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9 Things To Do When Your Identity Stolen

4
Dec 2007

You might find out that you’ve been a victim of identity theft through a call
from a collection agency claiming you have a debt or if you were denied a credit
due to a poor credit score.

It's estimated that as many as 12 million Americans fall victims of identity
theft each year.

Here are the steps you need to take as soon as you discovered that you are
part of the above statistics.

Notify one of the Credit Reporting Companies, Experian, Equifax, or
TransUnion that you being a victim of identity theft. When you notify one, it
will notify the other two for you.

Establish fraud alerts.

A fraud alert means that every time a creditor wants to check your
credit report, it will need to call you. A fraud alert will be effective for
90 days.

Instruct the credit bureaus to block information about the fraudulent
accounts from future reports.

Also ask them to remove inquiries that appeared due to fraudulent
requests.

Credit bureaus  also allow you to request a freezing of your credit
report which means no one will be able to access it. The security freeze is
free to victims of identity theft in most states.

Report the crime to your local police department and FTC (Federal Trade
Commission)

If you credit report shows fraudulent accounts, contact the creditors and
notify them of the identity theft.

If a bill collector contacted you regarding a fraudulent account, inform
it that you are a victim of identity theft, and ask for their address. You
will need to send them a fraud affidavit that will tell that you are not
responsible for the account and that account needs to be closed.

Check if you are missing any ATM or Credit cards. If yes, report the lost
cards to your creditors.

To avoid being a victim of identity theft, know how your personal
information could be stolen and exercise caution when displaying, publishing,
and otherwise giving out your private data.

How your information might get into wrong hands:

Your mail could be stolen from a mailbox.

If you don’t have a habit of shedding sensitive information before putting
into trash, your bank statements might be available to a “dumpster diver”

Lost or stolen wallets, credit and ATM cards.

Trojan horses and other viruses might steal information from your
computer.

Your personal data might be stolen from a company you have business
with.

Other pieces of information such as your phone number, date of birth, and
address might be picked up from social network websites such as Facebook,
Bebo, MySpace, hi5 and others.

For more information on how to deal with identity theft visit http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Comments

1234567...101112Next

0

LadyRose

11 Dec 2007 | 1
reply

I have a important question, what if you have done
everything mention above and some, and still being harrassed ,what if they
caught the person who stole your identity,and your still be hound by the ones
that claims,you owe them money, what if you done all that was asked of ya,but
than you was called a lair and laughed at and ignored, and being threated to
be sued..

whats the next step, when you can't even afford a
attorney.

Ladyrose

Reply !

0

Nikki replies to LadyRose

9 Feb
2015

If you have notified the local police & the credit
bureaus you should be able to provide the harassing collector with a copy of
the ID theft affidavit. If that doesn't work, let them sue you & take
all your proof including police report & affidavit to court and the
judge should find in your favor. You have the right to tell the collector
not to contact you by phone anymore also. If they continue after you tell
them to stop, (be sure to include not contacting neighbors or other friends
or family either) then you can turn them into the FCC & there is another
Federal consumer protection bureau you can report them to also. They can get
in big trouble for harassment after they have been told to stop calling.
Tell them one last time your situation, make copies of the affidavit, police
report & their bill with a letter to stop billing you & send it to
them with tracking & signature required so you have proof they Recieved
it. If it does end up in court, consider a counter suit for the damages they
have done to you & your reputation not to mention the stress. Just read
the papers carefully & reply in timely manner if you do get served to go
to court or you will lose. However mailing them the copies of everything
with signature of receipt required should take care of your problem if they
are any type of reputable company. Good Luck.

Reply !

0

Lisa

11 Dec 2007 | 11
replies

Send them a certified return receipt letter requesting
that they ceast and desist from calling you.  Also ask them to valdiate
the debt.  Tell them to sent you all the contracts with your signature
where you opened the account.  Give them thirty days.  If they do
not send what you want, then send a letter to all three credit bureaus along
with copies of the letter you sent them and a copy of the return receipt and
have the bureaus remove the debt from your credit.  It's time consuming
but it works.

Reply !

0

BB replies to Lisa

26 Mar 2008 | 10
replies

Hi

I was a victim last March 2007 and it lasted
for months.  Not only was my American Express card victimized they got
the subsequent numbers too.  Why?  Amex only changes the last few
digits and I complained to Amex that any person who used the card would be
able to figure the new ones.  I finally had to change all my billing
and phone to new information so that the people who were using my numbers
could not get authorization any longer.  I did that not Amex.  I
ended up paying too as Amex who still paid fraud items (even across seas)
and in states I do not live in went after me.   I no longer have them
and would never have them again as a credit card.  My ex bank was also
tagged and I told them not to pay anything etc.  I had over 900.00 in
my checking account and then one day they want me to pay them 1800.00
(mostly bounced check fees) I want an accounting and they will not give it
to me.  They know about the id theft but want to make a deal with me.
Guess what banks do not hold you harmless despite the claims you hear.
I am not paying them and frankly I am just now getting caught up.
So I decided no credit cards for me.  What I would like to ask is
can I still notify the credit agencie like equifax?  I cannot remember
if I notified them now, I think I did I notified the police and the federal
agency etc.  Is a year to the day almost but is it still too
late?

