ID Fraud Victim during Ch. 7

[baxtersdad]

Hi.  I have a situation that I have not found answers to.  I filed for Ch. 7 in 7/2012 and it was DC'd about a week ago.  During the Ch. 7 BK process I found out I was a confirmed victim of ID Fraud from the IRS.  I followed various directions from the IRS, the FTC, and the Bureaus to put an initial fraud alert on my credit files - this alert is good for 90 days.  I am now contemplating doing a security freeze but I'm not really sure if I need it since a) everything was discharged & b) the only impact so far is from the IRS.

This is compounded by the fact that I want to start rebuilding my credit as I can.  I am wondering if I will miss out on options for cards, auto loans, etc. because of the current fraud alert or if I do a freeze.  Has anyone had this happen?  What was the outcome?

Given all of this - anyone have ideas on when I should apply for something & what card / lender I should go to?

Thank you.

[llecs]

Welcome!

Is anything from the ID theft reporting on any of your 3 credit reports? For the IRS, is it a lien, or is that not reporting?

If the IRS confirmed ID theft, then at very least the thief has your SSN which can be used for credit apps, though it would be more difficult without your exact address, name, etc. If I had that, I would personally extend the FA for at least a couple of years. You can always remove it at a later date. I'd also subscribe to a credit monitoring service and pull each report monthly just to be safe. I'd also be on standby to file a police report for ID theft. I'd only do so if anything were to appear like an account that isn't yours. That police report will be instrumental in getting items removed, but it might be too early to do anything if nothing else is reporting.

If you opts for a FA, a freeze is unnecessary.

If I had to rebuild after a BK, I'd start with a secured CC from somewhere.