Possible Identify Thieft - what do I do?

[Disney Addicted]

So my neighbour across the street handed me a letter addressed to me but mailed to her address. From Scotiabank, with whom I have never dealt with.

It's a letter thanking me for taking out a loan for a 2012 car!

I phoned Scotiabank's tele number immediately, but the CSR refuses to confirm if there's truly a loan in my name. He also refuses to tell me if my name comes up in their database as a customer period.

Tomorrow I'll have to phone Equifax and Trans Union to see about getting my credit report. Equifax website only offers a report for $15.50. I use to pull a report once every couple of years (not for a long time) and never had to pay before. I thought they had to provide credit reports free when a person asked for theirs. I cannot seem to find any other information on their website though...

I'll also be visiting my local Scotia Bank to ask about this letter. But what are MY rights? I don't want to just hand over my correct address and SIN number and have some idiot "update" their files with it by mistake. (Which did happen to my husband, years back before we were married. What a mess THAT was).

By the way, the letter also quoted the VIN # of the car. Do you suppose I can go to the Ministry of Transportation and pull up some kind of vehicle history record? I want to see if that car has my name & address listed on it.

Please, any information you can give me I would so appreciate right now. After dinner I'll start researching identity fraud on the 'net.

[bellasmom10]

That is horrible. I'm sorry that your going through this.. I would defiantly contact equifax, I pull my report every 6 months and I do pay a fee for this. I hope things work out for you.

[bababear_50]

Hi
I am so sorry you are going through this.
If it were me I would contact the police dept and ask if they have someone in the fraud dept that could help you navigate through this mess.

Scotiabank Identity Theft Link

http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,2975,00.html

Best wishes and hugs to you

Mel

[coastgirl]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you get to the bottom of it quickly. If you have the VIN, you think you'd be able to track the vehicle? Contacting the police to get their guidance seems like a good idea too.

Again, I'm sorry. I hope you clear it up quickly.

[stefanospops]

Your first step is to absolutely pull your own credit report. You can do so online directly through their site. If you see any "hits" from financial institutions that you can't recall applying or having credit with then ask them to put a caution on your credit file. This will mean that you will be contacted every time a new request for credit is made. Once you have done that you'll need to find someone to speak with at Scotia, if you find that such a request existed. good luck!

[torontodisneyfan]

regarding your credit reports....

you are entitled to a free copy once per year if you write to Equifax and/or Transunion. Any other method of request will cost you money.

Good Luck!

[Malakaiii]

Yikes! I would go down to the Scotiabank and not leave until I had some answers...

[shpirks]

I work for a CDN bank (not Scotia) and if your name is on the loan they have to provide you with the information you are asking for. Ask for the Assistant Manager or the Branch Manager when you get to your local branch, I personally would also ask them for copies of the documentation that you supposedly signed. I would go to the BNS Ombudsman and if you still do not get the answers you are looking for and if necessary you can go to the Ombudsman for banking services and investments. I def agree with calling Equifax and TransCanada credit to put an alert on your file.

I hope you get all of this worked out, if you have any questions at all I would be happy to help

[seashoreCM]

I would send them a letter stating that "I" did not take out any loan with them, with "RSVP" at the end, and enclosing a copy of their letter. Then wait at least a few weeks. (Resend the same letter every 7 days until you get a reply)

Send your letter without your signature. Do not explain why your letter is unsigned. Do not hand over anything else either.

For now I suggest not visiting the bank yet. Don't make any more phone calls. You will have to give them some address to reply to but that can be a post office box if you already have one of those.

If it gets to the point where they want a signed letter, ask them to first send you a reproduction of your signature, for example on a copy of a document with what looks like signature on it. If they write back that they don't have your signature on file then that is conclusive evidence that you never filed a signed loan application with them.

I would wait at least a month before making more detailed requests such as in the preceding reply, unless they answer your first letter making more detailed requests sooner. And they need to answer your requests before you answer theirs. Resend each unanswered letter of yours every 7 days until you get answers.

If you are ever asked "is this your signature" the correct answer is never "yes" unless you positively recognize the document as yours. The correct answer would instead be "probably not" or "no". You are within your rights to take it home and do homework and check your records before answering that question "yes" even if the document turns out to be one you did sign.

