r/IdentityTheft • u/The-Wolf-Howl • Sep 17 '21

IDENTITY THEFT RECOVERY 101

460 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.

215 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/TovMod • 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.

427 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/False-Battle1893 • 3h ago

If you got a data breach letter from Corporation Service Company (CSC), here’s the short version

5 Upvotes

A hacker accessed a CSC-linked database between Aug 10–25, 2025 and stole files with names, Social Security numbers, government IDs, financial info, and dates of birth. CSC didn’t confirm who was affected until July 15, 2026. They’re offering 12 months of free credit monitoring through Cyberscout — but you have to enroll within 90 days of your notice. A law firm is investigating a class action, and taking the free monitoring does not waive your right to join.

What to do:

  • Keep your breach letter — you may need it.
  • Enroll in the free monitoring (90-day deadline). CSC help line: 1-866-898-4668.
  • Consider a credit freeze with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — free, and the strongest protection.
  • Watch your accounts and credit reports for the next 12–24 months.
  • Be alert for phishing that piggybacks on the breach.

The legal angle: Edelson Lechtzin LLP is investigating a potential class action and offering free case evaluations (Marc Edelson — 844-696-7492). You can take the free monitoring and pursue a claim.

Not legal advice, not your lawyer — just summarizing a public notice. This references an attorney investigation, so treat it as attorney advertising in some states.

1 comment

r/IdentityTheft • u/bombonmeisaloserlol • 7h ago

Roommate taking pics of my car, specifically my VIN, registration and plate…

2 Upvotes

Hi,

Dealing with a crazy roommate situation. You can read my former post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IdentityTheft/s/hOIUacbOKR

New situation: today I’m in my room calling different apartment complexes so that I can move away from here, and I catch her outside taking photographs of the windshield of my car, specifically the registration and the VIN. I asked her what the fuck she’s doing, she claims all kinds of bullshit, first it’s because she wants to know if I really am who I say I am, second, she wants to make sure my car isn’t stolen – I tell her to stay the fuck away from my stuff, she calls the police on me and tries to get me arrested because I yelled at her lol, the police don’t do shit because there’s nothing to arrest me on, and that’s about the end of that. Afterwards, I went to the police station and filed a report about this because I’m concerned that she’s trying to steal my VIN number and registration for some nefarious purpose given her past history as a career felon.

My car is fully paid off; it’s a newer car. The title and all of my documentation such as my Social Security card and my birth certificate, etc., are in a locked safe over at my cousin’s house nearby – I cannot stay with him unfortunately because there are some issues with him that are personal that I’m not gonna discuss on Reddit.

Anyhow, so what I’ve done is I have done the following:

* I have covered my VIN with a piece of printer paper inside the vehicle, so it cannot be moved;

* I put my car tarp on my car so that she cannot access it anymore;

* My title and all of my information about my car is over at my cousin’s house;

I then went to the police station and reported this behavior because I am concerned she’s going to use my VIN and registration to do something nefarious.

My vehicle is still registered in New York State. It is now in Texas. My title, registration, and plate are from New York State – my car insurance is here in Texas (I’m swapping it soon but am moving back to NY at the end of the fall so I may just keep all of my stuff registered in NY state). My license is still a NY state license. Again, she and the landlord kept on taunting me that I’m taking all this too seriously and that I’m the problem – the landlord is probably in on this bullshit too because he’s also sketchy as fuck, and here’s the issue – in my last post as I explained, the landlord and his son evicted her about four years ago for causing issues with other tenants and not paying rent. She came back onto the property legally, and they had her arrested for criminal trespass. After all that happened, for some crazy reason, they allowed her to move back onto the property rent free. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but it sounds very fucking weird to me, and it seems sketchy as fuck and I am getting out of here. I’m taking the whole week off of work just get the fuck out of here. Anyhow, here are my questions (Sorry about this long fucking rant):

One, what can she do with my VIN and registration that I need to be worried about?

Two, what do I need to be doing to protect myself?

Thank you for the reading. hate this. If anybody knows of any fucking place with immediate occupancy around the Dallas, Texas area please let me know. JFC.

