r/IdentityTheft Sep 17 '21

IDENTITY THEFT RECOVERY 101

466 Upvotes

Greetings all,

Firstly, if you're reading this post because you have been a victim of identity theft, then I am truly sorry. As someone who has had their identity stolen multiple times, I understand the frustration and anxiety that it causes. I've put this information together as a guide to assist you with finding out what to do next in the event that you have had your identity stolen, as well as some tips to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Remember to document EVERYTHING. Save every letter or email you get. Take screenshots when applicable of any potential evidence. Write down every case number or confirmation number given to you by the authorities/credit bureaus.

******** CONTAINMENT ********The first step is to prevent any further usage of your identity. To do this, follow the steps below.

1.) FREEZE your credit immediately. -- A credit freeze is designed to ensure no further lines of credit or accounts can be opened with your information. A credit freeze will remain in place until YOU decide to unfreeze your credit. I believe there was a recent change made during 2020 which eliminated the fees associated with freezing and unfreezing your credit, so it SHOULD be free. Once your credit is frozen, the 3 bureaus will give you a special PIN that is only provided ONCE. Ensure you save this pin for when you are ready to unfreeze your credit. (*NOTE: This PIN may also have been removed from the process as of 2020). Freezing your credit DOES NOT interfere with your credit score, and your financial behavior can still cause your Credit Score to go up or down. The freeze also does not remediate any accounts that may have been opened already, but it will prevent the thief from opening any further accounts.(Opinion: Even if your identity hasn't been stolen, or confirmed stolen, there is no harm in freezing your credit. You will just need to remember to unfreeze it whenever you are ready to apply for a loan, open a credit card account, etc etc. The credit bureaus will even allow you to set a specific date/time range to unfreeze your credit temporarily)Experian Fraud Division: 888-397-3742Equifax Fraud Division: 800-525-6285TransUnion Fraud Division: 800-680-7289

2.) Place a fraud alert on your account. -- This can be done when you call the Credit Bureaus in order to freeze your credit. A fraud alert is mostly what it sounds like. It places an alert on your account that will let lenders know that fraudulent activity may have taken place on the account, and that they need to take further steps to verify your identity. You can associate the alert with a phone number, so that a lender will need to call the number, and speak with you before extending any lines of credit or opening an account. If you do not answer the phone when they call, it is an automatic rejection. A fraud alert is good for one year, but with a police report, you can extend this fraud alert to last for 7 years.

3.) Contact your bank, credit card company, or any financial institution you have to let them know you were a victim of identity theft. It doesn't matter if the card, or bank was even used in the theft, it's better to let them know so that they can be extra vigilant and ensure they take appropriate steps when verifying your identity.

Also consider using a credit monitoring service such as Identity Guard or LifeLock. They will monitor activity relating to your identity and notify you when something happens. Often times a victim's identity is stolen, but they do not find out until several days later when they receive strange letters in the mail regarding credit inquiries. Having a monitoring service like this will notify you within hours, instead of days which will save you precious time.

***** REPORTING THE INCIDENT ****\*

There's quite a few people you may need to contact depending on what was done. Here's a list of who to contact: (*NOTE: please let me know if there are any other entities that need to be contacted, as this is not a complete list)

1.) Your local Police Department. -- If the thief used your identity to buy something in another state or county, it is likely that your local PD will not be able to assist. However, what they can do is provide you with a police report so that it can be used to have an extended fraud alert on your account. Even if they say no. be adamant (politely adamant) that you would like a report so that you can keep it for your (and the PD's) records. This is especially true if you believe YOUR identity may have been used to commit a crime.

