Somebody stole DH's Social Security number...

[alexandmaddie]

and charged almost $5000.00 worth of Apple computers!!

Does anyone have any experience with identity theft? Apple told him to call the local police dept and all 3 major credit bureaus. I know we are not liable for any of the amount owed, but I have a feeling this is still going to cause some headaches for us!!

Thanks for letting me vent!

Krista

 

[DopeysGal]

Yes, call the credit bureaus FIRST and all your credit card companies. The police should also know but they really can't do a whole lot. This happened to my boss and it was a huge mess. The person got a drivers license and opened all types of credit card accounts, charging thousands of dollars worth of stuff. The credit bureaus should note your file that no new credit cards should be issued without calling you first and verifying that you are the one opening the account. All your credit cards should NOT be signed, write in the space ASK FOR ID so that every transaction is verified by photo id. I noticed when I was shopping last weekend that every store where I used a credit or debit card asked to see my id and I was really glad. It shows that the merchants are trying to save us all money. I would also do a serch for identity theft and get more tips My company just sent us all a memo on what to do if this happens but of course, I can't find it right now. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[kejoda]

This happened to me about 4 years ago. What a mess. Cancel all credit cards, checking accounts and start over. Ever bank has a ins dedcuction you have to pay. Mine was $100. What upset me is this lady was able to go to the bank and cash a check without id. Call any city police department and file a report. We live in the Twin Cities area and had to file in 3 cities. Also I talked to someone with the Secret Service at the time they handled identity theft. Make copies of all reports filed and keep them handy. I cannot tell you how many Lawyers/collection agencies called. The good news on that is once they here your problems they leave you alone. Also send a letter to the credit report agency when you have them flag your name. Call the Social Security agency he will have to get a new number, this maight be a hassle. Also drivers license and whoever hold the birth certificte, see if they can pull a alert on his birth records. Some places you can call now but take care of it first thing Monday. Good luck!

 

[alexandmaddie]

Dopeysgal: I didn't think of doing an internet search. I will do that and see what it pulls up!

kejoda: We live in Woodbury - so I'm assuming we'd have to file in Mpls. and St. Paul also. We have no idea how they got the SSN. It was somebody in Pennsylvania. The scumbag ordered his stuff over the internet. Our bank accounts are fine, so far. I will be calling them on Mon. He filed with all 3 credit bureaus this afternoon.

We became aware of this whole thing this afternoon when a "statement" from MBNA (credit card place) came stating that we owed them almost $5000 for purchases from Apple.com. I knew this was not the case so we called and got the ball rolling on filing all the fraud claims.

I am dreading the prospect of him having to get a new SSN. I'm thinking of all the stuff it will have to be changed on. Work/Taxes/College records/Insurance/Mortgage/Banking... What a nightmare.

You know kejoda, we seem to have a lot in common - we both live in MN, I'm pretty sure both of our DH's were laid off at the same time and now this!! Not exactly good things to have in common, but it's nice to have someone to know what I'm going through!!

Krista

 

[kejoda]

Krista, yes I would call MSp and STP. We used to have a MBNA card also. We have Discover and they always call now if we put anything over $100 at once on it. Or several charges in the same day.

Yes Tim got laid off last Dec. He started working in Aug consulting at Target. He really likes it. I like the fact that they pay for the busing and I don't have to drive him anymore. Driving downtown is nervewracking.

One good thing about all the identity mess we went through is now we check almost daily the checkbook acct. online. Its very easy to balence now.

Again good luck!

 

[snoopy]

I unfortunately have quite a bit of experience with identity theft. My cousin, a long time drug addict, stole my SS #, and then proceeded to go on a crime spree up and down the East coast. She was able to get a driver's license in my name because she had my SS #, so whenever she would get caught stealing (this was her thing - she'd steal from stores to support her drug habit) she did so under my name.

Long story short, I got ARRESTED for an outstanding warrant while involved in a car accident. When the police asked us for our licenses, I guess they run a check, and mine came up as having outstanding warrents. Needless to say, I spent a horrible few hours in a holding cell until this was cleared up. The red tape that was involved in getting this cleared up was such a hassle I had to hire a lawyer to do it for me. The one thing the lawyer had me do was go to the Fingerprinting bureau and have my fingerprints on file as someone who had never committed a crime. This way should she ever use my name again, I would have the documents that proved it.

I still have to go to the police station every year to make sure she has not used my name again. So far, so good, but I think she is locked up in jail and has been for several years. I dread the day she gets out.

Please be sure to have your husband check his criminal record as well. I would hate for someone to find out the hard way like I did.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

Someone stole my identity a couple years ago. I had to contact all 3 bureaus and go file a police report. When I received these I had to call the strange places on there that she had used my id to get credit for. I was lucky in that a credit company caught this and put a PI on this case and no damage was done. The woman was arrested and charged with ID theft in 2 different counties. She is spending time in jail in addition to owing money.