My identity has been stolen

[Droopy]

It came to light that I have some fraudulent charges on one of my credit cards when I tried to rent a car today using the card. The transaction was declined and I didn't know why because I pay off the balance on the card every month. Then I called the credit card company and my life has radically changed over the course of the last hour.

The thieves have somehow managed to obtain all of my personal information.

[fizzgig]

1. oh shit

i hope you can get that fixed, droopy

[SPKrazy]

2. oh shit man

that bites

did you report it to the police?

I really don't know what to do

that really sucks big time

maybe someone here will have better ideas than me

:hug: :hug:

[driver8]

3. Been there, done that. Some advice...

Contact all three of the credit reporting bureaus and put a flag on your credit report. Any time someone tries to apply for credit in your name, you must be contacted first. Tell them that you are the victim of identity theft -- you will receive free copies of your credit reports. Go over them carefully and look for any irregularities.

Never, never, NEVER put your outgoing mail in your mail box. My mail was stolen -- I had a student loan payment in the mail and my SSN was on the payment slip. The thieves hit the jackpot with that one.

Good luck and keep us posted. Hopefully you caught this early enough. It took me about 3 years to clean up the mess I had.

[Droopy]

6. Thank you

I have contacted the victims assistance unit of a company that specializes in identity theft. I was referred to them by my credit card company. They have taken on my case and tomorrow I'm supposed to talk to a guy about the credit bureaus. They are going to help me out with that. I have no idea how my indentity was stolen or who might have done it. I just know where they've been based on the cash advances they've taken at ATMs. The vicitms assistance unit said that the authorities are going to be involved with the case. Were they able to track down the people who stole your identity?

I've checked my other financial matters and everything there is okay so far.

[lost-in-nj]

11. Do they have a card??

if not how did they get cash advances at ATM's??

No don't tell me the particulars and put them out here for a lurker
but I didn't know you could get them without a card....

just curious

lost

[driver8]

13. There were a couple of people using my credit info.

One of the idiots put his real address on a credit application. I filled out a police report but don't know if they ever got the guy.

Good luck!!

[lost-in-nj]

4. crap

so sorry to hear about this....

it scares me to think its so easy for someone to do this......

hope it works out ok.....




lost

[malta blue]

5. I am so sorry Droopy -

I hope you are able to get it resolved ASAP.

[texanwitch]

7. I had someone charge on one of my credit cards, it was something very strange.

The credit card company called me to check on this.

I received a new card number and I really keep an eye on the bill when it comes in the mail.

I have the old card, so the bad guys got the number from someplace else.

So sorry for this happening.

Keep an eye on your credit report.

[montanto]

8. get a shredder!!

Don't throw anything w/ personal info on it away. Shred everything. I wont even put my name and address in the trash.

[Droopy]

9. Thanks for the tip

But I think this has happened some other way than through the trash. But I guess it certainly wouldn't hurt to get a shredder.

I've recently bought a few things online and applied for a loan online. I think that might be the culprit. The theives have somehow attained my social security number and that is not on any of my mail correspondence.

[RebelOne]

10. That's what I bought yesterday.

I keep getting those approved credit card offers in the mail. I am tired of cutting them up in little bitty pieces, so I decided to buy a shredder.

[BOSSHOG]

12. We are on our second shredder

I burned up the first one. Anything with anything that might almost be identifiable of us goes right in the shredder.

[Fox Mulder]

14. I'm going to get one of them now.