Identity theft questions

[Larry Kart]

Given the level of intelligence and experience around here, I figure several someones out three might be able to give some guidance. Seems like I'm in the midst of an identity theft situation. Our most recent cedit card statement included a $175 charge for an internet provider we don't use. When I called the provider to complain and see what's up, I was told that 16 separate accounts had been opened up in my name a month ago on their website, and this could only have been done by someone who had my credit card number. He said they would close the accounts and contact my credit card company about ditching the charges. Then I called my credit card compan and cancelled our current account, with new cards on a new account due to arrive shortly. But then I began to think more about what might be up. Those bogus internet provider accounts in my name were opened up about a month ago -- again by someone who had my credit card number -- but those internet account charges were the only dubious ones on my current bill: no purchases of fancy shoes, fur coats, etc. So what else might be going on here that I'm not thinking of, and what should I do about it? It seems that if someone goes to the trouble of opening up 16 interent accounts in a person's name, and they have that person's credit card number, they aren't going to stop there. I have, BTW, reported this to the local police, and they gave me a packet of info about contacting national credit bureaus, which I'm about to do. But I'm figuring that some of you are way ahead of me, and also ahead of what that booklet is going to tell me. Thanks for any advice you might have.

[Chrome]

No expert here, but when you say "accounts," does that include e-mail? I'd wonder what kind of e-mail they were sending/receiving from those accounts ... if they were in your name, I would think that ISP would let you view any e-mail sent to/from them.

[PHILLYQ]

Is it perhaps a spammer? They would benefit greatly from multiple email accounts.

[couw]

those accounts were probably used for spamming activities. Many free mail providers are under a lot of pressure not to allow their accounts to be used for that. With paid accounts it's different. Providers are reluctant to do anything to control the activities of their customers. So I guess this really was the only reason why they stole your credit card number (and probably many others). These people are working from their desk and don't need fur coats.

[RainyDay]

Report it to all three credit bureaus--although I think you only have to report to one now and it covers all three. What happens is that no one can open an account in your name for about three months without lots of ID. After that, do what I have failed to do, check your credit reports peridically to see what is on there that is bogus. Reporting it to the police is good. When it happened to me, I was extremely ill and it was the last thing I could deal with so I never got further than reporting it to credit bureaus. I received a couple of phone calls from businesses where this clown tried to buy stuff with my name.

If you trust them, you can report it to the FBI online. I don't have the webiste but if you google on reporting consumer fraud, you should get something. I found the FBI through the state consumer fraud website here in California. I don't recall what it was, but I decided to take my chances with the criminals when I saw the FBI disclaimers attached to reporting incidents. I think it gave them access to all of your personal business.

Good luck. It's an awful thing to happen. My co-worker had his checking account appropriated and he's been on the phone all week trying to clean up the mess. He caught it early.

[BERIGAN]

Sorry to hear about this! I was just going to dig around on the web for some info, checked my email first and saw an email from my Credit Union saying "We have been advised by Visa that your card number was among

a large number of cards that may have been compromised through

a merchant or the merchant's card processor. (Visa has

not disclosed the identity of point of compromise) !

And while digging around on consumer advocate Clack Howard's site www.clarkhoward.com (He has some excellent books as well) I found this info that might be of help...

The FACT Act coming our way - February 9, 2004

Over the next few months, you will see a phase in of the controversial new law called “The FACT Act.” It will basically serve to protect your identity better than it ever has been. Changes in the law are coming. At restaurants, for example, your full credit card number cannot appear on you receipt. Instead, it’s usually the last five digits showing or the type of card. Many times, thieves get our credit card number and they’re immediately off spending our money, which is known as “account takeover fraud.” You will also be able to get your credit report for free, starting around December 1. Another requirement of the law is that retailer or finance company involved will monitor your account for fraud alerts. Up until now, the retailer or company has not monitored your account. Another very positive change is that people are going to be able to contact their creditors directly about false information on your report. The report will have more detailed information about each creditor. The credit reporting industry is incredibly sloppy and terribly inefficient. Right now, it’s very difficult for people to deal with lies – or errors, as the bureaus like to call them – on their reports. Insurers will also no longer be allowed to deny coverage for medical reasons and conditions. The Federal Reserve is supposed to offer people help on this topic if they want basic financial knowledge. Clark will look into what the Feds are offering and tell you if it’s any good. Why is this law controversial? A lot of states have passed more stringent rules to give you more rights with your credit reports. But Congress chose to outlaw any state laws that offer consumers more protection than the federal government is giving you.

