Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange
Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [identity-theft]

110 questions
79
votes
9 answers

Should I sign the back of my credit card?

When getting a new credit card, what is the policy in regards to signing the strip on the back? Should I sign it? Should I write "See ID"? Should I leave it blank? Should I sign it AND write "See ID"? I see all sorts of different advice but it…
Fixed Point
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50
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7 answers

Didn't apply for credit card but got an application denied letter?

I was recently forwarded a letter by the owner of my old address that turned out to be from a credit card company, informing me my application had been declined. Ignoring that this letter was sent to an address I have not lived at for three years I…
James
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49
votes
5 answers

Why do banks seem to be indifferent about identity theft?

Several years ago, I was in a terrible relationship in which my girlfriend fraudulently opened a credit card in my name. I forget the specifics, but she ended up transferring the full cash advance on the card into one of her accounts at another…
Curious Layman
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38
votes
19 answers

How to safely destroy (a large quantity of) valid checks?

A while ago I had my bank issue me new checks due to a change of name (I got married). However I still have many hundreds of checks with the out of date info (they're an online bank and issue about 1000 checks at once, and I have several accounts…
Vality
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34
votes
5 answers

My credit card was unexpectedly charged 1$, the merchant wants my SSN and personal data to tell me why, do I risk identity theft?

I received a phone message from my credit union's fraud detection department about a transaction for $1 that raised a flag. I called them back and was given the information recorded with the transaction, which consisted of a name of a company and a…
aparente001
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33
votes
3 answers

How do you file taxes earlier than an identity thief?

One of the recommendations to avoid tax return fraud/identity theft is to file your taxes as early as possible: FTC Smart Money Identity Theft Resource Center USA Today Notably, the IRS does not include this in their list of recommendations; they…
stannius
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30
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7 answers

Private Bank requesting user name and password to verify identity before sending money to acct

I have been asked to provide my user name and password, so my fiance' can have his bank, Macoto, verify my identity, before they will send the funds. Does this sound right? I figure if he gives the ok, and they have my acct number, and tracking…
Susan
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25
votes
6 answers

How do I permanently opt out of having a credit history?

In the past, I activated a credit block (freeze) on all major credit bureaus and from reading information, this should prevent anyone from being able to report on my credit or gain access to it. However, I got a notice that someone had hit my…
user541852587
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23
votes
4 answers

Do businesses save their customers' credit card information until the payment is finalized?

Paying by credit card is sometimes a multi-step process. In some of those cases, only the initial authorization is made at the point of sale; the finalized transactions are usually entered as a batch at the end of each business day. In the United…
tparker
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21
votes
2 answers

I gave a scammer my telephone number, address, and name. How bad is it?

Updated question because old one was embarassing: I saw a spam email from "PayPal" and I didn't realize that it was a phishing attempt. I gave the phishing site my name, telephone number, and email. What could he do with them? Old question: Well, I…
MrColdfish
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21
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9 answers

What can someone do with a stolen wallet for a few seconds?

I was recently in the gym and left my keys, phone and wallet together on top of my jumper. I took my eyes off of them for maybe 5 seconds, which I now know is too long, whilst I went and got some more weights. I came back and my wallet was missing.…
Jsk
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19
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4 answers

If I have given my bank details to someone by email what should I do now?

I have given someone my bank account details including my home address and phone number by email, supposedly so that money can be transferred into my account. I am now quite sure this is a scam. What do I do next, i.e. how do I protect myself from…
Julianne bhana
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18
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5 answers

What strategies could be employed so as to avoid identity theft and credit card frauds?

Other than getting a credit card with a minimal limit and using it exclusively for online purchases, what other strategies could be employed so as to avoid identity theft and credit card frauds?
Rahul Kumar
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16
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2 answers

If the former owner of my home is still using the address, can it harm me?

My wife bought a condo in foreclosure a couple of years ago. We both live here and most weeks I get a couple of pieces of mail for the previous owners; who apparently ran a business here. Most of the time it is meaningless junk mail, magazine…
aceinthehole
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15
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1 answer

How was someone able to open an account?

A while back I was surprised to see a collections account go onto my credit report for an unpaid amount of a few hundred dollars. I immediately believed it to be a mistake since I had never heard of the company and had not received anything in the…
T James
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