Got A Strange One...

[karlunity]

fellas.

 

This is odd...I received two rejection letters from two business for credit I never applied for.

One was from Walmart and the other a music supply firm.

 

They had my address, which is how I got the letter, but they spelled my last name incorrectly.

 

Any Ideas??

 

Confused Karl

[rdm1962]

My Daughter had this happen to her. Some one stole her identy. You need to contact all three credit buerues and put a watch on your status.

Ralph

[Dr.Hess]

Yup, I'm going with identity theft. Start jumping on that one right now. You've got problems.

[roscoedoh]

Karl,

 

Act now and move quickly. Time is already against you since your identity has already been compromised.

 

In addition to contacting Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian seperately and asking them to place a fraud alert on your credit, you need to contact your bank(s), mortgage lender(s), and anyone else you have a loan through to make them aware of probable identity theft. Next, contact your credit card company(ies), make them aware of the situation, and ask them to cancel your current card(s) and issue new credit cards that will have different credit card numbers on them. Next - and most importantly - if you have a debit card, get in touch with the bank that issued it and ask them to cancel your debit card and issue a new one. I've known of a couple people who's banks moved their bank accounts from their current to a new one so they'd have a new account number. That always creates a big hassle if you're like me and pay bills electronically, but I don't think that's overkill.

 

Next, buy a credit report from Experian or Trans Union and study it. Look for any transaction in the last 24-36 months that you did not initiate. These reports will show anyone that's pulled your credit for any reason and will detail any loans taken out in your name. If any loans have been taken out in your name that you are not aware of, you may need to contact the California Attorney General's office and your lawyer in addition to notifying the lender that the loan was issued fraudulently.

 

Since I have not been the actual target of identify theft, I'm not sure what else to tell you to do. Make sure you have all your bases covered and do it NOW. Thieves these days are amazingly suffisticated and will make off with all your liquidity before you know what's hit you.

 

I'm not sure how they may have got to you, but I will suggest the following:

1. Never let your debit card out of your sight

2. Shred every piece of mail before you throw it away

3. Never respond to solicitations that ask for account numbers via the mail or email

4. Always use the random credit card number generators your credit card company offers when shopping online

5. Pull your credit reports at least once a year and study them well

 

 

I wish you the best of luck getting this resolved. This could be a freak occurence or a mild attack from a lucky thief. Or it could be something a bit more involved. The bottom line is that you need to make sure you have everything related to your finances covered and do it quickly. You can never be too careful these days.

 

-Jason

[karlunity]

Thanks fellas.

I have done some of that Jason.

I contacted the reporting agencies already and told them not to start new accounts unless they speak to me.

 

Tomorrow we are going to get new CCs and change the ATM's.

 

That is fine advice..thanks

 

I am getting a mailbox with a lock, place is getting as bad as Brooklyn was.

 

Still I wish I knew how that &&**((( got my SS #.

 

Karl

[Dr.Hess]

I've always wondered. This would be a good movie plot: Mr. X gets his identity stolen. He pulls all the reports and gets an address of the thief. Puts on a delivery uniform, carries a package, knocks on door, "Package for Mr. X, signature required. Are you Mr. X? Company policy requires me to see your ID because of the value of the package." Pow (9 mike mike). Pull wallet from dead ID thief. Walk away. Or, alternate plot: leave wallet there and disappear, with the po-po finding Mr.X's ID on the dead guy and assume that's him. Alternate plot: Assume dead thief's ID and create mahem.

 

Anyway, Karl, it all sucks, and you've got a big job of staying on top of this. I blame the banks/credit people for making it so easy. It's like they want this to happen.

[AzRednek]

 

 

Still I wish I knew how that &&**((( got my SS #.

 

Karl

 

I heard on the news recently a pharmacy employee was able to pull up sufficient info from a customer's profile to apply for credit.

[karlunity]

fellas.

It is getting so that a man HAS to be a paranoid or a fool.

karl

[ken98k]

Still I wish I knew how that &&**((( got my SS #.

Karl

 

Didn't the VA loose a few million veterans records about a year back?

SS numbers are used for so many things these days.

[roscoedoh]

fellas.

It is getting so that a man HAS to be a paranoid or a fool.

karl

 

Artist Steve Earl was once quoted as saying "Just 'cause you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."

[AzRednek]

fellas.

It is getting so that a man HAS to be a paranoid or a fool.

karl

 

Karl I've been paranoid every since I was hacked and the thief got into my Papal account. I was using mother's maiden name as lost password question. After the hacker got into my address book figuring out my mother's maiden name was pretty simple. I lucked out and logged into my PayPal account at the same time as the hacker. The hacker had sent my elderly uncle $25.00. According to PayPal, back in the days when an English speaking person answered PayPal's phone. It was a common technique, to test the system and to make it look like a relative or somebody I knew was involved. Usually if somebody sees a relative or friend's name on the receiving end the victim will delay reporting it or calling the cops. PayPal suspected the hacker was from the Ukraine. A few days prior I had made a small donation to a charity in a former Soviet Republic via PayPal.