How can you tell if your identity's being stolen?

[LA98]

I may be making too much of this, but it just seems too weird: In the past week, I have gotten two pieces of mail (one was coupons, the other was just random junk) that had my address, my first name, and then some other last name. The two last names were different. The first time I was puzzled, the second time got me thinking. I'm going to order my credit reports, but what else should I do? Am I right thinking something could be going on here?

[Escher]

You are doing the right thing, but I wouldn't sweat too much if it's just bulk mail.

You can get credit reports online for speedier investigation....

But it's good you are checking it out to be safe.

[Member10000]

The latest Newsweek Magazine has a whole section on Identity Fraud/Theft. I have yet to read it, but it came in the mail yesterday. Might be something you want to check out too.

[lindrusso]

You can also call your credit card companies and ask them to list off the latest transactions. My credit card company has an automated system that will tell me dates and amounts - if anything sounds unfamiliar, I can call them back and ask about it.

You can also call your bank or go there and request an updated statement to see if there is any unusual activity.

Things like your credit cards and/or bank account may not be touched in cases of identity theft, but it can't hurt to check. If someone has your personal info, they could go any number of routes trying to get money - whether it's stealing from you outright or using your name to set up new accounts.

If you are really concerned, you can have the credit report companies flag your credit reports - flagging the account will require merchants to call you first if anyone applies for a line of credit using your info.

I didn't have my identity stolen, but someone set up two internet accounts using my credit card number. I did all of the above and was fortunate enough to have it end there.

And it did start with me receiving a few strange things in the mail that I would have normally thrown out. It turned out it was 2 compaines welcoming to their internet service when I had never applied. You can't be too careful.

[mrswaz]

I wanted to second Lindrusso's suggestion to red flag your credit. The red flag will last for 90 days, and is worth the peace of mind it offers. it doesn't cost anything, and I know when I red flagged I got free credit reports to check things out.

[Ralph]

Originally posted by Member10000
The latest Newsweek Magazine has a whole section on Identity Fraud/Theft. I have yet to read it, but it came in the mail yesterday. Might be something you want to check out too.

Here's the link to that article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8359692/site/newsweek/

[clairea]

Please be aware that flagging your credit report does not require potential creditors to contact you before opening new accounts. The system simply tells them that there is a fraud alert, but they are free to go ahead and open the account anyway. My identity was stolen several years ago, and many new accounts were opened after I posted the fraud alert with all 3 credit bureaus. We placed an alert on my husband's account too, and when we went to buy a car not long afterwards, the finance manager just asked us why it was there and then immediately proceeded with the transaction -- we could just as easily have been an identity thief!

I would follow up on the name issue, as that is one of the ways the woman who stole my identity was able to get away with so much. She used my first name and a different last name, and just told all the creditors that she was recently divorced and had reverted to her maiden name (and none of them seemed to care that the name she was using was not even remotely similar to my maiden name). Sometimes justice is served, though -- she was recently sentenced to 45 years in prison in connection with her theft of my identity and another persons!

[mbrogier]

For some strange reason, My husband's sister's first name, my middle name and our last name have somehow gotten mixed together. The Chicago Institute of Art kept sending us info wanting to join. None of use have ever requested info from them. We don't know how all that came together. We check our credit report routinely, and this past year it has been almost every month since we sold a house, traded in two cars, bought a new car, etc. We wanted to make sure everything was correct. Somehow, one of the agencies that sells people's addresses got our info all mixed up. There aren't many people in the US with our last name, so it isn't hard.

We have online accounts for all our banking and credit cards. We would know within a day if anything suspicious was going on. Sometimes these things can be a weird mistake.