New identity theft scam ( At least for me )

[19eighty5]

Scary stuff. Glad you caught this before things got worse and thank you for sharing with the community!

[DaveInAZ]

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@kerplunk wrote:

I strongly suggest that everyone freeze their credit files; especially as it is free and easy to unlock now.

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Yes, since the Equifax data breach it's important to lock your credit files so no one can apply for credit in your name. But I'm pretty sure this scam attempt isn't the result of someone getting Meanmchine's credit report, and he/she said he has his locked for sometime. My bet is that the scammer gained access to Meanmchine's Synchrony online accounts - if you can gain access to someone's online account you can easily report the card lost or stolen or even just damaged and request a replacement, and you also get their name & address. From there it's easy - far too easy in my opinion - to submit a Change of Address at usps.com.

Meanmchine: Have you changed your password(s) for your online accounts. Obviously change your password for Walmart & Sam's Club, but also change your password for any & all online account that you use the same password. I use a different login ID for banking and a different login for credit accounts. Then for the password I use the same basic letters with different letters capitalized, different special character, and different 4 digit #s, a year like the year of my first car.

[Anonymous]

I didn't read the entire thread but I would hope Synchrony would do a better job in both verifying the person reporting lost cards as well as sending out notification email/text after fact. I get notifications from banks for little things like setting up $1 ACH transactions - "You have just setup an ACH transaction to bank X, if this was not you, please contact us immediate.".

You would hope for something as big as reporting losing multiple cards that at least something similar would be sent.

[Meanmchine]

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

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@kerplunk wrote:

I strongly suggest that everyone freeze their credit files; especially as it is free and easy to unlock now.

---

Yes, since the Equifax data breach it's important to lock your credit files so no one can apply for credit in your name. But I'm pretty sure this scam attempt isn't the result of someone getting Meanmchine's credit report, and he/she said he has his locked for sometime. My bet is that the scammer gained access to Meanmchine's Synchrony online accounts - if you can gain access to someone's online account you can easily report the card lost or stolen or even just damaged and request a replacement, and you also get their name & address. From there it's easy - far too easy in my opinion - to submit a Change of Address at usps.com.

Meanmchine: Have you changed your password(s) for your online accounts. Obviously change your password for Walmart & Sam's Club, but also change your password for any & all online account that you use the same password. I use a different login ID for banking and a different login for credit accounts. Then for the password I use the same basic letters with different letters capitalized, different special character, and different 4 digit #s, a year like the year of my first car.

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The scammer has the basic info ( name, addr, dob, ssn. dont know about email addr or phone ). Usually, they just go through the automated system.  I believe they do have my credit report as they know my synchrony accounts but not the complete account number.

Amex, Comenity, Cap1, BoA, and a few of my other banks have SUPER PASSWORDS  that are not stored on any CB report. Anytime you make any change to those account, you need the super pw. Synchrony has no such superword.  Synchrony automated system wont even ask for mothers maiden name.

They do not have my account passwords as its not necessary if you know the basic info. 

[DaveInAZ]

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@Meanmchine wrote:

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

The scammer has the basic info ( name, addr, dob, ssn. dont know about email addr or phone ). Usually, they just go through the automated system.  I believe they do have my credit report as they know my synchrony accounts but not the complete account number.

Amex, Comenity, Cap1, BoA, and a few of my other banks have SUPER PASSWORDS  that are not stored on any CB report. Anytime you make any change to those account, you need the super pw. Synchrony has no such superword.  Synchrony automated system wont even ask for mothers maiden name.

They do not have my account passwords as its not necessary if you know the basic info. 

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Huh, I hadn't even considered an automated phone system to get a replacement card as I haven't used a phone to contact a bank or lender in years. But I remember the olden days when a phone was a black thing that sat on a desk and you spun a circle with holes in it to dial a number - "Dial 1 to report a card lost or stolen, Dial 2 . . ." 

But leave it to a scammer to figure out Sync won't even ask for a mother's maiden name. And I don't know about those "super passwords", I have Cap1 & Amex and don't recall setting those.

[Meanmchine]

<posted accidently>

[Meanmchine]

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

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@Meanmchine wrote:

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

The scammer has the basic info ( name, addr, dob, ssn. dont know about email addr or phone ). Usually, they just go through the automated system.  I believe they do have my credit report as they know my synchrony accounts but not the complete account number.

Amex, Comenity, Cap1, BoA, and a few of my other banks have SUPER PASSWORDS  that are not stored on any CB report. Anytime you make any change to those account, you need the super pw. Synchrony has no such superword.  Synchrony automated system wont even ask for mothers maiden name.

They do not have my account passwords as its not necessary if you know the basic info. 

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Huh, I hadn't even considered an automated phone system to get a replacement card as I haven't used a phone to contact a bank or lender in years. But I remember the olden days when a phone was a black thing that sat on a desk and you spun a circle with holes in it to dial a number - "Dial 1 to report a card lost or stolen, Dial 2 . . ." 

But leave it to a scammer to figure out Sync won't even ask for a mother's maiden name. And I don't know about those "super passwords", I have Cap1 & Amex and don't recall setting those.

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I suggest you call them up and set it up for your accounts

[Anonymous]

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@Meanmchine wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Glad you caught the fraud before it got worse.

Since you have the address that the cards were to be forwarded to... were the police notified? Or, will USPS pursue mail fraud? Synchrony?

Your Walmart card, multiple times? That is scary. Do you have any idea who, how, you are getting hit? 

btw, I'm new to credit cards, watch closely, but the chance of fraud spooks me.

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Credit card fraud like this hardly ever investigated. 99.99% the bank will not prosecute and the local PD would rather write parking tickets then look into this

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Yeah ... suspect there is a lot of this and after all "parking tickets" generate money for the municipal governmental unit

[Anonymous]

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@Meanmchine wrote:

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

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@kerplunk wrote:

I strongly suggest that everyone freeze their credit files; especially as it is free and easy to unlock now.

---

Yes, since the Equifax data breach it's important to lock your credit files so no one can apply for credit in your name. But I'm pretty sure this scam attempt isn't the result of someone getting Meanmchine's credit report, and he/she said he has his locked for sometime. My bet is that the scammer gained access to Meanmchine's Synchrony online accounts - if you can gain access to someone's online account you can easily report the card lost or stolen or even just damaged and request a replacement, and you also get their name & address. From there it's easy - far too easy in my opinion - to submit a Change of Address at usps.com.

Meanmchine: Have you changed your password(s) for your online accounts. Obviously change your password for Walmart & Sam's Club, but also change your password for any & all online account that you use the same password. I use a different login ID for banking and a different login for credit accounts. Then for the password I use the same basic letters with different letters capitalized, different special character, and different 4 digit #s, a year like the year of my first car.

---

The scammer has the basic info ( name, addr, dob, ssn. dont know about email addr or phone ). Usually, they just go through the automated system.  I believe they do have my credit report as they know my synchrony accounts but not the complete account number.

Amex, Comenity, Cap1, BoA, and a few of my other banks have SUPER PASSWORDS  that are not stored on any CB report. Anytime you make any change to those account, you need the super pw. Synchrony has no such superword.  Synchrony automated system wont even ask for mothers maiden name.

They do not have my account passwords as its not necessary if you know the basic info. 

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What's a super password?