topic Re: Identity Compromised! in Community Chat

Identity Compromised!

bluecrab33 — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 12:12:17 GMT

I received a letter from Sprint yesterday stating that my credit application could not be approved because it wasn't complete. There was an 800 number to call if I wished to follow up and complete the application. I have never ever applied for credit with Sprint. I was fortunate to get an extremely helpful service rep when I called the 800 number. She confirmed that the application was in my name and address. The application also had my correct social security number on it. The application was made at a Best Buy store. The ONLY reason the application was not approved was because I had frozen my credit information with the three major credit bureaus and they could not check it.

I remember that Experian had a huge breach not that long ago, but who knows if that is how someone obtained my information. I know this happens every day, but for those of you on the fence about freezing your credit information it is something to think about.

Re: Identity Compromised!

Ladylaughsalot — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 12:16:06 GMT

That happened to me a year ago - Citibank called me to ask if I had applied for a Citibank credit card. I told them I had not. They advised me to freeze my credit, and I did so right away. DH and I had just bought a new home, so we think the culprit got information through our closing process.

Re: Identity Compromised!

drizzellla — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 13:56:11 GMT

That has happened to me and so I also applied a freeze on my credit. I wish I had also applied a freeze on my parents credit. Both were in a nursing home. So I knew they would not be using credit cards or opening new ones.

Some resourceful person opened a Dell Computer credit card in my Dad's name. The person had a wonderful time buying computers, digital cameras, monitors and laptops. I talked to Dell credit. I have no idea what they were looking at, when they approved the credit application. Birthday was off by more than 50 years, address was more than 30 miles away from one another, nothing on the credit application agreed but Dell approved it.

So please don't forget the seniors when applying credit freezes.

PS - I ended up being the lucky person that got over 8 years of persistant collection calls on my landline and cell phone from collection agencies.

Re: Identity Compromised!

godi — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 13:18:14 GMT

You gotta be so careful today. I called Discover to inquire about something and that employee started a buying spree on my card! Discover caught them and apologized to me and gave me free credit monitoring for a year.

Re: Identity Compromised!

bluecrab33 — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 13:32:26 GMT

I have no idea why I did not freeze the credit accounts for my husband when I did mine, but without a doubt I am doing it today.

I read about a gal who filled out a credit ap for a new apartment, and discovered when the landlord did a credit check that someone had opened a Sprint account in her name and that the account had been turned over to collections for a $600+ overdue balance.

I remember when the biggest security concern was having your credit card information stolen from the carbon copy of the charge that was thrown in the trash. Anybody else remember those "stamping" mechanisms when your card was placed in that contraption with a handle and the card information imprinted on three pieces of paper - one copy for you, one copy for the retailer and the carbon went into the trash.

Of course I also remember the rotary dial phone and the days when my phone bill was one page. LOL

Re: Identity Compromised!

NicksmomESQ — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 20:24:51 GMT

DH & I got a letter from the IRS about 4 years ago. Is was at the start of tax season.They wanted us to call them ASAP to verify that we filed our joint return!! We hadn't filed yet!!

I called the number & apparently someone got a hold of our SS #'s & filed a phoney return requesting a large refund & that it be mailed to a different address.We don't get refunds, we usually owe money.Thankfully, they caught it in time.

After a stressful time of notifying banks,filing police reports & locking down our credit with the bureaus we were finally protected!! What a mess.

Edited to add that now, each year the IRS sends us a pin# to put on our taxes when filed. Without the pin our tax return would be rejected.

Re: Identity Compromised!

chrystaltree — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 14:18:39 GMT

Everyone should have already frozen their credit but if they didn't this is a perfect example of why they should do it now. I had a similar experience a few months ago. Someone tried to open credit card under my name, I also was given an 800 number to call and the matter was resolved. I think we forget that our personal is out there; it's in all the old documents and applications that we used years ago. Much of that paper is in basements and storerooms and old filing cabinets and it's easy pickings for those who are looking for that type of information.

Re: Identity Compromised!

Ainhisg — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 14:19:30 GMT

Good to know that freezing works! When the big Experian fiasco happened, I froze my elderly mother's, my husband's, and my credit. It will probably be a bear to open back up when my husband needs to buy a new vehicle, but we will see.

Re: Identity Compromised!

Eileen in Virginia — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 14:21:56 GMT

This happened to us in the mid-90's (we were pioneers). Check your existing accounts to make sure they didn't change your address. The only way we found out that our identities had been stolen was when 1 credit card company wrote to confirm that we'd moved from Northern Virginia to the Bronx (we hadn't). When DH called, he also got an extremely helpful customer service rep, who told him how to work with the credit bureaus and the security staff at other credit card companies. The thieves had our full SSN's, all credit card numbers and our birthdays. They acted so fast, it was very hard to get ahead of them. Although I was working at the time, I was lucky that it was a slow period so I was able to devote time to working with the authorities to stop the thieves. Eventually, the Secret Service and the Postal Inspection Service cracked this ring. We were fortunate in that we didn't have to pay for any of the debt they incurred in our name.

Re: Identity Compromised!

Cats3000 — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 14:25:52 GMT

If you called the 800 number on the letter, you may have left yourself open to the scam.

