Identity Theft? Sorta...
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 - 8:53pm
I don't know if you can call this identity theft, exactly. Someone seems to be signing me up for random stuff. So far, there aren't any mysterious charges showing up on my credit or debit cards... But I've been signed up for Columbia House DVD, and apparently free stuff for "Baby to Bee." These are all the incidences I know about, so far.
This is frustrating for obvious reasons, but I have no idea what to do about it. Any suggestions?
XBL: NSMike | Steam | PSN: NSMike | Wii Friend Code: 7763 1519 2475 2278 | GWJ Google Calendar
LOL, who'd you piss off, and be thankful its not porno magazine subscriptions.
About all you can do is contact the people sending you crap and tell them that you didn't sign up for it.
"Also, I have four legs and am covered in wool. Baa!" *Legion* reveals his inner furry.
Damn, I've been caught!
"I'm absolutely retarded. Not 100% sure why." - atom
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"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
When you say signed up, do you mean your personal info, or your email address is receiving mail saying you've registered for this or that?
Xbox Live: Irongut | Playstation ID: Irongut_GWJ
Your mom wants you to settle down and have a grandkid.
I`m Artsy Partsy Gun For Hire
Could be phishing attempts to make you enter a password or something...
The man wears a bucket of KFC on his head. I wouldn't expect anything less. - Pred
See on my floor we just sing you up for about 50 homosexual newsletters. That seems to shut people up.
*Legion* wrote:
When I say "signed up" I mean I got a phone call from the baby thing tonight asking me about the "free stuff" I signed up for, and had them promptly remove me from their system.
And I got a DVD and a bill from Columbia House, and I called them and told them I never signed up.
And I didn't piss anyone off recently... Maybe shihonage, but he always sounds pissed.
XBL: NSMike | Steam | PSN: NSMike | Wii Friend Code: 7763 1519 2475 2278 | GWJ Google Calendar
If i were you i'd notify your bank and credit card company...
A blog: by me!
check your credit reports at the free credit report site. Sorry don't remember what the site is.
Wannabe priest with a sword....
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
You can get a free one from the three major credit report agencies every 12 months.
It may not be identity theft of any sort. The people on the phone are lying to you. It's a standard tactic of telemarketers. All they need to call you is a name and a phone number and they can get that from every telephone book. They have to say you contacted them first otherwise they risk running afoul of the new No Call List and it's accompanying regulations.
The mailed stuff is a bit more problematic, but again not necessarily identity theft. You didn't "sign up"; I'll bet you registered somewhere else with your name and address and that someone sold them your contact information.
Where they got the info is the big question here. Definately check the credit report, and also make sure you're on that No Call List for both your home and cellphone numbers. You might also want to look at the P3P Privacy Statement of any website that requires this information for registration. They have to say in there exactly what they're doing with every bit of the personal information they collect, and give you a way to get that out of their system. If they don't have one, then you have to make a solemn decision. I've signed William Howard Taft up for many a site using the address of the Whitehouse.
Duoae wrote:
Let me know how this happened, I want to sign up farscry. He booted me off a civ game
(in a fair and honest way, but still!! )
Here in Canada I hang up on telemarketers. Seems they only need to hear yes to any question (are you ) and that
taped is supposed to be proof you said yes to their little scheme.
Happy hunting!
'Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.'
Benjamin Franklin
The phone call is problematic still because it's so close on the heels of the Columbia House thing, and she asked me, "I'm calling about the free baby gifts you signed up for with Baby to Bee, is that correct?" And when I said "No, it's not, I never signed up for anything," she said, "Okay, I'm sorry, we'll remove you from our records immediately," and that was that. If she was a telemarketer, she would've pushed more.
A company laptop with our payroll information on it was stolen about six/seven months ago, so I've got a free credit-watch thing for the next six months or so. They've reported to me each month since this happened, and there hasn't been any reason to be alarmed yet. And no one at work has said anything about experiencing anything like this.
XBL: NSMike | Steam | PSN: NSMike | Wii Friend Code: 7763 1519 2475 2278 | GWJ Google Calendar
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think identity thieves would sign you up for frivolous stuff, thereby alerting you. Seems more like a prank.
Grenn wrote:
On the plus side you got a free* DVD.
*Federal law states that you can keep any items you recieve in the mail that you didn't order without having to pay for it.
Duoae wrote:
Stengah's Steam ID
ICO: Stengah