@Spider15 wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Perhaps from the business perspective. But from the real-world perspective, when the police officer tells me he has had a number of situations where a credit card was taken and the person later seemed surprised that the thief was able to steal their identity, saying " but he only had my credit card and I canceled that"........
Yep. I'm going to go with his expertise on this one.
OK, last time as we don't seem to be getting anywhere.
I AGREE that having a credit card is a useful source to start identiy theft. With other diverted mail as in your case it can be even easier, but a stolen credit card with name, address and card is a good start.
The ONLY question is: does it matter if it is activated or not?
As to the word use of the word "unreal" ... my point (obscure in this thread) is the happenings related to identity theft. I am not questioning banks reversing charges and making the cardholder whole (had it happen myself more than once). It is the danger of identity theft that putting a person back to zero is not going to settle the bigger issue of identity theft. Yes, I am interested in the real answer on activated vs. not activated cards as I have received may already activated. A suspicion of mine is that it would probably have little affect either way on identity theft.
Identity theft usually occurs when someone has all the information to open accounts in your name. This information is usually obtained through software Trojans, hacking, someone needs the social and address matching on file. It is often alluded to when folks have social security checks diverted to another bank account, in which case, the perp would need access to social security info (ability to log on to social security web site is included) in order to divert checks, either prior bank info, or changing paper checks to direct deposit (easier to do, unless someone has access to online log in).
I know someone that was victim. They were called in the middle of the night, told that credit card had been compromised, and gave out information they should not have. They were half asleep. Started repairing the next morning when they realized what happened. Another variation besides the illicit phone call is clicking on phishing email, and giving info to lookalike site (can be any online shopping portal, bank, membership, etc).
None of these scenarios involve an activated card. Now, if wallet is stolen, and you keep your social security card, sling with state ID, then you have some work to do. I had wallet stolen back in 80's, but no idea if credit opened in my name. Otherwise, will be very difficult if you notice wallet stolen, and contact/replace everything involved in the theft.
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