Protecting yourself against ID theft - January 27, 2004

Clark recently published a poll on his site about identity theft. One of the questions he asked was, “How common do you think identity theft is?” About 75 percent of Clark’s respondents said ID theft is either extremely common or fairly common. Clark also asked how likely you think it is that ID theft could happen to you. Almost half of you think you “definitely” could be a victim, and another 40 percent think you “probably” could be a victim. These numbers are much higher than the typical public response, so Clark feels good that he’s done a good job of scaring you about ID theft. We need to be concerned. Only about 10 percent are not concerned at all. So, what should you do to avoid being a victim? The first thing is to buy a paper shredder. Identity thieves have no qualms about going through your trash and filling out pre-approvals for credit cards in your name. Another thing you can do is to call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT, which tells the Direct Marketing Association that you don’t want pre-approvals from credit cards in your mailbox. You’ll stop about 93 percent of credit card offers with this option. And if you carry a checkbook, don’t. If someone steals your checks and writes checks as if they are you, you could wind up in jail. It doesn’t matter if you will be cleared later, you will suffer massively if a thief gets a hold of your checkbook. So, keep your checkbook at home, and pay cash or credit instead. Even though Clark doesn’t like fake Visa or Master Cards, they are much better than checks.

Justin gets help from the ID Theft Resource Center - January 22, 2004

Clark spoke again today with Justin, the Georgia man whose credit was ruined five years ago by an identity thief. The man who stole Justin’s identity went to prison for four years and is already out, but Justin is still trying to get his life back. Justin is trying to get married in May, but he’s having trouble even booking a wedding hall. Clark asked Jay Foley, founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center, to talk with Justin about how he want get his life back. Foley suggested that Justin stop trying to contact the three credit report agencies because that won’t help. Just get the credit reports and then contact each company that has a fraudulent account. Send each one a return receipt requested letter telling them to close each account. And ask each company to send back a letter affirming he was the victim of identity theft. If the companies don’t respond within 21 days, Justin will need to send a second letter. If the company fails to respond in another 14 days, Justin should talk to attorneys and threaten legal action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Foley said Justin has the opportunity to clean up his credit by May, but it will require a lot of focus and work.

[maren]

Larry, here's the Federal Trade Commission's identity theft site: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

Rainy Day is completely right -- contact Experian, TransUnion and/or Equifax. You may want to phone them rather than do this online. You can have them put a 6-month stop on opening up new accounts for your social security number, if you want. And as Rainy Day said, keep tabs on your credit report.

(Sorry it happened to you, Rainy. Me too, about a year ago, and it took an awful lot of time and energy -- always in short supply! -- to unravel.)

There's also this earlier Organissimo thread about ID theft -- I'm thinking there was even an earlier one, but maybe that was back at BNBB...

[Larry Kart]

Many thanks, all, for the ideas and info. My techwise 28-year-old-son also suggested that spamming was the likely profit motive behind setting up those 16 sites in my name. Don't know if that should be a source of comfort or not. I've contacted Experian and have my fingers crossed.

[Shrdlu]

Someone made a couple of bogus charges to one of my VISA accounts last year. The bank was very good about it, and repaid the funds to my account. They also changed the VISA number, and this brought the problem to an end. But really, we are never going to be immune to such problems.

Someone also assumed my eBay identity, and took over the email address that I used with eBay. Fortunately, I didn't use that email address for anything else. I never got that email address back (it was a Hotmail address). eBay was very nice about the ID theft, and reinstated me, though it took a long time to find their helpline. They have a real-time talk room where they quiz you until satisfied that you really are you.

Here's a question. How can you REALLY prove who you are? My son recently wanted to open a bank account. The bank said that they would have to see his passport first. So we applied for a passport. We had to go to the bank to have the photo witnessed!! The lady who witnessed it was the same one who would not open the bank account, and she signed that she had known my son for at least 5 years, whereas she had never seen him before. She signed the photo as a favor for me, as she has seen me in the bank for years.

Taking this further, how could my son prove who he is? We have a birth certificate, but it has no picture. My wife is dead, and hardly anyone around here knows who we really are. We could be anybody! Think about that for awhile.

I'm glad that Jesus, my Saviour, says "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." (John 10:14) Otherwise, I could end up totally unidentified.