Identity theft ... it can happen to you!

Just got my April credit card statement, and found two charges for $29.95 and $49.95 from a pswbilling.com that I hadn't made. I called the company customer service, and he said the charges would be credited on my next statement. I then e-mailed the company for the identity of the perpetrator/s. I received the e-mail addresses and the IP addresses for the orders (none of them were mine). The charges were apparently made to access two porn sites. The perps apparently got a hold of my cc number, my name, and my mailing address (none of which seems to be difficult for a decent hacker these days).

I then called my cc company and explained the situation, as well as the information about the e-mail and IP addresses. The cs rep said she would close out my cc and issue me a new one, which I would have to wait a few days for. I would also need to visit my local branch and fill out a sh!tload of paperwork verifying that I did not make the charges in question. She also advised me to contact Equifax and the other main credit bureaus, in the event these perps decide to try and open new credit accounts using my personal info.

The cs rep also recommended contacting the local PD and make a report of identity theft/fraud.

I have always tried to be careful in conducting business online, sticking to companies with "secure" servers, and limiting my distributing of personal information to sites that appear legit, but I guess this is one of the risks of being on the www ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

I would like to find out who these S.O.B.'s are, though, and plant one of my size 10 shoes in their candy @sses! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

My friend here at work got a letter the other day from a governmental office if Florida (don't remember what the name was), but to make a long story short. The police arrested this guy in FL, who had stolen my friends info and had a drivers license in his name. My friend then received his discover CC statement in the mail, and this piece of crap had charged a car ($6000), bought some stuff at Sears ($2000) and about $3000 worth of charges from those "payday-loans-today" type establishments.

Now my friend has to go through about 40 hours (and this is missing work mind you) to get on the phone, call all his CC companies, credit bureaus, get new cards and all the paperwork involved. This really sucks. At least he's not financially responsible for anything, but just the headache and leg work to fix someone elses sorry-assed-schemes just sucks.

--Chris

This is why before I order on ANY web page, I make sure it's encrypted (yellow lock ensignia at bottom right of IE browser) and check the site certificate to make sure it's up to date before ordering.

I can't tell you how many sites I come across that have a mixed site (half encrypted, half open forms), and I would just kill the order... It's safer to call in and phone order. If you're ordering from a site that has no encryption whatsoever, you're really skipping on a lot of trouble.

I almost exclusively order by phone rather than web.

But the problem is not how easy it is to obtain identity information like CC number, SSN, etc. It's that Florida issued that guy a driver's liscence based off flimsy pieces of ID. And think of all those places that "confirm your identity" with the last four digits of your SSN and Zip Code.

It is impossible to secure info like home address or SSN. What needs to be done is prevent people from taking easily available info as proof of ID.

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It's that Florida issued that guy a driver's liscence based off flimsy pieces of ID.

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Here in Arizona, the state decided that too many illegal immigrants from Mexico were targets of crime because they have all of their cash on them because they can't open bank accounts because they are illegal aliens. So in an effort to cut down on crime, Arizona is issuing driver's licenses to illegals so that they can open bank accounts. Yeah... sure... that makes sense... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon6.gif

I'm going through a problem of charges on my CC that I did not make. What ckacks me up is, my number did not get stolen off the internet but at the Holiday Inn hotel that I stayed in while at the SHOT show in Orlando. I gave this information to the CC company and they did not care. Oh well.
The perps ordered Pizza's and made AT&T phone calls all in Orlando a week after I left there. It could of been worse.

A friend of mine had her CC number stolen when she made a reservation for a limo in Vegas... over the phone. An employee of the limo company stole the #. Nothing is safe nowadays.

You guys, don't assume that it's because of a Hacker.

VERY VERY few credit card problems are because of leaked information or hacked information. Those usually come in the form of the hackers stealing huge lists of CC's and selling them to some people that can use things like that. But this is still rare and is almost always discovered by the institution that was hacked before any damage is done.

You are FAR FAR FAR more likely to get your info stolen talking to some minimum wage clerk on the phone than by entering your into into the computer for a reputable company. If you are downloading from porn.com then you're guess as to their security is as good as mine. But ordering from real businesses is at least as safe online as on the phone or at the store.

This happens ALL THE TIME to people. You have to track it and fix it as soon as possible. Once you figure out where this came from I'll almost guarantee that it will turn out to be the dork you read it to over the phone, or someone going through the garbage at the restaurant you paid at the night before and finding the receipt.

It's a LOT of work to hack into someone's computer to steal CC numbers. They won't do it just for yours. Those are much bigger operations and involve thousands of people. The guy who took your CC to sears did not get it by hacking.

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It is impossible to secure info like home address or SSN. What needs to be done is prevent people from taking easily available info as proof of ID.