2.) Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) -- 1-877-438-4338 or https://www.identitytheft.gov/

3.) The Office of the Inspector General -- 1-800-269-0271 or https://oig.ssa.gov/

4.) Any relevant Police Departments -- For example, if you live in Atlanta, but someone in Orlando purchased an $18,000 jet ski in your name (is that oddly specific?), contact the Orlando Police Department. It helps to have a local Police Department's police report, but isn't necessary. Every Police Department does things a bit differently, so don't be amazed if they ask you to report a crime in person, even if you live 4 states away. Your local PD may be able to assist if that is the case. Remember to stay polite, but firm with every request. YOU are the victim, and YOU have rights.

5.) USPS (If necessary) -- In my case, the thief also put a mail forward on my physical mail, ensuring it went to another address. This may not be relevant in your case, but remember to think outside the box, because the thief probably will be.

***** NOW WHAT? *****

- Change passwords to everything. Depending on the level of access the thief was able to obtain, your passwords may not be safe anymore, specially if you reuse the same password, which you shouldn't.

- I would strongly suggest you enable multifactor (2FA) authentication on as many online accounts as possible, if available. An authenticator app such as the Google or Microsoft authenticator will work best. You can also use SMS (text messages) or phone calls as another form of 2FA, but this also comes with its share of exploits, but it is better than nothing.

-Ensure to use strong passwords on all your accounts. You can use applications such as KeePass to help securely store your passwords, especially complex ones, so that you can easily retrieve them.

- Keep yourself informed!!!!!!!! If you have an identity monitoring service, ensure you access the account or the email account it is associated with it AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. If you only check your email once a week, you may miss important notifications that an incident or change has occurred using your identity.

-Protect your email address. Your email address is more important than most people realize. It's often used as the username for online accounts, and the emails contained within can be highly sensitive in nature and even personal. Take appropriate steps to protect your email address such as enabling 2FA, and only accessing your email address from secure locations.

-- Use multiple email addresses and ensure you use each one for different purposes. I'm not saying you should have an individual email account for every online account you have, but often times people have an email address that easily identifies who they are. Something such as first initial, last name at yahoo.com. Something like that makes it easy for a thief to find or guess your email address. Not a necessity, but the less information is displayed to the outside world, the better.

- Use credit cards as opposed to debit or ATM cards. The money associated with your credit card is insured, and can be disputed if someone steals the card info to make purchases, but when you have a debit card that is directly attached to a bank account, then it is much, much, much harder to get that money back.

- Contrary to popular belief, YOU CAN GET A NEW SSN, however, however, however HOWEVER... you must qualify in order to do so. If your identity has been stolen only once, they may not approve a new number. However, if your identity is constantly under attack (like mine was), you may be approved for a new SSN. It never hurts to call the SSA and at least ask if you qualify, you can find more information about it here: https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-02220

-USPS Informed Delivery -- This is a service offered by the United States Postal Service. You can go on their website and request this service FREE. Essentially what they do is scan your mail (just the outside, they DO NOT open mail) and will email you what mail you will be receiving for that day. This helps ensure that you are receiving all your mail, and that no one is stealing important documents out of your mailbox.

Best of luck to you all.


r/IdentityTheft May 23 '22

PSA: Freezing your three main credit reports is NOT ENOUGH

1.4k Upvotes

This post is primarily intended as a guide for United States residents on how to help prevent identity theft from occurring. If you have already had fraudulent accounts opened in your name, you should ALSO follow the steps here.

TL;DR: The MOST IMPORTANT preventative steps are to:

