I have heard that there is a way to make it harder for credit cards to be opened in my name by adding a pin or something to my ssn. My mom has stolen my brother’s identity but he didnt press charges and now I am affraid that it will happen to me.. Is there something I can do to help prevent this?? Please help!

an individual family member is committing fraud in many ways. she has stolen credit cards somewhere to the amount of 50000.00 and steels all the time from stores. has recently started to apply for car loans with my dead moms ss#- only reason i know is the loan places keep calling me. she uses meth and has had some run ins with the cops. I know she is on camera doing this as one of the times she stole my stuff and went shopping. she has taken my id #’s along with many other peoples ids and ss#s. there are kids involved here so i am not sure what to do. i dont want the kids to go to the state but i dont want her to do them any more harm as they currently are living in a hotel, shortly to be homeless, so this is for sure very time sensitive. I have know idea what to do anymore and need help on what to do with her and if i turn her in how long would she get for like 7 federal crimes related to id theft? any help is appreciated.
this person is also my sister- and i dont want those kids going into foster care when they have lived with me before and can again at any point if the parents would just let them. oh the dad might be going to jail for a few violations of his own. the dad talks to us so he might be on my side with the kid factor

i really need very ones help my father let two people who are sibilings money, he gave them his SS# and went with them to take credit cards and cars. with a lie of they needing credit to buy a house my dad with good will wanting to help them he let them borrow money, and credit my dad is now more than ,000 in debt because the sibliings never paid anthing.

they now do not want to pay my dad anything because they say its not a fraud since my dad was aware of everything. i am looking for a lawyer for help. please!

Hi, I used my sister and my mom’s information to get credit cards and loans and I used their already issued credit cards without their permission. They both checked their credit reports and found out about it.They have both threatened to press charges and are in the process of filing a police report. What criminal charges and punishment am I looking to face currently. Do you think I will serve any jail time? I am in Pennsylvania and under Pennsylvania law.

A month ago I follwed up on some garnishment charges on my paychecks from work that seemed a little suspicious. I thought that maybe one of my credit cards had a late payment and a fee was attatched to it, and this garnishment was the money I owed. Not so, it turned out that someone out there had obtained my social security number and took out a credit card (and lord knows whatever eles) and mistreated that card, racked up a bunch of late fees and was being sued. The trouble was since it was my number, I suffered. My question is can I sue a person for stealing my SS#, I know that ID theft is fraud and can land a person in jail, that much I do know. Any legal sound advice would be most helpful here.

Thanks

Mother stole my identity and i was able to fix the problem. all 7 credit cards that i owed due to the theft was removed.

My question is, can i ask the credit report agencies to increase my credit score because i never opened these credit cards and i have documents to prove it.

i figure since all of them were removed that i could have my points back that i once had. i had about 750 then due to the identity theft i now am left with 450 points.

My brother is at the beginnings of a divorce and his lovely wife *sarcasim* opened over 4 credit cards in his name without his knowing. Among other acts of deception including marrying him for health insurance to take care of a pregnancy and a child that she lied and said was his and taking money to pay her bills and then never paying them and then he later would have to pay them again……..can he file for marriage fraud and identity theft?

Do you think it’s necessary to have identity theft protection on your credit cards? If yes, anybody know the best identity protection with the best service?

okay i know someone who stole a family member Identity and got credit cards in there name, a year later detective came to speak to them about the case saying there are no charges pressed only a police report this person was living with there family at the time and it was done all online and never admitted to it, cane he ask for a plea if charged so he won’t spend time in jail.

Also, a credit card fraud agency called them saying they could make payments and they won’t report it to the detective on the case. do you think it could be a set-up to get evidence to prosecute? what are really the chance they will get prosecuted with no confession with just one word against the other

my 19 year old son had credit card debt of ,000. He buy a ,000 nissan maxima car using all his cards (he maxed them out).

He worked an hour at fast food. Then he pull out 00 from credit card atm and paid bankruptcy lawyer to file chapter 7. When lawyer told him he will have to surrender the car because it is asset he then switched title of car to my name without telling me saying, "daddy, i want u to own this car because it save u insurance. but i will drive it"

In the meantime, he went on shopping sprees with remaining credit cards even though the bankruptcy lawyer told him to stop using all cards.

The lawyer filed chapter 7 and he lied to lawyer that he stopped using all cards and never told lawyer that he switched car title to my name.

Few days later he get charged with bankruptcy fraud. And now the lawyer told me that my son was not honest and hid many things from him and thats why the case failed. The lawyer now says that to fight the bankruptcy fraud, he will charge 0 an hour and that excludes the 00 son paid.

I can’t afford 0 an hour now for son’s foolish mistakes. I fear son may end up in jail for bankruptcy fraud if i’m not able to pay 0 an hour to lawyer. What to do now?

