CarolinaGal

Ya'll don't really know me from Adam, but I visit everyday and feel like you might relate.....

I have discovered that someone is using my Social Security number and have opened at least 6 accounts since Monday - Lowes, 2 Citibank cards, 1 Discover, JC Penney's and Home Depot. SUCK!! and may have purchased a car in California over the weekend!!!

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH !!! Asshats!!!!!!!

Thank gawd I have Equifax monitoring and so found out today - they sent me alerts that my credit was being inquiried against. And I almost blew it off, because they were only inquiries...... HA.

Total on the cards at this point is about 9,966$ (all spent on Monday!). I've been on the phone the past 7 hours tracking down info, putting fraud alerts out, closing accounts, etc, etc. Tomorrow I have to file police reports and track down the car lender.

I will say that everyone I talked with today has been very, very helpful and compassionate - and I have been close to tears in frustration.

What really stinks is that I am super careful with my info - I shred everything, I know where all of my credit cards and ID cards are, and I use the one-time use credit card numbers on online purchases - AND they still got me!!

Anyhow, thanks for the vent...... I hope you never have to experience it. I highly recommend the Equifax credit reporting service - probably saved my credit rating and years of hassle.

Jenny

Good luck CG! I've never had that happen, thank goodness. Hope it gets worked out soon!

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DarkFury

Seriously, ID theft SUCKS!

I've had my own problems with it here:

http://www.gotapex.com/suckage-not-s...id-theft.html? (S: ID Theft)

http://www.gotapex.com/suckage-not-s...rrrggghh.html? (SS: ID Theft AGAIN!!! ARRRRGGGHH!!!)

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mojo

i dunno adam. but you seem familiar.

yeah, id theft...mucho suckage. i'm mad privy with that ish too...

good luck

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Prngr44

I'm with DF... happened twice to me as well.

The thing that bugged me the most was that I tracked the perp via assistance of the companies he purchased items from, had the isp contacted ready to give out the info as soon as the police formally requested it (HA!) or I retained an attorney on my own dime to have them subpoena.

The FBI contacted me, and your case may very well be different due to the higher dollar amount (I think 10k is the magic number for them) but they weren't interested in pursuing my case (2k) even though I had already done most of the dirty work.

If I had been better off financially or thought I could remotely recoup my attorney fees, I probably would have pushed it myself.

Hopefully your credit report doesn't suffer too much as a result.

Best of luck!

Keep us updated on the progress.

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Cheesypuff

i knew 10k was the magic number, that why i only spend $9,966. heheh...jkjk

yah...idtheft sucks, i'm really paranoid about it also, it seem like you did everything right, and you still got had. i hope you take down that person who stole your id.

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CarolinaGal

So, I continued calling around today closing accounts and uncovering more activity. Filed a complaint with FTC, started the police report process, and spoke to the car finance company in Cali.

I also talked with Citibank Identity Fraud department and they are GREAT. It took almost an hour, but he walked me through all the steps of the affadavit needed and kept me on the phone will we notified the credit agencies and put fraud alerts out. Ran credit reports and found an additional credit card. (For those keeping score, Citi is now on the hook for 3 cards with this problem).

But I had a lot of trouble contacting the car finance company. It turns out they are really sort of a clearinghouse - they evaluate credit reports for car dealers, but don't actually open accounts there. When I did talk to someone later today, he was able to give me the name of the company in Houston that started all this mess, and the credit managers name and contact number.

So, I called the car company, or as I shall refer to it "Piece of Crap Motors", and spoke to a guy named "Bird". Wouldn't give me his first or last name, just "Bird". He tells me that yes, they have had a problem with an ex-employee they fired 3 or 4 months ago. Turns out they never disabled his ability to run credit reports (!(*^@^!@^#(!@^#). And oh, couldn't quite remember his name - David something-or-other......

Called Finance company again, got the guys name, and just for grins, talked to their senior account manager and explained that this was a crappy little car lot and no way should have a large volume of activity. The Finance company was very interested, and have launched a full-scale investigation and suspended their account pending further info...... I have another meeting with them tomorrow.

So, armed with Asshat's name, I people searched and found his MySpace (seriously - are all criminals this stupid??) and with a few keystrokes: his Driver's license number, home address, Date of Birth, roommate's name and criminal record (apparently, Asshat drinks and drives, too). And a picture of him, too!

I'm going to wrap it all in a big bow and give it to my favorite local cop for further action. I apologize about not giving out the info to you - I want to make sure I do not get in the way of any possible law enforcement action. And I am half-tempted to sue Piece of Crap Motors, just for being so careless.

I do not know how they obtained my info originally, so am still attempting to find that info. I also want to gather more info on Asshat (his family lives here in Houston) and "Bird", because he raised a couple of flags when I was talking to him.

Lessons learned:

* Your credit info is vulnerable even when you think you have taken all the right steps. A credit watch service more than pays for itself.

* Having said that, the info on your credit report is not always complete. Only a couple of the vendors had telephone contact numbers - it took some digging to track down the accounts

* You can freeze your credit history for 7 years, allowing access only when you particularly specify - but this requires a police or fed report to action

* Calling the 3 credit companies is not enough - you have to call the creditors themselves, and the FTC, and the social security office, Driver license, current credit card companies, and your bank

* 10K is a magic number, but it is cumulative, so if Asshat tagged anyone else, their number gets folded into mine. Idiot.

