Identity Theft

[JGowans]

Just found out that someone went into a Lowe's in Vancouver, WA and spent $1250 courtesy of my checking account. They weren't finished though because the next day, they went to a Larry's Market in Bellevue and spent $350.

 

Fortunately, my bank has a zero liability fraud protection thing but knowing that someone has access to my account sucks. Btw, the culprit somehow has one of my bank cards even though me and the missus haven't lost any.

 

The guy at the bank tells me that they now have devices that they can attach to ATMs and read your account info. Then, they also have the technology to create fake credit / debit cards.

 

As much as I love the benefits of new technology, it really sucks to fall victim to it.

 

I guess the moral is to be super vigilant with your personal information.

[JayB]

There's a service from one of the credit bureaus that goes $10/month that will alert you within 24-hours of any new accounts, lines of credit, etc being opened under your name.

 

I left my wallet on the roof of my car while leaving Darrington a couple of weeks ago and it had everything but a passport in it, but thankfully there has been no fraudulent activity as of yet. Nonetheless, I will be subscribing to the service.

 

There's also a good resource for identity theft provided by the federal government, which has a step-by-step checklist for what you need to do to clear fraudulent debts and prevent any further activity.

 

You have my sympathy. It was probably stolen one of those worthless Scottish-socialist-lowlife emmigrants who was deep in the throes of sheep withdrawal and made an emergency purchase of 2-dozen Love-Ewe dolls.....

[JGowans]

Equifax (one of the reporting bureaus) has a free service so can have your name put on fraud alert. They send you for free a copy of all three big agencies credit reports on you. They also contact you personally if anyone tries to open up a line of credit for you. I did that.

 

I also recommend going to one of the reporting bureaus (I used Equifax) and there, you can opt out of them sharing your info with other companies. I'm hoping now that the junk mail will subside. For those that live in a house with a vulnerable mailbox, that seems like a good way to cut down on the amount of personal information flowing around about you.

 

---> Like JayB says, you definitely don't want any degenerate Scottish immigrants stealing your identity to finance a chronic sheep shagging habit now do you?

[cracked]

I was just reading a CNN article on identity theft. That sucks, hopefully you can get it cleared up quickly.

[assmonkey]

There's a service from one of the credit bureaus that goes $10/month that will alert you within 24-hours of any new accounts, lines of credit, etc being opened under your name.

 

This is fucking robbery! These scumbags create a system that is rife for abuse, then charge innocent bystanders a monthly fee to "protect" us from the very system they created!?!? What a fucking scam! This is a contemporary version of a protection racket!

 

Sometimes the state of our culture makes me sick.

 

- a s s m * n k e y

[assmonkey]

You work hard for your money. Keep the criminals (private and corporate) from stealing it from you.

 

"10 tips to prevent identity theft"

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/FinancialPrivacy/P41275.asp

 

And this interesting article that everyone should read, "Your checkbook just became obsolete:"

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Betterbanking/P90617.asp

 

Preamble:

 

"Your bank is about to make some pretty radical changes to your checking account -- changes that could cost you money in bounced-check fees and limit your ability to fight fraud or errors.

 

These alterations are so significant, in fact, that it may be time to abandon paper checks, if you haven’t already.

 

So far, though, few banks have signaled to their customers what’s coming. Loopholes in the law mean many customers may never receive formal notification of the revolution.

 

It’s all part of a sweeping modernization law known as Check 21, passed last year by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. In a nutshell, the law frees banks from having to handle paper and instead allows them to process electronic images of your original checks. "

 

- a s s m n k e y