February 03, 2005
My Wife is the Victim of Identity Theft
Just got a call from Princess Leah. She just got off the phone from a collection agency. It seems someone used her name and Social Security number to get a cell phone. Now Cingular wants two grand from us. So far every one has been pretty understanding at both Cingular and the collection agency. I'll keep you updated if things go sour. Haven't even begun the process of letting the credit agencies know.
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How could it be that easy to steal someone's identity? You mean all that it takes for some crack whore to abuse my wife's good name is her Social Security number? That's it? The person used a different address than ours, just the same name and Soc. to establish a line of credit. That's insane!!!
Excuse me for the rest of the evening. I'll be out buying a shredder---and a gun!
Posted by: Rusty at
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When I bought a house, I had to parse through my credit records because my father, who is Jr and I am the III, seemed to have his credit all up in mine. Not that either one of our credit is bad, but it's amazing that, because we share the same name, that's all it took for a credit reporting company to screw it up. Our socials don't have any numbers similar, either.
And I'm sorry, if Cingular failed to obtain a photo ID and if the signature on the contract is not that of your wife's, then Cingular is at fault.
Posted by: Sharp as a Marble at February 03, 2005 04:32 PM (VxPRK)
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Been there, done that.
Now you almost but, not really know how a rape victim feels. It sucks and every piece of paper I throw out now goes through the shredder.
Posted by: ec at February 03, 2005 04:46 PM (kuXgU)
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Good luck, and yeah, totally invest in a shredder. It's sick what people can obtain with just your mailing address these days.
Posted by: Venom at February 03, 2005 05:08 PM (dbxVM)
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Misery loves company, me too, but a couple of years ago, long before identity theft became "famous". This banker from NYC (ironically, my hometown!) calls to tell me someone used my SS# to get approved for a loan, but when they ran the credit check, the name of the applicant and of course, my name came up, so there were two different names....how stupid can people be????
I had no idea how anyone got my SS# since we now live in TX and had moved from NYC 20 years earlier. Nothing further ever happened and I just forgot about it...till now.
Posted by: Laura at February 03, 2005 05:21 PM (ptOpl)
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Rusty: You are lucky that all charges were made at one company. The stores involved with the scam run on me was a nightmare. I had to get a police report for each incident. Then have the bank issue a statement of fraudulent signature for each and every incident. Took six months to get it straight. Even after they caught the individual.
Posted by: greyrooster at February 03, 2005 05:29 PM (n5v9Q)
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My sister had her bank account wiped clean by someone who cashed checks in her name. She got her money back eventually but it was a nightmare.
After college I temped at a credit card bank and ran credit checks. While it's the most mind-numbingly boring job on the face of the earth, a chimp could do it. However, a lot of the people that worked there would not qualify for chimp status. It paid pretty good for back then, though. I can't imagine the people doing it now when the unemployment rate is lower.
Plus, the credit agencies mess the reports up ALL the time.
As everyone else said, shred everything because people are idiots. Hopefully yours will get worked out quickly. Good luck.
Posted by: Maureen at February 03, 2005 05:38 PM (ny5O/)
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Old records are a goldmine. Some unscrupulous folks get in with file storage companies and browse through old medical and financial files. Your SSN can also be found in employment/personnel records, school files,the DMV, your Dr.'s office, any credit application (including for power, gas, phones) etc.
It's amazing how many things ask for it.
But SaaM is right. Every time I or one of my friends has gotten a cell phone contrat, we've had to provide a photo ID and a signature.
Get this, I also had that mixed up credit problem since my name and my dad's are similar (My name starts with his name) and obviously we shared an address at one point, except that I was associated with credit accounts that were opened before I was born!
I can't wait until the national free credit report thing makes it to the east coast.
Good luck getting this straightened out. Hope that there's no other bogus charges on your credit.
Posted by: caltechgirl at February 03, 2005 05:44 PM (bwprt)
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Oh I just remembered something! One time, my check was refused at a store because the license number I had did not match the one when they ran it through that Chectronic thingie that checks your acct. to see if you've got enough money in there and that it is a legit acct.
Anyway, I told this clerk that I had had the acct. for years, had the same license for years, and just wrote 5 previous checks in other stores and they were approved.
Come to find out, we ended up calling Checktronic and the gal there had put in ONE wrong number on the license, instead of a "0" at the end, the chick put a "1"...makes all the diff. in the world.
It was a one time incident, thank God, and never happened again. Makes you wonder, though.
Posted by: Laura at February 03, 2005 06:02 PM (ptOpl)
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One more thing, lol. Why don't all the credit card companies put your PHOTO on the front of the card??????????? Half the time they never check the damned sig's to see that they match. And, better yet, why don't they give everyone a PIN to use, this way, no one could use the card unless they knew the code????
Makes sense to me.
Posted by: Laura at February 03, 2005 06:04 PM (ptOpl)
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Yep identity theft is literally as easy as having someone's social. And worse, you can get someone's social for about 50 cents by using a social trace website like merlindata.com.