* Crooks spend money way faster than you do

Hope this helps someone - thanks for the support

oblongmelon

It happened to me TWICE..a long time ago, my bank screwed up the address on my box of checks and sent them to a GUY named Paul Edmarks in Reno Nevada..and he proceeded to take full advantage of the checks that were literally misprinted..It had both of our names on the checks, And Binghamton NY AND RENO Nevada which was the last address they submitted on the checks..it was the wierdest thing. He bought a car, and a few suits...when I finally questioned where all my money was going, the bank finally sorted out the problem and because it was a banking error they did replace the money in my account and went after the guy..it took a while but I eventually did get it back. The second time, I went to purchase another home and they had a woman from Endicott NY listed on my credit. We had the same name..she already had a mortgage for 380,000 ..which they held against my credit reports..only took a few phone calls to get that straightened out..phew..

uncledaddy

Wow CG, that does suck. I also never had that happen and wish you luck as well. beause of all the stories, I take all the precautions and I do hope it never happens to me.

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Jeffbx

Wow, CG, good detective work there!

Since you know who the guy is, what are the odds that you can bring a civil suit against him after the feds/cops get done with him? THAT would be justice.

Prngr44

Hopefully your local cops are capable of using the information you give them. Since I might as well live in Mayberry, the Barney Fife in my town "just don't know a lot about them there computers or the internets."

Sounds like you had a pretty "green" or more like STUPID identify thief.

mcs328

Good going. Have you tried using pipl.com to dig up more information on him. It's pretty good but it seems you did a lot of detailed work yourself.

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ArkiStan

I have been looking for apartments recently so I've had to meet up with several real estate brokers, the contacts of which I acquired through craigslist listings. I was lucky to find a decent place through a trustworthy guy in a short amount of time, but I realized how easy it is for somebody to get a hold of your SSN. For every broker I met I had to fill out an application with my SSN for them to run credit checks. One would only have to make a fake broker business card and post a listing on craigslist to get access to others' SSN's.

CarolinaGal

The next step in my saga involves contacting law enforcement and siccing them on the dirtbag. I can hardly wait!

I call the sheriff's department and explain my situation. Dispatch promises contact within 24 hours, but can't get more specific than that.

To my surprise, an officer, we’ll call him Deputy Dawg, appears in record time at my home. Seriously, within 30 minutes of my phone call to the non-emergency line. I’ve had longer response time during car accidents and break-ins.

I explain the story, and am honestly really surprised at his lack of response. He gets even less interested when I mention that the stores involved are in Texas and Louisiana (i.e., out of his jurisdiction.) The deputy records a bare minimum of information, glances at my credit reports, correspondence from the companies, and the research on Asshat that I have done, closes his notebook, prepare to leave. “But, wait!” I say politely “what happens next?”

He’ll turn in the report, he says, and they will handle it with the credit companies. I will not be contacted, nor will I be able to find out what is happening, unless they have additional questions. It seems I am not the victim – it’s the credit card companies. And they will decide whether to pursue it further or not. “But he has my information! What is to keep him from zapping me again?” Deputy Dawg looked at me stoically and said ‘Well, ma’am, nothing really. What do you want me to do – take this information and pick the guy up and lock him under the jail?’ “Yes, EXACTLY, that is what I want!”

He goes on to tell me how the facts: even if this guy did it, it is up to the companies to pursue prosecution. Proving Asshat did anything is difficult – he could always claim someone used the ID (and maybe they did). Proving it would require subpoenas on multiple people, very difficult in the best of circumstances. And that this becomes even more difficult as we cross state lines….. and for this amount of money, with 6 different companies….. well, chances just aren’t good for further action. Ouch. 10 minutes after is arrival, he’s gone.

My wide-eyed naïve self calls the friendly FBI agent and explains the whole situation. She listens sympathetically and even expresses outrage at the amount of aggravation this has caused. But yet, she admits that they can’t really do anything because of the legal complications. And because of the dollar amount – less than $10k doesn’t register, and realistically $20 – $30k is more the area the feds become interested in. She does admit the Crap Motors connection does sound fishy, and says that she will mention to the fraud guys the info I have uncovered. I am not holding my breath.

Finally, I call back Citibank. Surely, I think, Citi will care because they are out $8k?

Nay, nay.

The guy at Citi thanks me for the info and wishes me well. They check the records and do not find any more accounts opened through Citi at this time. After a few more minutes of schmoozing, I hang up, depressed about the lack of action to be taken. It is only after I hang up that I realize he did not record the Asshat’s information.

So, I am a living, breathing example of why ID fraud is rampant right now. And if this accounting gig I have been working for 20 years goes south, heck, I may just try some myself (just kidding!).

Protect yourself, kiddies. No one else will.

Jeffbx

If he's in Texas, contact a lawyer & see if you can file a civil suit. It varies from state to state, but some states allow victims of identity theft to sue for damages.

Prngr44

Sounds pretty much exactly the way mine went...

DarkFury

Same here...

Officer came by the house, took my info, wrote a report and then said that "Dell" had to do the rest to prosecute the perp.

Either way, since Citi Mastercard had my back... I just stopped worrying about it.

Prngr44

Yeah, I don't think any consumer is ever out any money it's just so frustrating that you feel essentially helpless.

I wonder how much the line item is on annual reports for credit card companies for fraud allowance?

DarkFury

I guess they figure they won't go after it unless you spent your physical money on it. (Like... what if you paid cash/check and then got defrauded.)

Either way, I'm just glad that CCs are as protected as they are.