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Yep, 100% agree. My friend here at work got his SSN, work address, and all personal information taken and used for new accounts. But what puzzled us, is the 30 or so credit inquiries made on his credit report in a few months. That should have been a big red flag thrown up, but the thief still was able to get more credit.

Re: Identity theft ... it can happen to you! INFO!

Just like to add a government site about ID theft, IDENTITY THEFT DATA CLEARINGHOUSE and another, www.consumer.gov, that offers a government form (PDF) so you don't have to fill out a gazillion diferent forms for each place you need to contact.

Some good info on that first site.

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Sasha said:
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...Arizona is issuing driver's licenses to illegals so that they can open bank accounts. Yeah... sure... that makes sense... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon6.gif

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...and probably health care, schooling for their kids in our school systems supported by our tax dollars...on and on? Don't get me started, puhhleease!

It's often amused me to hear people say how they would never enter their credit card details online to order something via the Internet because its so 'insecure'. Yet some of the same people will happily hand their card over to someone in a restaurant, who will disappear with it for up to 15 minutes or so.
Or who think that giving your credit card details to someone over the phone or sending via fax is somehow 'safer'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Graham

I have had one visa card ripped off on the internet. It was my Yahoo Visa card which I only used online. I received a credit card bill for trade directories from some internet marketting company which somebody orderred for some girl and had them shipped to a louisianna hospital, according to the lady at the marketting company whom I called up to straighten out the mess with immediately. I'm a guy and I live in California.

Another time something along the lines of credit card theft happened to me. I donated money to World Vision with my first card visa card. Later, after several months, I decided I didn't want to donate anymore (I think I gave around $1500). I called world vision and told them I didn't want to donate anymore on my credit card to the starving children fund. They said ok. But they didn't stop billing me. I called First Card Visa company and told them the problem and asked them to stop allowing the World Vision to bill me. THey said they would not help me but would allow world vision to bill me as long as they wanted. I pointed out that I bought no services or merchandise from world vision but rather that it was a charity and that I simply wanted to stop giving. The credit card company, first card visa, told me tough. They said they would allow world vision to bill me indefinately and that the only way I could stop the payments was to get World vision to stop sucking off of me. The lady at first card visa told me that if I wanted anything else that I would have to sue first card visa.

I poop in my pants realizing what the visa card company had just told me. Fortunately, eventually, I did get a nice man at world vision who REALLY DID cancel my charity. THis was one of the most UNNERVING credit experiences I ever had. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

I do believe that these experiences are not unpreventable. I don't believe that the government is doing its best to protect the consumer. Rather, I believe that government is schizophrenic. Some parts of our government, like the low level police and dea, really do go about trying to do their best. The other levels of government, like the policy makers, the think tanks, the united nations, have a long term vision that they think is best for society and are willing to do evil to bring about their vision which they think justifies their actions. I believe that part of our government really wants to protect us from identity theft. I also believe that the other parts of our government really want a controlled crime wave of identity theft to flourish so that the common citizenry will cry out for protection which the government is waiting to give in the form of a secure, biometrically unalterrable mark on your forhead.

Wow, that sounds pretty bad. I know that if a credit card company ever gave me that kind of service, I'd be cancelling my account with them asap.

Graham

Most probably it was the Charter Cable Co. here in CA. that stole my ssn and credit card numbers..they demanded my ssn in order to do a cable hookup at the trailer park while I was there; it NEVER worked..so I didn't pay and asked them to disconnect it, they refused to disconnect it, demanding I return the equipment myself to their hq before they would, which I refused to do..and so on.. Right about this time, someone opened a cell phone account in my name in Yerba City (I think it was) and I started getting the MCI bills.. I called the cell phone number on the bill, and the person on the other end happily gave me the name and address of the person who "gave" them the phone..!..after that I called MCI and the operator also called the cell number and asked the person answering if any one there knew Ted -- no one did .. so I wasn't charged..
But it was a major effort to interest the police. First they kept bouncing me around counties; telling me to go to precinct where the crime was committed -- WRONG -- you should go to the police in the county where YOU LIVE..this took at least a dozen calls and quoting text and verse of the law to the police to get them to take the report..of course they weren't interested a bit in the name and location of the perp..
Then you call the credit agencies, three of them, to set up the system so that they don't approve any new accounts without a phone call to you, and your personal OK. If you haven't done this yet, I recommend you do.

Also, this is why i don't do all my business with one bank or one credit card. Graham's tactic is very useful, moreso when you *can* close an account and not feel it.

The neat thing I heard from a financial advisor is that plenty of people just pay their credit card bill without checking the line items. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif I can't imagine that.

Well, all I can add to this is that if you pay online with Discover Card, Citi Card, or Amex, I suggest using their virtual credit card numbers for online transactions that are not subscription based (i.e. ISP services or other repeatable billing services). The virtual credit number is issued by the Credit company and is for single, one time use purchases to avoid having your CC number used again fraudulently. It's a great feature.

-Jim