Questions tagged [identity-theft]
The identity-theft tag has no usage guidance.
19
votes
4answers
5k views
If I have given my bank details to someone by email what should I do now? [duplicate]
I have given someone my bank account details including my home address and phone number by email, supposedly so that money can be transferred into my account.
I am now quite sure this is a scam.
...
1
vote
3answers
224 views
Checks stolen and rewritten, how?
This situation happened with my grandmother a few days ago. Even though older people are forgetful I do not believe my grandmother has misremembered this situation or confused herself.
She wrote a $...
4
votes
3answers
430 views
Stolen Check honored by bank (maybe after being cancelled). What should I do?
My daughter's checkbook was stolen last Saturday, she reported it to the bank Monday morning 10am and told them to cancel all the checks. She told the police earlier. We're in the USA.
Her account ...
1
vote
1answer
80 views
Free Credit Report — Checking for identity theft
I'm about to request my free annual credit report. I've never requested one before, but I noticed something suspicious with my FICO score lately in my Discover Card app and want to look into my credit ...
1
vote
0answers
78 views
Photocopies of vital records
How concerned should I be about private companies maintaining photocopies of vital records like birth certificates and social security cards?
While he is not applying for subsidized housing, my son ...
0
votes
1answer
262 views
Credit card cloned and money taken (UK)
My mum recently learned she had been charged for a use of her card to pay £28 at a pub in Nottinghamshire. Since she has never been to Nottinghamshire, it must have been her card details were stolen. ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
Please help: Is it safe to give this personal and banking information to someone? [closed]
Is it safe to give this information to someone?
Name of Account Holder:
Name of Bank:
Bank Account Number:
Address of the Bank Branch:
Bank Swift Code:
Phone Number of ...
30
votes
7answers
12k views
Private Bank requesting user name and password to verify identity before sending money to acct
I have been asked to provide my user name and password, so my fiance' can have his bank, Macoto, verify my identity, before they will send the funds. Does this sound right? I figure if he gives the ok,...
1
vote
0answers
130 views
Gave my full name, age, office address and mobile number to a probable scammer [duplicate]
What's the worst that can happen if I have given my name, office address, age and mobile number to a person who was most probably a scammer?
I'm still not sure, it was scam, because emails were very ...
0
votes
1answer
167 views
What's the likelihood of identity theft? Why doesn't it happen more often?
The recent Equifax breach causes me to think about how easy identity theft seems to be.
A lot of my information is already (semi-)public:
Name
Date of birth (friends know, also available on Facebook ...
1
vote
2answers
158 views
How can I check if any accounts were recently opened in my name
Someone just tried to open a Paypal credit account in my name. I was able to get the account closed and the charges revoked, but now I need to make sure there is nothing else out there.
How can I ...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
Credit Freeze - optimal option for a person on student visa in US?
I am an international student who recently moved to the US for studies.
I have been reading up on identity theft and credit freezes/fraud alerts. After getting a primary credit card (to build up some ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
Credit freeze in UK
I've read a lot that in US people can protect themselves from identity theft by applying credit freeze on their credit history, is there similar option in UK?
12
votes
1answer
2k views
What happens if an identity thief files a fraudulent return for you, but you owe taxes?
For taxes this year I'm going to owe the IRS, not get a refund, and I won't have any W-2 (although my wife will). So I'm curious what would happen if someone used this Equifax breach to file my tax ...
32
votes
3answers
5k views
How do you file taxes earlier than an identity thief?
One of the recommendations to avoid tax return fraud/identity theft is to file your taxes as early as possible:
FTC
Smart Money
Identity Theft Resource Center
USA Today
Notably, the IRS does not ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
How could identity thieves open accounts or get loans in my name?
Let's say someone has a hold of all the information Equifax had about me.
I'm trying to understand how some of the things people say could go wrong could actually happen:
They could supposedly open ...
13
votes
4answers
726 views
How should I protect myself from the Equifax breach without making my own life much harder?
The FTC recommends those who may be impacted by the Equifax data breach do the following:
Check credit reports at annualcreditreport.com.