Don't say it out loud to them this way but you should take this point of view. With an IOU the creditor has to prove all three. The I (prove that the person named as the debtor is the one who owes the money), the O (prove that money is owed) and the U (prove that the creditor is the one to whom the money is owed). In reality you don't have to care about the O and the U.

I think it is safe to include in your very first letter "I suggest that you go and repossess the car right now".

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Originally Posted by seashoreCM

I would send them a letter.....Then wait at least a few weeks.

For now I suggest not visiting the bank yet. Don't make any more phone calls.

I would wait at least a month before making more detailed requests

If I truly suspected my credit had been compromised or my identity stolen, I certainly would not be waiting a few weeks or a month before taking any further action. Like a PP indicated, I would be at the bank the next day when it opened and I wouldn't be leaving until I spoke with a bank manager. I can't imagine taking a "wait and see" approach......and wondering what other kind of damage could be being done in the meantime .

I also think that would be kind of hard to explain to law enforcement....."well yes, I did have suspicions some time ago that my identity and credit may have been stolen, but I thought I'd give it a few weeks to see what else transpired before coming to you for help".

OP, can you give us an update as to what you were able to find out?

[seashoreCM]

It will be hard for the bank to explain to law enforcement that it is entitled to recover from you after refusing to promptly show proof that it was owed the money.

Going to the bank you put yourself in a weak position. You do not want to show ID with yous signature on it, such as credit cards or drivers license.

[LSmith]

Originally Posted by Disney Addicted

So my neighbour across the street handed me a letter addressed to me but mailed to her address. From Scotiabank, with whom I have never dealt with.

It's a letter thanking me for taking out a loan for a 2012 car!

I phoned Scotiabank's tele number immediately, but the CSR refuses to confirm if there's truly a loan in my name. He also refuses to tell me if my name comes up in their database as a customer period.

Tomorrow I'll have to phone Equifax and Trans Union to see about getting my credit report. Equifax website only offers a report for $15.50. I use to pull a report once every couple of years (not for a long time) and never had to pay before. I thought they had to provide credit reports free when a person asked for theirs. I cannot seem to find any other information on their website though...

I'll also be visiting my local Scotia Bank to ask about this letter. But what are MY rights? I don't want to just hand over my correct address and SIN number and have some idiot "update" their files with it by mistake. (Which did happen to my husband, years back before we were married. What a mess THAT was).

By the way, the letter also quoted the VIN # of the car. Do you suppose I can go to the Ministry of Transportation and pull up some kind of vehicle history record? I want to see if that car has my name & address listed on it.

Please, any information you can give me I would so appreciate right now. After dinner I'll start researching identity fraud on the 'net.

Other people have given good information but I will reiterate and elaborate.

I asked my husband who is a fraud police detective in Toronto. He said to get your credit record from Equifax. If it shows the loan go to Scotiabank with the letter and let them know that you did not apply for this loan. Scotiabank will have videotape that they will need to go through to see if that is you. You will also have to sign an affidavit.

From there, Scotiabank will have to assume the loss. It will then be up to the bank if they want to write a police report. They have to pick their battles. The VIN # will be of great help.

Apparently this happens all the time.

If you get the runaround from the bank, call your local police station and tell them that you want to file a report.

Hope this helps.

[mamabear0222]

Wow this is crazy. I agree wait and see is not the approach you want to take here. I work for a Canadian bank as well. See someone about this asap

Sent from my Samsung S3 using DISBoards

[petsaregreat]

This exact same thing happened to us last year- same bank too. We kept getting mail with OUR address and someone else's name from Scotiabank. I kept throwing the letters out. What is wierd is that we are the first owners of the house. After a while I got mad and opened one letter. Inside was a mortgage documents with MY house address info and SOMEONE ELSE's NAME and mortgage amount. I kept calling and got no where with the 1-800 number. Finally called my branch directly and found out that Scotiabank had given a mortgage to someone else on our street but reversed their house number so it was actually my house! So they gave someone a mortgage on MY house! Anyhow, cleared up now. They will ask for the original documents back. Keep a copy and don't tell them. It is safer that way.

[mamaCta]

If this is a loan for a vehicle, the person most likely go the loan through a dealership, not directly from the bank. The bank may not have ever seen the thief in person.

I would immediately put a red flag on your credit reports so that the thief will not be able to open any other accounts in your name before you get this problem cleared up.