Eew! Ick! Variation on Really Gross Spam

[AmberLee]

Hey all,

Without going into all the nasty details, just wanted to share a 'lessons learned' vaguely based on the 'Really Gross Spam' thread earlier. I discovered this weekend that someone had gotten ahold of one of my credit card numbers, my name, and a portion of my home address. [Not completely sure how yet, but it seems probable that some slimeball 'dumpster dove' for it.] I'm working with the credit card company and another group to track down the perpetrator ...

I spotted the questionable charge on last month's bill, but between Thanksgiving and my living room ceiling mooshing in, just let it ride... Had assumed I'd forgotten ordering something.

Lessons learned (however painful):
1) If you don't recognize a charge, question it as quickly as possible.
2) Both the credit card company and the intermediate company were very good to work with. (Yes, I felt like an idiot and some of the questions were basic/repeditive: "No, it couldn't have been used by someone I lent the card to, I've NEVER loaned the card to anyone", but it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be.)
3) The local community newsletter had warned us earlier that 'dumpster divers' had been seen in the area. I was smug because I usually shred my records before tossing them. As time-consuming as it is, it needs to be done consistently. Using a shredder is a VERY good idea on: anything that has a credit card number, a social security number, an account number, or ties your name to an address, company and/or an account. Yeah, this means shredding junk mail, too. And yeah this means that I need to shred at least to 2 or 3 times more stuff than I have been, but not having to go through this ghastly, slimy "ewwwww, someones used my identity" / "run amuk on my credit card" experience would be worth it.

If you don't own a shredder, consider getting one for yourself (or as a gift) for Christmas. (No, I don't work for a shredder company or own stock in one.) It's getting more easy and dangerous for people to mis-identify themselves (as you).

[zippy-kat]

Oh yucky!

Hope you are able to get everything straightened out!

Thanks for warning us!

[gini]

I am sorry this happened to you. It is so time consuming to unravel. In my post under credit card warning, the credit card company was clear that it wasn't a "diver" that got the information, but it was hacked from the internet.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I have had my credit card number used twice -- both time to buy telephone cards. Both times I reported it immediately and did not have to pay. The second time I received a new account number (what a pain!) I was told that is the comon scam -- buying these phone cards -- it was a couple of hundred dollars each time.

But far more dangerous and difficult to resolve is Identity Theft. This occurs when someone gets your SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER and opens new accounts in your name. The use a different address and YOU NEVER KNOW ABOUT IT until you try and get credit --i.e. home loan, car loan and are denied. The other day I was in a line behind a woman and I could see her Social Security card in her wallet. The ONLY place your social security card should be is securely locked up in your safety deposit box or the like. DO NOT HAVE YOUR social security number anywhere in your wallet (my wallet has been stolen). Do not have your social security number on your driver's license.
You should treat your social security number like your most valuable possession --- it is.

[gini]

Edwina is absolutely right about your Social Security card.

Another is your Mother's maiden name. I decided to purchase stamps online. The post office asked for my Mother's maiden name.
They do not need that information!!!!

[AmberLee]

Oh, excellent point about SSNs -- it's awful the number of places that require them for ID these days. Yep, shred records with SSNs, too.

It's a good idea to go over your SS records (is it every 3 years you can check status?) and your credit reports, too.

Very discouraging the work necessary to make sure someone's not messed up your records...

A friend was telling me about a relative of hers whose card was hacked off the internet. Another current concern, too...

[Edwina's Secretary]

Actually you can go online to the Social Security Admin site and get a report. When last I tried it I found it a bit more complicated than necessary.

Yes, you should check every three years -- both for innocent errors -- transposed numbers as well as fraud -- social security numbers are used in immigration fraud as well. I have had to help retirees whose accounts were messed up -- ususally due to a transposed number and it is a nightmare!! Much easier to get it fixed right away while you still have your tax filings, W2, etc. (And you don't get any payment while it is being sorted out either!)

BTW it is also fun to see what you have made every year since you started working -- well for those of us who have been around a while anyway!

[4 feline house]

And kinda sickening to see how little money you are going to have to live on if you ever get to retirement age, and kinda sickening to realize no matter how sick you get you will have no choice but to keep working because you can't live on what you'd get from SSI.

[cr7clark]

Amen to all of these suggestions!!
The lab I work for put out a neat video presentation on "Identity Theft" which outlined a lot of the preventive measures mentioned here at Pet Talk. Years ago, my husband bought a shredder and he makes it his sworn daily duty to shred everything that will fit into it, even junk mail. We are now on our third shredder and the only time we've ever had a credit card problem was when a hacker got into the online files of an E-business we used and got all of their credit card numbers. They promptly notified the bank who then notified us. We changed our credit card numbers right away and since then have not had a problem. I am grateful for a husband who diligently reviews every piece of mail and financial correspondence we get, not even a five-cent misappropriation on our phone bill goes unnnoticed and unchallenged! If it were up to me to sort all of this out, I'd probably be in hock up to my eyeballs and the target of every scammer this side of the Mississippi.

[4 feline house]

Sadly to say, a common place that identity theft occurs is at your health provider and/or insurer.

We have access to everything - name, date of birth, address, social security number, employer, phone number, and often even drivers license number. Most of the places I've worked shreds anything that has any personal information on it. Unfortunately, not all do, even though a new federal law mandates it. I was shocked on my current job when I was training and all the claims, reports, etc. that my trainer was disposing of went into the trash. I immediately went into my supervisor and expressed my surprise. We now have two shredders and a documentation service.

It's a good idea to ask your healthcare providers and insurers what their privacy practices are, and don't be afraid to ask about documentation disposal.

Unfortunately, that still won't stop the determined identity thief. I could easily pick a patient and write everything down on a piece of paper, put it in my purse, and take it home. In fact, that's what several employees of a local insurer did about a year ago. I've also heard of a case where a group of employees at a mortgage banker were opening credit cards in clients' names. In some businesses, even the lowly rank-and-file have access to sensitive information.

Sadly, the only way to prevent this is to pay all your own medical bills yourself. Who can do that anymore?

So ya gotta be careful, careful, careful, and check, check, check.

[AmberLee]

Wow, gulp.

Thank you all for this information. It's kind of shocking to me, will need some time to process it.

(And talk about feeling naive!)

[AmberLee]

Sorry to re-awaken this thread, but this posting from "Snopes Urban Legend" area caught my attention and reminded me of the warnings we shared recently.

Apparently hoaxsters are sending this IRS e-audit alert and if you unwarily respond you can lay yourself open for an attack on your credit/bank account/finances ...

With luck, no PTer will be affected.

[Former User]

Yeah Spencer, chain letters can be really annoying. But also all that XXX stuff you keep getting all the time. It's non-stop and same stuff keeps coming day after day...Just have to set up junk mail filters so hig that can't receive any emails anymore...