Enroll in the 1 year of free credit monitoring provided by ...
6
votes
3answers
176 views
Is there a surefire way to prevent anyone from opening a line of credit in my name?
With this Equifax thing going down, I wonder:
What steps can I take to prevent anyone from opening a line of credit in my name? Is there any surefire way to stop this?
3
votes
3answers
716 views
Do I need multiple credit monitoring services?
I currently have credit monitoring through Experian and I pay extra for it to monitor all three credit bureaus. In light of the recent Equifax breach and Equifax offering credit monitoring for those ...
9
votes
1answer
144 views
Credit freeze and affect on perception as credit risk
In light of the Equifax hack I keep reading that people should apply a credit freeze on themselves at the 3 main bureaus. However, someone told me that their mortgage consultant said that placing a ...
1
vote
0answers
552 views
Are IRAs and 401(k)s insured against theft?
If someone steals (maybe by logging in with stolen credentials) from a person's retirement account, is that money gone, or are accounts insured against theft and hacking?
Edit: it sounds from the ...
2
votes
3answers
991 views
Why do you need to provide your credit card's expiration date in order to make a purchases?
This question is similar in spirit to Why do some online stores not ask for the 3-digit code on the back of my credit card?.
I don't see how asking for the credit card's expiration date as well as ...
4
votes
1answer
182 views
What happens to money paid by IRS in fraudulent refund?
Please forgive my ignorance with this question... According to FRAUD Magazine and Identity theft tax refund fraud, fraudulent refunds cost billions of dollars a year. The article lists some ...
0
votes
1answer
110 views
Say I am in Canada and I have a U.S SSN can I open a credit line though a bank there
I recently got my SSN stolen and just for research was wondering if my SSN would work even if someone tried to sign up for credit in another country or if the bank their would see it's not a local SSN ...
14
votes
1answer
375 views
How was someone able to open an account?
A while back I was surprised to see a collections account go onto my credit report for an unpaid amount of a few hundred dollars. I immediately believed it to be a mistake since I had never heard of ...
2
votes
1answer
111 views
What to do if you know someone has had access to your SSN
You think a stranger (say computer repair guy) might have had access to a computer file with your SSN in it over the past few days. You don't know if person has seen the file or not, but you don't ...
6
votes
1answer
172 views
Identity theft?
I recently checked my credit report through 3 different sites and everything seemed OK. But recently I applied to finance a car and had to confirm 6-8 years of previous addresses. Two unknown ...
14
votes
2answers
2k views
Are there any dangers in publicly sharing my personal finance data?
I wanted to blog about my financial status and was curious if somebody ever did that and couldn't find anything on google.
So the idea is to share on a monthly basis what I have on my bank account ...
3
votes
2answers
201 views
A bank application mentioned I opened a home loan recently. I never did. Should I be worried?
I've been looking to move away from Evil Bank Corporation for a while now, and in the process of applying for New Shiny Bank they wanted to verify my identity by asking for my social and asking for ...
0
votes
1answer
237 views
How can I check to see if anyone has tried to file my tax return [duplicate]
How can I check to see if anyone has tried to file my tax return? I have reason to suspect that someone has stolen my social security number.
48
votes
7answers
15k views
Didn't apply for credit card but got an application denied letter?
I was recently forwarded a letter by the owner of my old address that turned out to be from a credit card company, informing me my application had been declined. Ignoring that this letter was sent to ...
0
votes
1answer
965 views
I provided personal information to a scam survey. What's my risk? [duplicate]
I filled out this survey to win a something. Then realized it was a scam. Felt really dumb. Anyhow, I gave my email, name, phone number and address. What can the do with the information I gave them?
19
votes
2answers
56k views
I gave a scammer my telephone number, address, and name. How bad is it?
Well, I saw a spam email, but I didn't realize that it's really a scam at first. I gave him my telephone number, address, and name. What would he do with them? Could he ruin ALL of my reputation with ...
8
votes
3answers
561 views
I've started two credit agency disputes with the originators of the credit (CC company and a bank). Is there anything more required from me?