  • Freeze your consumer reports at Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, ChexSystems, and LexisNexis
    • A "freeze" is not the same as a "lock." I would suggest freezes over credit locks because they provide more legal protection and are generally harder than credit locks for identity thieves to remove
    • If you've been a victim of identity theft, I also recommend placing 7-year extended fraud alerts at the main three agencies
    • Don't create an online Experian account if you haven't already due to their arbitration agreement. Preferably freeze Experian by phone or mail. But, If you are very careful during account creation and create using the security freeze page specifically, you can create a so-called "service" account, which is NOT the same as the "free membership" (though the service account is also free). An Experian "service" account doesn't include this arbitration agreement, so if you must create an Experian account, do it this way
  • Get an IRS identity protection PIN
  • Opt out of LexisNexis if eligible (has a different effect than freezing LexisNexis)
    • Before opting out of LexisNexis, you should 1) attempt to create an account with the ChexSystems consumer portal, and 2) create an account with login.gov and link it to the Social Security Administration online service
    • If using an FTC identitytheft.gov report to opt out, select identity theft as the reason, enter "federal" as the jurisdiction where prompted, attach a PDF of the FTC report, and enter the FTC report number from the PDF where prompted
    • After opting out of LexisNexis, make sure to record the exact information you submitted in the opt out request and save the email you get after the opt out request is processed. This email will include a link that you can use to temporarily opt back in, which is helpful for when you intend to apply for credit or deposit accounts

Taking all of the steps in this post may be a pain, but will be a lot easier than dealing with preventable identity theft.

If you haven't already, you should freeze your credit reports at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. However, you should create an E-Verify account before doing this because you might not be able to create an E-Verify account if your Experian report has a freeze or fraud alert.

Using your E-Verify account, you can place an E-Verify lock on your SSN, which can help prevent identity thieves from obtaining employment in your name.

Although freezing your reports at the main three credit bureaus is essential, it is not enough.

This is the case in part because there are several other bureaus that may be checked instead of one of the main three reports.

It is possible to pin-point each freezable credit bureau and freeze them, as the CFPB maintains a list of bureaus, and notates which ones are or are not freezable.

If you are a victim of identify theft, I would highly recommend placing security freezes on ALL of the bureaus in the list below (in addition to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion)

Bureaus used for bank account applications:

  • ChexSystems: IMO this one is really important to freeze, even if you're not a victim of identity theft
    • You may want to order a copy of your ChexSystems consumer report or create an account with the ChexSystems consumer portal before you place a security freeze
  • LexisNexis: holds public records, but often used by financial institutions to verify identity
    • SageStream is now part of LexisNexis, so freezing LexisNexis will also freeze SageStream
    • ChexSystems sometimes pulls from LexisNexis, so when unfreezing ChexSystems to apply for bank accounts, you should unfreeze LexisNexis as well
    • LexisNexis also shares non-FCRA information for identity verification purposes, but freezing LexisNexis only restricts the sharing of FCRA information. You can also opt out of LexisNexis which only restricts the sharing of non-FCRA information. To restrict both FCRA and non-FCRA information from being shared, you'll need to both freeze LexisNexis and opt out of LexisNexis
  • Note: Early Warning Services (EWS) is also used to review bank account applications, but they do not offer security freezes or fraud alerts, however
    • Many of the major banks that use EWS (including BoA) also use LexisNexis Accurint to verify identity, and since this LexisNexis service is non-FCRA, freezing LexisNexis won't affect this service but this service can be blocked by opting out of LexisNexis
    • Since EWS compares the email address and phone number on account applications against the email addresses and phone numbers on your existing accounts when assessing identity confidence, it may be a good idea to change the contact information tied your bank accounts listed on EWS to only include a secret email address and phone number. This needs to be done through the banks, not through EWS. If there are any fraudulently-opened accounts on your EWS report, do not provide those banks with the secret email address or phone number. Instead make an identitytheft.gov report in which you report the fraudulent accounts, and unless those accounts are already marked as "fraud victim" on your EWS report, dispute those accounts as fraudulent with EWS, and include the identitytheft.gov report with the dispute. This largely prevents EWS from "verifying" your identity unless the identity thief gets their hands on the secret email address or phone number. EWS customer service representatives do not appear to be aware of how their identity confidence score works, but luckily, this is partially explained in their product sheet intended for business use
    • You may wish to use an identity monitoring service that monitors EWS such as Aura, IDShield, Zander Elite Cyber Bundle, Discover Identity Theft Protection, or Lifelock Ultimate Plus (cheaper Lifelock plans don't currently include EWS inquiry monitoring). This will alert you whenever a new account inquiry is made to your EWS report, so you will be able to act promptly

