.Comment
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RE: Identity Theft Experiences
[QUOTE=MonkeyMama;233283]I am raising my hand.
Someone stole my identity and opened something like 8 credit cards in my name. Immediately maxed them all out. They were nice enough to use my real phone # and address, so I found out immediately. I don't remember how much, but it was in the realm of $30k, borrowed in my name, in the course of 2 days.[QUOTE]
Wow.
Wow. Luckily the id theives were pretty stupid. If they were smart they would have used a different address. Unfortunately, I am certain there are others who shared you same situtation who were not that lucky.Financial loss? Not much. I immediately called all the credit bureaus and card companies, and reported everything as fraudulent. I had to spend a few hours making phone calls and following up, no doubt.
I totally understand why you refused to give out your social security #. It was a smart move on your part. My concern would be did these theives use your social security number to open up your credit acccounts. They could use your social security number to file taxes under your name or sell your social security number to illegal immigrants so they could do the same thing. Did you match your yearly social security earnings against your w-2? If you don't understand what I mean, I can explain it. It takes less than a minute to confirm. Depending on when this occured, you may want to confirm next years social security yearly earnings as well.I wouldn't even talk to the credit card company that reported the identity theft to me because they asked me for my SS# over the phone. I Was uncooperative, but ended up having to call all these places and give them my SS# to clear everything up.Comment
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Yes - to be clear. In my case all the credit cards were issued by the businesses themselves. So the business was out the loss.Originally posted by Hypersion View Post
True, true. It's the businesses who extend a pile of credit and know they will eat a lot of losses. Good point.Comment
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[QUOTE=Justice44;233390][QUOTE=MonkeyMama;233283]I am raising my hand.
Someone stole my identity and opened something like 8 credit cards in my name. Immediately maxed them all out. They were nice enough to use my real phone # and address, so I found out immediately. I don't remember how much, but it was in the realm of $30k, borrowed in my name, in the course of 2 days.I don't know if the thieves were stupid, or they just didn't care. They obviously were done after 2 days. The truth is the theft was easier because they used my information. (Changing my address would be a red flag - maybe less credit issued. They used different phone #s in most cases - not sure what that was about - whey they used my real phone # for others).Wow.
Wow. Luckily the id theives were pretty stupid. If they were smart they would have used a different address. Unfortunately, I am certain there are others who shared you same situtation who were not that lucky.
I totally understand why you refused to give out your social security #. It was a smart move on your part. My concern would be did these theives use your social security number to open up your credit acccounts. They could use your social security number to file taxes under your name or sell your social security number to illegal immigrants so they could do the same thing. Did you match your yearly social security earnings against your w-2? If you don't understand what I mean, I can explain it. It takes less than a minute to confirm. Depending on when this occured, you may want to confirm next years social security yearly earnings as well.
I understand about the SS# theft. It hasn't been an issue. Doesn't mean it never will. I am certainly on top of it.Comment
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Well I'll join the club too. I made a thread about it that can be found here
Summary:
Someone got my paypal and email login information and bought about $2k worth of stuff using paypal. Paypal was good about it and got me all my money back. Since then, I've changed all my passwords and have unique passwords for each important site I visit.Comment
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re: Identity Theft Experiences
MonkeyMama: There is no way to clear up everything with the "one free report" you get. There are now fraud alerts on all my accounts, and after a year of no further activity, I Felt comfortable dropping the 24/7 credit monitoring.
Mark: Hi MonkeyMama. You may want to consider continuing your credit monitoring. Based on my studies on identity theft, thieves who steal your information may not be the ones who actually committed the fraud. Very frequently, information theives sell a victim’s information to those who commit the identity fraud. There is a possiblity that the information theif has your personal information and is waiting for the right offer by an id theives. If this is true, in the future id theives may purchase your personal information which gives them the ability to open up new credit card accounts. Thus, you still could be vulnerable to fraud in the future even though you have failed to notice any signs of identity theft on your credit report. Smart theives want to strike when you least expect it.
MonkeyMama: Precautions? We were never able to find the source of the security breach.
Mark: This is another reason why you may want to consider to continue credit monitoring. An information thief may have your personal information that is capable of opening new credit cards. How can we be sure he or she is not waiting for the right offer by an id theif?Comment
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