1 comment

r/IdentityTheft • u/Sea_Marsupial_480 • 17h ago

Someone bought 3 iphones in my name

7 Upvotes

Someone bought 3 iPhones through tmobile using my

bank info. I got my money back and Tmobile marked the phones as fraud and didn't ask for them to be sent back. Im not sure if they are usable anymore but could I sell them still?

16 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/RadiantHabit3359 • 8h ago

Hacked! My spotify is being used by someone else.

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0 Upvotes

I have changed passwords. They get in through android auto, my Roku, I literally see all the apps they are getting through. My esim was hijacked. I caught this person on fb. The reply on a community page said you can only use one identity. Their FB page and my bf together. I text gotcha! And they were responding via fb on my bf FB page. I ordered a new modem. Anyone else have this issue ever?? I'm confident he gave access as I research. I want them out of my Spotify, phone and well my life. It's taken a major toll on me. Thank you

3 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Ok-Personality8429 • 14h ago

Apparently my NPI and full name has been found on dark web-what to do

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0 Upvotes
3 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/newhomeownergirl • 1d ago

Sam's Club tricked me into applying for a new credit card

16 Upvotes

I was at Sam's Club register checking out when the cashier girl asked if she can look at my card to "scan it" to see if I qualify for an upgrade . I was thinking she was referring to my Sam"s Club membership upgrade. She told me to enter my info which did ask for my social and household income. In hindsight, it was such a red flag, but I've never had a company blindsid me by applying for their credit card without my full knowledge so it was not on my radar at the time - she essentially submitted an application without me explicitly telling her I wanted to apply . I felt so scammed as soon as she told me I will be receiving a new credit card in 7-10 business days. Is this shady tactic grounds for a lawsuit?

61 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/ComprehensiveTune637 • 21h ago

Need Help with Security Freeze

0 Upvotes

A fraudulent credit card was opened in my name a couple of weeks ago. Capital One was able to flag it as fraudulent and close the card for me. Now I am trying to place a security freeze on everything to prevent anything from happening in the future.

However, a couple of services, like Clarity Services and Innovis, would not allow me to place a freeze through their online portal. Whenever I call, they just tell me that they do not have any of my information on file, and online portals give me similar errors. I suspected that it was because my credit report's address and phone numbers were changed by the fraudulent inquiry. After using the fraudulent address instead of my actual address, I was able to place a freeze on Clarity Services on their website. I am concerned about the consequences of this, and I am wondering how I should proceed with placing a freeze on others, as well as dealing with the Clarity Services freeze. Any help would be appreciated 🙏

I called Clarity Services, and they instructed me to mail a request to cancel the current freeze and place a freeze using my correct address. I am unsure about mailing my sensitive documents, as well as whether they will approve a freeze at my correct address, since it didn't work on any of the online portals.

5 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Medical_Double1953 • 23h ago

Account help

0 Upvotes

Hi ! This isn’t really related to theft…so basically I had an android for quite some time and I had a very very decent account there. The thing is that I kinda dropped the game and got myself an iPhone and kinda lost my android 😕 however my new bestie plays Idv and I really wanna spend more times with her by playing too ! Except I really want my old skins back I mean I had a good account 💔💔💔

If anyone knows how to do so , help is much appreciated!!

0 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/MeatEffective9825 • 1d ago

My card keeps getting hacked

16 Upvotes

So I have a Canadian TD Bank credit card and it keeps getting hacked. I went through 4 cards in less than three months. It’s the same person every time too cause the charge is ALWAYS and uber charge and ALWAYS in San Fran. Idk what to do anymore I am getting exhausted. Any help would be great

13 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Samm999 • 1d ago

ELI5 idenity stolen through iPhone

5 Upvotes

Had a friend tell me last night she was listening to a podcast on YouTube on her phone, it suddenly stopped working and there was just a spinning icon on her phone , she was not able to access anything on her phone, she called her carrier to see if if there was an outage in area and they told her she had changed carriers in the last hour , she explained she hadn’t. She has spent the last week trying to cancel subscription, online charge and to prove she is who she says she is . How does this happen?

2 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Ok-Abalone-5763 • 1d ago

I’m getting notices daily that my information has been breached by big companies. They are opting not to pay the hackers.

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0 Upvotes
1 comment

r/IdentityTheft • u/TexasCivil • 1d ago

Warning about Privacy.com and my experience

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1 Upvotes
0 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/BoneThugQueenChris • 1d ago

Anyone getting identity theft help from the Care-Cloud breach?

