Identity theft
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive May 2007:
Identity theft
has anyone been through this ? i recently found 6 accounts that are not mine on my credit report.
all local gas company,cable,cable,cable,phone,direct tv anyway these are not in my name except one and in different addresses not mine... ok i looked up the phone number on the account and address in my phone book and the name on the account was there. searched a different address and that same name came up ok i did a reverse phone on the same phone number and a address on my file came up with my best friend from years ago haven't seen in 15 years???? how could she possibly have my ssn? anyway coincident or not
Whether it is a coincidence or not, you need to take action immediately. First, send certified letters to each of these providers of service and say something like the following:
Upon a review of my credit report from XXXX, I learned that your company has listed an account in my name but at XXX address. I discovered that the address and telephone number you have listed for the account are issued to XXXXX, a former acquaintance whom I have not seen for nearly fifteen years. Please immediately remove my name from this account and confirm to me in writing that you have done so. Please also file a correction with Experian, (names of the other two reporting agencies).
Also write to the company that sent you the credit report, with copies of your letters to each of the service providers, and instruct them to correct their records immediately and to send you a copy of the corrected report.
If it were me, I would file a fraud alert with the other two credit reporting agencies. They will then (a) put a 90 day hold on your account so that new credit cannot be issued without personal, verified contact with you, and (b) will send you a free copy of whatever they have on record for you, so that you can see what they have and make sure they correct their records.
Yes, your former friend could have seen your SS easily - we used to be a lot less careful about protecting that information. Did you at any time share an apartment and utility services? These might be old, old records where the utility just didn't file the change with the credit reporting agency. Or, maybe she didn't have your SS # but just opened those accounts in your name with some other kind of ID, and the credit reporting agency put your SS number on it in their records. The credit reporting agencies are very, very careless about records and the accuracy of records, and you do have to check this regularly. It sounds like you caught it before you suffered any harm, so take a deep breath and deal with the details. It's a nuisance, but you do need to have your credit record cleared up *before* something goes wrong.
At one point all three credit reporting agencies reported me as having lived at an address which was an apartment one of my sons leased where I signed as guarantor, and it took six months to get that cleared up. They really are careless.
these accounts are all in collections..
i already did a fraud alert and filed a police report. and the credit agencys are investigating but it takes 30 days my old friend did live with me and my husband for about a month back in 1985 or 1986. i just hope she's not renting stuff or apt in my name and because it is such small stuff and all local makes me think it is her.. really sad 
Yes, it is sad. Sad that she feels driven to steal like this, and very sad that you have to go through such hassles because you helped out a friend.
I have been though this and it is a pain in the rear. One of my old roommates decided to take my SSN from her copy of our lease and used it to get a cell phone and all kinds of other stuff about 5 years ago. I am still trying to get all the fraud stuff but I only find out about it when it goes on my credit and I think there is a chance that she is still using some of the accounts.
Good luck and I hope it turns out better for you than it has for me.
just got an alert in my credit report my name has been changed and my address to the name and address that she use to get these accounts....how can they just change my name?
also warrents have been issued for her arrest..
Some states have a law requiring a "security freeze" on your credit reports, so that they can only be released with your permission. In some instances the credit reporting agency can require a fee for setting up the freeze and for removing it. A PIN is required, as well as other identification. See this report from Consumers Union last year: Freeze
Georgia isn't on this list. Pennsylvania passed a credit freeze late last year, and it is free to people over 65, which includes me, and I have just procrastinated and not taken advantage of it. I need to do that.
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