Identity Stolen?

[Remus West]

So, someone filed for unemployment using my name and SS#. I filed a fraud claim with the state UIA and reported it to the police. My employer confirmed that the claim which came to them had the correct SS# on it (I was alerted to the false claim by HR) after I got a letter from the state asking for more information to confirm the claim.

Anyway, anyone have experience with their Soc. being stolen? Advice on how to proceed from here? I assume I need to alert my bank and credit card folks but is there more I can do to protect myself? Is it possible to be issued a new soc? Would that be a wise step? Ugh. I'm lost and worried that someone is going to trash my credit/life.

[LordMortis]

If you haven't already gone to the three +1 or 2 credit companies, I'd get out there and freeze your credit. It's a pain and it will be a pain for the rest of your life when you seek credit based stuff (new car, change phones, cable, insurance services, etc...) but it's less of a pain than hunting down your credit problems perpetrated by thieves. I froze all mine when equifax was compromised and they couldn't figure out if I was a victim (until a few months later when they admitted I was a victim...)

I used advice from here.

http://octopusoverlords.com/forum/viewt ... 8#p2502918

(I assume it's still fairly accurate)

Good luck to you.

Sucks....

(also by strange coincidence someone tried to test my credit card from a tiny purchase in NY last week and I was warned and they were denied. That's tiny compared to a UI claim)

[Remus West]

The claim itself didn't bother me that much until I was able to confirm they had my actual soc#.

[RunningMn9]

The claim itself didn't bother me that much until I was able to confirm they had my actual soc#.

You’re in good company, there is a huge issue with fraudulent unemployment claims right now. I had one put in for me as well. At this point most people have had their SSN compromised in one way or another. Pretty much all of my info was yanked in the OPM hack a few years ago. I’ve had people try to file federal taxes as me before, and now this.

It’s annoying AF.

[LordMortis]

The claim itself didn't bother me that much until I was able to confirm they had my actual soc#.

The claim couldn't happen WO the number. So they knew your employment history and has your SS# and who knows what else. That's what I mean by comapring to someone testing the waters with my CC# and getting denied being trivial. It's annoying to be me. It sucks ass to be you. I'll say the freezing my credit has bought me peace of mind even if it discourages me from taking the initiative to things like switch cable, insurance, and cell providers because I'm lazy. (and until recently because of costs associated with freezing and thawing and freezing...)

[Anonymous Bosch]

So, someone filed for unemployment using my name and SS#. I filed a fraud claim with the state UIA and reported it to the police. My employer confirmed that the claim which came to them had the correct SS# on it (I was alerted to the false claim by HR) after I got a letter from the state asking for more information to confirm the claim.

Anyway, anyone have experience with their Soc. being stolen? Advice on how to proceed from here? I assume I need to alert my bank and credit card folks but is there more I can do to protect myself? Is it possible to be issued a new soc? Would that be a wise step? Ugh. I'm lost and worried that someone is going to trash my credit/life.

Wow, that sucks. Sorry to hear you were victimized in that way.

Be prepared, it can take a significant amount of time, effort, and hassle to unbugger an identity theft SNAFU like that.

I'd suggest following the advice posted here:

What to do if your Social Security number is stolen
By Fahmida Y. Rashid December 11, 2019

It's the worst form of identity theft

A Social Security number (SSN) may be the single most important piece of government-issued identification that a U.S. resident can have.

It's definitely the most valuable piece of ID that identity thieves can get their hands on, especially when the number is combined with the rightful bearer's name and address. Even just by itself, a valid SSN can be sold to undocumented workers or to people trying to hide their true identities.

A stolen SSN lets the thief, or the person he or she sells it to, do almost everything a legitimate SSN holder can do — and more.

By assuming a real person's name and SSN, a thief can steal property and money from that person. If your name and SSN are used by criminals, the police will come looking for you, not the actual crooks.

You can close a credit card if it is compromised," said Adam Dolby, director of channel sales at Minneapolis-based Entrust Datacard. "But the problem is, you can't close your SSN."

If you discover your Social Security number has been stolen or otherwise misused by another person, there are several steps you'll need to take right away.

Contact one of the three major credit-reporting agencies — Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian — to place a credit freeze or a fraud alert on your credit file.
To speak to Equifax, call 1-888-766-0008 or visit this web page. To contact Experian, call 1-888-397-3742 or go here for a fraud alert or here for a credit freeze. For TransUnion, the phone number is 1-800-680-7289; the fraud-alert link is here and the credit-freeze link is here.

A credit freeze can be inconvenient, but it's the better option. With a freeze, no potential lender can access your credit file without your approval. That can be a bother if you plan to move, open a new bank account, buy a car or switch phone carriers, but you can easily "unfreeze" your credit and then freeze it again. (The freeze lasts indefinitely.)

Thanks to a 2018 law, credit freezes are now free to implement, but you must contact each of the Big Three credit-reporting agencies separately.

Fraud alerts are easier to place -- the agency you place one with will contact the other two -- but they aren't as useful. A fraud alert just requests that anyone pulling your credit file contact you first, but they don't actually have to.

You can renew a fraud alert every year (it's free to do so). Contact the Social Security Administration only to get a replacement card or replacement number (see below).