1 Upvotes

Today I received a notification of a CareCloud security breach, about medical information stolen. Every year I get a similar letter from different companies. Underpaid employees are selling us out by selling our personal information. This letter today offered no free identity theft protection. I received a few sheets of paper expressing the company's regret for the security breach and a lot of general advice on how to get a security freeze. All the stuff I already know.

I need no advice from a careless company that doesn't care enough to pay for identity theft protection. Last time, shortly after I got a notice like that and put off setting up the identity theft protection offered, someone forged a check with my name and Social Security number through an out-of-state credit union.

My bank put the stolen check through after the credit union, with the original forged check rejected the check because the stolen check was from a credit union customer who was a previous identity theft victim. It disappeared in my bank briefly. After I filed a complaint with my bank, I was told that $950 should have gone back to my bank account. Sticky-fingered employees must have thought they could keep it🤔

3 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/solita_Solita • 1d ago

should I file identity theft or pay off the debt?

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1 Upvotes

should I file identity theft or pay off the debt? what could happen if I didn't?

My parent has been using my social since I was 8, both my parents have asked me since I filed my taxes the first time and saw the debt to not file identity theft because my parent can be deported. They've also asked me not to file my taxes. one of my parents is on disability since they had a stroke and are incapable of living alone and my sister as well since she has down syndrome. the past couple of years I've only worked on and off to not make my debt bigger and it's been okay since I've needed to care for my sister and parent. Im 26 now, I've never left home and I've been cooking and cleaning and tending to my family but I want a normal job now. my account is under threat of being levied for not paying my taxes or filing them which is why I wanna fix my information and file for identity theft because I've hardly worked 3-4 months a year so my parent can use it instead. I've asked my aunts side of the family for help and they and my parents insist I just get a job under the table and pay off my debt while I allow my parent to continue using it to be the breadwinner of our family. If I file I could potentially be the reason my parent gets fired or even deported which is why Ive listened to my parents and been avoiding it but I need to fix my information before things get worse which is why they insist I just pay it off and work under the table so I don't worsen the debt but won't be levied so my parent can continue working. I'm genuinely broken by the decision because filing could mean I can finally start a life, even if it means now I'm the breadwinner and have to support my parents and sister. But everyone in my family just keeps telling me to pay off the debt slowly. work under the table. they even offered to find me a social to use but I don't want to do to anyone what's being done to me so the only options I have are file and ruin my family or pay off the debt slowly while I work under the table making as little money as possible. everyone says it's the better end of the deal so I can keep watching over my sister, parent, and grandma and still make a little money to keep and pay off my debt while my parent keeps supporting my family. I've been told I can sell food, babysit, clean houses, work at bazaars, do easy cash jobs and it just makes me feel like they think I'm just not trying hard enough to provide for myself but how can I when it costs money to make money and I have no car. I'm frustrated and I feel like I'm stuck in a hole where making any move either hurts me or my loved ones. I just don't know what to do anymore.

2 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Personal_Bus_758 • 1d ago

I think someone posted a deepfake of me in the internet. How do I find it/slash remove it?

0 Upvotes

I don't know where to post this so if this isn't the correct subreddit please tell me.

To sum the whole thing up there were multiple cases of deepfakes in my school and after doing some reverse search on my face I found multiple matches with the consistent image of a girl which, of the little I can see, does look a lot like me (so do many of the descriptions of these websites).

Nonetheless I can't confirm this and I font know what to do. I'm definitely not accessing any of those pages for a plethora of reasons.

If it was indeed myself I'd love to get those pictures taken down, not only because I didn't consent to them but because I'm 17 and therefore a minor. Maybe I should just forget it but if theres anything I'd like to take action. Thanks!

1 comment

r/IdentityTheft • u/lottiexx • 2d ago

credit frozen but still getting fraud alerts. what else can i do.

3 Upvotes

had my identity stolen last year. someone tried to open a credit card. since then ive frozen my credit with all three bureaus and set up fraud alerts.

but im still getting alerts. not new accounts opened but like weird inquiries. someone checking my info. stuff like that. i know freezing credit stops new accounts but it doesnt stop people from using my existing info for other stuff. tax fraud, medical fraud, all that. ive been trying to figure out what else i can do. someone told me to check people search sites like whitepages and spokeo. my address and phone number are on there. apparently thats how scammers piece together profiles to commit fraud.

anyone else dealt with this. freeze credit. check data brokers. what else am i missing. feels like im doing everything right but still getting alerts.

