Over the last month, a bunch of strange things have been happening involving my wife's online identity. Has anyone been through an identity theft? Any advice on what to do next?
- Thanksgiving week: We receive several phone calls about "the auto insurance quote you asked for online" and a letter from Allstate that basically says, if we accept the quote they will run our credit. After talking with Allstate, someone asked for a quote online using my wife's info to insure a 40 y/o man on a 2010 Mercedes. Supposedly, all they needed was my wife's name, address, and phone number to request this quote. No SSN or other qualifying info is required to request a quote.
- 2 weeks later: We receive another call regarding an insurance quote, same scenario as above.
- This week: I look at our monthly phone bill and notice it has gone up by $21.20. It's a third-party payment for a "Pro Credit Track" service at $19.99/mo plus tax. After speaking with several people at this company, it appears someone signed up for a credit monitoring program using my wife's info. I've requested a copy of the Letter of Authorization, which will give me all the info they used to sign up for this account, to include IP Address. Supposedly, you do not need to provide a SSN to sign up for this service (which I think is bullshit) - just name, address, phone, and e-mail. The e-mail address was a phony @yahoo.com address, BTW
Questions:
1. Should we be concerned by this? I'm thinking yes....
2. Assuming we get an IP Address, is there anyone here that would be willing to whois this and resolve it to a physical address?
3. What would be the recommended next steps?
Thanks DFWS!
- Thanksgiving week: We receive several phone calls about "the auto insurance quote you asked for online" and a letter from Allstate that basically says, if we accept the quote they will run our credit. After talking with Allstate, someone asked for a quote online using my wife's info to insure a 40 y/o man on a 2010 Mercedes. Supposedly, all they needed was my wife's name, address, and phone number to request this quote. No SSN or other qualifying info is required to request a quote.
- 2 weeks later: We receive another call regarding an insurance quote, same scenario as above.
- This week: I look at our monthly phone bill and notice it has gone up by $21.20. It's a third-party payment for a "Pro Credit Track" service at $19.99/mo plus tax. After speaking with several people at this company, it appears someone signed up for a credit monitoring program using my wife's info. I've requested a copy of the Letter of Authorization, which will give me all the info they used to sign up for this account, to include IP Address. Supposedly, you do not need to provide a SSN to sign up for this service (which I think is bullshit) - just name, address, phone, and e-mail. The e-mail address was a phony @yahoo.com address, BTW
Questions:
1. Should we be concerned by this? I'm thinking yes....
2. Assuming we get an IP Address, is there anyone here that would be willing to whois this and resolve it to a physical address?
3. What would be the recommended next steps?
Thanks DFWS!
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