ID Theft

[JT in MD]

I just learned the hard way how frustrating and stressful it is to have your ID stolen. Luckily, as of this point, it appears they weren't able to do much. However, they did manage to break into my online credit card account and change my personal info. I caught it quickly and hopefully they'll move on...

Does anyone have experience with this? Very aggravating...

[MazdaMatt]

I somehow bought 2 plane tickets out of Pheonix, AZ while I was studying for exams in Ontario. The real slap in the face is they also bought Real Player. Seriously, who buys Real Player?

It was 1600 dollars and I damn near missed the deadline to pay for racing school because of a maxed credit card. Girlfriend stepped in to front the money for racing school, bank wiped the charges and the interest. No problems with credit rating.

Altogether it wasn't that bad. I still blame the bank because they raised my 500 dollar limit to 1600 dollars (I use the card exclusively online and wanted a low limit, morons).

[Kate]

I've had my identity stolen twice. And I don't know why anyone would even want it -- I mean, really, the neuroses, the therapy bills, the meds....

oh, we're talkin' about the money kind.



First time was a one-off; something I caught and it didn't happen again, and I don't remember much about it.

Second time was a real pain in the ass. I got letters and phone calls from collection agencies about bills that were not mine, for purchases in states I've never visited. I vaguely remember filling out forms and sending letters and just dealing with hassles until I finally stopped getting harassed. There was prolly stuff in my credit reports I had to straighten out. (This was a bunch of years ago.)

It's a good idea to fill out a police report. Nothing will be done about it, most likely, but it serves as some sort of proof if you need it later (like, say, to send a copy of it to the collection agencies).

You might find useful info here:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Good luck.

[JT in MD]

Basically what happened was I got an email from my credit card company "confirming" my request to change my email address. The new email address was very similar to mine, but not the same. When I called them, they said that my home address and phone number had been changed, but no replacement card sent. So I'm hoping that these f***s will move on.

I just don't know whether they got my username/password somehow or if they got my card information somehow... that's whats bugging me the most.