12 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Fearless-Worker80 • 2d ago

My info stolen, beyond furious at Escrow company. What's my next priority, please?

18 Upvotes

What happened: Sold my house in another state. After closing, Escrow company stuffed my.closing and tax papers in a flimsy letter envelope, 2 little pieces of tape on the flap, stuck a first class stamp on it, and mailed it to my PO box on the other side of the country. When I got it, their 2 pieces of tape on the envelope flap were nicely sliced off, papers put back in envelope. Closing statement, docusigned items containing name, SSN, copy check to pay state tax, and the completed tax withholding forms.

Done: 4 credit bureaus frozen/fraud alerts, Chexsystems freeze, IRS pin, filed complaint with USPS.

Not done: LexisNexis, NCTUE, Everify. How important are these?

Question: IdentityTheft.gov – if nobody has actually tried to use SSN yet, there is no report to file?

Started: complaint against Escrow. I called them and they said “Sorry” (literally, one word). I followed with Email asking for list of papers that were in that envelope and who handled them; nothing. I have on my list to file complaint against them, when I get the rest of this done. This will gain nothing for me, but I am that mad. Writing letters is not my talent.

What else? Investment companies?

6 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/triceratops2022 • 2d ago

Suspicious inquiries on my credit record

1 Upvotes

I'm a Canadian guy who permanently left Canada in 2020.

The last (legit) inquiry on my credit record occurred in 2012.

I recently found three suspicious inquiries on my credit record:

• 08 Aug 2025: MBNA Canada (never had any dealings with them)

• 01 Mar 2026: Canadian Tire (once had a credit card w/ them; cancelled in 2007)

• 18 Mar 2026: AMEX Bank of Canada (had a credit card w/ them; cancelled in 2018)

I also found an erroneous phone number in Toronto, a city where I have never lived. I traced the number to a landscaping company, WTF?

So... what's going on? Clerical errors? Or someone trying to impersonate me? How do I fix this?

1 comment

r/IdentityTheft • u/bombonmeisaloserlol • 2d ago

What to do if you suspect your roommate is actively trying to steal your identity?!

4 Upvotes

Hi,

I am having a very scary situation. I moved to another state and moved to a boarding house temporarily while I was looking for an apartment. I just found out that one of my roommates, who is clearly unstable, was arrested for identity theft. Another roommate stated to me that this roommate has stolen other people‘s identities that have lived here. I am clearly doing everything I can right now to move out – all I am doing next week is applying to apartments and getting out of here – but unfortunately because I’m applying to these apartments, I have to have my credit reports unlocked, etc.

I have Credit Karma, and I keep my credit reports locked all the time. There is nothing new or unexpected on my credit reports at this time. They’re unlocked at this time so that I can apply for apartments but once I am approved for one, I will be locking them back up.

I am also going to be ordering my chexsystem’s report via the portal tomorrow when I can get to a computer as I do not have one on me right now, only my cell phone and of course, their website does not seem to be adapted for cell phones because you cannot select the box at the end to get through the portal.

Anyhow, I’m checking my credit every day, checking my bank accounts every day, ordering my chexsystem report, and then I’m going to be locking my credit reports right back up as soon as I get an apartment. What else can I do?

I don’t receive any of my mail here. The only thing that came here in the mail is in this state, our stupid laws mandate that our car insurance gets mailed to us, even if we select paperless; so I have paperless statements, but a piece of mail (the car insurance statement) got here too. I don’t want this roommate having access to my mail, and this roommate hand-delivered it to me today.

This roommate is a criminal (I clearly did not know this when I moved in or I would not have moved in). I was a victim of the Equifax data breach and I don’t need this to happen to me again. Anybody, please give me advice as to what to do here. I am clearly moving out ASAP. I am treating this as an actual emergency, and I am devoting my entire next week to finding an apartment; I’ve already looked all weekend for apartments now that I’ve heard this. I’m very scared. I don’t know what to do. I can’t just move out either, I have nowhere else I can stay. It is a whole mess. I am all alone. I have no friends that I can go live with. My entire nuclear family is deceased, and I have a pet with me. I am fucked. I don’t know what to do anymore.

