This week I received letters from two companies denying my credit application due to "unverifiable information". I also received a phone call from a cell phone company saying pretty much the same thing. I did not try to open an account with any of them. I put a fraud alert on my credit account (online via Experian, very easy to do) and called all three companies to make sure no account was opened. One company confirmed that the bad guys had my full name, ssn, and mailing address. My info was possibly stolen during one of the DOD data breaches the last few years.

Just wanted to give the membership a heads up on some of the warning signs.

quote:

full name, ssn, and mailing address

In that case, I'd escalate from fraud alert to credit freeze. They'll eventually guess the data correctly or find a company that will write a line of credit to a ham sandwich.

Been there. Done this. Most likely the DOD breach as well given the outdated personal info that a payday loan outfit let me see on their computer screen.

It is in today's news, a federal law goes into effect making a credit freeze (and lifting) free.

https://abcnews.go.com/Busines...wide-friday-57988138

My main CC was just compromised. The CC company was immediately on the ball. After the "test charge" they declined the next charge and immediately issued a new card. The culprit is probably a kid in customer service at a vender I use.

After my data was lost twice by OPM, once by DOD, by the VA, Experian, and Humana, I’ve had my credit frozen fo several years. It works great, but can be a hassle when you want to borrow. The hassle is worth it though.

BTW, an added benefit is we now receive very few unsolicited credit card deals in the mail.

Credit freeze is the best answer at this point.
Free, easy, stops anyone from opening anything.
Avoid the pay sites that charge a lot to do simple things you can do for yourself.

If they have your ssn you should contact the IRS and get an identity protection PIN.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I am considering a credit freeze just have not quite pulled the trigger. I did not think about a PIN from the IRS to protect against fraudulent tax returns, thanks for the idea SpinZone.

Edit

I did some looking around on the IRS and it appears that they only want you to file a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, if your SSN is compromised AND a fraudulent return has been filed or the IRS notifies you of a problem. I will get in touch with my tax professional next week and see if there is anything we can do proactively. Since I have confirmed the bad guys have my name, SSN, and mailing address it seems highly likely they might try and file a fake return.

I thought the IRS was sent copies of virtually all financial statements during the year--can't they compare what they receive with what is reported on the tax returns?

flashguy