Comments on: Am I Doomed To Identity Theft? Is There Are Sure Way To Prevent This From Happening?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:45:12 +0000

No sure fire way, but you could put fraud alerts on your credit reports. More info here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer… Also notify your bank to watch your accounts for anything shady.
Good luck. When the VA’s database was breached a few years back, someone used my husband’s SS number to obtain an ambulance ride and treatment at a hospital 2000 miles from where we live. We weren’t even aware until the EOBs from the insurance company started rolling in. It took almost a year to straighten everything out and I’m still on pins and needles.

By: William

William — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:39:22 +0000

The chances of the trash being pilfered by ID thieves is low – but it’s not zero. If you’re really concerned, you can sign up for a credit monitoring service or you can place security freezes on your record at each of the three credit bureaus.

By: bdancer2

bdancer2 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:35:18 +0000

Having your name and the last 4 digits of your social security number really isn’t enough to worry about ID theft. Having your entire social security number, maybe, but not just the last 4 digits. That’s why companies only put the last 4 digits instead of the whole number.
By the way, I’ve worked with a lot of people who I trusted completely. I would NEVER leave my pay stub any where for co-workers to see. Not because of the personal info, but because it’s none of their business how much I make.

By: Doug

Doug — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:51:44 +0000

You need to act quickly. Once someone steals your identity, the flood gates open.
First subscribe to a credit monitoring service. The service will send you a report on any activity to your credit report.
Next get a credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. You can do this at one web site http://annualcreditreport.com. and they are downloaded to your computer immediately. (You can get one from each of the agencies free once per year.)
Then, you can contact the credit reporting agencies and they will put a flag on your records that says “no credit without previous authorization.” The downside to this is that you can not walk into a department store and say yes when the clerk asks you if you want to open up a store credit card.
If your passwords were on any of the documents, change them at once. People tend to use the same password for multiple accounts, so if they figure out one, they can figure out all of them. Use a combination of UPPER and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
Finally, contact your bank and ask for their help. They may have a service that will prevent unauthorized activity.
Good Luck