I just called Equifax (1-800-525-6285), which happened to be first on the list, and got an automated phone system into which you plug your info, and they will (they say) add a "fraud alert" (they also called it a "security alert") to your credit information, and send you (within 7-10 days) a copy of your credit report; they will also contact the other two agencies, which will do the same.

If you get a call from a collection agency demanding payment on something that is fraudulent, DEMAND that they stop calling you, and also throw in the words "lawyer," "harrassment," and "lawsuit" while you're at it. Those guys will stop at nothing, and they'll ruin your credit too. I once had a situation where my account got mixed up and I had these morons calling me non-stop about someone else's overdue bill. They called me at work, at home, and they even called the manager at my apartment complex. Insanity. Just make sure they don't screw up your credit.

Actually, according to the 1986 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act all you have to do is notify the debt collection agency in writing that they may not contact you again, and they must comply. No implied threats are needed. If they do contact you again (other than to confirm that they will never contact you again) they are in violation of federal law and you can sue them for damages up to $1000, and much more if there's a class action suit because they do it to a lot of people.

The person you actually owe money to can call you as much as they want, but a collection agency has VERY limited powers. Most people don't know this, and put up with the crap from collection agencies. Anyone being contacted by a collection agency should read the Act so they know the rules.

Of course, they can report the debt to the credit agencies, and they can take you to court if you refuse to pay. The judge could rule against you, and force you to pay. But there are statutes of limitation.

Wow, cool. I didn't know that. Hopefully I won't be in a situation to need that information anytime soon!

that prevents them from contacting you, not demolishing your credit report. i had a client once that misunderstood this and demanded in writing that my (old) company not contact her in ANY way. she was still bitching about having her house foreclosed upon last time i heard. moral: whether or not you receive anything in the mail or a phone call, it will still be an outstanding debt until it is settled in some way with the company.

godwulf - i believe myfico.com charges $12.95 per bureau so a total of about $39. well worth it, for the ease. you can dispute right on line and print your tri-bureau immediately. i recommend it at least once per year. this method also doesn't result in an inquiry on your report.

most of the "free" sites are instantly linking you up with a large number of lenders who will contact you ceaselessly. these sites are sponsored by lenders.
even a lender has to pay to pull your bureau, so they aren't going to do it for free.

I would like to take the opportunity to publicly rant again about the selective service. They sent a reply postcard asking for my son's social security number. Of course, if you wanted to, you could mail it back in an envelope, assuming you wanted to provide your own envelope and stamp.

How many 18-year-olds just fill it out and send it back. So because of a government agency, hundreds of thousands of postcards with names and social security numbers are floating through the mail.

Stupid.

One of my ex’s worked for a collection agency for a short time. Boy, did I get an education. :eek:

I got a call one day from a guy that frantically needed to contact my neighbors at XXX address, because their nephew was in an accident. Did I have their number?
Nope.

Do you know their name?
Nope.

Do you know where they bank, is there a bank in the neighborhood?
Nope.

You know, you shure don’t know much, do you?
Nope.

I think you’re pretty stupid!
Smart enough not to tell you anything. :p

That's entertaining...calling with the premise that someone's nephew was in an accident and wanting to know their bank as a means of contacting them. That's a laugh and a half.

My favorite was the guy that tried to get a discover card number by claiming to be a store where I had bought something ...

Oh really? What store?

*mumble* *mumble*. It's a kiosk in the mall.

Oh, okay. That's cool. I was at the mall. Which mall is that?

The big one.

Oh, you mean Willow Grove?

Yes, Willow Grove.

Oh, that mall. Which part?

The new part. I just need your credit card number.

Why?

Well, there's a problem with the item.

Item? What item?

The one purchased with the discover card.

Oh. Okay.

What kind of item was purchased?

I can't tell you that.

What do you mean, you can't tell me that?

It was purchased as a gift, and if the gift was for you it would spoil the surprise.

Oh. I see. So you want ME to give YOU a credit card number, for a kiosk I didn't shop at, in a mall that I don't go to, where I purchased an item as a present, but I'm not allowed to know what it was so I don't spoil the surprise for myself? Am I clear on this?

*dialtone*

Hello? Hello?

Dumbshit.

I know this is an older post.

But has anyone figured out just how corrupted the credit bureaus are?

:eyebrow:

The reason they can grant credit without proving who you are is because there may be "up to 20 consumers" using your SSN at the credit bureau all with different names than your own.

They will hide the file from you when they provide YOUR consumer report, but they will show all 20 files to your creditor.

I can provide the proof if you want to be shown or you can look in my profile. Since you guys don't like link posting on first posts. :biggrin:

I do like the forums alrighty though. What brought me here was this discussion on google search. Looks like an intersting place to hang out.

Couple of inetersting things to note.

Poster above is correct business in general cannot seem to find the right person to open the account for but when the bill comes due they most certainly can find out who the identity actually belongs to so they can plea for funds.

Try having someone call and ask for payment of a HOME mortgage and then see where you sit. Makes cell phone accounts look tame by comparison. But no less irritating.

Idtheft03 - are you an insider? You sure sound like one, or at least someone who has been given the high hard one from the credit bureaus.

Not an insider just a regular person. Who is PO'd beyond all sense of reason.

With almost a half a million dollars in illegal alien identity theft. Yes there are 5 different aliases they could be the same person or different people we may never know.

No one wants to arrest anyone. All we got is a police report and no credit now.

As I said below go see the website, and you can see the Class Action a brewing.

You can also see the business site for collectors where they actually ADVERTISE the product that shows up to twenty consumers all using the SAME freaking social security number.


I cannot believe they can sell that $hit maximum possible accuracy my arse!

In the meantime we still don't immediately identify the reasons for this problem - 1) no accurate method to prove you are who you claim to be, and 2) no accurate method to confirm others have not stolen your identity. Functions to protect your identity could exist. But even here, we don't even demand same. Without demanding both objectives from the law, then identify theft will always exist and will continue to increase exponentially. It may explain why Nigeria is a top three long distance phone calling country to the US. So profitable to steal identities in the US and to get US citizens to invest in people who cannot even prove they are who they claim to be.

We currently have the identity protection system we want as demonstrated by this thread. Not one poster demanded a solution. Some complained. But not one demanded a solution.

I have demanded a solution in my injuntive relief.

The solution is to treat the SSN as the unique indentifier that it is, and for the bureaus to purge data not belonging to a social security number OWNER when fraud is reported.

3rd mixed solution is to provide SSN searches to individuals so you can dispute through exisiting systems data that should not exist for a given NUMBER.

We don't not have the protection system we want.

Most people ASSUME that the bureaus are treating your SSN as uniquely yours.

SS number violates principles required for identity proof and has absolutely no method so that you can protect your identity.

So lets use driver's licenses as identity proof? Again, it suffers from the exact same problem. Driver's licenses were not even created to prove you are who you say you are. They are so that cops and only cops can prove you are who you say. Again, there is absoutely no way for you to protect yourself. They are even perfect to buy alchol underage and hijacker airliners to crash into buildings. Why? The identification system must be established for reasons completely different from the principles that created SS numbers and driver's licenses. IOW to use SS numbers or driver's licenses for that purpose is akin to demanding no 'verfication and protection' system.