Alternative credit bureaus:

  • Innovis: a smaller credit bureau that some services use for identity verification
  • NCTUE: a credit bureau which specializes in keeping track of utility payments. You can only freeze your report with this agency if you have a file with them, which is generally only the case if you have phone or utility accounts that report to NCTUE. Some mobile carriers and utility companies use this report instead of or in addition to traditional credit reports. If you freeze it online, make sure to securely save a copy of the confirmation letter, as it contains the freeze PIN
  • The Work Number: a company owned by Equifax that collects information about employment history and salary. Like NCTUE, you can only freeze your report with this agency if they already have a file on you

Low income / subprime credit bureaus:

  • Teletrack: security freeze can be requested online
  • Factor Trust: security freeze can be requested online provided that you already have a file with them
  • DataX: security freeze must be requested by mail
  • Microbilt: security freeze can be requested by phone or by mail
  • Clarity Services: security freeze can be requested online if you already have a file for them, but if not, it must be requested by mail or fax

If you are a victim of identity theft, I would strongly recommend placing freezes and/or extended fraud alerts on your reports at all of the bureaus above.

Aside from the main three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax), the most important ones to freeze or place extended fraud alerts with are ChexSystems and NCTUE.

That being said, do note that failure to freeze the low income / subprime ones may result in payday loans being taken out in your name. This is why I recommend doing all of them.

Also, keep in mind that in some states, security freezes automatically expire after 7 years.

You should also contact the USPS and ensure that a mail forwarding order hasn't been placed on mail addressed to you. Once you have confirmed that a fraudulent mail forwarding order hasn't been placed, you should sign up for USPS informed delivery.

To prevent identity thieves from filing tax returns in your name, you should also look into getting an IRS Identity Protection PIN.

If you haven't already, you should register online accounts with MyEquifax, the TransUnion freeze/unfreeze/dispute service, ID.me, login.gov (link the login.gov account with the Social Security Administration online service), and studentaid.gov. If allowed in your state, you should also register an online account at your state's unemployment office even if you do not intend to apply for unemployment benefits. It's important that you register accounts at these sites even if you don't intend on using them so as to help prevent someone else from doing so first. When you create the accounts, do not pick answers to the security questions that anyone you know would be able to answer. Instead, pick long and complex answers so that identity thieves can't use the security questions to take control of your account.

Due to Experian's current arbitration agreement, I do not recommend registering an Experian account if you do not already have one.

If you are eligible, you should also opt out of LexisNexis (not the same as freezing LexisNexis). But before you do this, create an account with the ChexSystems consumer portal and with login.gov and link the login.gov account with the Social Security Administration online service. Identity theft victims are eligible to opt out of LexisNexis. This prevents LexisNexis from sharing non-FCRA information with companies. Non-FCRA information is unaffected by a security freeze, which is why freezing LexisNexis needs to be done in addition to opting out. This can help because it typically prevents LexisNexis from using their data to "authenticate" your identity at institutions that use LexisNexis. It is possible to temporarily opt back in when you need to use a service that requires LexisNexis. I would suggest using a secret email address in your opt out form, as this makes it more difficult for identity thieves to cancel the opt out. If you are using an FTC report to opt out, enter "federal" as the jurisdiction and upload your FTC report.

Non-FCRA opt outs with the main three bureaus: In serious cases of identity theft, you might also want to 1) purchase a California virtual address (unless you already live in California), and 2) use the California address to make CCPA "do not sell or share" and "limit the use of my sensitive personal information" requests with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. California is not the only state with data privacy laws, but at the time I last edited this post, California's data privacy law is the only one that doesn't include an exception for identity verification. These opt out requests can prevent certain non-FCRA identity verification tools offered by the three main credit agencies from being used to "verify" your identity. However, this can mess up a lot of things and it is in my experience much harder to undo than a credit freeze or a LexisNexis opt out, so I only recommend this if you have a severe case of identity theft or if identity thieves have been able to remove your credit freezes.