I found a CC that I had nothing to do with opening on my credit report. I called the issuing company and told them as much and they opened a dispute with the 3 agencies. Also, in an effort to increase ...
-2
votes
2answers
1k views
Applying For New Line Of Credit While Credit Is Frozen
I'm wondering about the implications (if any) of applying for a new line of credit while my credit is frozen with the three main reporting agencies.
My understanding is that the new line of credit is ...
2
votes
1answer
414 views
What could someone do if they had a check made out to me? [duplicate]
Suppose I receive a check. Maybe it's for employment, or a class-action settlement, or maybe even just a graduation present from a relative. Doesn't matter. Point is, it grants me some amount of ...
11
votes
1answer
285 views
Should I dispute fraudulent hard inquiries on my credit report?
A store credit card was opened fraudulently in my name, and I am going through the process of disputing and having it removed from credit reports.
Within a few days of that account being opened, ...
1
vote
1answer
714 views
I am Swiss and have a bank account in USA that is blocked. How can I identify myself without travelling to USA?
I'm Swiss and worked 4 months in the USA. So I opened a bank account at Chase Bank.
Due to bad exchange rate I decided to keep the money at the Chase bank account.
This was 3 years ago. I decieded ...
0
votes
2answers
3k views
Can someone steal my government check and cash it?
I get an adoption check every month from Raleigh. I haven't received it for February yet. It always comes by the 6th of every month. I was wondering: could someone have stolen it and cashed it at ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
How secure is my data in the hands of a financial planner?
I consult with a Certified Financial Planner who charges an annual fee. The person seems reliable and seems to have integrity, but also has a few people working under her whom I know nothing about.
...
3
votes
1answer
66 views
How to prevent misusing my Account details
One of my friend know my account details like pan no and all, and now he started doing some business with that and I am getting income tax notices for that how I will block him from using my details ...
1
vote
1answer
461 views
What risk would I take by filling out a W8 or W9 for a firm that asks for one?
My US clients often ask for a W8 or W8BEN to be filled out so that they don't have to withhold tax when they pay my invoices. I'm familiar with that process. Today I received a letter from an ...
2
votes
4answers
4k views
Can I prove having savings without giving out the account number?
I will be looking to rent with no income, but significant savings.
For that, I'll probably need to give the prospective landlord my name, DoB, SSN (for credit check) and the savings account number.
...
3
votes
1answer
905 views
How to get access to US credit report while living outside USA?
I lived in United States for over eight years late 2000/early 2010s. For some reasons I think my identity has been stolen in the US, so I would like to check my credit report. However, I have moved ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
Using 2 different social security numbers
Let's start by saying that I know what I did was wrong.
I opened store credits at a few stores here in the U.S. By using a number that I made up in my head. It's only store credit and not a credit ...
26
votes
6answers
6k views
How do I permanently opt out of having a credit history?
In the past, I activated a credit block (freeze) on all major credit bureaus and from reading information, this should prevent anyone from being able to report on my credit or gain access to it. ...
0
votes
2answers
88 views
What is the minimum information someone would need to know about me to wire money out of my brokerage account?
I'm doing my taxes and preparing my own statement in lieu of a 8949.
My broker has provided me with a statement that has a lot of information on it. My first thought was just to mail the statement to ...
1
vote
1answer
142 views
Got Notice My Personal Information May be Compromised
For anyone who may believe this is Phishing, it is not.
I got a notice from a company saying that an HR employees car got broken into and it may have personal data of mine. I haven't had a job with ...
2
votes
2answers
287 views
Can a name be gotten from an account number?
Can a name be gotten from an account number for whom the account bearer is not known? That is to say, should Tim send Jim ONLY his account number, can Jim identify Tim with this information alone?
...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
Stolen wallet containing check. What are the proper steps to take now?
My wallet was stolen. I cancelled all my cards, but I also had a check written to me that I hadn't deposited yet. I have contacted the issuer of the check and asked him to cancel it, but he says he is ...
