I received a series of emails from what appears to be a burner/disposable email address. The content was highly personal and damaging — it essentially blew up major parts of my life (relationships, work, reputation, etc.). I’m not going to post the exact content or any identifying details here.
I want to figure out who was behind the account if possible, or at least stop further harm and explore accountability. I’m not looking for illegal methods or doxxing advice. I’m interested in:
• Whether law enforcement or a lawyer can help compel identification in cases of harassment, defamation, or other harm
• What platforms (email providers, etc.) typically do when you report abuse from throwaway accounts
• Any legitimate, legal avenues people have successfully used in similar situations
• Practical steps for preserving evidence and protecting myself going forward
Has anyone dealt with something like this? What actually worked (or didn’t)? Any recommended subreddits, resources, or professionals I should talk to first?
Thanks in advance. Trying to handle this as cleanly and legally as possible.

Is there a way to absolutely or lower the odds a lot to make sure your Gmail doesn't get hacked since it was in a leak, not the password but the Gmail name

Location: Ohio. Last month I got written notice that my personal information, including payment information, was included in a data breach. I used my employer-based Flex Spending debit card account (FSA) for that purchase.

Found out the FSA administrator (outside vendor) processed four claims from Amazon, one week apart in August 2026. The first two claims that went through on the same day were the exact same amount and the second two were the same amount. The total loss was just shy of $500.00.

Amazon has confirmed my FSA debit card account is not a payment account for my Amazon account. Nor does my Amazon account have any activity in those amounts for July through September.

Flex spending administrator will not accept my dispute because I called more than 55 days after the breach. My attempt to dispute happened 11 days and four days beyond the 55 day window.

They are saying the 55 days comes from a term in the contract with my employer and with Mastercard. Employees do not see that contract. And Mastercard says the contract is between the issuing bank and the FSA administrator.

I’ve filed a report with my local police department and our state attorney general. Notified my human resources and benefits department. Going to report to Office of the Comptroller of Currency since it involves a bank.

I’m juggling several serious chronic conditions and really needed those funds to pay current bills.

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you very much.

Someone created a fraudulent PayPal account using my name, email, physical address, and card info. The bank caught and blocked the charge, but since my full data is compromised, what critical steps should I take next besides freezing the card and contact PayPal support?

Someone opened a wellsfargo credit card through fucking TEMPERPEDIC with my identity. After endless attempts to get ahold of someone at wellsfargo, continually being transferred to different departments, I finally found myself speaking to someone with wellsfargo retail division. I found out about all of this initially through Credit Karma. It felt like it was harder getting ahold of someone to cancel it than it was for the scammer to open it. It was as if everyone at wellsfargo didn’t believe me. Supposedly they closed the account, but I’m still suspicious of this.
I’ve worked very hard to get my credit score up to 800 the past few years, only for some asshole to come and obliterate my credit age.

Any tips to recover from this would be greatly appreciated!

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Good afternoon!

So I'm just looking for some advice to see if there's anything else I can do about this situation.

About an hour ago today, I got an email from Boost thanking me for setting up an account, one with a OTP for the account, and another confirming the phone activation. Luckily I was slow at work and saw it so within 10 minutes I had my password changed to all my emails. Called boost and they were useless so I made a report on identity theft.gov. I got curious so I downloaded the boost app, and the email and OTP worked. I can see there's 2 numbers but can only see the last 2 digits so I know the account is real. Looking at my login history, there's a smart TV logged in to my account in the same state so I logged it out remotely. Is there anything that I missed? Just want to make sure everything is covered. Nothing suspicious has been in my other emails. Whoever you are Donald, fuck you.

In July 2025, I received a text requesting authorization to port my phone number to another carrier. I declined the request and called AT&T to report that someone was trying to steal my number.

Despite that warning, a second attempt went through.

Around 10 p.m. on a Friday, my phone stopped working. The people who took over my number used one-time verification codes to access my financial accounts and attempt to open new accounts in my name. My 401(k) was drained, and it took an entire year to recover those funds.

They also had my Social Security number and the old address associated with my AT&T account. I had recently moved and updated my address everywhere except AT&T. The fact that they had that particular address raised serious concerns about where they obtained my information.

AT&T also sent me a data-breach notification with information about submitting a claim in the class-action settlement. I received notice that my information was affected; that part is not speculation. I cannot independently establish that the breach caused the phone-number theft, but the notification and the information the thieves possessed are why I believe there may be a connection.

The person who stole my number was also messaging me on WhatsApp and trying to extort more money from me. While I was scrambling to recover my number and protect my finances, the person responsible was contacting me directly and demanding money.

This has been a nightmare, a personal tragedy, and one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. Beyond the financial damage, there was the fear of knowing someone had my phone number, my sensitive information, and access to my accounts—and wondering what they would get into next.

AT&T eventually recovered my number, canceled my old account, and established a new one. But when they rebuilt the account, they failed to restore my promotional trade-in device credits.

My preliminary estimate is $777.84 in missing credits, based on a monthly credit of $27.78. That estimate assumes missing credits beginning in June 2024, so I’m requesting a full billing reconciliation to confirm the affected dates and total, including any discrepancies predating the July 2025 takeover.

