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Old 06-02-22, 05:28 PM  
FitBoop
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Join Date: Nov 2001
I became a victim of identity theft

As you may know, I have been advocating for identity security and privacy for years. I always recommend freezing credit reports, putting fraud alerts on credit reports, being vigilant about multi-factor authentications, etc..

Despite my vigilance, I became the victim of identity theft. I found out after receiving an email alert from Experian IdentityWorks, saying there was a change to a bank account, at a bank I don't use. After investigating, I learned that someone opened up a bank account using my social security number and birthday, but used a different name and address. That person made an address change to the account, and because I had the identity theft monitoring, I received an alert.

Ironically, I registered with Experian IdentityWorks earlier this year, because it was offered as part of the settlement for the Equifax breach, in which many millions of people's social security numbers and data were exposed. It costs less than a cup of coffee for someone to purchase your social security number on the dark web. The thief opened the bank account in 2021, before I had the identity theft monitoring. If she hadn't made the change to the account, I never would have found out about it.

Since learning this, I have frozen my social security number with E-Verify, which is used by some employers to verify eligibility to work, and is part of Homeland Security.

I also obtained an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS, which is available to all taxpayers. I highly recommend this for everyone. It is getting more and more common for thieves to file tax returns using other people's social security numbers and obtain refunds.

I guess I will find out in the future if the thief did anything else that could affect me, such as receive a 1099 with my social security number for income, for which I would be taxed.

It's a fact that everyone's social security numbers and other sensitive data are out there for the taking. It really stinks to find out someone has stolen your data and used it. So please do everything you can to secure your data.
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