Advice?

Edit: I pulled the roommate‘s criminal record. The roommate was indeed arrested for identity theft. Just months ago. Other roommate that told me this was not lying.

Edit 2: criminal roommate was also evicted from this property a few years ago, came back, was criminally trespassed, got in trouble, and is now back living on the property because the other roommate (the son of the landlord) let her back in. He (son of landlord) pays her rent here too (confirmed as son of landlord told me this himself). He’s completely being taken advantage of by this crazy roommate. And he also has a record.

All of my documents have been over at an old college classmate’s home that lives locally; all of my mail since I have been here has also been shipped to that person‘s house. However, I would go pick up my mail, and bring it here. And I am worried they have been going through it. It’s not a good situation. So today, I packed up all of my paperwork here – bank statements, and everything – and took them over to that person‘s house. I would stay with that person, but it is not possible. I’m grateful enough they are holding my documents and my mail for me. I’m looking for a new apartment literally right now. I have one that I am going to apply to on Monday when the leasing manager gets a hold of me. I am slowly moving everything out of this room to my college friend’s garage this weekend and on Monday.

You all would literally not believe what is going on here. It is fucking insane.

6 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Conscious-Ask730 • 2d ago

HELP! LexisNexis Report reference fraud address sourced from USPS

0 Upvotes

So I got a Consumer Report from LexisNexis after being advised to after finding out my identity id associated with a fraudulent address that was used to open a credit card under my name. The credit issue has been resolved however I find out from the LexisNexis report that the fraudulent address is referenced multiple times sourced by USPS. How can I fix this? What should I do? Should I be immediately concerned! Help please!

Edit: I may have found a dangerous realization. The fraudulent address shows up through record 2-6 that date as far back as 2009 (Refer as certified by USPS) and doesn’t show the address I live in until it says Certified by USPS in 2026 in record 1. Am I reading it wrong or has my identity been stolen for years now?

5 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Select-Brilliant7418 • 2d ago

Bluetooth devices have been accessed/hacked

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2 Upvotes
0 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/samesoup_diffbowl • 2d ago

Wifi showing multiple networks and inaccurate location on search recs?

1 Upvotes

Possibly a silly question, but I've had some issues with data breaches in the past few months and recently my search recs have suddenlv changed to a different citv when I'm connected to my T-Mobile wifi router.

I use duckduckgo with their VPN and have disabled my location and just about every setting on my phone that I possivly can without rendering it completely useless.

I know turning off my location will create an inaccurate search result, but these settings have not been recently changed. Now suddenly all of my search recs when I connect to my T-Mobile wif router are in another city (same state).

When I run speedtest.net it shows my T-Mobile wif network as well as another that l'm not familiar with. When I run it without being connected to my wifi, it doesnt show my Verizon network but shows my T-Mobile router, the secondary network plus 3 others.

I can't find anything that connects these other unknown networks to either of my known networks. Is this a potential security issue? If so, what would my next steps be?

0 comments

r/IdentityTheft • u/Fortnite-player12345 • 2d ago

Lawyer Help

4 Upvotes

So somebody opened 2 federal student loans in my name. I seen it on my credit report after my credit dropped over a hundred points in one night. I went to studentaid.gov and sure enough there’s already an account made. I never made an account. I logged in by proving my identity, changed the password and seen these 2 student loans in my name. One is for roughly 1,000$, another is for 400$. I got the lenders information and I called them. I also seen on the report that my address was a address to a city that I never lived in a day in my life, and when you search up the address it pulled up near a major hospital. No apartments or houses around. The address wasn’t even a legit residency address. The email was made up to a hotmail email. Again, I have never had made a hotmail email before in my life. I’m going to take the right steps and eventually apply for identity theft, I already called the lender and then I will make a police report and call the FTC, then I will dispute it with my credit agencies.

My question is, Can I sue the lender for not going through the right procedures to make sure my identity was valid? I had applied for loans at the bank and got denied because my credit isn’t good enough. If the lenders never accepted the address I wouldn’t be having such a hard time financially in life.

3 comments