|| SITE SEARCH || SEND EMAIL TO VAA || VAA HOME || 
Thursday, March 28, 2024 12:47:10 PM 
Victim's Assistance of America, Inc.


Victim's Advocate Hotline

IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE
For Victims


All Others - Please
CONTACT VAA

MAKE A DONATION

CHECKLIST MENU
Checklist - Employer'sEMPLOYER'S
CHECKLIST


Checklist - Employer'sIDENTITY THEFT CHECKLIST


Checklist - Employer'sPC SECURITY

Checklist - Employer'sPREVENTION CHECKLIST

Checklist - Employer'sRETAILERS

CREDIT REPORTS

50 VAA Divisions - 1 in Every State!

Fake ID Detector - AVAILABLE HERE

VAA Press Releases and News
IDENTITY THEFT STORY || VIEW STORIES

CATEGORY IDENTITY THEFT


AUTHOR INFORMATION Anonymous
No Disclosure
Los Angeles
CA


ID THEFT VICTIM STORY Oh man, where do I begin? I have been fighting this for years. The first incident occurred about 8 years ago when someone used my info to open up a cell phone account. They also purchased about $700.00 in jewelry, some gas, and a few other things. I got this cleared up, but didn't realize at the time how bad it could get.

In 1997, I had my mail stolen from outside my house. I didn't realize it at the time but eventually started getting late notices from my utility companies and credit card company. I also had a student loan payment in the mail so they got my SSN. Eventually, the fun started.

The first thing that happened was that someone opened a telephone account in my name. This went unnoticed until I moved and tried to hook up my phone -- the rep told me that I already had a phone, and was this an additional line?

Next, my wife and I had bought a couch from Sears and opened a credit card account. About 2 months later I get a call from the Sears fraud department. Someone had tried to establish credit with Sears using my info. Thanks to Sears paying attention, this guy was not able to open the account. At this point, I called all of the credit reporting agencies and put flags on all of them stating that I must be called at home before credit can be granted.

The final incident happened last year and was kind of strange. Someone used my info to get a driver's license in my name. They opened an account with Dell Computers and bought about 8,000 dollars worth of equipment. The funny thing is, they made payments on the stuff for about 2 years. The reason I got called was because a collection agency was trying to collect. That took about a month to clear up.

I have filed police reports in 3 different cities in the area, and as I mentioned before, placed alerts on my credit report. It must be working as I am in the process of buying a house and my credit score is a 790. The mortgage broker says that he sees about 2% of his clients with credit like mine.

Please, if you are a victim of credit fraud contact the credit agencies immediately and place an alert on your report. Next, file a report with the police department. Also, if you are a victim of identity theft you are entitled to free copies of your credit reports.



Story submitted on: 2003-04-30 00:00:00.0.

VAA Information Separator Line


Make a Donation to VAA

MISSION STATEMENT

VAA NEWS
Since 1986!
Our President has been involved with Identity Theft issues for 17 years now. Let us help you with yours.




ABOUT VAA
-Presidents Story
-VAA Founding
-Board Members
-Sponsors
-Business Plan
-Mission Statement
-VAA Divisions
-About VAA Online

THE VAA NATIONAL COMMUNITY ACTION PROJECT

A FEW THINGS ABOUT VAA

WATCH LIST IN THE USA

MORE ABOUT THE WATCH LIST

ATTN: TSA

ATTN: CITIBANK

ATTN: US JUSTICE DEPT

WHITE HOUSE
Correspondence

HOW TO CONTACT Martha Steimel

M Steimel Resume

PRESS RELEASES/NEWS

PRESS/MEDIA KIT
RFP Letter Available Now!


PHILANTHROPY
GRANTORS - DONORS


VAA EVENT CALENDAR

HOW YOU CAN HELP VAA

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Shop at VAA Retail to help a victim.

PRIVACY POLICY

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

CONTACT VAA




Help us out by shopping online

Go to VAARetail and buy things you would have bought anyway. It’s a secure site and no more expensive.
100% of proceeds benefit the nonprofit goals of VAA. Shop till you Drop to Help a Victim! Thank You!
Logo © - TM Pending - -- All Original Material Contained Within are © by Victim's Assistance of America, Inc. WebSite. All Rights Reserved.
WebSite Concept, Development and Design by VIRTUAL ISLE SOLUTIONS © - All Rights Reserved.