Foo - Anyone ever had their Identity stolen??

If so, how did you fight it?

I just received 4 notification letters from what appears to be really Tele-Check or one of its affiliates. They claim that they "purchased the dishonored electronic fund transfer", gives merchant name, date authorized, and a unique reference number for each, plus the amount...

So I go dig around a bit. This does appear to be legit, except.... AFAIK, Tele-Check only approves/handles paper checks. All of these notices were addressed to me. I don't have any kind of account. My wife has a checking account, and I'm not on it. The last account that I had check writing privileges on was a joint account that the bank closed back in the 3rd quarter of 2011; had it been from that closed account, these notices would've had my wife's name on them as well.

Then the charges themselves are a little odd. while the ones for Wal-Mart might be conceivable, the fact that they were incurred on Monday and Tuesday throws a flag. We are car light, with just her income and my UI, and we keep the extra driving to a minimum due to fuel costs; she drives herself to work or we'd be putting at least 100 miles a day on the Jeep- not to mention I'm really not supposed to be driving. I'm not going to drive 25 miles r/t to go shopping when I can go only 5 r/t locally. Then there is one charge each for a couple of C-stores, neither of which I can recall going to in the last year, let alone the last month.

I know I need to contact them and go 'wtf?', but I'm also a little leery if they decide to play hardball and demand payment, I'm wonder if they can somehow keep my EBT card that my UI funds from processing? If I can't access my money, we are toast.

Go directly to your bank and have them deal with it.

The only time I've ever been a victim was with a Visa ATM card. About $450 was charged to an online skateboard clothing company and for a two month supply of Bloussant. My bank refunded my money immediately and went after the fraud. I told them to look for a flat-chested skater chick. Oh, and retracing my steps told me that the source of them getting my info was at a gas station, not online.

yes....Master Card fraudulently opened in my name...their fraud department took up the case after meeting with me....presumably to verify I wasn't the person in the photos (idiot didn't know that ATM's take your pic).

Go directly to your bank. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. And use the cannon or battleship as your game piece so the banker knows you are serious.

Just a few minor things...

Someone used my debit account to buy about $190 worth of stuff in Osaka, Japan. I live in FL. We didn't have to pay, but the bank had to honor the charge because the buyer physically had a card. Not sure how that works.

Had some airline tickets charged to our credit card in Saudi Arabia. Once again I live in FL. Didn't have to pay obviously.

Nothing else that I know of. However, I've been told that the Tampa Bay area is really big on identity theft. I thought I heard that one in three people in this area will be a victim.

Who the hell would want to be me?

I've been hit with CC and DC fraud a few times in the last 15 years. My CC # was lifted, probably at a restaurant, and they tried to mail-order some Air Jordans. This was before the added security features and the seller caught the different delivery address. My debit card was skimmed a couple of years ago. The bank caught all instances of it before I knew it was going on.

Some overseas transactions were also compromised so now I always use temporary CC numbers and limits when I'm not sure about the vendor.

My CC company called me the other day and said there was some charge to my account they flagged as suspicious. I did not make the charge, it was small too like $38.20 to some online vendor. They canceled my card and issued me a new one. I am not sure why it was flagged as suspicious since it was a small amount but I didn't ask.

Who the hell would want to be me?


Ummm. Donuts? They want your Krispy Kremes

Ummm. Donuts? They want your Krispy Kremes

Bastages! They'd have to pry them from my cold clamped jaws.

I've had Krispy Kremes, Tim Hortons are better.:) You folks wont know what hit you once the program starts in earnest.:lol:

CALL YOUR BANK RIGHT THIS MINUTE, DO NOT WAIT.

We had bogus charges on our debit card twice, and my wifes business card(same bank) once. They won't believe you at first, and ask all kind of questions, but be honest with them, and have you evidence ready, like how can the card be used in Florida, then NJ an hour apart. Or charges where made agains a russian website.
In all of our cases, they changed the account numbers, and we had to wait to get new cards.
BUT CALL THEM RIGHT NOW!

Had the credit card stolen once or twice. Not a huge deal in getting the company to pay the bill. Was glad too because one of the times the card was physically gone and the charges were more or less local.

CALL YOUR BANK RIGHT THIS MINUTE, DO NOT WAIT.

We had bogus charges on our debit card twice, and my wifes business card(same bank) once. They won't believe you at first, and ask all kind of questions, but be honest with them, and have you evidence ready, like how can the card be used in Florida, then NJ an hour apart. Or charges where made agains a russian website.
In all of our cases, they changed the account numbers, and we had to wait to get new cards.
BUT CALL THEM RIGHT NOW!

This. You're not a victim of identity theft, just plain fraud. They'll probably want to make very sure you're not scamming them, then they should close your/your wifes account to prevent further losses.

I had my information stolen by a woman who worked at the local public utility. We had the same name with a slightly different spelling. She had taken out multiple credit cards and loans.

