Personal Finance & Money

Questions tagged [identity-theft]

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Gave a scammer my full name, address, and email [duplicate]

I am usually very good about realizing a scam but this one got me. I had put a listing on poshmark and received a message back about someone wanting to buy it to please email them to their personnal ...
3
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0answers
101 views

Life insurance documents sent to wrong e-mail address. What are my options?

Some time ago I applied for life insurance online, and to my utmost incredulity (it never happened since I started using the Internet) apparently I misspelled my own e-mail address. A host of ...
2
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2answers
87 views

Credit bureau - Credit freeze vs Fraud Alert

I suspect my passport information along with other personal information was leaked on a website. I have already setup Credit Freeze, would Fraud Alert be also necessary? What are the benefits and ...
2
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1answer
86 views

Domestic US wire - do they get my account details

If I send a domestic US wire from my bank to another US bank, does the person on the other end get my account number details? I understand that the receiving bank may get my account number details. ...
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2answers
84 views

paperwork application to open new financial accounts - identity theft security risk?

I opened a bank account and a brokerage account using traditional paperwork forms I was provided with at the financial institution where I opened these accounts. That got me a bit worried as the ...
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1answer
176 views

What do I do if someone forges my check

Someone recently forged my signature and used that to withdraw money from my account. I already called the bank (Chase) and they put a restriction on that account and open a new account for me. They ...
23
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4answers
7k views

Do businesses save their customers' credit card information until the payment is finalized?

Paying by credit card is sometimes a multi-step process. In some of those cases, only the initial authorization is made at the point of sale; the finalized transactions are usually entered as a batch ...
7
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2answers
360 views

Equifax class action settlement—opt-in or opt-out?

I'm trying to figure out whether it's better to include or exclude oneself from the Equifax class action settlement. I've been torn on the issue, for reasons I'll explain below. Note to readers: ...
2
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1answer
173 views

Equifax data breach and correct credit monitoring service for $125

for the Equifax Data Breach , there is $125 being paid for people affected , previously one only needed to choose and the cash portion or the credit monitoring by Equifax. As most of the people has ...
0
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1answer
224 views

I accidentally gave out my name, home address, email address, phone number, and my DOB [duplicate]

Will anything go wrong??? I'm so scared... I can't even sleep anymore.. It was a phone call telling me about some kind of benefit I gave out my name, address, phone number, DOB, and email address and ...
6
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1answer
487 views

Strange withdrawal from checking account

I got a notice that there was an ACH withdrawal yesterday from my checking account of $225.38 by OPENSKY PHONE PMT. I'd never heard of OpenSky before and I'm not sure what a "phone pmt" is. I called ...
27
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4answers
11k views

My credit card was unexpectedly charged 1$, the merchant wants my SSN and personal data to tell me why, do I risk identity theft?

I received a phone message from my credit union's fraud detection department about a transaction for $1 that raised a flag. I called them back and was given the information recorded with the ...
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1answer
73 views

Are there negative consequences to having multiple credit monitoring services?

I already have one credit monitoring service that I am not paying for due to a security breach somewhere many years ago. I am not 100% sure but I think it expires/ends in a few years. My data was ...
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3answers
160 views

Why are free credit reports available only once per year?

Consumers have access to a free annual credit report from each of Equifax, Transunion, and Experian thanks to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act passed in 2003. However, this may be too ...
35
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20answers
14k views

How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?

A while ago I had my bank issue me new checks due to a change of name (I got married). However I still have many hundreds of checks with the out of date info (they're an online bank and issue about ...
7
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2answers
212 views

How to monitor for identity theft of minor child

It's important to monitor your own credit for signs of identity theft and for errors, because recovery can be time consuming and expensive. What steps should parents take to monitor their minor ...
4
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1answer
202 views

Vehicle has been broken into. Missing registration, insurance cards

My parents are currently out of town and they have left their vehicle parked on my block. We just discovered that the vehicle has been broken into. Aside from a few personal items, thieves have also ...
7
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2answers
284 views

Credit Freeze for Minor Child

I was told that identity theft of a minor's credit is a very sought after goal for thieves. Is it true that credit agencies will offer lines of credit to individuals who are not yet 18? Is there any ...
19
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4answers
6k 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. ...
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3answers
371 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
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3answers
801 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
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1answer
123 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 ...
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0answers
80 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
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1answer
273 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
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2answers
4k 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
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7answers
16k 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,...
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0answers
191 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
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1answer
216 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 ...
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2answers
176 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
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0answers
50 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
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2answers
5k 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?
13
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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
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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
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2answers
3k 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 ...
12
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4answers
829 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
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3answers
192 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?
5
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3answers
1k 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
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1answer
149 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
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0answers
806 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
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3answers
3k 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
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1answer
199 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
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1answer
111 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
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1answer
467 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 ...
1
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1answer
119 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
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1answer
189 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 ...
15
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3answers
3k 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 ...
2
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2answers
206 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
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1answer
246 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
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7answers
19k 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
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1answer
1k 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?

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