Why would someone break into a bunch of cars but ignore valuables only to rifle through paperwork? [more inside]
posted by twiggy on Oct 19, 2009 - 28 answers

Someone stole my credit card. The fraudulent charges have been taken care of, but is there anything else I should be worried about? [more inside]
posted by AlisonM on Sep 17, 2009 - 12 answers

What should I do to report a lost or stolen birth certificate of a minor? [more inside]
posted by magnoliasouth on Aug 13, 2009 - 7 answers

T-Mobile just tried to charge my checking account almost $6000 despite the fact I don't have an account with T-Mobile. WTF? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 10, 2009 - 13 answers

What should I do if someone has pulled some real identity theft type stuff on me? I'm watching bank accounts, changing passwords, checking for viruses/keyloggers, but what else can I do? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Apr 15, 2009 - 3 answers

Recently, I've had recruiters asking for SS#s to submit my resume for positions. My husband has had the same thing happen, as have some friends. Is this the newest scam on the block? (as always...more inside) [more inside]
posted by dejah420 on Apr 7, 2009 - 7 answers

My mother's car was robbed yesterday in Savannah, GA. Thieves made off with the originals of her Social Security card, the Social Security card of my recently deceased father, her bank debit/ATM card, her original driver's license, credit cards, documents with her address on it, business cards, and a lot of cash. She had the police involved & a report has been filed. She has canceled the credit cards and will be talking to her bank. Thankfully her checkbook wasn't taken. What else can she do, or can I help with, to prevent identity theft now that criminals have her SSN, my dad's SSN, and her drivers license and address? [more inside]
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy on Mar 8, 2009 - 11 answers

How worried should I be about the recent rash of stories in the mainstream media about P2P software being used to commit identity theft? [more inside]
posted by The Ardship of Cambry on Mar 2, 2009 - 9 answers

A contract employer sent my 1099-MISC to my old address at which I haven't resided since Jan. 2007. Should I be concerned about possible identity theft/fraud? I already had a fraudulent charge to one of my credit cards shortly after my mail stopped forwarding. Also, are there any repercussions I can/should take against the employer (large state university)?
posted by conigs on Feb 24, 2009 - 2 answers

Sensitive information left out on a desk...uh, hypothetically. [more inside]
posted by Spyder's Game on Feb 5, 2009 - 10 answers

What personal info does my future landlord need from me to make sure I'm legit? How do I make sure he's legit? [more inside]
posted by Asymptote on Jan 15, 2009 - 8 answers

My credit card number was stolen! How do I determine the most likely culprit (or at least how they did it) and try to ensure it doesn't happen again either to me or to someone else? [more inside]
posted by attercoppe on Jan 14, 2009 - 13 answers

In Canada (Quebec), what laws exist against identity theft? More specifically, against identity theft for the purpose of defrauding third parties using the stolen identity. [more inside]
posted by furiousxgeorge on Dec 27, 2008 - 2 answers

So the bank calls and asks me last night about suspicious charges to my Visa card. Apparently someone tried to charge over $7,500 in a mall in Houston. The thing is, I haven't lost my card and I've never been to Texas, or even close to it. The bank says I'm not liable for the charges, and the card number is canceled, but I feel like I should be doing more. I read a Consumer Reports article that claims that credit monitoring services are kind of weak. So what now, Mefites?
posted by 4ster on Dec 11, 2008 - 14 answers

URGENT: How do I dispute my credit report? Difficulty: no (current) American address or phone number, and not currently in the USA. [more inside]
posted by chrisinseoul on Dec 7, 2008 - 6 answers

In a moment of astounding stupidity, I left a piece of paperwork in my car that has my driver's license number and SSN on it. I went out this morning to find that the car had been stolen. What do I do now to (potentially) protect myself against identity theft? [more inside]
posted by corey flood on Dec 4, 2008 - 7 answers

How do I secure my electronics from theft? [more inside]
posted by Bunglegirl on Dec 4, 2008 - 18 answers

Should we put a freeze on our credit? [more inside]
posted by clarkstonian on Sep 20, 2008 - 8 answers

Identity Theft filter: long story short, my email, debit card #, first and last name, and home address were used fraudulently to open an account with ccbill.com. How does this happen? [more inside]
posted by chez shoes on Aug 26, 2008 - 18 answers

Over the last couple of weeks, I have started to receive mail (US, snail) addressed to people who do not live at my address. We are the third owners of our house, and the names appearing on the envelopes are not previous residents. The names are not local neighbors either. I have not yet received a duplicate name. I suppose this could be some odd coincidence, but in the entire time we've lived here, apart from the odd mail to previous residents, I haven't had mail like this. The stuff I'm getting ranges from marketing junk to forms that someone must have requested from the IRS. Its not a flood of mail- I've seen three pieces in the last two weeks, but the IRS piece has me a little spooked, and has set off alarm bells. This smells a bit like someone laying the groundwork for ID theft- either mine, or someone elses. Should I be concerned?
posted by taubman on Aug 10, 2008 - 8 answers

Today is my last day at my current job. How do I explain this to my office computer? [more inside]
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! on Aug 8, 2008 - 19 answers

Electronic signature capture devices are not designed to allow someone to accurately sign them. So why not switch from using my signature to an easy to draw secret symbol? [more inside]
posted by J-Garr on Jul 22, 2008 - 21 answers

How dangerous is throwing out old financial records, really? Don't want to pay to shred, and lots of peoples' trash is mixed with mine... [more inside]
posted by paultopia on Jun 15, 2008 - 41 answers

What's the best way to go about reporting a case of harassment from creditors for debts I don't owe? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jun 11, 2008 - 6 answers