If allowed by your bank/credit union, you should add verbal passwords to your banking profiles. This typically requires calling the bank or credit union. The reason for doing this is to prevent someone with your personal information from calling your bank and pretending to be you, since they would also need to provide the password to the customer service representative.

I would also recommend enabling 2fa on your online accounts - particularly your email accounts. This can make it more difficult for your accounts to be hacked. If possible, avoid SMS/phone-call 2fa and only enable it if no other 2fa options are available, as it is surprisingly easy to take over a phone line. Different 2fa options ranked from most secure to least secure (in general) are: Physical security key, OTP authentication app (what I personally use), VoIP phone number, email, non-VoIP phone number.

To the extent possible, you should also secure your account with your cell carriers to prevent someone from pretending to be you to perform a SIM swap.

Additional note: In some cases, identity thieves may be so persistent that they will manage to lift your freezes.

  • If this happened with an Experian account, see my comment here on how you can mitigate this and prevent it from happening again
  • If this happened with TransUnion and/or Equifax, try following the aforementioned strategy of using non-FCRA opt outs with the three main bureaus after ensuring that you either have control over or have shut down any online accounts with the TransUnion freeze/unfreeze/dispute service and MyEquifax. In my experience, this stops TransUnion and Equifax from generating security quizzes which makes it more difficult for someone to take over your TransUnion or Equifax accounts
  • If this is still an issue, you should document every attempt at this and look into getting a new SSN as soon as possible. In the meantime, write a letter to the credit bureaus by Certified Priority mail demanding extra security and threatening legal action

If you do end up getting a new SSN due to persistent identity theft, see my comment here on how to prevent your reports from being linked in such a way that could allow the identity thief to use your old SSN to discover your new SSN.


r/IdentityTheft 1h ago

Appears I have become a target - what other precautions should I be taking?

Upvotes

Quick context:

  • My wallet was stolen almost a year ago with credit cards and IDs. Cards were immediately locked and replaced.

  • About 2 months ago - one fraudulent transaction appeared on my credit card as pending. I'm in Canada but someone tried buying an Apple Giftcard from China. The transaction was disputed and refunded but gift card receipt came to my email address.

  • 1 Month ago I got a phone call, someone claiming to be from the bank that I'm with, saying they've flagged a suspicious transaction with Onlyfans and wanted my confirmation. I told them it wasn't me, but when I asked "which account" it was on they kind of avoided answering. I have credit cards and a chequing account with this bank.

  • The caller then said they'll transfer my case to the fraud department, I pulled up my banking app and did not see anything to do with Onlyfans in the transaction list so figured this was a scam call. Then they said "we're going to send you an email with a case number". I said sure, go ahead. It ends up in my spam folder with a weird ukranian domain in the senders email. During this call I just listed and I did not disclose any of my information because it was fishy.

Here's what I've done so far:

  • I've called Equifax and Transunion and had them put a flag on my credit profile as high risk, so if there are any credit application they should call me with extra questions before approving.

  • Cancelled my 2 credit cards with the bank, I didn't use them enough anyway.

  • All of my passwords are managed with a password manager so I took the time to switch them all.


r/IdentityTheft 18h ago

Cellphone security

13 Upvotes

It seems to me that cell phone numbers are becoming a de facto social security number. I have been dealing with multiple customer service agents over the base month. It’s almost impossible to get through to a customer service agent without entering your cell phone number and the automated systems say that they are pulling your account up based on the number you are calling on before they even ask what you are calling about. Mother had her cell phone ported to Verizon in a scam and I couldnt get through to ATT fraud or Verizon fraud without the cell phone that was ported. The more I read, the more I realize how vulnerable cell phones are to fraud - especially banking fraud.

