Someone just tried to open a Paypal credit account in my name. I was able to get the account closed and the charges revoked, but now I need to make sure there is nothing else out there.
How can I check if there are any accounts that have recently been opened in my name? Can I contact the credit agencies and ask them for such a list? If so, how? I just tried with Equifax their maze of useless phone menus defeated me.
Short of calling every single bank and pay day loan lender on earth there's no way of knowing for sure. There's no law requiring lenders to report to a reporting organization like Equifax, so it's possible that an account can be opened and you wouldn't know about it until many years down the line when a collection agency reports it.
The standard advice to find out about accounts in your name is through your credit reports. By US law, the credit reporting companies are required to offer one free credit report per 12 month period.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
Make sure you use the authorized web site: https://www.annualcreditreport.com. There are unscrupulous copycats that charge you fees for your credit reports.
Only one website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law — annualcreditreport.com.
