Someone used my debit card number to the tune of $970, used it overseas somewhere because my bank charged me an international fee. I found out the same day and had the card cancelled but the bank could not stop the money from clearing my account, the bank did put the money back in my account pending an investigation. Then a couple of days later someone called my bank and wanted to access my account using my social security number. How the hell did they get my debit card number and social? Bastards. I opened an account with Equifax to make sure there were no accounts opened under my name and social and put a I freeze on things.

First Im real sorry you got caught up in this I went through this about 4-5 years ago. In my case they had my social, address, phone number, Drivers license #, and and mothers maiden name. I found out when I received a nasty call from Hone depot about paying off my new credit card. Long story short 7 new credit cards were made with about $30,000 (total) worth of charges were on them. I didnt pay anything out of pocket but did need to use up some vacation time getting it cleared up and my credit dropped down 50 pts for a few years.

If they have your social that is big time bad news. Make sure you lock your credit with all three credit agencies and run a credit report to make sure no new accounts were created.

Next steps is to open a identity theft report HERE

If you have chase bank they started offering some assistance for victims who bank with them.


Also dont use debit cards, use Credit cards and pay them off each month. As you have experienced with debit the money is gone until the bank puts it back, with credit you don’t pay anything and they are capped to your limit.

Best of luck!

For at least thirty years, probably more, I have refused to supply my SSN wherever possible. This number was never intended to be a universal identifier and has been terribly misused for that purpose.

I realize that I am pissing into the wind on this, but it just annoys the hell out of me.

I do not use it on 4473 forms and I have never had to wait more than two or three minutes for approval.

One branch of the Federal government finally saw the light not too long ago -- Medicare cards have been re-issued with individual alpha-numeric identifiers instead of social security numbers.

Any time that an SSN has been required by an organization that was not using it for the intended purpose, I supplied a number of my choosing when I thought the circumstances would allow me to get away with it. To date, this has not come back to bite me on the ass. Numbers that I have used include

• 078-05-1120 The "Woolworth Number" (my favorite)
  
  
• 042-68-4425 Barack Hussein Obama
  
  
• 567-68-0515 Richard Milhous Nixon
  
  
• 562-10-0296 Walt Disney

You may not have done this, but everyone and their brother asks for your social security number. If you give it to them, you have to trust that they will safeguard it forever. As an example, my kids’ school wants my kids’ wants my kids social security number every year. I take the kids’ cards in every year and show them to the office people, but they are not allowed to copy the cards or write the numbers down. I don’t give them to the dentist or doctors either. One dentist for my kids wanted a copy of my drivers license. I pay cash for these things. I asked what possible reason could they have for wanting a copy of my drivers license and the receptionist responded to make sure the kids went home with the right people. All I got was a blank stare when I said, I brought them in, I’ve been sitting here the whole time, you can’t figure out they are going home with me?

I no longer use Debit cards. Only Cash & minimal use of Credit cards.

There are a myriad of ways your personal information can get into the wild- anything from a dirty employee somewhere to a major data breach from a hostile government entity. I’m still waiting for the chickens to come home to roost from the chinese raids on OPM files and who knows what else.

If you haven't done so already I recommend freezing your credit at all three credit agencies. It's free and keeps anyone from opening accounts using your social. Can be a bit of a PITA when you move and need to establish new utilities etc. as you have to manually unfreeze for each but it provides peace of mind in day to day life.

First off, that sucks. I believe this would be a good use of our SEAL teams. This and cleaning out foreign scam phone centers.
BOOM! A hole opens up in the ceiling, several fast ropes drop in, and the next shift finds their compatriots slumped over their keyboards….
But I digress.
I will never have a debit card. I was involved in the roll out of a debit card system at a bank, back when I was still in corporate IT.
There were several issues, but I deemed it “too close to my money” for one thing.
I use CCs extensively, pay the balances, and reap the cash back rewards. Yes, I’ve had fraud on them, but the CC company has always covered them and I’ve been out no money.
You kind of have to approach the situation like your info is all out there on the dark web, and eventually they will get to you.
But it still sucks.

I use my debit card a lot but I also have a $300 daily limit on transactions and my bank has been very good about alerting me to charges for things that seem “off.” My credit cards are all set to text me a notification of every charge and I can shut it down quick. Foolproof? No. It’s stopped at least one scammer though.

If Equifax had your social security number and historical credit info in 2016, then the rest of the world has it as well.

The same with Blue Cross/Blue Shield in 2015.

Everyone's data is out there for the taking.

Keep your credit locked down/frozen with the 3 Agencies, get rid of the debit card if you can, and ensure all your accounts have double factor authentication, voice authentication, etc. You will never be able to completely stop it, but you can make yourself a less desirable target.

Do NOT use a Debit Card....EVER!

quote:

Originally posted by techguy:
How the hell did they get my debit card number and social?

Debit card number? Probably a compromised PoS (Point-of-Sale) terminal at a gas station or store. Your SSN? Better question to ask might be how did they not? There have been so many databases stolen over the last few years you'd be more the exception than the rule if your data wasn't among that stolen. My personal data has been stolen at least three times. Once from a government database.

quote:

Originally posted by techguy:
Bastards. I opened an account with Equifax to make sure there were no accounts opened under my name and social and put a I freeze on things.

Not enough. Not nearly enough. I advise:

• Credit inquiry freezes at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion,
  
• Bank account inquiry freeze at ChexSystems, and
  
• Utilities account inquiry freeze at NCTUE
  

My wife and I also have identity theft monitoring and mitigation through IdentityForce.

It’s happened to my wife and I as well.

You have to really start limiting where you use a debit card, that’s where most of this happens.

My wife used one of those dicey ATM’s at a gas station, those little standalone ones that dial up, and the very next day we got hacked. I wouldn’t touch one of those with a 50 foot pole and told her she should never use them again.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
You have to really start limiting where you use a debit card, ...

I've limited my debit card use to "not at all" and give preference to stores that allow me to use Apple Pay.

Agree on not using debit cards. I only use mine a few times a year to get cash, but I always go to a big bank ATM (usually Chase).

I also have a credit freeze at all three credit bureaus. If I’m going to apply for something, I’ll just temporarily lift the freezes for a few days. After the time frame you designate, the freeze automatically reinstates.

I use my debit card at the ATM in the bank the card is for and WinCo and nowhere else.

I remember when people routinely put their SSN on the checks. Yep, it was printed right below their name and address on the top left of their checks.

Sorry about your problem.

I had a problem when I moved a vehicle from one city to another. They were trying to tax me personal property in both places. The Fairfax County person had my SS number in a note book kept in this desk drawer.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
I remember when people routinely put their SSN on the checks. Yep, it was printed right below their name and address on the top left of their checks.

Years ago the IRS used to send you things in the mail with your social security number right on the envelope.

The U.S. Army used social security numbers instead of service numbers. Social security numbers were on everything back then. ID cards, dog tags and even stenciled on duffle bags with your last name.