Anyone Here Ever Been a Victim of Identity Theft?

[Elmo_Lincoln]

I was, and man, does it ever suck

I've had the occasional credit card compromised over the last several years, but that was usually the extent of it. But at the end of this past Spring I really got hammered!

Without going into a lot of detail, I was travelling up north visiting family, when I get a call from my bank asking me if I had charged a couple of large-ticket items in the past day or two (over $1,000 total). I hadn't so I had my debit card cancelled and a new one sent to me. The bank sent it to me where I was staying, so that was kind of cool of them, got it in two days.

I get the new card, try to activate it, and it won't activate. I was doing it over the phone as there wasn't a branch or ATM for my bank anyplace near where I was. I flew back home the next day, so I go to the ATM (it was after hours after I got in missed my connecting flight. That's another story in and of itself). Still can't activate the new card. So next day I go back to work, and on my lunch I go down to a branch office nearby. Seems that I couldn't activate my new card was because in the interim when I was waiting to get the new card, someone called into the bank said they were me, and ordered a new card, cancelling the one I had had mailed to me!

So I get "another" card issued to me (after providing 16 forms of ID proving that I was me). I also had a password put on my account so that no changes could be made on it without providing the password.

While all of this was going on, my mail stopped being delivered. Apparently someone (don't know if it was the same someone) put in a change of address for me to have my mail re-routed. This was a new one on me but apparently isn't all that uncommon nowadays. Changes of address can be made online without a lot of proof of ID. Thankfully, I was able to get the mail back that had been sent elsewhere (it was going to an address on the other side of the country, so it hadn't apparently made it to the new destination).

So I've spent the last several months going through my credit reports, found a couple of credit cards opened in my name, got those cancelled. Thankfully my 401k hadn't been touched, but that was a fear of mine. I updated the security on that as well.

I've lost track of how much time, $$$ and energy I've spent trying to clean things up (also one of the reasons I haven't been on lately). It hasn't been a lot of fun, though I guess a lesson learned in the Brave New World that we live in.

So has anyone else experienced anything like this? Worse? Not at all? Sadly, I think that identity theft is something that is with us to stay.

 

[RubenesqueAphrodite]

Sorry this happened to you, Elmo

 

[Endless_Night]

This sounds horrific. I'm so sorry.

We've had to cancel a few credit cards. It helps that our bank calls us if there seems to be anything untoward. Nothing on the scale you've experienced.

 

[DarkSimian]

I have tried, but apparently no one else wants to be me, either.

 

[Elmo_Lincoln]

Sorry this happened to you, Elmo

This sounds horrific. I'm so sorry.

We've had to cancel a few credit cards. It helps that our bank calls us if there seems to be anything untoward. Nothing on the scale you've experienced.

Thank you both

I try not to dwell too much on it. That said, I regularly check my bank and credit card statements thoroughly, both when I get them in the mail and online. I'm guilty of not paying much attention to them in the past. Well, those days are gone as I learned my lesson. I've made it a habit of looking for anything out of the ordinary. The last couple of months have been clean, so that's good

 

[Elmo_Lincoln]

I have tried, but apparently no one else wants to be me, either.

Give them time. With all of the data breaches that are n the news, it's only a matter of when, not if.

 

[Elmo_Lincoln]

Wow, it's been over a year since I started this thread. Time certainly flies...

I just filed my taxes (joy, joy). One of the things I'm paranoid about is that someone already filed my return. That's a favorite activity of identity thieves this time of year. Thankfully, I got confirmation that the IRS accepted my return, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

I haven't had any issues with anyone trying to hack my credit cards or bank info. I've been keeping tabs on it, even paying for an identity theft protection service to monitor my credit. For me, it's a necessary evil.

I hope everyone else here at least keeps some track of your credit and personal information. Identity theft is real and not fun to experience, take it from one who knows!

 

[Elmo_Lincoln]

Another year plus has passed! Where does the time go?

I still pay out regularly for credit monitoring, but it's worth it. I don't want to go through another nightmare again where I have to straighten things out, repeated trips to the bank, etc. My taxes were filed without issue back in April. I even got my honest-to-goodness stimulus check without a hitch (not that I really needed it, but if the government is going to force me to take part of the money I've sent them in taxes, who am I to complain?).

I did have to get a new debit card a couple of months ago, but the bank was the one that proactively sent me the new card. That was only because of a "possible" security breach where my card "may have" been compromised. The only hassle with that was some pre-ordered items where I had to call the vendor and give them my new card number.

With all of the scams happening, you definitely want to make sure your credit info is secure. It's not something you want to be lackadaisical about.

 

[Elmo_Lincoln]

Not much has happened in the last nine months since I last posted in this thread (no one got pregnant, honest!). I still use an identity theft service, and so far nothing has come up, so that's good. I also filed my taxes without issue. I always hold my breath when I submit them until I get the confirmation from the IRS that they've accepted my return.

I've been reading up on home title theft. I'm not sure if it's as big a threat as it's said to be, or if it's just being played up for marketing purposes. But I do own my home (mortgage-free), so I do want to protect my investment. More to come on that.

As I've said in the past: keep tabs on your credit. Thieves are craftier than ever, and will do most anything to steal from you if given the opportunity.

 

[Elmo_Lincoln]

Two years since I last posted in here. That's what happens when you don't come around here anymore.

Did my taxes and the return was accepted by the IRS. I always hold my breath after I submit the return. I do it electronically so I usually find out within minutes on its acceptance status and it went pretty quick. I still worry about someone filing in my name mainly due to my past experiences.

I did have to get one of my credit cards replaced a few weeks ago. It had a charge on it that I didn't authorize. Found out pretty quick about it as the credit card company notified me and they got me out a replacement card fast so no real complaints.

Never let your guard down because there's always someone out there looking to take what doesn't belong to them. It's a fact of life.