Hit with multiple fraud attempts, what now?

[Anonymous]

I'm on the phone with Discover Bank as I'm typing this, this is the second fraud attempt against me in the last month. The first being a "card number call in", apparently card thieves will call a bank to verify the card numbers are correct and valid. I was contacted by Chase, and confirmed that I did not request a card number verification. So back to the Discover situation, I received a notification a few minutes ago that there was an inquiry on my account, it dropped my Equifax 9 pts. I knew I didn't place any inquiries, so I immedietly started the process of removing it from my account. It seems that someone has a file on me, likely including my name, social, address, etc. What can I do about preventing this in the future? Is there anything I can do? I've heard horror stories about people having their credit ruined, can't help but feel a little helpless. I'm always smart with who I give my info to, the only exception being when I MUST hand my info to a person for processing. 

[UncleB]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm on the phone with Discover Bank as I'm typing this, this is the second fraud attempt against me in the last month. The first being a "card number call in", apparently card thieves will call a bank to verify the card numbers are correct and valid. I was contacted by Chase, and confirmed that I did not request a card number verification. So back to the Discover situation, I received a notification a few minutes ago that there was an inquiry on my account, it dropped my Equifax 9 pts. I knew I didn't place any inquiries, so I immedietly started the process of removing it from my account. It seems that someone has a file on me, likely including my name, social, address, etc. What can I do about preventing this in the future? Is there anything I can do? I've heard horror stories about people having their credit ruined, can't help but feel a little helpless. I'm always smart with who I give my info to, the only exception being when I MUST hand my info to a person for processing. 

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What you're describing now is not a lost/compromised card, but a stolen identity issue. 

If it were me, I would immediately place a security freeze on the three major credit bureaus; that should prevent anybody from opening an account using your details. 

Of course a freeze will also be a nuisance for you if you are planning any applications in the immediate future, but it would be a small price to pay for peace of mind and much less of a pain than having to deal with fraudulent accounts.

[Anonymous]

I agree with UncleB.  Give your situation as you describe it, you should assume you are a victim of identity theft and should be taking all the appropriate steps for that.  The first step is to do prompt and thorough resaerch on the subject using Google -- don't rely on what 1-2 strangers on one web forum tell you.

Any google search for identity theft will give you this link:

https://www.identitytheft.gov/

Changing all your passwords and imposing extra security phrases that only you could know is important.  (I choose a single nonsense word or phrase that I prefix any security answers with.  For example, if my silly phrase is Nurplex bigguns and the question is Whst is your favorite color? Then my answer is Nurplex Bigguns Blue..

I would do this for all bank accounst and all credit cards.  I would also consider the possibility that you have spyware on your computer that is recording your keystrokes, so doing an aggressive computer clean may be appropriate before you use it to change passwords.

Freezing credit reports is a key step.  You may also want to change your drivers license number -- the driver bureau will likely do this for you if you have reported ID theft.

[RobertEG]

There are actually three levels of actions that can be taken to avoid fraud/identity theft entries in your credit report.

First, and lowest, is a simple, initial fraud alert, which only lasts 90 days, and requires no showing of any actual fraud/identity theft.

Once you have a showing of actual identity theft, which is apparently your situation, then you can move up to an extended fraud alert.

That requires filing of a police report showing actual fraud/identity theft, and mailing of a copy to the CRA.  See FCRA 605A.

An entirely separate process, called a freeze, can be implemented, and is not covered under the FCRA.

It is a separate process covered under CRA policy and/or state law, and usually provides for more drastic restrictions on reporting while in place.

Since you are experiencing actual fraud, I would consider either an extended fraud alert or initiating a freeze on your report.

Check out the benefits and requirements of each process......