Tell each of the three agencies that your SSN has been stolen.
They'll give you free copies of your current credit reports. Review those reports for unfamiliar accounts and unknown inquiries from companies.

Report the theft of the Social Security number to the IRS at https://www.irs.gov/uac/Identity-Protection
You can also call 1-800-908-4490. That will prevent tax-fraud thieves from filing tax returns in your name — and collecting your tax refund.

Report the identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.idtheft.gov
You can also call 1-877-IDTHEFT.

File an identity-theft report with your local police.
The police report will help clear your records and your name, and the report is necessary to have if you want to apply for a new Social Security number.

Keep track of, record, report and close all fraudulent accounts by contacting both the companies holding the accounts and the credit-reporting agencies.
This will keep your credit as clean as possible. The only way to get a new SSN from the government is to prove without a doubt that someone has used the old number. Records of fraudulent accounts can provide that evidence.

Report the theft of your Social Security number to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/
The report will be distributed to the relevant federal, state and local authorities.

The Federal Trade Commission offers a good resource on what to do in case of identity theft at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/f ... tity-theft

Whether and how to get a new Social Security number
Many stolen Social Security numbers are used simply to gain employment, with no detrimental effect to the legitimate holders of the SSN. But others are used to defraud banks, retailers, the IRS and other government agencies, which could trash your credit.

If several years pass after the theft of your Social Security number, and the problems arising from the theft have not gotten any better, then you may want to apply for a new SSN. But before you take that step, there are several things to consider.

Getting a new Social Security number is not easy.
You have to prove that the theft of your SSN has caused you serious hardship in the form of denied home mortgages, problems with law enforcement or the IRS, or bad credit that can't be cleaned up.

A new Social Security number doesn't mean the identity-theft problem will go away.
The old number will remain valid; you will have to keep monitoring it for future incidents, and government agencies or businesses will still link you to it.

A new Social Security number will have a completely blank credit history.
Getting credit will be difficult for a few years — unless you link it to your old, tainted number.

It's entirely up to the Social Security Administration to decide whether you can get a new number.
If the agency doesn't think you need a new one, you won't get one.

If you do decide to get a new Social Security number, the first step is as easy as filling out a standard SSN application form. You'll enter the old number on it. But be prepared to plead your case, and to have ample documentation to prove it.

Don't forget that the old Social Security number never completely goes away, even if it goes dormant. The Social Security Administration never invalidates an SSN once it's been issued.

[LawBeefaroni]

Just assume your SSN is compromised. It's in the hands of so many banks, credit agencies, and state and federal agencies that it's not a question of whether it's out there, it's a question of whether anyone has bothered to use it yet.

[Scuzz]

The claim itself didn't bother me that much until I was able to confirm they had my actual soc#.

I know the state of Washington has been besieged by false claims. Somebody has been able to access SS#s there.

[Scuzz]

Just assume your SSN is compromised. It's in the hands of so many banks, credit agencies, and state and federal agencies that it's not a question of whether it's out there, it's a question of whether anyone has bothered to use it yet.

I can tell you as a fact that the SSA and IRS are set up for multiple people to be using the same SSN. They will keep at least two names on file for each SSN. Of course only one is the legal one and it is noted. But so many tax returns are filed using another persons SSN (but not their identity, although that is another problem) that there are protocols in place for it.

[em2nought]

If you do freeze your credit make sure to keep whatever reference numbers, pin numbers, etc they give you someplace that you can definitely find them again. This is really really important if you're freezing it for an elderly relative because it is hard as hell to deal with getting credit unfrozen again without those numbers.

[Brian]

I just had to go through getting a card cancelled because somebody ran up $1300 worth of charges on my bank card.

The stupid thing is that I caught it while the four transactions were still being processed so immediately called the bank to report the fraudulent charges. They said they couldn't do anything until AFTER the charges processed and the money taken out of my account. Furthermore, I had to call them each time one of the charges processed and dispute them individually.

This happened on Wednesday of last week and I had to call them on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to dispute the charges. They cancelled my card right away and said they would expedite a new card but so far I haven't received it. Hopefully today.

In the meantime, I can't make any purchases without a card and had to go through all of my online services and shopping sites (including Amazon, Steam, Epic Store, etc) delete that card.

[malchior]

The claim itself didn't bother me that much until I was able to confirm they had my actual soc#.

You’re in good company, there is a huge issue with fraudulent unemployment claims right now. I had one put in for me as well. At this point most people have had their SSN compromised in one way or another. Pretty much all of my info was yanked in the OPM hack a few years ago. I’ve had people try to file federal taxes as me before, and now this.

It’s annoying AF.

Yup count me in now. My father got an unemployment claim for me at my childhood address. I just talked with an investigator. They filed WITHOUT my SSN (happy surprise!) and used a super old address that is google-able. I just talked to my employer and NJ didn't do the employment verification. Nice work NJ with your negligent ways. I mean what doesn't seem legitimate about an unemployment claim in an office 40 miles from where I live, using an address 40 miles in a different direction, and without any positive identification whatsoever. Sigh.

My credit has always been locked so this isn't a big deal. I'll just have to keep an eye on tax returns just in case. It does reinforce my people and NJ suck's outlook.