By the way, I used to laugh at a co-worker for buying id theft
protection.  He had it up to $50,000.00.  He has had it for years
and when I get situated again, I will be doing the same.  Just cannot
afford the premiums right now.

Reply !

0

ET replies to BB

2 Aug 2008 | 6
replies

A SHOCKING STORY ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT AND BANK OF
AMERICA
My message comes with a caveat:  DON'T TRUST YOUR MONEY TO
BANK OF AMERICA IF YOU'VE HAD FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY IN AN ACCOUNT HELD
THERE. IMMEDIATELY CLOSE YOUR EXISTING ACCOUNT AND OPEN A NEW ACCOUNT AT
SOME OTHER BANK...ANY OTHER BANK.
My friend tried to warn me, but I
thought it was impossible, "BofA would never do that, I said."
Well,
listen and learn:
I don't know who your bank was, but some number of
years ago my car was stolen when I was moving and among the load of things
they stole was a new box of checks. The long and the short of my story is
that the moment I discovered electronic checks were being processed
through my account, I went in to the bank, filed all the ACH paperwork,
closed the account and opened a new account to safeguard my money (My
BIGGEST MISTAKE OF ALL was opening that new account at the same old bank).
Bank of America closed the account for me. And opened it again... In fact,
I witnessed a branch manager bring the balance to zero and close the
account, on 6 different occasions. Despite taking the appropriate actions,
BANK OF AMERICAN never returned my $1498 and even took funds from my new
account to cover additional fraudulent activity from the old account,
which they continued to reopen.
I hope you are sitting down, because
according to the Liaison from the President's Special Group (from BofA),
Believe it, or not, BANK OF AMERICA will reopen your CLOSED account EVERY
TIME THERE IS ANY ACTIVITY THAT COMES IN AGAINST THAT ACCOUNT.  They
don't return the transaction saying "this account is closed."  They
reopen your account and process as normal!!!!!
I closed this vulnerable
account in Feb of 2006.  It is now August of 2008 (2.5 years later)
and BofA is STILL accepting charges to that account, for which they say I
am responsible!!!!  There are currently about $2,800 worth of
overdraft fees on that (closed) account!!!  Every few months a new
creditor calls me about this "sum I owe BofA". I laugh at them: My
position is that I closed my account and after I did so, that account and
account # reverted back to BofA and is the property of Bank of America's
to do with as they choose; after Feb 26, 2008 it became THEIR ACCOUNT AND
THEIR BUSINESS, NOT MINE.
Despite all this, Bank of America INSISTS
that I must pay these fees.
I think they should use the $1500 they
never repaid me for the stolen funds, their President's Special Group and
shove those, along with the still accumulating overdraft fees, where the
sun doesn't shine and leave me alone, once and for all.
BEWARE BANK OF
AMERICA if you should experience Identity Theft.

Reply !

0

tigger2006 replies to ET

14 Aug
2008

Well, that explains a lot!  I started getting
harrassed by a collection agency for a BoA account.  I used to have
a credit card with them but canceled it.... 6 months after i closed it a
charge went through on the closed account.  Never heard from BoA
about this (no statements, nothing), only from the collection agency.
Now I understand that this is typical of them.  My credit is
trashed because it looks like I'm delinquent on an account I no longer
have.  Trying to get this fixed has been as effective as banging my
head against a wall.

Reply !

+1

Hate BofA replies to ET

26 Aug
2008

My son opened an account at bank of america. before
he even used it once it had fradulent activity. it was reported and they
were instructed to close the account...they didnt do it till after yet
another fraudlent charge went through. then they keep insisting he pay
the over draft fees even though they admit there was fraud invovled
outside his control.  someone stole the bank accont number and
routing number before it even left the bank. bank of am. has someone
inside stealing bank account numbers. beware! my son never even used the
account. nobody knew the number but him. it was used online.

they also turned him to a collection agency over the overdraft
fees that were only generated because of the fraud! bank of am. is evil.
we reported them to the FTC.

Reply !

0

khodge replies to ET

12 Nov
2008

WOW!  I just found out I am a victim of ID
theft...someone paying for items with electronic funds from my checking
account.  I closed it...but opened a new one with the same credit
union.  Even tho it is not Bank of America....I think I will heed
your advice and move what small bit of money I have to a new
bank.

THANKS!!!!!!

I hope things clear up for you.

Reply !