I contacted the local sheriff's office and filed a complaint and they were able to track her down. The sheriff said she had committed a crime against the banks and not me, and the banks would have to press charges against her. My credit report was a mess and I wanted her to fix it.

The sheriff told her to get a lawyer and he contacted all of the banks to tell them she had "mistakenly" given them my SSN instead of hers. I got copies of all the letters and had to contact the credit reporting agencies to get things straightened out. I could have sued her in small claims court to get reimbursed for cleaning up her mess but I figured I'd never see any money from her.

I ended up holding onto the letters from her lawyer for about 15 years because every once in a while her old accounts would pop up as mine again.

Just did the phone version of 'round robin'. Called the number listed, followed the automated options, given new number, followed those options, and informed I need to visit the website, click on a certain tab, then print and either mail or fax- include any and all info that may have been compromised. Fairly sure if I tried speaking to a live person, they'd just read from the script and tell me to go through the website. But I don't know what info has been compromised at the moment. I don't know what method of payment of used, nor the institution that the account is drawn on, let alone the account number.

It's a long shot, but I'm going to go talk to the last two banks that I've had accounts with. They may not help, but then again they might. My wife is a little skeptical of the whole affair.

My CC company called me the other day and said there was some charge to my account they flagged as suspicious. I did not make the charge, it was small too like $38.20 to some online vendor. They canceled my card and issued me a new one. I am not sure why it was flagged as suspicious since it was a small amount but I didn't ask.

The banks have very sophisticated measures in place to track your spending habits. The amount of gear and effort behind this is impressive. Organized fraudsters will post small transactions to test the account before they hit it with a big one or two. They know the clock is ticking and they try to conceal the bad transactions with a few that look ordinary. Others are just plain dumb.

Just did the phone version of 'round robin'. Called the number listed, followed the automated options, given new number, followed those options, and informed I need to visit the website, click on a certain tab, then print and either mail or fax- include any and all info that may have been compromised. Fairly sure if I tried speaking to a live person, they'd just read from the script and tell me to go through the website. But I don't know what info has been compromised at the moment. I don't know what method of payment of used, nor the institution that the account is drawn on, let alone the account number.

It's a long shot, but I'm going to go talk to the last two banks that I've had accounts with. They may not help, but then again they might. My wife is a little skeptical of the whole affair.

In my experience the bank has been very attentive and helpful when it comes to fraudulent transactions. They want to stop them as much as you do.

I would try calling the banks, push "O" to get to the operator, then say you want to talk to their fraud department. That might get you somewhere.

I've had Krispy Kremes, Tim Hortons are better.:) You folks wont know what hit you once the program starts in earnest.:lol:

I haven't had Tim Hortons, but for the record (and just in case) supermarket Krispy Kremes don't count.

I haven't had Tim Hortons, but for the record (and just in case) supermarket Krispy Kremes don't count.KK sucks unless you get them right off the conveyor. But even 3 day old Krispy Kremes beat the fresh ones from Wal-Mart.

I would try calling the banks, push "O" to get to the operator, then say you want to talk to their fraud department. That might get you somewhere.
I'll try this if a face to face with the local branches doesn't pan out.

My exwife had her briefcase stolen about 20 years ago before identity theft was the big problem it is now. Fortunately, I was home at the time and was able to contact the credit card companies and cancel our accounts. Even so, hundreds of dollars worth of gas was purchased on the gas cards and the other credit cards got used too. But the real problem occurred when someone used her drivers license to open up store credit card accounts and make purchases at the mall of America. My exwife is a pale redhead, and the black woman using her drivers license hadn't changed the picture - she told the store employees she worked for the Cook County Sheriffs office and none of them questioned her while she did this for hours. We were lucky she got arrested then, because she could have caused some major damage to our credit.

Only once.

I bought a 20" Jamis kiddie bike for my niece, a girls model, but not a stingray style. I thought it odd that the sales clerk insisted on seeing my driver's license when I paid by credit card. But it was an established LBS, so I went with it.

Several weeks later I got a call from my bank, about some irregularities happening with my credit account. It seems that someone had gotten caught with my information. (I happened to work at the same bank, so I was getting the deluxe assistance.) I had to destroy my card and a new one with a new number was soon in my hands.

KK sucks unless you get them right off the conveyor.

I think they know it. I've had a KK clerk refuse to sell me a donut. It was the last one of that kind and the clerk claimed it was their display donut.

My CC company called me the other day and said there was some charge to my account they flagged as suspicious. I did not make the charge, it was small too like $38.20 to some online vendor. They canceled my card and issued me a new one. I am not sure why it was flagged as suspicious since it was a small amount but I didn't ask.

It's not the amount of the charge in some cases, it's the origin. Some routing numbers are red-flagged as suspicious. I've had the fraud prevention department temporarily suspend my card, due to this issue, but it was actually me using the card at a store in the hood.

