Identity Theft

[kaydee]

Received a letter from the IRS yesterday questioning our 2012 income tax refund. Well that was a red flag for us as we knew it couldn't possibly be our 2012 income tax so today we learned that our identity had been stolen. We were advised to contact our local law enforcement & file a report. We have a long list of phone calls to make tomorrow...credit card companies, bank, etc. Any one out there have this happen to you? Any advice for us? Scary to think we have no protection from this happening. Feeling so violated! Thanks to any one who may read this and have any opinions that might be helpful.

[ewstanley]

I had my identity stolen in 2006 when I had my wallet stolen at work. I had to file police reports, incident report, fraud alerts at my banks, cancelled all credit cards. I had a trip planned in two days and was allowed to use my work ID at the airport for my trip because my passport had expired. I learned that the person used an address in Detroit to open an American Express credit account and I wasn't allowed to know the address or any other information. It appears that the person who steals your identity has more rights that the person whose identity she/he had stolen. I am assuming that the person was a patient because I was working at a women's clinic in Dearborn, Michigan. I was suspicious of everyone and only carried my driver's license in my purse at work after that and I kept my wallet on my person. I still have a fraud alert on all of my accounts. I don't know if the laws have been changed since 2006.

[billethkid]

it would be interesting to know the connection/relationship between the IRS and the identity theft.

One piece of advice is to be sure to let the authorities know your intention to press charges and demand prosecution of whoever it is in the event they are discovered or caught.

Far too many victims are intimidated and will not do so even when confronted with the knowledge the guilty party has been found and asked if they intend to file charges.

btk

[asianthree]

Our son had his identity confiscated at three years old didn't know it untill he applied for DL at 16 and had 16 DUIs..at 32 he still can't get a loan for school or a car

[l2ridehd]

This is exactly why you need to put a freeze on all three of your credit reports. In Florida this is free for seniors and no one can steal your identity or open a false account in your name. It is cheaper and more effective then any of the protection services. Your only cost is if you apply for credit you have to un-freeze the agency they want to check. I believe it is free to do this once a year and $10 for each additional. Cost varies by state.

There are links to all three agencies here.

How To Freeze Your Credit Report at Equifax Experian and TransUnion (http://credit.about.com/od/privacyconcerns/qt/securityfreeze.htm)

[sharoni]

My son also had his identity stolen in his 20's when someone got hold of a CC while he was out of town on business. By then they had wracked up thousands of dollars on it. They also had a fake SS card and drivers license to back it up. This was 20 years ago and they just didn't have as much in place as they do now. But after the initial call to the police, they didn't seem to care about finding this person. This continued for years, to the point he almost had to get a new SS#, and we know that would be a whole new issue. Probably took 5 years for them to quit using his identity, and that was probably because they went on to someone else. Good luck!

[kittygilchrist]

My identity was stolen too and I learned it from a credit report where a credit account appeared that was not mine. Interestingly, when I call the creditor, I could get no information on the account because I didn't have the acct number, etc. Maddening! It took a few months and a zillion calls to straighten it out. Suggest you write a lot of letters to higher ups from the start and not waste too much time believing promises made by phone. Hang in there....my thoughts are with you.

[OnTrack]

Our son had his identity confiscated at three years old didn't know it untill he applied for DL at 16 and had 16 DUIs..at 32 he still can't get a loan for school or a car

That would totally suck. :(

.

[janmcn]

The Tampa Bay Times has printed several articles regarding groups of people stealing identities to file fraudulent tax returns and collect tax refunds. If interested, you can search their website for the articles at tampabaytimes.com.

[missypie]

Anybody ever used Life lock??

[l2ridehd]

Doing the credit freeze mentioned in post 5 is more effective and lower cost.

[Floridagal]

I had my identify stolen two years in a row when I went to file my income tax return. I was told that someone could have put in a wrong number by mistake..(doubt that). I did take out Life Lock, which prevents anyone opening any kind of an account with your social security number. Luckily no one has tried that.

[TrudyM]

Received a letter from the IRS yesterday questioning our 2012 income tax refund. .
I don't have any useful info but please share as you go through this and let us be supportive.


Glad the IRS is starting to get it's act together and beginning to flag this stuff. They never use to check anything so long as they got their money. Back in the 70's someone in Texas was using my social security number on his tax return as his wife and I couldn't get the IRS to allow me to deduct myself on my own return. They wanted me to prove I wasn't married to this guy and wouldn't give me his name. I said how do you prove a negative no documents to prove non marriage, couldn't get them to do anything but send a letter to the guy. Apparently he only stopped when they sited him for not declaring my income on his return, he had I was told been using my social security number as his spouse since I was 10. I couldn't believe they would allow someone to put a 10 year old down as a spouse the names didn't match either I was told.

[eremite06]

Doing the credit freeze mentioned in post 5 is more effective and lower cost.

Tried to freeze credit on Equifax and filled all my info from your link...which is really About.com. Couldn't get it done on line. They want you to mail or fax the info....but, this only applies to active military or someone who's already gotten their identity stolen. What gives?????

