so, uh... anyone have any experience with identity theft?

iiiijjjj, from the dude's reaction it does sound like something fishy went down, but you should know that every time I've ever ordered from them (lived in kind of a psuedo-frat for a summer, so a lot) they've asked for that code. So, it's probably best not to use that as Exhibit A.

In my day, you could just steal someone's wallet and the most you'd lose was your money. Where did all this hype about identity theft come from? Sure wasn't from that John Cusack movie.

Funny story: my application for tenancy at my dope new place on the South side was just rejected. Since the office was closed over the holiday weekend I called this morning to find out why I'd been rejected assuming it was some paperwork slip-up. I've never had any trouble anywhere.

"Well I gotta tell you there were some things that came up on the criminal background check that we just couldn't ignore. We're not comfortable renting to someone with three charges for possession of a controlled substance, for example."

"....what?"

uhh.....

Whoah okay WHAT?? I feel your pain re rejected applications, we've had three places turn us down in 2009. Shit is seriously depressing.

Plus that is some CRAZY news to be getting from your mgmt company. What can you do about it?

They're re-running the background check with a different company to see if it was a mistake, and I'm heading down to the Austin PD to run a check on myself to see if I get the same results. Honestly if this isn't a mistake and is actually happening I have no idea what to do.

It must have been a fairly recent thing because I've passed criminal background checks everywhere else I've ever applied to live/work in the last 5 years, right?

gotta be a mistake, hoos

This thread belongs in the FIRST RESPONSE hall of fame

FIRST RESPONSE hall of fame

I feel velkocated now.

Yeah I considered reviving another identity theft thread when I saw this but

real luna RIP

six grand in charges on a sears credit card in my name in virginia
apparently they have my social and "pertinent personal info necessary to obtain a card".
Awesome. They cancelled the card and put a flag on my account but this has been a pain in the ass all night and will likely require action over the next week.
/first world problems.

What ever happened with Hoos and the criminal b/g check thing? I NEED CLOSURE ON ANECDOTE

wait, a criminal background check can reveal exactly what crime/s someone was convicted of, not just that they have a criminal history?? that seems really wack that a rental agency can access that kind of specific info.

and sympathies to you, forks. we went through this pretty recently, such a nightmare to deal with.

I worked at a well known natural Mexican food restaurant in Austin,TX for all of two weeks to get some Christmas cash. Two or three years later I received a letter from the IRS demanding I pay them $19K in taxes. I had been paying my taxes but they showed me working for a construction company in Dallas and at the restaurant in Austin.

I had my suspicions and got a friend to phone the restaurant and ask the owners if they knew how to get a social security number. They then told him to call them from a public phone and they would tell him. UGH! The place was next to a bus station that was going back and forth to Brownsville.

So I called Social Security Administration and IRS explained things, had proof that I was working 40 hours for the university for several years straight. Then I stood in several long lines and gathered lots of documents and still have a folder one inch thick. Turns out my social security number was used by two undocumented workers, both males. When I applied for that waitress job they copied my social security card and drivers license...there you go.

For years I was paranoid. It was a nightmare.

Holy shit 19k in taxes! What a nightmare!

It seems like knowing one's ssn is all you need in the US to nick someone's ID... surely that cant be all it is? That is frightening.

In the UK I got sent someone else's P45 (i.e. all SSN/tax/job details); on a separate occasion got asked by the tax office about my work abroad (had never done so) and on yet another occasion they asked for a P45 from a job I never had. I quizzed them a lot about this last one because I wanted to know if someone had been thefting my identity but they didn't seem that bothered.

I've had my Paypal account hacked before they were caught like a day later. They seem to have gone and bought a load of DVD box sets off ebay.

My ss# was already screwed up. My mother and I have the same name, (ugh!) so they have me working one year before I was born then again at six years old for a year. My birthday is correct so you would think they would spot an error? Nooooooo every year I phone in and explain, receive a form and send in proof and they still screw it up. That is why I hold on to all the documentation of the ID theft. Afraid that one day they will try and give me a hard time and claim I was working 120 hours a week in two different cities. I benefits me but still....

four grand more at a best buy.
ten grand total. Filed a police report. Everyone is hella blase about this.

Just happened! Only $60, but ughhh....

So, I don't think this is attempted identity theft, but I'd appreciate any guesses as to what the hell is going on, other than an attempt to piss me off.

Twice within the past year, the most recent being this week, someone has used my name, my phone number and/or my email address to request information online. It's all things that would require no more data than that -- car insurance quotes, requesting info on enrolling in a school, a job recruitment site, a maid service. Whoever is doing this has no access to my email, but they're using my email and name, so I end up getting a bunch of unsolicited garbage saying I signed up for things. I've also received a handful of phone calls following up on these requests I didn't make.

The only other clue is that there was an address on one of the accounts, but it was for an apartment I haven't lived at in five years. I have no idea why someone who didn't know me would do this, but I really have no idea why anyone I've known would do it, either.

I could change my phone number and email address, but I'd rather not. Hopefully whatever asshole is doing this will just stop?

Can anyone think of a way this would actually fuck w/my identity?