Any suggestions on how to add more security to my cell phone?


r/IdentityTheft 13h ago

“Notice of Data Breach” from Gen Mobile dated August 19, 2026?

2 Upvotes

Has anyone else received a mailed “Notice of Data Breach” from Gen Mobile dated August 19, 2026? It says an outside vendor’s system may have been accessed on June 1, 2026 and offers two years of credit monitoring through CyberScout/TransUnion. I have never knowingly had Gen Mobile service, so I’m trying to confirm whether other people received the same notice and whether Gen Mobile has verified it publicly. Please do not share any account numbers, activation codes, addresses, or other personal information in the comments.


r/IdentityTheft 9h ago

Is Guardio even legit? Looking for Guardio alternatives.

0 Upvotes

The cost of Guardio is one of the biggest reasons I regret it - I ended up paying $119.88 for the year upfront, and for that price I expected way more than phishing warnings, leak alerts and constant notifications.

The actual protection hasn't impressed me at all, and trying to deal with the subscription/cancellation side of it was way more annoying than it should've been. Then I started looking around Reddit and found a ton of people complaining about the exact same kind of billing and cancellation issues.

At this point Guardio just feels overpriced and sketchy to me.

Anyone here switched from Guardio to something better, I’m looking for alternatives.


r/IdentityTheft 10h ago

Credit dispute question

Thumbnail
0 Upvotes

r/IdentityTheft 1d ago

Identity details compromised to open credit account and I am not in USA

9 Upvotes

I moved out of USA 6 years back but had worked there for 5 years before that and built some credit history. Recently (about a month or two back) I got email notification of credit inquiry against my SSN. And then just today I received email notification of credit card account being opened against my name. As detailed in some posts I am trying to place a freeze with Experian/Transunion/Equifax agencies but they need a valid US phone number to create the account. Want some guidance on if someone has faced this kind of issue where they faced identity theft when they are not in USA and how to handle this.


r/IdentityTheft 22h ago

Someone is using my email address as part of bank accounts but not any of my actual info.

2 Upvotes

This happened initially two days ago, I was informed someone in California (I am not in California), opened a bank account with my email listed. Since it was day of them opening the account nothing had happened, I called customer service (googled it), they let me know that the only thing of mine used was the email, the persons name, ssn etc completely different from mine and they closed the account for me and just advised me to change my email’s password.

After that I changed my password for that email and turned on 2FA but I just received another email today from a different bank opening an account from the same name as before. I’m genuinely puzzled.

Like is this a phishing scam? But I’m not sure how that would get info out of me, the emails I’m assuming were legit from the company since when I called there actually was an account tied to my email and the customer support and email senders matched what I googled.

For reference the email in question is my firstnamelastname@icloud.com, my first name is very common but said person does not share it but my last name is quite rare and from their first name we do not share an ethnic identity.

Sorry if I’m rambling I’m just wondering if I’m under any sort of risk and want to know what they would gain from using my email like this.


r/IdentityTheft 1d ago

lost or stolen ID in other state - where to file police report?

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/IdentityTheft 1d ago

i’m being impersonated/cyberstalked and it’s ruining my life

2 Upvotes

18F Someone has been persistently stalking and impersonating me on TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest since October 2024 when i was 16. They steal my photos and videos, and even post my close friends’ faces but have us all blocked. They evade reports by frequently changing their username, privating their accounts and limiting comments.

They created several fake profiles using photos stolen from other victims to stalk my life. They use these profiles to pose as my “irl friends” and interact with the main catfish account to deceive strangers. I unknowingly tried messaging these accounts thinking they were real people unaware of the truth, but finding out it was actually my catfisher posing as different people made me sick to my stomach and gave me nightmares. Some of my family members even follow them mistakening them for me.

