You know how I said last week that I wouldn't commit to being a victim of identity theft? I think I can erase all doubt - you know, the way someone would like to erase my credit.
Motherfuckers. ......and that's the nice version.
So, since that last post, I got someone applying for a $10,000 consolidation loan (yeah, because they were stealing money for me to pay off their credit card!) and two credit cards. All of them turned down, which is good.
Or is it? I mean, my credit score is hovering at 780. How the fuck am "I" being turned down for a Discover card? DISCOVER! While I'm glad no one is actually getting to my credit, I think I should be a little offended that "I" can't get a card one had to go through Sears to obtain.
For those who don't know - Sears used to be a department store like JC Penny, but with a hardware.
For those who don't know - JC Penny was a department store like Montgomery Ward.
.....for those who don't know - Montgomery Ward.............. well, you get the idea.
For the bank loan - the rep was pretty nice and gave me a buttload of info. They clearly had my SSN and partial address. Oddly, the rejection letter got to me - without any 'forward' info, but it had the road name misspelled and a very very wrong zip code. She is the one who told me how much the loan request was for. They did not use my phone number, but she wouldn't tell me the area code even used on the one they had. I thought that was a weird bit of info to withhold considering everything else she gave me.
So yes, I reached out to each of the credit bureaus - one was great. one was fair. one suuuuuuuuucked.
Yes, I'm talking to YOU Equifax.
I was locked out of my log-in. While I knew my log-in and password, it did not recognize either. So much so that when I asked for a new user ID, this pops up:
Yeahhhhhhh.......that's not my email address.
Turns out 'proton' is used to encrypt any and every thing - you know when you don't want to be found. So, when you think about it - someone got in, changed my log-in and contact info. And now that I asked for a new sign-on, Experian sent that notificaiton to the perps, who now know someone is on to them. So......yay!
It gets better. But not in that gay teen kind of way. Sarcastically.
None of Experian's 800 numbers - and there are many - allow you to talk to an actual human being. None. I had to do some internet searches to find any number get a person. The first guy was nice, the second guy extremely snippy - because he was the wrong department, like it was my fault I got transferred to him. The third guy - "Sebastian" was good.
I say that in quotes because it is highly doubtful there are a lot of "Sebastians" in Bangalore.
Sebastian went through all the verifications, but then it got to security questions - and lo and behold the answers were different. So someone had been in and changed the answer to my first car name and my oldest sister's middle name.
So, the case is being escalated. But clearly, Experian is the weak link of the three. I know how they got in, I'm assuming.
That said - my credit was all locked / frozen at all three credit agencies. Do smart criminals relock the info after obtaining / changing it?
The reality is, they still got my SSN from the government info that was absconded with years back. From there, they probably got into a lot of other shit.
So - no one can seemingly get to syphon off all my tens of dollars, but damn if they're not trying - and taking down my credit rating in the process. And wasting a few hours per week of being on calls and on hold.
Motherfuckers!
Song by: the Beatles