How can I Find out if Someone else used MY IDENTITY to get a CREDIT CARD?

Question

I SUSPECT THE DEADBEAT MANAGER OF MY APARTMENT BUILDING MY HAVE USED MY NAME, SS NUMBER AND E.T.C INFO TO GET A CREDIT CARD; HOW CAN I CHECK?

Answer 1

Get a copy of your credit report. Any inquiries would show up there. if you see one you do not recognize, contact the creditor.

Answer 2

First of all, you should get in touch with the fraud department of the credit bureau where you have your accounts and request them to initiate a credit alert on your accounts. This way the creditors are obligated to contact you before taking any actions regarding your accounts. At the same time you should close the accounts you believe that are corrupted.

The second step would be filing a police report and keeping a copy of it so to have a proof of the crime.

Preventing Identity Theft:
The most important thing to do is to pay attention to your bank statements: they should arrive in time and you should check them very carefully. Your bank statement should always arrive almost at the same date every month. If you don't get your statement one month this could mean that someone has changed your billing address to prevent you from discovering any unauthorized activity in your account. Also, you must check every statement as you get it and be sure that you have made all the purchases recorded on it.

Another simple precaution for preventing identity theft is to be careful with your personal papers. Never carry all of them with you as it is not safe. If you don't need your Social Security card, birth certificate, passport, etc., leave them home in a secured place and carry them with you only when you need them for some reason. Also, you should be careful with your mail as it often contains personal information. Either put a lock on your mailbox or have your mail delivered to a post office box.

Nowadays, purchases made over the internet are very common and some thieves have turned their attention to this domain. The way to protect your personal information when shopping online is to never release them unless you are using a secure browser. If you don't have a secured browser or the website you're visiting is not secured, place your order by phone or email. Also, for the websites that require a password or a personal identification number (PIN) don't use common names or dates as anyone can guess them, but create your own password or PIN made of numbers and letters.

Answer 3

Check your credit report and see if there is a new account or call the company you think issued him a credit card in your name.

Answer 4

Contact the credit reporting bureaus and ask for your once a year free report. It will indicate who has pulled your credit and when, and if any new accounts are opened. You can put a "fraud alert" on your file so no new accounts can be opened without your permission.

Answer 5

Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to obtain your FREE credit report from each of the 3 bureaus. If an account has been open w/o your authorization, immediately contact the credit bureaus to put a "fraud alert" on your account. From there, you need to work with them to get it off.

Answer 6

All of the above answers are correct - First get a copy of your CBR. Then contact the FTC - Federal Trade Commission. They have a web site, and report the identity theft. There are procedures to take to protect yourself from the thief's past and any further activities.

Answer 7

if your deadbeat manager is that stupid, it won't take the credit bureaus that long to find him. I wouldn't be too concerned with that, I'd be more concerned with people digging through my trash who I would have no clue about. get a cross cut shreader with a credit card shreader or a fire pit. I've never had a problem with identy theift.

Answer 8

The first thing to do is call the credit bureaus and have an alert issued. It lasts 90 days and anyone who runs your social security # will be notified that they need to call you to make sure it is actually you that is applying for something.

Answer 9

Check your credit report. You should do that at least once a year anyways. There are plenty of ways to do it online, if you like. Just search for credit report...

Answer 10

All of the above--here's the site where you get all three reporting agencies' reports for free (and the only site where you don't have to sign up for something or pay money):

http://www.annualcreditreport.com