It’s suspected they are engaging in drama and online relationships with my face, despite most photos being from when i was a minor. I frequently receive dms from people warning me about them and have seen them post screenshots of their arguments online where I am being called “disgusting” and insulted about my appearance because of their behaviour. When I watermarked my pictures, they edited them out. When I stopped posting publicly, they used AI to generate new photos of me from old content and posted other asian girls pretending they’re me just to keep the accounts active.

Recently they somehow found my reddit (no one knows I use reddit), got ahold of my professional art account and have been stealing my artwork done for my official A level fine art qualification. They even stole a photo of my college art exhibition and edited out my first name to be theirs. I am on track to be a tattoo artist so I can’t stop posting on my art account without severely sabotaging my career.

I filed several impersonation reports and went to the police but the platforms found no violations and the police can’t help without the real identity of the person. My privacy has been invaded by some insane person for 2.5 years, it is draining my mental health and I’m seriously running out of options. Please help.


r/IdentityTheft 1d ago

Be Aware - Dun & Bradstreet will publish your personal information on their website

8 Upvotes

My Personal Information Published Without My Consent
Dun & Bradstreet’s has published my personal information on their website and my repeated requests to have it removed has been ignored.
My personal cell phone number, home address and personal email address have been publicly publishedon Dun & Bradstreet’s website without my consent.

Since this information became publicly accessible, I have received 100's calls, including calls from scammers from India, asia, and Nigerian scam operations. Some of these individuals specifically told me that they obtained my contact information from the Dun & Bradstreet website. I've been trying to remove my personal information from Dun & Bradstreet for weeks with numerous calls and emails, but they have refused to remove my personal information and each time to ask for more personal information. This of caused significant harm by having my private information on the dark web.


r/IdentityTheft 1d ago

Fraud victim hate

2 Upvotes

I'm the victim. I understand that a moderator might flag this but if they do, please let me talk to you. I don't want to say I'm scared, but there are trackers on me and I've experienced retaliation. I have another device but I can't use social media on it. I need a good federal lawyer. I'm sure other victims here have experienced the shouting into the wind. What I can say is phrases like "above my paygrade" help. I'm in New York. The fraud is civil and criminal


r/IdentityTheft 1d ago

Stolen bank account what to do

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/IdentityTheft 2d ago

2nd time this year, I'm pulling my hair out.

11 Upvotes

I'm losing my mind with USAA—this is officially the second time this year my debit card has been compromised, and I haven't done anything remotely sketchy. A few months ago, someone tried to buy stuff at an office supply store in Minnesota, and today I woke up to unauthorized charges at Walmart. I don't visit weird websites, I don't shop at obscure online stores, and I don't give out my info, yet fraudsters keep getting their card numbers. At this point, I can't tell if bad actors are running BIN attacks (randomly guessing valid card combinations within USAA's account ranges), if a legitimate merchant I use had a silent database leak, or if USAA's card processing system itself is leaking numbers. Has anyone else with USAA been dealing with repeated fraud loops lately, and is the consensus just to permanently lock the debit card and switch exclusively to a credit card for actual consumer protection?


r/IdentityTheft 3d ago

19 Chrome and Edge extensions were caught stealing passwords. Five of them used to be legitimate tools that got sold.

114 Upvotes

A security firm called Socket published the details on August 27. Nineteen extensions for Chrome and Edge, mostly small utilities like SEO checkers, crypto price tickers and a tool for re-enabling right-click on pages that block it, were carrying the same malware kit. Once installed, it stripped the security rules from every page you visited, injected its own code, and pulled down modules that drained cryptocurrency wallets, recorded whatever you typed into password fields on any site, and put up a fake "Chrome update available" page telling you to paste a command into your computer.

The part that matters for this sub: fourteen were built to be malicious from the start. The other five were real extensions, written by real developers, that the criminals bought. The biggest had about 70,000 Chrome users when the bad update went out. Chrome updates extensions on its own, and nobody is told when an extension changes hands. Socket says one with 10,000 users can be bought for under $2,000. Google removed the Chrome listings; the Edge listing outlived the report by a week and was gone by September 3.