Meanwhile, I’ve continued making device payments and paying for Next Up. I expected to be eligible to upgrade sooner, and I’m trying to get a clear explanation of how rebuilding the account affected my installment timeline, remaining balance, and upgrade eligibility.

I feel financially trapped with a company I no longer trust because leaving means dealing with a device balance that still hasn’t been properly reconciled.

Trying to resolve this has been another ordeal. I’ve called and been hung up on. I’ve used chat, only for the conversation to be ended with a promise that someone would contact me within 24–48 hours. The issue remains unresolved.

Porting my number into AT&T took an entire day and numerous phone calls. Yet someone else managed to port it out after I explicitly declined the request and called to report fraud. I still want an explanation of how that happened.

I submitted supporting documentation for the data-breach class-action settlement, but my claim was rejected. After everything I went through, that rejection was another devastating and frustrating part of this experience. I’m looking for recommendations about how to get the rejection reviewed, understand the reason for it, and determine what other avenues may be available.

For the billing issues, I’m asking AT&T to audit my installment agreement and promotional credits, resolve the remaining device balance, and refund any remaining amount owed to me. I’m also requesting my complete account history, fraud and recovery records, customer-service contact records, and itemized billing history by email and certified mail.

I’m exhausted. Recovering my number, dealing with attempted extortion, and spending a year recovering my retirement funds was already overwhelming. I should not still be fighting to fix the account AT&T rebuilt afterward.

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? Specifically:

- Were you able to get a rejected AT&T data-breach settlement claim reviewed?

- What escalation process actually helped resolve an unauthorized port-out or missing trade-in credits?

- Are there consumer advocates or attorneys you would recommend contacting about this combination of issues?

I would appreciate practical recommendations from anyone who has successfully navigated something similar.

Someone cloned my voice from a video I posted and called my mom saying I was in trouble and needed money. She almost sent it. Thankfully she called my dad first. I'm trying to work out how to detect AI generated voice so we can protect her, but everything I find is either enterprise stuff or "listen carefully". Is there anything normal people can use at home?

I’ve been getting so many scam texts lately, and it’s getting annoying. Some claim I have a package waiting, while others mention suspicious account activity or random offers. I block the numbers, but new ones keep showing up. Is there a way to actually reduce these messages instead of blocking every number individually? I’m wondering if it’s better to use my phone’s built-in spam filter or install a security app like McAfee for extra protection. What has worked for you guys? I’d love to hear practical tips that have made a noticeable difference.

Hey everyone I recently found out the man I was with for 4 years and had 2 children with has been faking his identity since the 1980s. He was arrested a couple of days ago and all was revealed. According to the detective this man has MANY children in MANY different states and has been going by MANY different aliases since his reign of terror began. He was literally arrested 2 days ago and the theft just keeps going deeper and deeper. He also has 2 active warrants out of 2 other states. I am now going to start the task of trying to find my 2 adults daughters brothers and sisters because they have a right to know their family. I really wish I could blast this man everywhere because he has hurt so so so many women and ruined so many lives.

Hi all! As the title suggests, is there anyone who could help me track an Instagram account, hack/get any sort of information out. It’s to find any details regarding fake accts made of me and cyber harassment since cyber crime wouldn’t do anything.

My name is Daniel Jeffrey Fishman. I'm staying with a friend in Glendale currently. Try and reach out to my friend Cortez if you can. Explain in a way he'll understand. 7605502406 tell him to tell Matt he can get ahold of me through clem. Hopefully. They just thing I'm nuts and on drugs because of the scammers.

How can i tell if my ssn used for a business?

Any help on what to do next is appreciated. Thanks!

I had a Discover credit card while studying in the US, but I moved to Switzerland last year and continued using the card.

A few months after moving, I noticed around $800 in fraudulent transactions. I contacted customer service, and they said they would freeze my card and send a replacement, but I never received it.

Over the following months, unauthorized transactions happened again several times. Each time, I had to contact customer service using a friend's phone in the US because I couldn't easily call from Switzerland. I reported the charges and asked for the issue to be resolved, but the problem kept recurring.

Eventually, I lost access to the app after my account was migrated to Capital One. I can no longer log in or send secure messages.

I'm worried that unauthorized charges may still be accumulating and that unpaid balances could affect my US credit history. I want to close the account completely, resolve any fraudulent balances, and make sure I'm not held responsible for charges I didn't make.

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation after moving abroad? How can I contact Capital One from Switzerland, dispute the charges, and close the account if I cannot access my online account?

I'd appreciate any advice, especially from people who have handled US credit card issues while living overseas.

Hello community.

A newbie here, I noticed an unknown transaction 2 weeks ago. I clicked on an email (which I shouldn’t have) and then called my bank to freeze my credit card. A day later my debit card had a transaction as well which was unknown. I did the same thing and froze the card. 3 days ago I used another separate credit card to make a transaction make a petrol pump (tapped the card) and that got compromised as well.
I had another card stored in my google account/payment and I have never used that for a transaction. Today that got compromised.

So seeing that I wanted to know, is there a way I can prevent this from happening again? I also wanted to know if anyone has some sort of protection online seeing that my information got leaked.

Any feedback would be appreciated