Son also gave false information to credit card companies on the application. he wrote he makes 0,000 an year when he applied for cards.

I rented an apartment and "abandoned’ my lease in March of 2005. I just received a form from a lawyer stating that they are attempting to collect the "damages" I did to the apartment (which were covered by my deposit) as well as lawyer fees. What is the statue of limitation for them to collect in california?

They are claiming a "breech of contract" on my part, and despite what their letter says, this is the first contact I have ever had from them (their letter claimed that I had been sent several things), and the first time I was made aware of it.

I know on most forms of contract, loans, credit cards, etc there is a 2-4 year collection period, and then they can no longer attempt to collect. What would it be on this type of situation? If it is four years, essentially they have until march to bother me, and then it would be considered gone, right?
As I stated, this is the first thing I have heard in over 3.5 years. I have always had my current address on file with the post office, and have not ignored or avoided anything in regards to this.

I’m a college student and I received a letter from financial aid. Stating that some files were breached this includes mines. They have filed a police report. I don’t have any credit cards. My name does not appear on any bills. I ‘m worried that they can use my social security. What should I do?

I AM A VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT, AND JUST FOUND OUT MANY CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS ARE EITHER OPEN, OR CLOSED TO DELIQUENT ACCOUNT AND IS IN COLLECTION AGENCY. THE REPORT STATES THAT CREDIT CARDS HAVE BEEN ISSUED SINCE 1995, AND SOME ARE ONES THAT I REALLY HAVE BUT MOST ARE NOT WHICH I STILL PRESENTLY CARRY AND USE. I WANT TO KNOW ONCE I GET THE FRAUDULENT CHARGES AND ACCOUNTS REMOVED FROM 3 BUREOUS, HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO CLEAR AND BRING UP CREDIT SCORE. MY CREDIT SCORE IS PRESENTLY IN "POOR" STATUS-564? I GOT A POLICE REPORT AND GOING TO FAX POLICE REPORT WITH ALL HIGHLIGHTED CREDIT CARDS THAT I DONT/NEVER HAD.OPENED ACCOUNTS WITH FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

My home of 10+ yrs was in forclosure.I agreed to sell it to an aquaintance,in exchange for living in a apt there for 5 years for free.As soon as we closed they became abusive toward me and made it impossible for me to live there eg.getting dogs that would attack me if I entered my temp dwelling without paging them to let me in.Then any time I went to get clothes etc they would give me a hard time ,verbal abuse,false accusations.So I stayed away a month or so and the junked my whole inheritance ,my fathers artwork my jewelry clothes antiques, EVERYTHING.
At closing my home was worth 0,000 I had 0,000 in equity.I gave their lawyer a ,000 check to cover liens ,debt to credit cards etc.This was not done.I had a 95 FIREBIRD that he has claimed a mech lien ,I never had car work by him.[so much more to say.]
This was in 2003 I am just now on my feet with a job and my own place to live.CAN I BE JUSTIFIED IN TAKING ACTION SOMEHOW?

The results of the fraud ( perpetrated by a family member) was to file bankruptcy. I recently settled my chapter 13 bankruptcy and avoided foreclosure. Now with a low credit score and no credit cards, I still own my home but wish to refinance to consolidate my first and second mortgages at a lower interest rate. Are there any programs through Fannie Mae or other federal programs?

With so many stories in the news of security breaches involving credit cards, do you think it is possible to hold a secure election with electronic voting units? Our identities have already been stolen, but is it our vote that is next?

A North Kansas City couple has been left scratching their heads after they became the victims of a political scam.

Steve and Rachel Larman say a strange credit card charge appeared on their statement this month — a 00 donation to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. The Larman’s say they don’t want this to be about their political affiliation, but they say they’re not about to give the Obama campaign any help from their pocketbook.

They said they notified Chase, their credit card bank, to report the fraud.

“(They) said that they had seen-they were familiar with this,” said Steve Larman. “It was fraud, they believe through telemarketing but they were going to be doing some more investigations.”

The Larman’s don’t want their politics to enter into what is essentially just a fraudulent charge. But they say that the charge involves the Obama campaign adds insult to injury for the registered Republicans.

“They (Chase) kept on asking me ‘are you sure you wouldnt have gone to a site in support of Obama’,” said Rachel Larman. “And I repeatedly said ‘Im voting for McCain – I would not be going to an Obama site’.”

Chase dropped the charge from the Larman’s card. The couple is thankful thay they caught the charge on the card, but worried that others may not see that type of fraud on their own credit cards before it’s too late.

“You always get emails saying be on the lookout,” said Rachel. “So I just wanted to get the word out, that there’s someone out there perpetrating this against people, and to pay attention.”

