Someone got hold of D2’s name, SSN, DOB, and mother’s maiden name and opened a credit card in her name. Fortunately they don’t seem to have her home address (yet!), and the bank notified us in a letter. Got the account shut down, but now have to deal with all credit report companies and get alerts put on her SSN. What a hassle. 
Compounded by the fact that they won’t talk to me without her on the line – we mastered the art of the 3 way call today. And suspect we will be practicing it for the near future, as of course the credit companies only take calls during the week.
Wonder if you could handle things yourself and ease the burden on her with a power of attorney? A hassle to do that itself but may pay off in the long run if you have more time and/or are in different time zones.
Good thought if it keeps going. We have scheduled some time early next week on the phone to make 3 way calls to the credit bureaus. If it keeps happening and we need to keep talking to financial institutions, though, we will look into that.
Someone just pointed out to me that they could also use that info to apply for health insurance. Oh dear…
Just saying… you’re going to be very frustrated by the end of next week. Every credit reporting agency has different standards for locking your credit (which is what I’m assuming you’re going to do). And I don’t think you can do it on the phone - at least I couldn’t when I did this a little over a year ago.
That being said, if you have filed a police report, it won’t cost you to lock your credit; otherwise each agency charges you a minimal amount (somewhere between $10-15). You’ll just need to include a copy of the police report, or the incident report. You will want to scream by the time you are done. They don’t really make it easy.
You really do want to get a lock on the credit ASAP.
Good information here (which you may have already found but I’ll post it anyway):
http://www.equifax.com/help/credit-freeze/en_cp
Seriously… a police report? The fun keeps building!
Do whatever you have to do to stop that. Does she have any idea how it was leaked?
Yes, do file a police report because the agencies will ask you for that report number. Flag the big three and make sure you contact SS office on Monday and have her number flagged.
This is soooooo not fun for either of you, but you need to take precautions.
Here’s the FTC information:
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft
I have “been” my daughter on the telephone numerous times when it was more convenient to do so. Just sayin’.
I figure they have her birthdate, and I don’t sound 20… so I need to contact SS, too? Can you help me understand why?
I never contacted SS. No one told me to. It wasn’t listed as one of the agencies to contact on the information sheet the police department gave me (another good reason to report it; I suspect they have handouts they can give you to make sure you’ve covered all your bases).
So sorry to hear this. Seriously stinks.
What a hassle! It certainly does stink to deal with this stuff.
I was reading the government web site on steps to take… the police report is a problem. Is she going to have to go to the police in her college town in California? It says she should go and take proof of the fraud (I have the letter from the bank here, guess I could scan for her), id, and proof of address residency (she has nothing for our home address… no idea what to do here).
Compounded by the fact that she is away from campus this week presenting at a conference, and will be behind in her classes when she gets back midweek.
So sorry to hear that, intparent.
@auntbea: s.s.#, too? I guess it makes sense, but…(vicarious frustration).
You don’t HAVE to have a police report to freeze your credit but it’s free if you do. Otherwise it’s about $10 or so, I think.
I was part of the federal employee identity breach a few months ago. I froze my credit but I didn’t have a police report because no one actually tried to use my identity fraudulently (yet). I decided that a credit freeze was worth the small fee. I froze it with all 3 agencies and I think only 2 of them charged me.
If your daughter has a bank account the copy of the statement has her home address.
^You mean if she maybe just tossed it in the trash/recycling? If I’m too lazy to shred, I tear into small strips and add it to the compost pile. If you want to steal my ID that much, dig into mulch, thief.
Watch out for any attempt to file for income tax refund electronically (Fed and state). DH was victim of that last year. Seems they just needed his SS #. Man, digging out from that mess was horrific. Because IRS.
Her bank statements have her home address on them, but they are her (not at college).