Identity Theft

[johnjk]

I was the victim of identity theft around 10 yrs ago. Big time fraud to the point where I have a Federal case and have to notify them every time I am compromised. Nothing says Christmas like a slew of bogus cc charges this morning. I have fraud alerts through my Credit Union, they question everything and call me for authorization plus LifeLock. Anyway do yourself a favor and make sure you are checking your credit card charges if you use one. Best to catch it early. Time to dig out the Fed paperwork, call and add this to the file. Between the CU and LifeLock they have been blowing up my phone today. Stay safe everyone!

 

[Henro]

Sorry to hear that.

But I am wondering...couldn't one just cancel all credit cards and establish new bank accounts and cancel the old ones and get a fresh start?

I guess we are stuck with our names and social security numbers, and our addresses as well...

Naive here I know...but curious.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Tis the season! Sorry you got hammered again. We got hit a while back with $15k in charges on our card.
Not that is helps prevent it, but it eases the frustration- we have one card that only gets used for recurring charges. Stuff like cell phones, toll transponders, propane, power, etc. That card never leaves the house. In the event the card we do carry gets compromised, at least we don't have to remember to swap all of those things to a new card.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

If you have online banking, be sure to get them to disable the 'global transfer' option !!! 3 years ago some guy in Germany transferred 5k out of my account. I saw that AFTER I'd seen a 'bank service charge'. Took 2 weeks to get that straightened out and another 10 minutes to have the $14.95 service charge reversed.
i don't pay ANY service fees !
Sad thing is bank never called me about the transfer... so much for 'security'. BTW I found out later TD Canada Trusts VISA accounts had been hacked ( a daily occourance... )

 

[fried1765]

I was the victim of identity theft around 10 yrs ago. Big time fraud to the point where I have a Federal case and have to notify them every time I am compromised. Nothing says Christmas like a slew of bogus cc charges this morning. I have fraud alerts through my Credit Union, they question everything and call me for authorization plus LifeLock. Anyway do yourself a favor and make sure you are checking your credit card charges if you use one. Best to catch it early. Time to dig out the Fed paperwork, call and add this to the file. Between the CU and LifeLock they have been blowing up my phone today. Stay safe everyone!

"around 10 yrs ago",..... and this is STILL going on?

 

[Tarmy]

We had that too. The single best thing we found is do a credit freeze, do your kids names too. These aholes will figure out names from online school year books and steal kids names cause nobody is thinking about that. It is some work but there is ZERO CHANCE they can steal you then…nor open cards.
Lifelock is a big scam. They report/ catch things AFTER they happen. The freeze prevents it and is free.

 

[Workerbee]

Tis the season! Sorry you got hammered again. We got hit a while back with $15k in charges on our card.
Not that is helps prevent it, but it eases the frustration- we have one card that only gets used for recurring charges. Stuff like cell phones, toll transponders, propane, power, etc. That card never leaves the house. In the event the card we do carry gets compromised, at least we don't have to remember to swap all of those things to a new card.

Its my understanding that most card numbers, security code and info gets hacked when the thieves gain access to the businesses (that you pay via that card) records. If thats true, even though your card never leaves the house, its still at risk.

 

[NCL4701]

It’s gotten to the point identity theft protection that includes restoration services provided by the carrier is about as necessary as homeowner or auto insurance. The ones that just notify you and then leave it to you to fix it are near useless.

I realized that several years ago when I got access to a database at work where I can easily look up people’s name history (particularly common for women to change name when married), address history, phone number history, driver license info, relatives, full SSN’s, date of birth; everything anyone needs to steal identity. And it’s not the only source, just the one my employer happens to use.

If I was some CIA or FBI agent, not surprising. But I’m a low level grunt in private industry who just happens to know where to look if you’re willing to spend a couple bucks for the info. Yes, I have a variety of legitimate business needs for the info and there are some controls in place (which are a lot better now than when I first got it) but point is still valid: if you think you have privacy, you’re in denial.

Running without identity theft protection (not just monitoring) assuming you’ll never have a problem is about like driving without auto insurance assuming you’ll never get in a wreck.

 

[johnjk]

We had that too. The single best thing we found is do a credit freeze, do your kids names too. These aholes will figure out names from online school year books and steal kids names cause nobody is thinking about that. It is some work but there is ZERO CHANCE they can steal you then…nor open cards.
Lifelock is a big scam. They report/ catch things AFTER they happen. The freeze prevents it and is free.

Yeah. Both my wife and I have a permanent freeze on our credit reports. If someone try’s to run it, I get a call. When I went to buy my truck a few years back, I told the salesman to not try and run a credit since I had a freeze on it. If I decided to buy, I would lift it and they could check. Wouldn’t you know he ran it the minute I walked out of the door and my phone went nuts not a block from the dealership. Turned around, headed back and tossed the keys on his desk. Gave me some lame story on how it wasn’t him. We found somewhere else to buy. Anyway, anyone can request the credit bureaus to put a freeze on your report but it is only for a year or two and you have to renew. Since I have that Federal case number both my wife and I can get it permanently.
I disagree on LifeLock. They alerted me as it was happening and coordinated the effort with the Feds and lenders and helped to get stuff removed from my credit history. I get calls from LL and my CU within minutes when stuff is happening.

 

[85Hokie]

I have never had identity theft - but as most, credit card theft.

