Identity theft

[Ordos]

So back when Anthem Blue Cross got hacked, they handed out access to a service called AllClear ID (similar to Lifelock) for current and previous members. On occasion, I'd gotten calls from them when there was a credit inquiry under my SSN (new car, home refi, etc.). Seemed alright, somewhat helpful, but couldn't really make a judgement on their effectiveness overall. Then came the end of September...

Got a call from the service, asking if I had attempted to sign up for a Verizon account, which I hadn't. From there, over the next few weeks, I fielded calls from Sprint, Zales, Target, Citibank, and American Express, all for applications made under my name and SSN.

At this point, I have filed an Initial Fraud Warning with the credit bureaus (good for 90 days), filed a police report, and have now gotten an Extended Fraud Warning on my SSN (good for 7 years) that asks any credit application to contact me by phone before approval. I'm currently dealing with all the credit bureaus, getting the fraudulent inquiries taken off my reports, and everyone has thankfully been rather helpful.

The fortunate part of this all is that my bank accounts were not affected, and none of the applications actually produced an approved account. That said, going through this sucks, and I can't recommend enough having a service that watches your credit.

[wopphil]

The people who do this shit should have their hands cut off, like in Saudi Arabia. 

[Ordos]

54 minutes ago, cezero said:

Thieves are fucking terrorists. They don't just take your stuff. What they do resonates for weeks/months/years on end.

I hate them. 

You got hit hard, Ordos. That sucks. Make sure to document everything, most especially because with that many creditors, Equifax/Transunion/Experian will probably end up with something inaccurate on your credit reports. If so, send them evidence that they're wrong, and send it certified mail/return receipt. 

Good luck. 

Exactly what I've tried to do all along, and it seems to have helped so far. Detailed notes of how it all unfolded, names and telephone numbers of all the agents I've spoken to, and even gave copies of the notes to the police - who incidentally told me there was next to no chance of catching whomever did this. I've filed fraud disputes with each of the companies that the applications went to, and combed through all my credit reports to dispute any incorrect/fraudulent info with each bureau individually.

I guess the other bright side is that I get 2 free credit reports from each bureau for the next 7 years.

[Brandon]

bummer, i pull so many credit reports every day and see this every now and then or people that are running in circles trying to fix shit like this. stay on top of it because open disputes affect your credit, even if it's to remove bullshit. use a free site like credit karma to track your inquiries and any possible new tradelines.

it's an absolute pain in the ass. some people have to call in for me to run credit or jump through hoops. 

banks and credit cards can easily be fixed, but monitor the shit out of your credit report. if something sticks it's a bitch to get off.

credit karma is free and is something you can easily check while you're taking a dump in the morning, plus it gives you updates or alerts.

also, make sure you work directly with the creditors first....they are the ones that relay the info to the bureaus, so i always tell people to work with them first to dispute or remove items because it's quicker than waiting on the bureaus to play middle man for you.

pm me or ask questions here if you want. i've dealt with credit, credit reports, etc. for many years and even have direct lines for assistance opposed to going through the bullshit push 1 for english touch tone stuff to speak to someone. 

[Ordos]

11 minutes ago, Stringfellow said:

bummer, i pull so many credit reports every day and see this every now and then or people that are running in circles trying to fix shit like this. stay on top of it because open disputes affect your credit, even if it's to remove bullshit. use a free site like credit karma to track your inquiries and any possible new tradelines.

it's an absolute pain in the ass. some people have to call in for me to run credit or jump through hoops. 

banks and credit cards can easily be fixed, but monitor the shit out of your credit report. if something sticks it's a bitch to get off.

credit karma is free and is something you can easily check while you're taking a dump in the morning, plus it gives you updates or alerts.

also, make sure you work directly with the creditors first....they are the ones that relay the info to the bureaus, so i always tell people to work with them first to dispute or remove items because it's quicker than waiting on the bureaus to play middle man for you.

pm me or ask questions here if you want. i've dealt with credit, credit reports, etc. for many years and even have direct lines for assistance opposed to going through the bullshit push 1 for english touch tone stuff to speak to someone. 

Appreciate the offer, and will certainly let you know if I need any additional assistance. I've contacted every one of the creditors first to dispute, then went thru the bureaus each in turn, and have contacted a few of the creditors a second time around to follow-up on the dispute. I figure I'll pull credit reports again after the holidays, just to make sure I give enough time for each (they all said it could be up to 30-60 days before resolution).

Appreciate the tip on Credit Karma, will definitely check that out!

[Brandon]

it does. any time you look at credit you're generally 30-60 days behind....it depends when they report to the bureaus. hopefully you got to it so fast that they haven't even reported these new tradelines or inquires at all. definitely give it some time though for just checking because there is no real formula for when they report, so you may pull your report and it looks good or you're only seeing one or two items, but the next month more pop up. that's where i like credit karma and recommend it to my customers for them to manually track on a daily basis if they want....although, credit karma only is attached to two bureaus, not all three. but two is fine because what i look for when i just see initial scores is huge discrepancies between score....if you have a 750 on one but a 710 on another that means one is either reporting or not reporting something from the other and could be an issue that needs to be resolved. if the scores are close and within 10-15 points you're probably good and it's something minor like one showing an extra inquiry or something mild.

if you're working with the creditors directly you are already on top of the game. cross reference with credit karma to see what has attached to your credit report daily or once a week (also use the free ones they are giving you) and you can get on top of anything new as it happens. the longer people wait or in most cases find out that something even happened, the harder and longer it takes to remove.

i'm out of the office until the 28th, but if you pm me your email address i can forward you an email i send to my customers that may need to take the next step of working with the bureaus directly. i think you'll nip everything in the bud before then, but just in case it's a good email to have on hand for direct bureau contacts.

[ABC]

My sister-in-law got hit hard by ID thieves. It was narrowed down to a doc office but that was obviously too late because you start investigating after the thieves wreck your profile.

I get hit with credit card fraud about every year and I'm crazy diligent about not using my card at sketchy places and looking for scanners at gas stations. It's irritating because I'll be at dinner and the card gets declined. Then I have to change my card on file with the DWP, ATT, TWC, etc. It's a time suck. But having your ID stolen is a colossal ass fucking. 

[mrwicked]

Tip: you can get free identity theft protection with CA AAA membership now.

[Ordos]

11 minutes ago, mrwicked said:

Tip: you can get free identity theft protection with CA AAA membership now.

Solid, thank you!

[Taylor]

ID theft insurance is a necessity. It only costs like $7 per month (or free with AAA) and can save you major headaches and money down the line. Just make sure you get a plan that has "Restoration Services." That means their people will do all the investigation and legwork of putting your identity back together and making it secure.