i am the victim of identity theft

i came home from work on thursday to find a statement in the mail from my mastercard. i thought to myself, "hmmm, i haven't used this card in months - why am i getting a statement?" i opened it to find over $2800 worth of charges in online lottery services, as well as airline tickets and other nonsense all purchased in singapore, bangkok and thailand!!!
i immediately called the credit card company and got into it with a customer service rep who told me to call back later, as their computer system was updating. i was LOSING it. from the time the statement printed to the time i called, my balance had gone up another $400.
i finally got the account cancelled and they said i don't have to pay anything - their fraud department will take care of it. they said they would mail me a new card with a new account number, so they can continue providing me with "great services". HA! every other credit card i have, if i make some out of the ordinary purchase, they bombard you with phone calls to make sure it's really you. i haven't used this card in months and all of a sudden there's 3 grand in purchases in asia and this doesn't raise a red flag?! they can send me whatever they want, it will be cancelled the moment i receive it, i am done with them.
has this happened to anyone else? what more can i do? i filed a police report and called equifax who put a fraud alert on my name etc and it will be forwarded to experian and transunion as well.
i checked my credit history report and there is nothing unusual on it but i am still nervous as heck.
and i'm afraid that my credit will get ruined while they are trying to sort this all out, since i am not making any payments on this account.
what a big ol' frustrating mess

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Yikes!! So sorry this happened to you!

So scary that it can happen to anyone

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Ugh sooo frustrating!

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

It will take awhile before you would see it on your credit history. I had capital one along time ago, and they would constantly let people put charges on over the phone. I was trying to cancel the card and they have that rule that the account has to have a 0 ballance for 30 days inorder to cancel.. every month they let another charge go on, and i would have to have it taken off. I hate credit cards.

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

aww krista! so sorry sweetie! that truly sux!!!

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

aaawww, that sux Krista!!!!

Call your credit report companies back and add a fraud alert and speak with a customer service rep so they know what happened. Ths way, if anyone tries to open a new credit card during the time this is being sorted out, you will be automatically notified.

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

So sorry to hear that Krista!!!!! I had my roommate in college start opening up credit cards in my name, it was a nightmare (her name still appears on my credit report as an alias).

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Do you know how they got your number? Glad you are covered and keep running credit reports!

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Sorry this happened

Instead of fraud alert, i'd put a freeze on your credit. It means if anyone runs your SS# or tries the obtain credit they will be automatically declined. That also means you can't apply for anything either, but at least for a short period of time so no one else can access your credit, then go ahead and put the fraud alert on too.

Def stinks! So sorry

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

I recently called Experian, which is another credit bureau and they put fraud alerts on all 3 bureaus (Experian/Equifax/TransUnion).. Did Equifax put it on all 3 for you?? If not, I don't have the Experian # offhand, but here is their website.. www.experian.com

Sorry this happened to you!! Good Luck!!!

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Awwww Krista that does sux. I hope they clear everything really fast for you.

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Posted by sweetness

Sorry this happened

Instead of fraud alert, i'd put a freeze on your credit. It means if anyone runs your SS# or tries the obtain credit they will be automatically declined. That also means you can't apply for anything either, but at least for a short period of time so no one else can access your credit, then go ahead and put the fraud alert on too.

Def stinks! So sorry

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Sorry this happened.

If these are recent fraudulant transactions that occured in the past month don't get too upset because it's not that big of a deal. It happens occasionally and yes it is annoying. It actually happened to me six months ago and on one of my debit cards which makes it even more difficult. But if the bank reverses the charges quickly enough then it really doesn't hurt your credit at all.

Usually if you are a full blown identity thieft viction, they use your personal info (SSN, address, name, etc) to open NEW accounts under your name. Now THAT is a real pain because the new accounts do damage your credit and you can't reverse that unless you file a claim with the three CRAs which can take months to resolve.

Good luck. Don't cancel your account with your bank until you know for sure this issue has been settled. Give them a reason to work hard and try to win your business back (by moving quick on this) before you cancel.

Message edited 3/15/2008 9:35:08 PM.

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Posted by LLandDayDay

I recently called Experian, which is another credit bureau and they put fraud alerts on all 3 bureaus (Experian/Equifax/TransUnion).. Did Equifax put it on all 3 for you?? If not, I don't have the Experian # offhand, but here is their website.. www.experian.com

Sorry this happened to you!! Good Luck!!!

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

thanks everyone

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

same thing happened with my sister. someone was using her debit account in the uk. her bank called her

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Posted by MrsKelly

has this happened to anyone else? what more can i do? i filed a police report and called equifax who put a fraud alert on my name etc and it will be forwarded to experian and transunion as well.
i checked my credit history report and there is nothing unusual on it but i am still nervous as heck.
and i'm afraid that my credit will get ruined while they are trying to sort this all out, since i am not making any payments on this account.
what a big ol' frustrating mess

Message edited 3/17/2008 9:12:03 AM.

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Im so sorry! But since you acted so quickly your credit score should be fine

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Call all of your credit cards and report them as stole so you can get new numbers.

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Sorry this happened to you. I am not surprised that the transactions are in Singapore, Thailand, etc.. those are currently hotbeds of credit fraud. Basically someone gets a hold of a Bin number for a MC/Visa and starts plugging in the last few digits to try and get a valid match. They have programs where they put in thousands of numbers at a time to a single on line merchant to see if they get a hit. Once they do - they start charging away!

Verified by Visa is a good option to help fight that particular kind of fraud. It requires a password for online shopping.

Good luck!

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

i'm so sorry this happened to you!

i was a victim of identity theft, also.
worst part: IT WAS A FAMILY MEMBER!!!

i had to have my signature notarized (sp) so i could prove that i didn't sign for those purchases.

i hope this is the worst of it and that it will soon be behind you

Re: i am the victim of identity theft

I am so sorry!!! This happened to us last fall. But our CC company called us and asked if we just made over $1000. at two different staples in Brooklyn. of course, we had not and so they immediately cancelled that card. SO, needless to say, i got overly paranoid and wanted to cancel everything. But now I just have alerts on my 2 CC accts and bank accts. Luckily, fraud paid for these charges but it is a terrible feeling of invasion and violation when this happens. For months afterward I was constantly checking our accounts. I am still paranoid.....we have no idea how they got our card number since our card was not stolen. I figure someone is now sitting with a better computer than I am and did not even pay for it. I did not call the police, though. Should've I???