I posted a list of identity theft protection tips that everyone can use if they like them at http://www.prillservices.com/idtheft
Posted by: MikePrill at February 03, 2005 06:53 PM (DmOPd)
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In my case it happened by someone getting my mail. Not accusing the P.O. of having crooks on the payroll but that is how it happened. Lot of Sheriff's forms to fill out and lot of time filing forms for the 3 credit reporting agencies.
Good luck.
Posted by: Rod Stanton at February 03, 2005 08:04 PM (gVJtb)
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$2,000? How long does it take Cingular to figure out this person isn't paying their bill before they cut off the service?
Posted by: Chad Evans at February 03, 2005 09:48 PM (FgL1L)
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Rusty, remember this from today forward...
Your shredder is the friend you should always use.
I recently got into a pissing match at work over our security people wanting my SS# on a form of theirs. They got all bad cop on me, so I called in the big guns, our risk officer. She got worse cop on them and they went away wimpering. Her words, "nobody needs your SS# but payroll to get your taxes paid, and I mean NOBODY."
Your earlier commenters are right, though. If some crook wants it, there are ways to get it if they dig a little. I am just not going to make it easier for them, so my shredder works overtime.
Sorry your family is going through this. Hang in there.
Posted by: Bonfire7 at February 03, 2005 11:45 PM (l2XtQ)
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Go here:
www.ftc.gov (go to ID Theft section)
Plenty of good info here what to do if this happpens to you. Also good prevention info.
Shredders are good for the mail you actually get. A lot of these crooks just steal all those pre-approved cc offers before you get them or steal those cc "checks" hey love to send in the mail.
See this month's issue of MIT Technology Review and see that aQ figured this out a long time ago and is rankingin millions from our cc companies that are willing to give the money away. Mind you we pay for it in higher svs and interest fees.
Posted by: rpd1 at February 04, 2005 12:36 AM (YMuv/)
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Rusty,
I authored the internet article "Identity Theft Is No Laughing Matter: Who's Using Your Name?"
http://kb.mlm.com/article.asp?article=5115&p=5
The most important FACT to understand is that you cannot PREVENT Identity Theft. What we can do is take the necessary steps stated to PROTECT ourselves. None is more important than monitoring our credit report. There are a number of products on the market that do just that, including, some homeowners insurance coverage. This crime REQUIRES you to be PROACTIVE not reactive. You can't wait for the next month's bank or brokerage statements or for your yearly Credit Report. In fact Barry Elliott, Detective Staff Sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police and founder of PhoneBusters, says, "There is a misconception among consumers that they can prevent identity theft altogether, consumers cannot prevent identity theft. They can only prevent criminals from using their personal information for financial gain by rendering the information useless to fraudsters. The best way to do that is to monitor their credit 24-7."
Posted by: Derrick at February 04, 2005 12:51 AM (pgxBI)
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I have a similar same name situation but it's not a Jr. or III one. My first name and middle initial are the same as my dad's and they managed to get stuff mixed up on the credit report that way.
A guy I worked with when I had a temp job at a bank's DP dept. before I went to basic got his indentity stolen by some guys who worked for a local company who at the time had the DMV computer contract. They used their pictures on fake licenses with his name. They got loans, credit cards, the full deal. It was several thousand dollars worth of charges.
Posted by: Jeff at February 04, 2005 05:41 AM (ifPXk)
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Happened to my daughter when she was in grad school ...she had to issue written instructions to the three major credit reportrs that NO CREDIT CARD TO BE ISSUED UNLESS THE PHONE CALL IS MADE FROM HER HOME TELEPHONE NUMBER WHICH IS ON RECORD.
How about we make this a FEDERAL OFFENSE (social security numbers are given out by the Feds)? Illegals stealing American's identity does not pass go but is taken straight to the airport. American stealing another American's identity is headed for hard time.
Posted by: Maggie at February 04, 2005 08:00 AM (b9sEy)
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Thanks for all the advice, gang.
Incidentally, my Dad did a credit check. It seemed somebody had also been using his name. Here's the funny thing, the guy actually had perfect credit!!
Posted by: Rusty at February 04, 2005 08:02 AM (JQjhA)
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But the government is working to protect you!
Posted by: Salamander at February 04, 2005 08:56 AM (F26eZ)
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Maggi and Rusty
D Theft is a federal crime. US Secret Svs has primary jurisdiction. Only problem SS folks have too much to do and not enough agents.
If credit report is good, more than likely illegal alien using SS to work and get credit. Also credit rptg agency has "composite" history on two people. They don't match all info before combing records. The big problem it will drag down credit score when you want to buy car.
Posted by: rpd1 at February 04, 2005 08:59 AM (KZ9bl)
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This will not be fixed until the legal onus to prove a valid charge is switched to the credit card companies. Believe me, they'll be much more rigorous when the shoe is on the other foot. The consumer can't demand this. The stores and the credit companies want to keep it easy and quick to use a credit card. We all benefit from that to some extent, but there are many measures that would reduce fraud without affecting speed of transaction much at all - though they would cost the credit companies a small portion of their profits. Verifying applications (Maybe all those telemarketers would be of some use doing something else!) and incorporating a photo identification with the card since they don't do a good job of requiring merchants to verify i.d. No shipping or billing to an address other than the billing address. etc. etc.
