Someone is using my wife's Social Security Number! (Need advice please!)

5/29/03 | Occam's Chainsaw

[occam's chainsaw]

My wife and I received a letter yesterday from the Arizona Department of Revenue stating that our entire state tax refund was being confiscated to pay for an outstanding debt from a court case here in Arizona. When my wife called to inquire, she was told that OUR refund was going to pay for a debt incurred by someone named Cecilia Ramirez who is using my wife's SSN!

Now, we are going to have to spend half of our refund to conduct a credit check and make sure "Cecilia" hasn't caused any other damage. I am livid.

Do any FReepers out there have any advice?

[occam's chainsaw]

All your help is greatly appreciated

[RightWhale]

Identity theft. Hope you catch the criminal!

[chuknospam]

Call the FBI's Identity Theft division. Your local FBI office can put you in touch. It's going to be a long, costly battle.

[CJ Wolf]

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html

[sirshackleton]

Call the credit report folks (Equifax, etc etc etc) and see what damage, if any has occurred.

I also wouldn't put it past a clerical error in the courts. Perhaps a number got transposed or tunred around. I've seen that happen before. I think you should definitely check both avenues.

[lormand]

Try this from the Social Security Administration

http://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/

[conservativeinbflo.]

Unbelievable. You have my sympathy. I hope you catch the filthy troll who did this to you. This is a growing trend.

[lormand]

How to report a stolen number

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=329

[Rodney King]

That sucks. It happened to me once. It will work out in the end, but meanwhile you have a big hassle on our hands. Basically, there is zero down-side to identity theft. Nobody does anything about it.

Mwanwhile, people, give out your social secuirty number to as few people as possible. For drivers license and univesrity ID's, request a non SS number as your ID number. When you go to the doctors office, just give them a phony one. They ask for it, but don't need it.

Anyway, this identity theft stuff could be quashed for quickly by a federal effort. Instead, we have a new effort to go after roach-clip manufacturers.

[gramho12]

Make sure you contact the police and file a report; also file a report with the FBI (you can do it online with their identity theft unit); contact all 3 credit bureaus and get your updated credit report and cancel all open accounts (you will be surprised how many there may be). I would also recommend changing any account info, passwords for any online accounts you may have, etc.

A similar thing happened to me, although I think I was able to catch it in time before I was ripped off.

This is one crime where you are guilty till proven innocent, so do everything you need to do as quickly as you can.

[Maigrey]

After you do the previous advice, call all the credit bureaus and put a lock on them, as well as securing copies of them so you can review them for accounts you didn't open.

After you check them, get a notary and put a security lock on them, which you would know, (this might vary from state to state) and that they have to notify you if anyone is trying to open an account in your name.

After that, get hunting on how they found out your information and seal it if possible.

Unfortunately, there is much public information on you that you cannot prevent access to. Find out what is public and what isn't so you can prevent further damage.

Good luck! and catch the (bleep) who did this to you.

[savedbygrace]

This won't help you after the fact, but if your wife has her SSN printed on her checks (maybe as her drivers license number) get new checks printed without that number on them.

If her drivers license number is her SSN, go to DMV and get a new number that isn't her SSN.

[RedWhiteBlue]

I think that when there is identity theft, the credit bureaus will give you a free copy of your credit report so that you can review it. What a nightmare.

[mewzilla]

I'd talk to a lawyer, too, after you call the FBI. Not that you'll necessarily need one, but it pays to be prepared. And shred any and all paperwork before you throw it out, preferably with a crosscut shredder. Not to say that this is what happened in your case, but dumpster diving is one way crooks get this info, and it's not even illegal in many cases. Shred, shred, shred. And good luck.

[azsportsterman]

Tricare had a problem last year with theft of many records at one of its data warehouses in Phoenix. You may want to check this site for info and assistance: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/NewsReleases/2002/news0236.htm

Good luck, I hope you get this problem fixed quickly!

[rface]

Cecilia Ramirez in Arizona

[mpoulin]

FTC identity theft website:
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

[Tamar1973]

My husband has a co-worker who found out that some hispanic guy down in San Diego was using her social security # to get a job. There's no evidence in her file over the past 2 years or so that he has used it for anything else, thank goodness.

However, here's the clincher. When she reported it to the Social Security Administration they said they woudn't do anything about it.

Now, all she can do is watch her credit record like a hawk to make sure he doesn't get any bright ideas about using her social security number for anything else. The only good thing about it is that the social security taxes he is paying are going to go to her at retirement, not him.

[FITZ]

I know a kid ---hispanic American who had his identity stolen by an illegal who needed his social security and other documents -----he was unable to get a job and the government drags it's feet big time on this kind of crime they don't believe is very important. They won't issue the American a new Social Security number either and the illegal can go on using it to take jobs, welfare benefits, obtain credit and whatever else. You will have to just kiss a lot of that money goodbye.