You NEVER call a number on ANYTHING you don't recognize, no matter how "official" it looks or sounds. You should have called the regular 800 number for Sprint as shown on it's website.

Re: Identity Compromised!

on the bay — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 14:41:21 GMT

@bluecrab33 -

So creepy!

On the other hand try un freezing your credit with experian and you have to send in your life history and documents last time I tried!

The other 2 were not so hard, you could do it by phone I believe.

Experian is a mess and there are class action lawsuits.

Re: Identity Compromised!

deb5555 — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 14:47:06 GMT

You can also put a *Fraud Alert* on your credit bureau accounts.

Re: Identity Compromised!

MissMadi — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 16:13:02 GMT

Just curious....Do you know what happens if I freeze my credit accounts and I go to buy a big purchase like a car? Would the car dealer be able to get a credit rating on me without a bunch of rigamarole?

Re: Identity Compromised!

bluecrab33 — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 16:20:53 GMT

Absolutely right about verifying numbers before calling them back. I was so upset about it I wasn't thinking clearly. I just did verify the number with Sprint thank heaven. I will never do that again without checking first.

Re: Identity Compromised!

Lipstickdiva — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 16:21:33 GMT

Just found out from a FB group I belong to that Princess cruiselines and Hollan America, both of which are under the Carnival umbrella, had a hack last year that has just now been revealed. It included social security number and passport information being hacked.

Re: Identity Compromised!

Icegoddess — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 16:41:23 GMT

I got a call yesterday from a "Toll Free Caller", so of course I didn't answer it. They left a message for me using my name and asking me to call back to verify a purchase. I wasn't going to do it, but I Googled the phone number and found several comments that this was the number for a company called Music Friends or something to that effect and that they were verifying purchases. I decided to call, gave them the order number, and the guy asked if I had placed an order with them for around $237. I had not. I had never heard of these people. The order had been placed around 10:30 that morning. He even told me which card the purchase was made on so I could call my credit card company even though he said they would also cancel the order on their end. The one thing I neglected to ask them was where the equipment was supposed to be sent.

I called my credit card number and sure enough the charge was there, along with another charge from ADT for another $217. Now, I had gotten the bill for that card also yesterday and those charges were not on it. So, if that company had not called to verify the order, I wouldn't have known about the fraud until next month, and who knows how much other stuff would've been charged on it by then. The only recent charges on that card were from my Vet in Dec, and Bearpaw & Dior in early Feb, so I'm suspecting one of the last two. Not sure if I should try to contact them about it. I'm sure they would deny that they could be the source of the breach. Of course, it could just be one of those Dark Web things.

On the same day, I got a letter from the company that owns WORX where I bought my husband a leaf blower for Christmas that they had a data breach. That was on a different card, so not the source of my CC fraud above.

Something really sad, we recently lost a police officer. They had set up an account for his widow at the local Credit Union for people to donate to. That account somehow got hacked TWICE in a one month period. That was right before we left for our ski trip, so I don't know if any of that situation got resolved. Haven't seen anything on the news about is since we got back.

Re: Identity Compromised!

shoesnbags — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 17:03:53 GMT

@bluecrab33

We have our credit frozen, too, and reading your post makes me very happy we did so. It’s a little bit of a pain when you have to occasionally unfreeze it for a legitimate purpose, but well worth the effort. Thanks for letting us know how this worked out for you.

Re: Identity Compromised!

Mindy D — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 17:05:28 GMT

@bluecrab33 wrote:
I received a letter from Sprint yesterday stating that my credit application could not be approved because it wasn't complete. There was an 800 number to call if I wished to follow up and complete the application. I have never ever applied for credit with Sprint. I was fortunate to get an extremely helpful service rep when I called the 800 number. She confirmed that the application was in my name and address. The application also had my correct social security number on it. The application was made at a Best Buy store. The ONLY reason the application was not approved was because I had frozen my credit information with the three major credit bureaus and they could not check it.

I remember that Experian had a huge breach not that long ago, but who knows if that is how someone obtained my information. I know this happens every day, but for those of you on the fence about freezing your credit information it is something to think about.

Put freezes on your credit with all the credit bureaus.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwjejcOvqoboAhXjRd8KHehDBMIQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebalance.com%2Fhow-to-freeze-your-credit-report-at-each-credit-bureau-960796&usg=AOvVaw32FfcQMEbFYScbyt-8Oacb

Re: Identity Compromised!

shoesnbags — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 17:08:43 GMT

@Ainhisg wrote:
Good to know that freezing works! When the big Experian fiasco happened, I froze my elderly mother's, my husband's, and my credit. It will probably be a bear to open back up when my husband needs to buy a new vehicle, but we will see.

@Ainhisg

I’ve unfrozen ours twice and it wasn’t a big deal - as long as you’ve kept your PIN # that you were given when you froze it.

Re: Identity Compromised!

shoesnbags — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 17:12:26 GMT

@MissMadi wrote:
Just curious....Do you know what happens if I freeze my credit accounts and I go to buy a big purchase like a car? Would the car dealer be able to get a credit rating on me without a bunch of rigamarole?

You will have to temporarily unfreeze your credit using the PIN # that you were given when you froze it. You can indicate exactly what dates you want the freeze to stop and to start up again. I was able to do it all online last time. Just don’t lose that PIN #.