Just got back from talking to one of the CSRs at my old bank. He took a look at my notifications and is inclined to agree with me that it has the appearance of a well crafted attempt at phishing. He gave me Tele-Check's direct phone number and wished me luck. Since this may or may not be a phish, I'm only going to give them what info that I'm aware of that they already have, which is my name and mailing address, along with the reference numbers that they have assigned to each of the charges. I will call them after I cool down from that 1.5 mile hike in the heat.

I was kind of wondering if it was an elaborate phishing attempt. Best of luck in sorting it out.

Just called and got the same automation system. Tried pressing '0' to by-pass and reach a carbon based life form, but the AI knew what I was trying to do. It told me that I had entered an invalid response and started it's little 'please select from the following' mantra again. :crash:

Last week I thought I was John Holmes,the week before it was W C Fields.If you suffer from beer induced identity dementia you will never be ripped off.

Stay thirsty my friends:thumb:

Just called and got the same automation system. Tried pressing '0' to by-pass and reach a carbon based life form, but the AI knew what I was trying to do. It told me that I had entered an invalid response and started it's little 'please select from the following' mantra again. :crash:

The matrix is wise to the old press "o" trick.:(

OK... this never happened to me but it happened to my nephew so I can tell you a trick that might save you some time.

Make a list of the banks and print some google maps to visit them all. On each visit, instead of telling the whole fraud story, play dumb and say this:

- "Hi, I've been unemployed for some months and I really stopped using my accounts because no money was going into them anyway. I'm getting a new job soon and want to set my direct deposit back, but can't remember my account # or anything"

They will ask you for your driver's license and look to see if you have an account there. At which point you add:

- "I also moved and I'm not getting my mail. Can you print a copy of the statement? Or better yet, can you set it up so I can access my account online from home?"

After that, you go home and put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and analyze the statements, figuring out where the frauds were committed. Then you can go back to the bank and demand they do something about it. It's a lot easier when you have some data like account numbers, transactions etc. And since the accounts are in your name, it's a lot easier to get the info by telling them "you forgot" than by telling them "I think I've been robbed".

PS: My nephew also found one newly opened account on a bank he never visited. It had $500 bucks on it (minimum to open the acct at that point) and he withdraw it. He used that money to put gas on the car and go visit other banks... lol... scamming the scammer.

Someone hacked my eBay account on 2 different occasions. The first time I was selling laptops in France, then I bought a 1968 Chevy camaro.

OK... this never happened to me but it happened to my nephew so I can tell you a trick that might save you some time.

Make a list of the banks and print some google maps to visit them all. On each visit, instead of telling the whole fraud story, play dumb and say this:

- "Hi, I've been unemployed for some months and I really stopped using my accounts because no money was going into them anyway. I'm getting a new job soon and want to set my direct deposit back, but can't remember my account # or anything"

They will ask you for your driver's license and look to see if you have an account there. At which point you add:

- "I also moved and I'm not getting my mail. Can you print a copy of the statement? Or better yet, can you set it up so I can access my account online from home?"

After that, you go home and put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and analyze the statements, figuring out where the frauds were committed. Then you can go back to the bank and demand they do something about it. It's a lot easier when you have some data like account numbers, transactions etc. And since the accounts are in your name, it's a lot easier to get the info by telling them "you forgot" than by telling them "I think I've been robbed".

PS: My nephew also found one newly opened account on a bank he never visited. It had $500 bucks on it (minimum to open the acct at that point) and he withdraw it. He used that money to put gas on the car and go visit other banks... lol... scamming the scammer.

Rube,
What if this guy just happen to have the same name as your nephew?
Guess we'll visit him at Dade county jail:)

I wasn't going to call the other bank that I used to have an account with, but then remembered that my mom set up a joint account with them a few years back. I made the mistake of telling them about the Tele-Check stuff. I asked them to look up that account and check for any unusual activity of late. They told me they can't help me unless I have the account number.

The reason why I have the account is my mom wanted me to be able to access funds quickly in the event of her passing away. She rarely uses the account.

I once saw my exact double, I mean this guy was me! It gave me a very uneasy feeling. I always wondered how I'd react if I saw my twin, or a clone and now I know.

I mean, I was like, one of us has to go but I didn't dare begin to mve against this clone. If he really was me, then he already had spotted me, was thinking the same thing and was just as deadly as me.

Both of us acted as if we didn't spot each other and went our seperate ways.

I once saw my exact double, I mean this guy was me! It gave me a very uneasy feeling. I always wondered how I'd react if I saw my twin, or a clone and now I know.

I mean, I was like, one of us has to go but I didn't dare begin to mve against this clone. If he really was me, then he already had spotted me, was thinking the same thing and was just as deadly as me.

Both of us acted as if we didn't spot each other and went our seperate ways.

Did you see this person through a big shiny window on a wall and the room on the other side looked exactly like yours, but backwards? If so, maybe it was just a mirror. :D