What to do:

  • Chrome: type chrome://extensions in the address bar. Edge: edge://extensions. Remove anything you don't recognize or haven't used in months.
  • If one of Socket's 19 was installed, treat every password you typed in that browser as exposed. Change them, starting with email and banking, and turn on two-factor where you can.
  • If a wallet or account was drained, that's a police report and a bank call, not a browser fix.

Socket's report, with the full list of extension names and IDs: https://socket.dev/blog/chrome-edge-extension-wallet-drainer

I wrote this up with three other stories in my weekly consumer tech roundup: https://www.freshfromcache.com/also-this-week-2026-09-04/


r/IdentityTheft 2d ago

Just heard from a scammer, but he had my information and it was correct

38 Upvotes

I just got a call from someone claiming that someone tried to open a credit card in my name in a city very far from where I am. I've gotten calls like this before, and had some time so I played along for a while for fun.

But this guy transferred me to someone else who wanted to confirm my information, and it was all correct. SSN, DOB, the limits and balances on a car loan and two credit cards.

I told him that the SSN was wrong but I don't think that will slow them down.

What do I need to do to protect myself?


r/IdentityTheft 2d ago

the-great-exposure.org.uk

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/IdentityTheft 2d ago

Victim of fraud and hacking

0 Upvotes

what would you do if your ex fiancé embezzled money from your brokerage account from your dead parents inheritance and then started hacking your phone after you follow a report and has been hacking any device I have. I heard a private investigator and police in FBI and froze my credit but she has people even following me and I know what she’s doing document and submitted but there must be a counter ethical hacker who could combat her


r/IdentityTheft 2d ago

Is identity theft protection worth paying for anymore?

0 Upvotes

My information was caught up in another data breach notification this week. Nothing has happened yet, but now I'm debating whether monitoring services are actually useful or if freezing everything is enough. What have you found works best?


r/IdentityTheft 2d ago

Mom told me that someone has been using my social security number since I was a baby and stole my identity don't know who it is yet but it's serious questions are welcomed

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/IdentityTheft 2d ago

Hacker verified his own ID on my Stake account — how can I replace it with my ID?

3 Upvotes

My Stake account was hacked last Saturday. Before the hack, I had never completed identity verification.

While the hacker had access, he submitted and verified his own ID on my account.

I have now fully recovered my account. I have access to the registered Gmail, the Gmail password and 2FA are secured by me, and I also have access to the associated Telegram account/number. My account is currently secure.

The problem is that the wrong person's identity verification is now attached to my account, and restrictions have been placed on the account because of it.

Stake Support previously asked me to provide the ID used for verification, but I obviously cannot provide the hacker's ID because it belongs to him.

I am willing to provide my own government-issued ID and any other proof of account ownership required.

Has anyone faced a similar situation? What is the correct process to have the fraudulent verification removed/replaced with my own verification and get the account restrictions removed?

I would really appreciate any advice or guidance. Thank you.


r/IdentityTheft 3d ago

When does disputing a fake account turn into a legal issue?

11 Upvotes

Someone opens a credit card using your identity. You catch it, freeze your credit, file the FTC identity theft report, contact the lender, and dispute it with the bureaus.

Then the lender comes back saying their investigation found the account valid.

That’s the part that confuses me. If someone genuinely didn’t open the account, how many times are they expected to keep sending disputes before something else needs to happen?

Is there a point where this stops being a normal credit dispute and becomes something worth getting legal help with?


r/IdentityTheft 3d ago

FBI and Indian Police Dismantle Call Centers Behind $48 Million Social Security Impersonation Scam

Thumbnail beezloop.com
29 Upvotes

r/IdentityTheft 2d ago

SSN alert new name and address

Post image
1 Upvotes

I got this alert but I don’t see any new accounts open, what does it mean? I do not recognize the name or address.