Posted by: slickdpdx at February 04, 2005 02:40 PM (MjGRu)
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Hmmm, I must have an old fashioned Social Security Card (Issued 1955) but . . . Mine says, right under the name . . "not to be used as Identification" . . . . and I show it to ANYBODY who wants my SS# . . . As bonfire7 said, Screw 'em, nobody really needs your SS# . . that's what your Driver's license Number is for . . . as well as your picture on the same document.
Posted by: large at February 04, 2005 05:16 PM (VRK2g)
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LARGE: Did you know that in many states your social security number is your driver license number. If you refuse to give your social security number no drivers license. Same as Military Id Cards. Mine has both my Social Security number and my wifes. Who is the active duty member.
Cash a check. Show your driver's license and the girl at Wal-Mart writes your SS# on the check for all to see.
In 1933 at the advent of Social Security we were told the SS number would never be use for ID purposes. Show your mililary ID someone has your SS number. Show your drivers license. Someone has your SS number. Don't have any solution. Just don't like it.
Posted by: greyrooster at February 04, 2005 09:28 PM (JHIKU)
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yeah...id theft sucks.
happened to me back in the fall of 2001.
someone in the Ft. Worth/Arlington/Dallas, TX area opened up credit accounts with Target and Kohl's. apparently you can open accounts with some stores and immediately start charging to them without needing to possess a card. brilliant, that. on the application the individual who stole my id put down my parents' address except they were one digit off - i guess hoping the mail wouldn't ever get there so they could max the account out. luckily, my parents' postman had delivered their mail for ages and recognized the name so my mom called me and tipped me off.
i spent around six hours straight on the phone with Target, Kohl's, the Social Security Administration, the various Credit Reporting Agencies, the FBI, the Fort Worth Police Department, my banks, my credit card providers, my utility providers and my insurance providers and requested that passwords be placed on every one of my accounts.
i also purchased a shredder.
i wound up having to fill out a ton of paperwork and get it all notarized and both Target and Kohl's took care of the rest. as far as i can recall, everyone was quite nice to me.
hasn't happened again, thank God.
good luck with everything.
Posted by: merc at February 04, 2005 11:46 PM (Fi1sD)
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maggie,
i'm almost positive it is a federal offense.
i distinctly remember filing a report with whichever FBI branch handles ID theft.
Posted by: merc at February 04, 2005 11:49 PM (Fi1sD)
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I dont have a shredder, but I do have a barb-b-cue :-)
Posted by: Lucius Severus Pertinax at February 05, 2005 04:59 AM (4EasA)
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A man in florida was arrested and spend 50+ days in jail pending extradition to texas, come to find out the guards in Florida figured it out as the man was about ready to be shipped to Texas that he was the victim of identity theft. This was on the local news in florida, channel 9, wftv yesterday.
Posted by: Andre at February 05, 2005 12:25 PM (2kPXV)
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Dear Dr.Rusty Shackleford
It's no secret that identity theft is a major problem in America. Think you're not at risk? Unfortunately you are.
- Do you hand your credit card to servers at restaurants?
- Do you sign your credit cards?
- Do you supply personal information over the internet?
- Do you keep your Social Security number in your wallet or purse?
- Do you leave mail at your home or business for the postal carrier to collect?
- Do you shred unwanted mail with personal information?
What if you discovered that your identity had been stolen?
- Call your bank and/or credit card company
- Contact the three major credit repositories
- Go through the helpful but extensive steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission in its 30-page consumer support publication
- Fill out and submit the affidavit form supplied by the FTC to dispute new, unauthorized accounts
- Spend on average $1,500 in out-of-pocket expenses to resolve the many problems cause by identity thieves
WITH THE IDENTITY THEFT SHIELD: Get REGULAR monitoring of your credit report and let the proven leaders in the identity restoration and legal services fields assist you.
With no obligation, you can view a short presentation and learn more by visiting my website. See what Pre-Paid Legal can do for you at: http://www.prepaidlegal.com/idt/calcomm
Thank you for your time and if you're interested or just have questions, I'll be happy to help. Please feel free to contact me at your convenience.
These days it only makes sense!
Independent Associate - Pre Paid Legal Services
Posted by: Cal Frieling at February 06, 2005 11:51 PM (OCImC)
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I deal with diamond merchandise in the $10,000 range and up. Leave it to California state law to actually prohibit retailers to check I.D. if the card is signed. It must say check I.D. or be blank. The state will let customers sue the crap out of me if I do check (been to a California Starbucks lately? They never check because of this). Something about a whako memorizing your home address off of your I.D.
I'm moving my store elswhere because of these anti business laws.
Posted by: Reine Arianne at February 20, 2005 09:48 PM (etZdE)
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anybody wants to fuck me
Posted by: anita at August 07, 2005 12:45 AM (zqrm7)
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