Before I discuss identity theft, there are two other scams you should know about. The first is that some low level guy simply puts a paper clip or something into an Atm such that your card gets stuck then he pulls it out with pliers and uses it.
Another one is that the owners or employees of a store or gas station that accepts cards or has an Atm machine, secretly hook up a laptop computer to it which records your electronic information when you use your card. They have a hidden camera set up to watch you as you punch in your PIN. From that, they can easily make a clone card.
A big problem with our conversion to computerized files is that the wrong people can assume your identity, get loans, credit cards, etc. in your name, trash your credit record and they can easily do this for months until the unpaid bills eventually end up with a bill collector who comes chasing after you.
Even though you're generally not liable for the bills these thieves accrue, your credit rating is destroyed, you have to run around trying to repair it with all the many credit reporting agencies, banks and companies out there and the ripple effect can go on for years and sometimes you never get your good name back again thus precluding you from getting a mortgage, car loan, etc.
The burden is on you, the consumer, to straighten out your own credit so, bottom line, the lenders and reporting agencies don't really care all that much. It can even get worse if someone uses your identity to commit crimes, gets caught then your name goes into the computer as a convicted criminal thus opening you up to being detained at routine traffic stops and possibly not able to get a passport, etc.
There was even a case where someone stole someone's identity, bought life insurance on them and tried to kill them.
The sad fact about identity theft is that it's often never prosecuted because the police and the federal authorities generally can't be bothered because it's a low priority crime.
The U.S. Secret Service is responsible for credit card crimes but they generally don't intervene unless the thefts are over $50,000, however, a federal law, the Identity Theft Assumption Law has teeth making it a felony punishable up to 15 years in jail plus states are starting to pass their own laws making it a felony.
Chances are that the identity thief has gotten a driver’s license in your name. You might even find a ticket on your driving record that you didn’t get. Contact your state DMV and ask them to do a check to see if your name and DOB are on two or more driver’s licenses used by people other than you.
Ask for a flag on your driver’s license which means that when anyone makes any request regarding your license, they do an extra check to verify it's you.
Many states use the Social Security number in your driver’s license number. If this is the case and you know your identity was stolen, you have to change your DL Number because if you don’t, this other person can access your information by typing your DL number into a computer depending on the state. Some states give online access to driving records simply by typing your number in.
It’s really funny that the DVM bureaucrats don’t wince when someone comes in with the exact same name and DOB as someone already on file and ask for a DL. It should be a big red flag for identity theft but I was a documentary where some guy came in, had the exact same name and DOB as somebody on file and the bureaucrat just gave it to him. She didn’t want hassles about giving somebody a hard time.
If the identity thief has been captured and charged, get a lawyer to file a civil suit to recover the losses you have incurred both materially and psychologically.
Keep all paperwork of accounts and transactions attributed to you that you did not do. File a police report and get copies of it in order to change your accounts and tell the credit reporting agencies, also to use in a civil suit if it
Another one is that the owners or employees of a store or gas station that accepts cards or has an Atm machine, secretly hook up a laptop computer to it which records your electronic information when you use your card. They have a hidden camera set up to watch you as you punch in your PIN. From that, they can easily make a clone card.
A big problem with our conversion to computerized files is that the wrong people can assume your identity, get loans, credit cards, etc. in your name, trash your credit record and they can easily do this for months until the unpaid bills eventually end up with a bill collector who comes chasing after you.
Even though you're generally not liable for the bills these thieves accrue, your credit rating is destroyed, you have to run around trying to repair it with all the many credit reporting agencies, banks and companies out there and the ripple effect can go on for years and sometimes you never get your good name back again thus precluding you from getting a mortgage, car loan, etc.
The burden is on you, the consumer, to straighten out your own credit so, bottom line, the lenders and reporting agencies don't really care all that much. It can even get worse if someone uses your identity to commit crimes, gets caught then your name goes into the computer as a convicted criminal thus opening you up to being detained at routine traffic stops and possibly not able to get a passport, etc.
There was even a case where someone stole someone's identity, bought life insurance on them and tried to kill them.
The sad fact about identity theft is that it's often never prosecuted because the police and the federal authorities generally can't be bothered because it's a low priority crime.
The U.S. Secret Service is responsible for credit card crimes but they generally don't intervene unless the thefts are over $50,000, however, a federal law, the Identity Theft Assumption Law has teeth making it a felony punishable up to 15 years in jail plus states are starting to pass their own laws making it a felony.
Chances are that the identity thief has gotten a driver’s license in your name. You might even find a ticket on your driving record that you didn’t get. Contact your state DMV and ask them to do a check to see if your name and DOB are on two or more driver’s licenses used by people other than you.
Ask for a flag on your driver’s license which means that when anyone makes any request regarding your license, they do an extra check to verify it's you.
Many states use the Social Security number in your driver’s license number. If this is the case and you know your identity was stolen, you have to change your DL Number because if you don’t, this other person can access your information by typing your DL number into a computer depending on the state. Some states give online access to driving records simply by typing your number in.
It’s really funny that the DVM bureaucrats don’t wince when someone comes in with the exact same name and DOB as someone already on file and ask for a DL. It should be a big red flag for identity theft but I was a documentary where some guy came in, had the exact same name and DOB as somebody on file and the bureaucrat just gave it to him. She didn’t want hassles about giving somebody a hard time.
If the identity thief has been captured and charged, get a lawyer to file a civil suit to recover the losses you have incurred both materially and psychologically.
Keep all paperwork of accounts and transactions attributed to you that you did not do. File a police report and get copies of it in order to change your accounts and tell the credit reporting agencies, also to use in a civil suit if it