Ever since I placed a "send text" on any CC usage to my phone, I have not had one bit of trouble. I get gas - I get a ping on my phone saying where and how much, I get amazon charge - bam, instant text. One could say it gets somewhat annoying but it beats the hell out of waking up thousands out !!!! I think what @Workerbee said happened.

My middle son DID NOT get a summer job because someone "placed" his SS# on a form. Think about it - someone that does not have SS# and applies for a job enters a phony number and now you are screwed!

 

[NCL4701]

Yeah. Both my wife and I have a permanent freeze on our credit reports. If someone try’s to run it, I get a call. When I went to buy my truck a few years back, I told the salesman to not try and run a credit since I had a freeze on it. If I decided to buy, I would lift it and they could check. Wouldn’t you know he ran it the minute I walked out of the door and my phone went nuts not a block from the dealership. Turned around, headed back and tossed the keys on his desk. Gave me some lame story on how it wasn’t him. We found somewhere else to buy. Anyway, anyone can request the credit bureaus to put a freeze on your report but it is only for a year or two and you have to renew. Since I have that Federal case number both my wife and I can get it permanently.
I disagree on LifeLock. They alerted me as it was happening and coordinated the effort with the Feds and lenders and helped to get stuff removed from my credit history. I get calls from LL and my CU within minutes when stuff is happening.

I would put a permanent freeze on mine and my wife’s but can’t so I have a reminder on my calendar to renew when it’s time. Identity Force also reminds me. Getting a loan would be more work, but it should be work to get a loan and I personally think I should have to show up in person and show ID to get a loan. One of the main drivers of identity theft is it’s WAY too easy to take out loans without showing up in person and it should be easier to opt out of that system. Lenders aren’t thieves but they are enablers; at least in regard to loan origination by identity thieves.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Its my understanding that most card numbers, security code and info gets hacked when the thieves gain access to the businesses (that you pay via that card) records. If thats true, even though your card never leaves the house, its still at risk.

Actually, the top two ways that info is stolen is Phishing and skimming. Out of data breaches (assuming that is what you mean) credit card info is obtained in only 5% of them.
Even if a card reader is a chip reader, theives can still use a skimmer. Most often it is fuel pumps and non bank ATM machines. The mag stripe is often duplicated right then and there.
In 11 years, I have never had the auto pay card info stolen. Twice, the carry card has been hit.

 

[Siesta Sundance]

I'm closing one our checking accounts this week! We had a Mr. POOPER mortgage on one our previous houses.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/18/mr-cooper-hackers-stole-personal-data-on-14-million-customers/https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/18/mr-cooper-hackers-stole-personal-data-on-14-million-customers/

 

[mikester]

Here's some nice articles on the latest craze - house theft

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/alleged-title-fraud-suspects-caught-1.6771689

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/organized-crime-groups-behind-gta-home-sales-mortgages-without-owners-knowledge-1.6719978

 

[fried1765]

Here's some nice articles on the latest craze - house theft

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/alleged-title-fraud-suspects-caught-1.6771689

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/organized-crime-groups-behind-gta-home-sales-mortgages-without-owners-knowledge-1.6719978

Canada actively solicits immigrants.......and THIS is what they get.
An obvious omen of the great surprise we have in store for us in the USA, with our now millions of "Bidenomics" (cheap labor).....UNDOCUMENTED immigrants.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

We had that too. The single best thing we found is do a credit freeze, do your kids names too. These aholes will figure out names from online school year books and steal kids names cause nobody is thinking about that. It is some work but there is ZERO CHANCE they can steal you then…nor open cards.
Lifelock is a big scam. They report/ catch things AFTER they happen. The freeze prevents it and is free.

This +1

I get my CC compromised about every year it seems.

I checked into Life Lock but I quickly realized that the cost per month for me and my wife was a little steep.

We froze our credit about 5 years ago and haven't looked back.

If/when I apply for a loan, its pretty simple to open it for a few hours.

You can even set it up to close automagically on a certain day/time.

 

[DaveFromMi]

I had to change my credit card number to avoid an auto payment to Kaspersky Anti Virus which I cancelled last year about this time.
I have verification (screenshots) of the cancellation, but it somehow got reactivated and no obvious way to deactivate. I don't trust the Russians so much.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I had to change my credit card number to avoid an auto payment to Kaspersky Anti Virus which I cancelled last year about this time.
I have verification (screenshots) of the cancellation, but it somehow got reactivated and no obvious way to deactivate. I don't trust the Russians so much.

 

[mikester]

Canada actively solicits immigrants.......and THIS is what they get.
An obvious omen of the great surprise we have in store for us in the USA, with our now millions of "Bidenomics" (cheap labor).....UNDOCUMENTED immigrants.

If we got rid of all the "recent" immigrants there wouldn't be any white people to exploit and commit acts of cultural genocide against the remaining indigenous peoples.

Sorry to burst your bubble but killing, lying and stealing is a human trait. If it wasn't you wouldn't have politicians and religious leaders and the people following and cheering them on.

 

[fried1765]

If we got rid of all the "recent" immigrants there wouldn't be any white people to exploit and commit acts of cultural genocide against the remaining indigenous peoples.

Sorry to burst your bubble but killing, lying and stealing is a human trait. If it wasn't you wouldn't have politicians and religious leaders and the people following and cheering them on.

Point taken !