Greetings. I am a journalist writing a story about people who use the Internet to mess with other people. I am concerned that some of my subjects (they are volatile, vindicative people who can dig up SS#s) will be angry with the story when it appears, and will try to use the Internet to mess with me. Specifically, I'm concerned that they will attempt to steal my identity and destroy my credit rating. So: What credit protection or credit watch service do you recommend? What other precautions should I take?
posted by anonymous on Jun 10, 2008 - 10 answers

Is my boyfriend the victim of identity theft? [more inside]
posted by yellowbinder on Jun 8, 2008 - 7 answers

Someone stole the ADP envelopes from my work by somehow calling ADP and asking to change the address. Apparently all the perpetrator needed was the name and address of our company. What do we do now? [more inside]
posted by idledebonair on May 30, 2008 - 16 answers

UK Data Protection: The borough council has 'mislaid' personal information. What would you do? [more inside]
posted by boosh on May 14, 2008 - 5 answers

Should I be concerned about the strange phone call I received today? Was it a creditor (looking for someone else) or a scam? [more inside]
posted by Mael Oui on Mar 17, 2008 - 17 answers

Can gas station attendants access my credit card number when I pay at the pump? Similarly, can any normal cashier/bagger/checker/etc. at a store with a self-swipe console charge my account after I have left? [more inside]
posted by pheideaux on Jan 21, 2008 - 13 answers

Banks, stores and other businesses can't be trusted with personal (and especially financial) data. Nearly every week, a hacker breaks into a website or steal a laptop with 100,000 social security numbers. Since the US has inadequate data protection safeguards (compared to the EU), could forming a corporation or trust help me? [more inside]
posted by amfea on Jan 8, 2008 - 10 answers

The financial problems of someone who shared my name and former address are showing up on my credit report! How do I even begin to go about disputing this, should the credit agency's investigation not go in my favor? [more inside]
posted by almostmanda on Dec 2, 2007 - 7 answers

I have accidentally come into possession of someone's private data. Now what? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Nov 27, 2007 - 22 answers

Where are the zip codes with the highest/lowest home prices, and how do compare in terms of reported cases of identity theft? [more inside]
posted by Parasite Unseen on Nov 2, 2007 - 5 answers

The f*cking idiots at CanadaPost have 'lost' my passport application, along with an brand-new official birth certificate (not a copy, and this just cost me $60) and a signed photocopy of my drivers license, and all the personal details in my application. Basically, a handy identity-theft kit has probably been stolen, perhaps with the help of a CanadaPost employee. I bought guaranteed, registered delivery to the passport office in Gatineau. CanadaPost's response is to offer to pay me back my shipping cost. [more inside]
posted by Kickstart70 on Sep 24, 2007 - 22 answers

Now what? I disputed a debt as a case of mistaken identity, but I'm still hearing from the credit agency! [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 16, 2007 - 10 answers

I am having problems with a debt collection agency who are being mean to me after an identity theft incident. Does anybody have any good advice? [more inside]
posted by nowonmai on Jun 23, 2007 - 18 answers

I lost my birth certificate in downtown Portland, Oregon. I live in Oakland, CA. My credit is shot, so I don't think I have to worry about that, but what should I worry about, and what can I do about it?
posted by gally99 on Jun 21, 2007 - 3 answers

How likely/difficult would it be to steal identity information from an e-mail attachment, like a Word document or an Excel file? [more inside]
posted by deliriouscool on Jun 14, 2007 - 8 answers

How did someone steal my Debit card number, fabricate a fake card, then get my PIN? + How can I catch them? [more inside]
posted by marxfriedrice on May 23, 2007 - 22 answers

Members of my family conspired to create a false identity for a sibling years ago--mine! How can I ensure that this ID is no longer being used? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 16, 2007 - 11 answers

I just got a statement in the mail from my health insurance company for some lab tests that I'm *pretty* sure I didn't go in for, not having had to go to the doctor or get any tests done since I got said insurance (at least that I can recall). Now what? [more inside]
posted by universal_qlc on Apr 28, 2007 - 5 answers

I recently found out that I've been a victim of mortgage fraud. In short, someone stole my identity and took out a ~400k mortgage on a house in MA, in my name and with my credit. Has anyone out there been through this? What can I expect going forward? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jan 5, 2007 - 16 answers

A warrant is going to be issued for my arrest in an hour-and-a-half for passing off bad checks I didn't write. That is, someone has my old checks from a bank account I closed over almost a year ago, and they're now using them. What the hell do I do? [more inside]
posted by schroedinger on Dec 22, 2006 - 47 answers

Merry Christmas, Your personal laptop's been stolen at work. Now... how do you handle replacing it? But wait... there's [more inside]
posted by aristan on Dec 15, 2006 - 14 answers

Someone's signing up for internet accounts using my Yahoo email address. Help! [more inside]
posted by serialcomma on Oct 16, 2006 - 23 answers

What kind of personal information should I never give out and what are exceptions? [more inside]
posted by dino terror on Aug 31, 2006 - 12 answers

I am Canadian, living in Canada. If I thought some of my personal information was stolen (SIN, address, birth date etc), what would be my most prudent course of action to avoid identity theft?
posted by cascando on Aug 24, 2006 - 2 answers

I spotted this housing post on Craigslist, and when I clicked on the link posted inside it, it sent me straight into the inbox of my Yahoo mail account. Was this a phishing attempt? [more inside]
posted by Esther Festers on May 25, 2006 - 12 answers

When you sign for your credit card, do they save the digital signature? (A little more to it, too) [more inside]
posted by starman on May 20, 2006 - 21 answers