The Obama campaign said they were aware of the Larman’s story, but did not have any comment.

Where is Eliot Ness when we need him.

Last July, I attended a trade show to sell and promote my products. I processed credit cards manually and made a mistake w/ one transaction and over charged a customer by . She called my attention after she received her bill and I profusely apologized for the mistake. We both agreed that I will I send her a check for the refund. Then in October, my checking account had been breached and the bank closed it. I transfered my account to another bank. Yesterday, Nov. 2, this lady called me, extremely irrate, threatening to ruin my business' reputation. She said she tried to cash my check JUST YESTERDAY and of course it bounced! I explained what happened and offered to send her another check but she's demanding that I pay her the bank surcharge and interests. Should I be responsible for this? I mean, I understand that I made a mistake…..but wait for 2 months before cashing a check and now demanding that I pay interests and surcharges ?! Does this make sense to anyone?!

I have found out that my social security card number is being used by an EX relation. Credit cards are repeatedly issued in my name, and I have closed countless accounts over the years, but new cards keep getting issued in this person's name with my social security number.

If I have documented proof of identity theft, would the Social Security Administration accept this as a valid reason to have my social security number changed? My credit is ruined because of this person.

If there is no way to get a new social security number, how can I ever restore my credit?

I currently have two credit cards, but would like to get one final one. I've been getting turned down for a few recently that I thought sounded good. What are some good cards and websites where I can get a credit card that almost every gets approved for? I'm young(21) and trying to establish some more credit. My friend got approved for a Best Buy credit card tonight and his credit isn't that good. However, I just want a main card(for example: visa, discover) and not a store card. Thanks for any help.

I just finished college, and work full time. I have a debit card, and building good credit from paying off loans. A lot of people have been telling me to get a credit card, but I wonder if it really is necessary. Please give me some good reasons to get a credit card other than building good credit. The only other advantage I know about is those point-system/rewards credit cards, that earn you miles or other things. And what is the best credit card to get for a first time credit card holder? The number of choices are a little overwhelming. How did you choose your first/main credit card?

taking a person's credit information, photos, etc.

on the news today, there was a discussion about hackers, and no one's information is truly safe.

i've been hearing about identity theft happening to teenagers, and not only teens but adults.

the worse kind of identity theft is using one's credit history, credit cards, name, address, etc. and pursuing things without the person's consent. this has happened, to many i know, and i'm wondering, if because of the bad economy this kind of identity theft will continue.
before the bad economy there were still cases of identity theft.

I'm debating turning in my Aunt. She is a cleptomaniac and she steals people's identity to get credit cards in their name. She is out of control. I love her but she needs help but I'm not sure if I should do it or maybe have someone outside of the family turn her in. What do you think??

A charge on my credit card was made from an IP address in Vietnam. It was a charge for an internet service and the service has provided me with the IP and an email address.

Fortunately, this was a charge made with a credit card from an outdated address and I think updating my address has helped me prevent a further hack as well as contacting all my accounts and credit bureaus. I think this account was breached by brute force because I haven’t used it in a while. What is strange is that I have a very unique name so it would be very different than trying to find John Smith’s credit card number and address and getting lucky.

I googled the email and found a few things attached to the address (in Vietnamese, unfortunately.) I live in Southeast Asia right now and the fact that all my accounts are American has made this process more interesting. But, it is 0 for me to fly to Vietnam and I know some people living there. If it would help at all, I’d fly there and deal with it personally or ask a friend to do it.

My questions are:

Is there an agency that deals with credit card fraud in Vietnam? Would going to an agency help catch this person and/or deter the fraud?

I am very tempted to email this person and let them know that I have their info, live close enough to fly there cheaply and have friends teaching at the main university there. I’d keep it fairly civil but still threatening. (Just about the authorities, nothing else.) Would I be taunting this person to attack my accounts further? I’m fairly protected now but I do work overseas and would like to use the American credit cards that I have so I can’t cancel them.

Any other ideas about what else I can do to protect myself?

Hi,

A friend of mine needs some advice on how to deal with a horrible situation that he's facing.

His previous on-site apartment manager got into his apartment while he was not home and stole his credit cards, checks, and most importantly his and his whole family's personal information such as social security #, driver licence #, tax return info, etc. There are numerous fraudulent charges on his accounts and he has filed a police report and established a fraud alert. He's been suffering a lot of stress and has lots of concerns about his and his whole family future financial records.

He has 3 questions:
1. How can he and his family prevent future frauds besides putting fraud alerts?
2. How can he protect his personal safety?
3. Should he pursue legal actions against the apartment? (His previous on-site apartment manager was hired by the apartment and was employed at the time he committed the crime) If so, any pointers/referrals on how he can do that?

Thanks a lot!