Identity Theft

[srblanco7]

Last week I was notified by my HR department that someone had filed an unemployment claim in my name with the State and that this is considered a form of ID theft. I've since notified the State DOL that the claim is fraudulent, frozen and placed fraud alerts with each of the three credit bureaus, and taken out a ID theft insurance policy. This upcoming week I'll be filing a police report as well. Many/most of my passwords have been updated/modified (less worried about this since almost all sites use 2-factor identification) as well.

All of the above (except the insurance policy) was based on guidance received from my employer - which I'm thankful for (the guidance is similar to the info on this page https://www.identitytheft.gov/UnemploymentInsurance). Based on discussions with my HR department and a few others, my understanding is that this type of fraud is fairly common.

Anyone else been through this? suggestions on additional measures for protection?

[disneysteve]

Sorry you’re going through that.

We’ve had credit card accounts compromised but never full blown identity theft thankfully.

[srblanco7]

Sorry you’re going through that.

We’ve had credit card accounts compromised but never full blown identity theft thankfully.

Thanks DS. Thankfully, I didn't note anything that caused concern on the credit bureau reports - as I've had a freeze on them the last few years. I'm fairly cautious with online security, but with so many data breaches, it almost seems like a matter of "when" not "if" personal data will be compromised.

[HundredK]

Keep in mind that 2 factor can also be problematic if you're relying on a text message for it. There is a thing called sim swapping where they can essentially re-route your phone calls/texts to a new phone. The authenticator apps are good though. I really wish companies would steer away from using text authentication - phone numbers were never designed to be used for security. Definitely worth updating those passwords too and not rely on the 2fa to save you.

[srblanco7]

Keep in mind that 2 factor can also be problematic if you're relying on a text message for it. There is a thing called sim swapping where they can essentially re-route your phone calls/texts to a new phone. The authenticator apps are good though. I really wish companies would steer away from using text authentication - phone numbers were never designed to be used for security. Definitely worth updating those passwords too and not rely on the 2fa to save you.

Thanks for the heads up. Appears that it may be related to a LinkedIn data breach in early April where about 2/3 of their user data was exposed. A fraud monitoring program flagged that an old work email and password were part of a data breach.

[bjl584]

I had a credit card opened in my name at a Walmart in Florida once. Someone used it to buy a $600 flatscreen TV.
Luckily, I had identity theft protection and they handled everything for me.

[Like2Plan]

I had a credit card opened in my name at a Walmart in Florida once. Someone used it to buy a $600 flatscreen TV.
Luckily, I had identity theft protection and they handled everything for me.

bjl584,
I was wondering if this type of coverage was worthwhile. Which identity theft protection company do you use?

[disneysteve]

bjl584,
I was wondering if this type of coverage was worthwhile. Which identity theft protection company do you use?

I’ve had coverage at various times but I never bought it or paid for it. We always got it free for a year due to some breach.

[HundredK]

I’ve had coverage at various times but I never bought it or paid for it. We always got it free for a year due to some breach.

Same here, pretty sure I will have endless free coverage. I still have coverage from when the federal personnel office was hacked and they got every bit of my federal background check info. Still, I take an agressive stance and keep everything frozen and locked down as much as possible and change all passwords frequently with very secure ones. For as much of my data that has been hacked, it isn't a matter of if, but when. I try to keep everything changing constantly to push out the when.

[bjl584]

bjl584,
I was wondering if this type of coverage was worthwhile. Which identity theft protection company do you use?

I have Lifelock.
One could argue that it isn't worth it, but it saved me a lot of hassle on more than one occasion.
It's peace of mind for me if nothing else.

[myrdale]

Several years ago, I was visiting my parents for Christmas when they handed me a stack of about 8 different credit card letters from various companies shipped to my name. When I looked further, I found a total of 13 credit applications had been issued.

I lived in Georgia at the time. My parents lived in a small town in South Alabama. All of the credit applications were processed in Montgomery, Alabama.

The next morning I placed a police report with the local county sheriff's office in South Alabama.

I called each of the companies and told them the accounts were fraudulent.

I placed a 7 year fraud alert on my credit accounts.

That's been about 10 years ago and I haven't had any more issues related to that incident.

About 5 years ago I was leaving a ball game, when my bank called and asked if I was trying to purchase groceries on the opposite side of the state. I said no. My debt card had been skimmed somewhere. They terminated the card and issued a new one.

And then there was a guy who burned some churches down. We share a very similar name. I still get the occasional question about was it me.