How does one find out if your id is stolen and fraudulant bank accounts are being opened?

Question

I was wondering about this for a long time now. I have subscribed to a credit monitoring service and I have access to my credit report and credit score. But what about bank accounts. These are not reported on the credit report. How would I ever know if someone has stolen my say SSN and used it to open accounts.

Answer 1

Monitoring your credit report is a good place to start. Ultimately, identity theft of any kind will end up there in some form.

You could call your local district attorney's office and see if your name is on their fraudulent check writing list. People who write bad checks end up in the DA's office for fraud. If your name doesn't come up there, you're probably in the clear. This step seems drastic to me, though. I would just keep a close eye on my credit report.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Well, a credit monitoring service only reports what you yourself can see on your credit report, so probably you can dispense with their services.
As to bank accounts being opened using your SSN, it should show up in your credit report.
Of course, credit reporting bureaus make lots of mistakes. My first credit report revealed that I have 2 SSN's, 2 different birth dates (40 years apart), several addresses where I have never lived, etc. Unless you have something to back up your suspicion, either don't worry about it or take out insurance for that kind of thing.