0

Sam Parrish replies to ET

15 Dec
2013

My husbands personal info was lost I. A Wells Fargo
computer stole. Out of employee s car. Sent a letter then  we were
approached two tax seasons ago , sounded lime my husband had killed
someone. They said " he's suspect in an ongoing case that could imprison
him." Sounded crazy. But scrary , he got I. With them and he made
mistake and paid over $500 out of our joint account at another bank.
Last year got another call same start   Oh yeah on my phone not
his. Both times.  After we both disagreed and confronted the man
and said we thought them a scam and gonna report them.  They called
me a  b word and hubby hung up

Reply !

0

Burned by Wells Fargo too replies to ET

9 Feb
2015

I feel your pain. Both B of A & Wells Fargo are
the worst. I had a situation with WF that went clear up to & through
their President as well. However the difference is it included my home.
They tried diligently to steal my home. They even told me when I asked
what did they want? I had been paying my mortgage but they refused to
apply it. So I begged them to tell me what would it take to get them to
lay off and stop trying to steal my home of 40 yrs. How much did they
want me to pay & why? The answer I got blew me out of my shoes... I
was told in no uncertain terms & verbatim, "WF doesn't want your
money, they want your property so that's it." I couldn't believe my
ears. Well it took us aalmost yrs but we finally won the court case but
it cost us a bundle that we will never get back. Money & stress we
didn't deserve to have to put out. Meanwhile they just go on doing
businesses like they could  care less about anyone or anything. So
the next time you see one of those "WF we're here when you need us"
commercials think about this & how they litter ally tried to steal
my childhood home just because they thought they could. In my opinion,
both banks mentioned here should be shut down forever. None are perfect
but those two are evil. My money is on Chase & credit unions. They
are the only one's worth a thing anymore. GOOD Luck to you dear. Contact
your local B of A & see if they won't help clear up their obvious
mess. Don't hold your breath though.

Reply !

0

Peace98 replies to ET

14 Mar
2015

I had a similar experience with Wells Fargo. I
closed the account and opened another with WF only to find that they
would pay anyone that had previously been getting paid by that account
even if I did not want them paid. Indentity theft never ends.

Reply !

0

rr replies to BB

3 Dec
2008

I noticed that American Express recently modified
their Cardholder agreements stating that if one of their merchants submits
charges to an American Express card, and the card number has changed, that
American Express will charge the new card number AND give the new card
number to the merchant ... sounds ridiculous, but getting a new card
number with American Express isn't going to keep away the bad
guys!!!

Reply !

0

Elyse R Burnsed replies to BB

10 Mar 2010 | 1
reply

"BB"

I don't know what your friend is paying
for Identity Theft protection, but I am with a company that you can get
full identity theft protection for $12.95 per month. They will moniter
your credit, notify you as soon as anything shows up on your report, or,
if nothing happens during the month they will also let you know that to.
If your identy should be breached, they will do COMPLETE restoration for
you. There is no other company out there that does that!

If you
would like to know more, email me at: [email protected]

Reply !

0

Jean replies to Elyse
R Burnsed

20 May
2015

I can do 1 better the credit union I am with now
does everything for free.
I was with a bank that charged 35.00 a
month and they never notified me after I informed them of the activities
prior. Then they would charge an inactive fee on top of that even I had
my paycheck directly to this account.
Now I get an email and or a
phone call ( from my new bank) if my card is used and also they also
will stop a withdraw if the bank think it is fraud(especially if used in
another state), I also get 6.00 back a month for using my card 12 or
more times a month.(this includes online bill pay). Got to love kassa
with the credit union. And yes this service is free of charge
also.

Reply !

0

rosequeen

16 Dec 2007 | 1
reply

Another important tip is to NEVER email personal
information in reply to the scam emails that claim you won a lottery you never
entered or offer you a fabulous job doing data entry work. They are most
likely foreigners trying to get you to wire them money after you cash their
fake money order or check. They will probably try to steal money from your
bank account or open up accounts under your social security number.

Also if you are selling something via classified ads be VERY careful
in doing business with people who call you through IP Relay. The IP Relay
service is supposed to be for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, however,
foreigners use it to perpetrate the scams I mentioned. Be nice to the IP Relay
operators, but don't sell your stuff to the scammers. Just hang up.

Reply !

0

vixinya replies to rosequeen

15 Feb
2008

i second that. i used to work as an ip relay operator. i
can't talk about the phone calls but i can say that the operator is just
doing their job and relaying messages for the supposed hard of hearing.
and if you're wondering why they can't hang up when they think it's a
scam instead of putting the call through to you, it's because our
constitutional rights protect us, but also protect them.  funny loop
hole huh?  not all ip relay calls are scams.  many are valid, and
many of those valid calls are ignored because of the scams being used
through their lines of communication.

Reply !

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