Have I had my identity stolen?

[vaskidmark]

Couple of days ago I noticed a debit from my ATM card by some strange outfit from The Netherlands.  Contact the bank ASAP, get the card cancelled, a new one with different numbers on the way, and an investigation that they wrapped up in about 10 minutes agreeing that the debit was/is fraudulent.  Money shows back in my account withing 15 minutes.

Today I get a letter from the PA Dept of Personal Taxes asking me for copies of all sorts of income-reporting forms.  I sent the form letter back telling them that as I never received any income from PA they should stop trying to extort money from me - and that they owe me $0.47 for the Forever Stamp I used to mail their letter back.

Checking my financials shows no other unusual/suspicious activity.  Will ask the bank to run a credit check (perq they offer) to see if anybody is pretending to be me in order to open up a credit line at FingerHut or Lane Bryant.

When do I call LifeLock to see if they can get my identity back?

Although I'm thinking this may be more like what happens



stay safe.

[Scout26]

PA has a Dept of Revenue, not a Dept of Personal Taxes.  That was a phishing attempt.  Not even worth your stamp, unless your letter also consisted of a drawing of a giant finger.

As for whether they have your identity.  Maybe, maybe not.  They might have gotten lucky with card number.

For Example:

http://www.highprogrammer.com/alan/numbers/dl_us_shared.html

Gives me all kinds of warm fuzzies.

[K Frame]

Some months ago I signed up for creditkarma.com...

It's actually a very useful site for keeping track of what's on your active credit reports. They also offer free credit scores, and they offer credit monitoring.

[230RN]

I've always wondered about these financial guardian outfits.  Don't you have to give them all kinds of critical info for them to do all this tracking for you?   Ummmm, come to think of it, phishing scammers probe for the same kind of information.

Hmmmm.

With all these super-hackers making news nowadays,, what if their data bases get hacked?  

And what if (as happens all too often when big money is involved) they suddenly have a lapse of their code of ethics?

I know Lifelock was not allowed to operate in New York State for a while and I always wondered why.  (This was actually one of the disclaimers in their original advertisements.) On the other hand, I see they're being advertised in the NRA journal lately.

Terry, 230RN

[vaskidmark]

Scout et al. -

First thing I did was check to see if the agency name and address were right.  Mostly I used the incident as the lead-in to using the graphic, but I am also taking advantage of my bank's free credit monitoring*.  I also have a 10:30 appointment with the Postal Inspectors who seem to be very interested in learning more about this - not that they sounded like they were eager to do anything but learn about it.

NYS considered LifeLock to be offering insurance without a license to do that.  I do not know if they are still hung up over that or if LL paid the Danegeld.

My home address must be in invisible ink on billboards all over the place - I get all sorts of correspondence addressed to strangers at my address - school report cards, jury notices, and once a water shut-off notice.  That last one got immediate (that day) attention and action.  The rest are usually handled via phone call and a request for a postage-paid envelope to use to submit my written statement and return of the offending paperwork.  So far I only know of two poor souls that have suffered by using my address: the parents of what I fantasize is a sweet little illegal alien girl they registered using my address who were prosecuted and ended up with a hefty fine that they probably could not afford to pay.

* - I already have a self-imposed daily withdrawal limit that can be over-ridden via a password.  That just leaves the nickle-and-dime stuff to watch out for in my daily check of my financials.

stay safe.

[Scout26]

We bought this house in December 1991.  No one else but me (us) have lived here since.  The previous owner was here for two years prior to selling to us.  I haven't seen any mail for her sent here in years (probably because she passed away 8-10 year ago).

Yesterday, I got an offer from Comcast addressed to Edwin Franiak.  The gentlemen that sold the house to the previous owner in 1989.   I get (junk) mail for him at least once a month.   One of these days I may just take Capital One up on one of their offers. (Then ammo will truly be on me....and my new bestest buddy Edwin )

I also get (junk) mail for a young lady (22yo),  I think she's a nanny, given where a quick search lists as her address.  Or she hit the lottery.  Also lots of credit (card) offers.  They get circle filed.  I sent her a letter stating that I was getting her junk mail, but never heard a word back from her.  Not sure what the deal was with that.  Haven't gotten anything for her in over a month though.

[KD5NRH]

Yesterday, I got an offer from Comcast addressed to Edwin Franiak.  The gentlemen that sold the house to the previous owner in 1989.   I get (junk) mail for him at least once a month.

I get junk mail for my barber, who lived in the same house a bit over 20 years ago.

He's also a woodworker, though, so most of it is catalogs that he gets after I read them.

[K Frame]

Oh, and in response to your original question...

You have now... 

[vaskidmark]

I stopped all junk mail years ago.  Went down to the Postal Inspectors' office and filled out the paperwork to claim it was unsolicited stuff of a prurient sexual interest (what turns on one freak may not be exciting to the next).  They sent notices to the mas mailers to cease and desist.

OK, so it helps if you know how to act like a real nutjob (decades of practice finally paid off ) and remember to get all slobbery and excited when they show you examples in what could best be described as a photo lineup.

stay safe.