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ID Theft.. family members

Submitted by on Mon, 02/27/2006 - 06:32
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I'm in California and have been for about 4 years now. I recently discovered that my credit report is under my brothers name. I don't know when exactly that happened or how but when my husband and I were looking for a place to live, the landlord pulled our credit reports and then told me that she found my brothers credit report not mine.

So needless to say we weren't approved for the move. Last month curiosity got the best of me. I went to equifax website and pulled my report and printed it out. HOLY COW!!! The student loans on there are mine and that was it. There wasn't anything else. However, the name was my brother. I called equifax and I swear they asked me 20 times what my conf # and name was before I had to interrupt and explain the problem. LOL

They have me as living at my mothers old address as well. My mom knows my SS# and she has a habit of not paying bills and then turning on utilities in someone (within the family)'s name then not paying it and we don't find out about the debt for months--in my case years. She used to use my information all the time to buy things through the mail from clothing companies. Luckily, this stuff isn't on my report. But it scares me to know that she has my # especially now that I've finally paid off my student loans with my tax refund.

I'm wondering...since there really isn't any way I can prove that she MAY use my information, is there any way I can prevent it? How about my brother? I've sent equifax all the info they wanted to prove my identity and now I'm just waiting for them to fix it but its beginning to worry me and I'm wanting to change my information (SS#) so that they can't get a hold of it and possibly ruin my credit eventhough the only thing holding me back right now is the fact that my brothers name is on my report and he's been in prison off and on since 2000, I think.

Anyone know how I can prevent this if possible? Or how it works in California to get yer SS# changed?

Thanks for reading my babble. lol


Looks to me like it is a complete mistake and they mixed your reports. You need to dispute all this with the bureaus, because obviously you are not your brother. They need to separate the files, and put his stuff on his own file.

That same thing happened to us a few years ago, when we went to buy our house. We pulled our credit report, and my husband's grandfather's info was on our report. The man had EXCELLENT credit, and all his bills were paid....he had cards with $10,000 limits on them! I was floored. Made us look good, but obviously it was not correct so we had it removed.

So, what I am saying, is don't automatically assume they are using your credit...it may be a complete accident and your brother may have no clue that his stuff is even on your report.

As far as preventing someone from using your credit, you can put a fraud alert on it by calling the bureaus..they have an option you can press to get to it. What happens then is that anytime someone applies for credit using your SS#, they will have to answer questions only you could answer. I did that on mine because I saw that someone had applied for a credit card, poor souls were declined though. Sometimes though, I have to actually get on the phone with the company and answer questions, so it can be a pain, but it works.

Last thing, I would not try to change my SS#...that would be the last resort, things could really get messed up then.

Hope this info helps.


Submitted by TMD on Mon, 02/27/2006 - 06:40

TMD

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You found your brother's name in the equifax credit report. Have you checked the reports of the other two bureaus also? This will be helpful for you.

Contact the bureau and give proof of your identify for getting the actual details reflected in your file. Getting the SSN# changed is not an easy task. Basically, you will have to prove to the bureau that you had been a victim of ID theft in the past. They won't change if it is based on assumptions.


Submitted by david on Mon, 02/27/2006 - 11:44

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Consult reports from other bureaus as told by David. It will help you understand whether your mother has used your SS # or not.

If the mistake is there only with EQ, chances are there was some error in posting on their part. Dispute it. You can collect format letter to dispute from the ???debt consolidation Sample Letters For Free???


Submitted by stanley on Mon, 02/27/2006 - 12:40

stanley

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