Identity Theft - Page 2 - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**LiveFreeorDie** · 05-12-2005, 10:22 AM

You know...it's kind of scary, because any place that can give you credit...car dealership, dept store, credit card company, landlord or bank, can also get your credit report anytime they want which has everything about you in it. I rent out an apartment in my house and I can run a credit report on anyone through my landlord organization that I belong to. Its pretty scary.

I pay a yearly fee to get a summary of my credit history from the two big agencies. It is sent to me every quarter and shows who accessed my file in the last three months, whether there have been any changes, etc. I got it through one of my credit cards. While you can get this info for free, it is convenient and easy for me to have it sent to me every three months and so the annual fee is worth it to me. This kind of stuff scares the crap out of me because it can be so hard to stop once something like this happens.

Good luck CD - keep us posted on what happens.

ch3cooh · 05-12-2005, 12:23 PM

That sucks CD!!!

A lot of time they get that kind of stuff by digging through the garbage, so shred or burn everything. Once a month I round up anything sensitive that needs to be disposed of, stuff it all in a coffee can and light a match.

**pinion** · 05-18-2005, 04:33 PM

Wow, thats really crappy CD. I hope everything gets sorted out in your favour!!

My buddy had his credit card cloned a couple months ago. There wasn't too much damage done b/c his card was almost maxed out, but its still scary.

I'm comfortable with the fact if someone ever tried anything like that with me they would get denied for every single credit app

Go bad credit!!

foofiter · 05-19-2005, 08:34 AM

I had a minor run-in with this as well. Someone stole my Nextel bill (out of the dumpster) and tried to order 2 VERY expensive ($800) phones. Luckily Nextel called me to verify and I stopped it before I was billed for it. I now shred everything with any personal info on it. It also helps to have a shredding service at work to do it free! I also get about 75% of my bills online which eliminates cost, waste, paper, and risk!

foofiter

**agriadam** · 05-23-2005, 09:51 AM

People Suck.

CD hope everything works out
Arthur it was probably an American doing the fraud
Benna I'm glad you realize that Canada is not safe from the evils The Us Causes, it's not all bunny rabbits and rainbows across the border... (heavy on the Sarcasm)
Pinion I'm with you on the Bad credit thing. If someone stole my identity they wouldn't even be able to get a savings account

foofiter what do you mean by a shredding service??? Do you mean that you hand your personal and confidential documents over to some underpaid blue collar worker and "trust" them to shred everything and not sell it for a more money than they make all month??
Tadpole I can think of quite a bit I could buy for 35 grand....

**The Monsignor** · 06-05-2005, 10:54 PM

Shredding services aren't too bad, they usually pay ok, and, for the most part, they have pretty good background checks on their employees (that's their bread-and-butter after all)

**ajb3000** · 11-19-2006, 11:52 AM

How did this pan out in the end?

It appears I'm also a victim of identity theft. They've already taken out three mobile contracts in my name and setup direct debits on my account, one of which has been roaming in the UAE since the day after it was purchased and the first months bill is £630!

The best bit is, I went to the local police station only to be told that there is no law against identity theft in the UK at the moment and there is nothing they can do about it!

I've rung my bank and had my account frozen (no money has been taken out yet thank god), I've rung the three companies who have blocked the phones and are starting an investigation, and requested a credit report to see what else they've done, but it'll take 5 working days before I recieved it. Anything else I can do?

I really don't need this right now, I have 5 exams next week and shed loads of coursework due between now and xmas, and spent 4 hours on the phone today trying to get this sorted. I also have no idea how it could have happened. I never throw out bank statements, I never let my cards leave my sight, I always pay cash at restaurants etc. and only take money out of an ATM. I guess my passport could have been copied by someone running a hotel in E.Europe, but that wouldn't explain how they know my bank details.

**Canadian Dude** · 12-01-2006, 04:56 PM

The stress of the incident continues to this day, paranoia mostly. All the finacial stuff worked out in the end, the affected companies forgave the debts and my credit rating was saved, but it could have gone a whole lot worse if the criminal had changed my address, i never would have known. I now have a fraud watch with all the credit companies under my name so the process to get credit is much longer for security reasons, which i am quit hppy with. I hope all works out with your situation my friend, it a rough go, but you will survive.

**raoulduke** · 12-01-2006, 11:48 PM

Glad it all worked out for you CD.

Best of luck with your troubles ajb.