Dude, my identity has been stolen!!!!!!!!

[skyski_tige]

That sucks. Some dude tried to open a paypal account using one of my email addresses - 3rd time he has tried in the last month to open an account with that email - 2 - webcams and a paypal

I called paypal and they cancelled the account and then I immediately opened it back up.

[Stoneman]

It's always OK to error on the side of caution and that way you can't go wrong...but if someone truly has stolen your identity you'll know as it will start to pop up when you make those credit checks, etc. Remember if somebody really did use your identity with Dell and Chase and those companies have already sent you letters (legitimately) that means it happened a while ago and anything else the thief did would be showing up as well. On the other hand if these contacts were in fact just a fishing expedition that would explain why you don't see anything else.

Just something to think about as making all those cancellations, etc is a huge undetaking and a major inconveinance in your life.

[da.bell]

That sucks Tall. Hope you are able to get this resolved quickly.

[sparky216]

Stoneman,

That is what I was thinking as well. The 'Dell' people who asked for my SSN were a little shaky. The Chase credit card people did not ask for that information and seemed more sensitive to the fact that I had no way of knowing if the letter was a scam. So I am leaning toward this being the real deal, but it could just be someone out fishing. Nothing new came in the mail today...

Credit freeze almost sounds like something that we should all do anyway. Especially since I am at a stage of my life where I am not applying for stuff all the time anyway.

Credit freeze is a good thing, but the last time I had my ID stolen you had to provide evidence that your ID was stolen before they would freeze your credit profile. Things may have changed since then, but remember it's only for 3 months or so.

[sparky216]

Good Luck Tall!! You da man Sparky!

hehe...no just been there a few times and hate....HATE to see good people get screwed over.

[sparky216]

Although getting in front of it is a great idea...it will also be a major headache (although admittedly less than if your identity truly was stolen.) Before you make a decision, be sure that these letters were not fakes (a common scam) and nothing more than a first attempt at stealing your ID. I say this because it seems as though the first thing they wanted was your SSN, etc which is how they start to steal your identity. If you didn't give it to them and nothing else has shown up on your credit reports or other accounts, you may be safe.

Good point, but having been there I would still air on the side of caution. If you even think something is fishy please be proactive. What was the number Dell gave you, my brother is a Dell exec......I can find out if it's legit.

[talltigeguy]

Although getting in front of it is a great idea...it will also be a major headache (although admittedly less than if your identity truly was stolen.) Before you make a decision, be sure that these letters were not fakes (a common scam) and nothing more than a first attempt at stealing your ID. I say this because it seems as though the first thing they wanted was your SSN, etc which is how they start to steal your identity. If you didn't give it to them and nothing else has shown up on your credit reports or other accounts, you may be safe.

Stoneman,

That is what I was thinking as well. The 'Dell' people who asked for my SSN were a little shaky. The Chase credit card people did not ask for that information and seemed more sensitive to the fact that I had no way of knowing if the letter was a scam. So I am leaning toward this being the real deal, but it could just be someone out fishing. Nothing new came in the mail today...

Credit freeze almost sounds like something that we should all do anyway. Especially since I am at a stage of my life where I am not applying for stuff all the time anyway.

[Lucky 275]

That stinks. My wife got a call last week on her cell phone, they left a message saying that our bank account was shut down because of some erratic behavior and to call the 800# immediately. She didn't call the 800#, but called the local # and the attendant said they had been getting calls all day about this.

It was scam. The scammers just picked that bank and called a bunch of random #'s, and we happen to have an account there. After speaking with the bank, she called that 800# to see what it was. It was automated and wanted account # and ss# for verification...

[Stoneman]

Although getting in front of it is a great idea...it will also be a major headache (although admittedly less than if your identity truly was stolen.) Before you make a decision, be sure that these letters were not fakes (a common scam) and nothing more than a first attempt at stealing your ID. I say this because it seems as though the first thing they wanted was your SSN, etc which is how they start to steal your identity. If you didn't give it to them and nothing else has shown up on your credit reports or other accounts, you may be safe.

[jwanck11]

Good Luck Tall!! You da man Sparky!

[TeamAllen]

Sorry to read about your problem Tall.
I have a link to a radio guy (Clark Howard) I used to listen to. Our local station doesn't carry his program anymore. I miss it. This linked page is about a credit freeze. Sparky covered all anyway, I just thought I would add another source of info.

Good luck!

http://clarkhoward.com/topics/credit_freeze_states.html

[dogbert]

Great info, Sparky!

Tall, man that sucks.

[Domsz06]

Hope it all works out Tall. My brother had this happen and he did everything sparky recommended. Good Luck!!

[sparky216]

Can I do that online?

I have checked all of my other accounts and they look OK. So far....

I called them, but you may be able to do it online. For matters as serious as this, I prefer to speak to someone live......


Remember, your accounts may be fine now, but in two months when you've forgotten all about this is when they will clean you out. If you think your identity has been compromised, then change them all. TRUST ME, it will save you so much time in the future god forbid they hit again.


Good luck!

[Tanner]

Before doing anything online.... make sure your comp. is clean.

I recently got a nasty little trojan. I went to sign into paypal ... when I did, it forwarded me to this spoof page with this screen asking for my information including my ATM and pin #. Very professional looking, and looked just like a real paypal page. It asked me to update my password, account, Social, Birth day, etc. It also happened on my ameritrade account. I couldn't find any other pages that it did it on. But never the less it was there.... and my virus def. were up to date and a recent scan had been completed. I found the little sucker in my registry on my own. So I got rid of it... and it moved on me. Made 5 other attempts to get rid of it... and couldn't. After working with McAfee and exchanging a few e-mails and adding it to their definitions, we finally got it... I think... but it didn't matter b/c my harddrive needed to be replaced.... so I just did that.