They also offer a 90 day temporary freeze. What happens after the 90 days and what does it cost???

[JourneyOfLife]

it would be interesting to know the connection/relationship between the IRS and the identity theft.

...


I don't know about the OP's situation.

But I have read that fraudsters will file a bogus tax return in hopes of getting a (quick) electronic tax refund.

[l2ridehd]

Here is the information copied from their web sites. It can be done online as that is how I did mine and two have 800 numbers to call and do it. .


EQUIFAX CREDIT FREEZE - [Website]
• Credit freezes may be done online or by certified mail - return receipt requested.
• Check your state's listing for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter. Please note the attachments you must include.
• If your PIN is late arriving, call 1-888-298-0045 . They will ask you for some ID and arrange for your PIN to be sent to you in 4-7 days.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your Equifax credit freeze by snail mail, online or by calling 1-888-298-0045 .

EXPERIAN CREDIT FREEZE - [Website]
• Credit freezes may be done online or by certified mail - return receipt requested.
• Check your state's listing for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter. Please note the attachments you must include.
• You can also freeze a child's credit report. The information contained at this link is applicable for all three credit bureaus. You must first write a letter to each bureau to learn if your minor child has a credit report and if so, then you can proceed to freeze it.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your Experian credit freeze online or by calling 1-888-397-3742 .

TRANSUNION CREDIT FREEZE - [Website]
• Credit freezes may be done online, by phone ( 1-888-909-8872 ) or by certified mail - return receipt requested. (Some users have reported difficulty with the online method. Please try one of the other options if you too experience difficulty.)
• Check your state's listing for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail using this sample letter. Please note the attachments you must include.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your TransUnion credit freeze online or by calling 1-888-909-8872 .

[Indy-Guy]

Below is a link to Clark Howard's guide to a credit freeze.

Credit Freeze and Thaw Guide | www.clarkhoward.com (http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/nFbL/)

[OnTrack]

Below is a link to Clark Howard's guide to a credit freeze.

Credit Freeze and Thaw Guide | www.clarkhoward.com (http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/nFbL/)

Clark Howard is awesome! :thumbup:

.

[KeepingItReal]

Tried to freeze credit on Equifax and filled all my info from your link...which is really About.com. Couldn't get it done on line. They want you to mail or fax the info....but, this only applies to active military or someone who's already gotten their identity stolen. What gives?????

They also offer a 90 day temporary freeze. What happens after the 90 days and what does it cost???

We put a freeze on our credit reports with all 3 credit reporting agencies in January and the cost was $10 each for each agency for both mine and my wife's which totaled $60. We are not 65 yet.

We did all 3 on line but we were directly connected with each agency on their website. The links are provided below.

I would not trust a third party website.. You will be given information during the process you must retain to remove the freeze if ever needed.

Credit Freeze | Place a Security Freeze on Your Credit | TransUnion (http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/credit-disputes/credit-freezes.page)

https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp

https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

[kaydee]

Thank you for all the great advice and suggestions regarding this frustrating case of identity theft. I'm surprised to hear that this type of thing is so common and even more surprised that it was happening so many years ago. Naturally we automatically felt that due to our current computer age contributed to this type of illegal occurrence. We have contacted our bank and credit card companies. My husband spent most of today TRYING to contact Equifax etc and was not yet successful. Tried the phone calling and never was able to speak to any one directly. Went on-line to fill out the form which he did and hit submit only to receive the message back that submission was not successful due to their system being off line. So, tomorrow's another day of calling & filling out forms. I did notify social security office and was advised to notify the Federal Trade Commission. Would love to know how this happened but I doubt we will ever know. The Federal gov gives out no information to the victim!

[mommieswamie]

Same thing exactly has happened to us. I just sent you a pm

[Lbmb24101]

Yes
We have used lifelock.
8.40 a month thru my former employer.
Thank goodness, have never had to use it
Another poster suggested freezing the credit reports
We might look into that.

[kgentile1010]

Hi, So sorry to hear about your identity theft. I also had identity theft a few years back. Sadly, you have lots to do.

-- get a copy of your credit report at -- annualcreditreport.com This will show you all the credit that was opened in your name
-- file a police report with the details of all your bad credit
-- Mail a copy of the police report with a letter to each of the credit bureaus saying you're a victim of identity theft and to put a fraud alert on your accounts. This is free and will be on there for 7 years. Send them two telephone numbers. Companies requesting credit will have to call you each time a request for credit is made in your name. This works. Everytime I have requested credit, I've gotten a call.
-- call each of the fraudulent new credit companies and tell them you had your identity stolen and credit was opened fraudulently. They'll send you to their fraud department and they can tell you how to dispute the credit. Usually letters with the police report.
-- Send letters to your credit bureau disputing each item on your credit report that is fraudulent with a copy of the police report.

Doing all this above cleaned up my credit and I had no negative impact to my credit worthiness after that. However, it was about 30 hours of work to get this all done.