Identity theft
 

I used to laugh at those comercials until happened to me. I lost my wallet. A yr later I went to buy a cell phone, cute little light purple camera phone. They said I already had an account and couldn't open another one. I was so devasted. I flirted with the guy who worked there and discovered the person had used a fake birthday, fake address (partially correct) and all they had was my ss#
I went home and called Sprint PCS and said I want this account closed now. They informed that no crime had been commited because the person had been paying on time. I said um hello.. this is identity theft and fraud! He still said we wont close the account. A relative who is a lawyer said ok if they wont close it out then have them update all the info to you and get a list of all numbers you called.
I told him fine switch all the billing etc to me and send me a copy of all activity. He said I can't do that you already told me it was fraud. I said OMG so you are saying that you are going to knowing keep a fraudulant account open. He said uh ...hold on and then said ok account closed.
I called the police and they said they werent going to investigate it since it got closed out with a credit balance...
They said that because the cell phone companys get a tax break for providing instant credit they rarely care whether you are who you say you are.
To open a cell phone account in someone elses name all you need to do is
1. have a cell phone
2. no ID needed for Sprint (they dont care)
3. call and activate your phone with social security number
4. pay in cash each month/mail in payment
They told me that the person even called in to complain the payment didnt post fast enough!
They refused to give me the phone records for fear of a lawsuit and covered up the whole thing

I did however threaten to sue them and got a free cell phone and $100 off my first bill
I am amazed that this happened!! My credit card company said that someone with the same name as me had gotten sent my tried to switch my info over to them... I don't know if thats how I was victimized or if it was losing my wallet. This is really fucked up though

i lost my wallet once too. i got a credit report back with 600 dollars worth of phone bills that i weren't mine. my age on the credit report said im 26 even though im 25. it listed me at jobs ive never had and at homes ive never lived in.

isn't that fuckin cute?

Too long of a post to read. :helpme

Nothing like thats ever happened to me. I keep my cards safe. When I'm going out to get drunk I make sure I only take out my cashline switch card. Never take credit cards with me.

Attention deficit disorder must be a difficult thing to live with.

why even post this as a response? if you're attention span is nil, and you can't make it through three paragraphs. stop. go to another thread.

that really must suck. but thats way better than someone using your identify and taking out a mortgage. pretty soon we all will need identity theft insurance

maybe having your ss card in your wallet isnt the smartest thing to do

I check my credit report monthly for any new inquiries that I didnt make or accounts I didnt open.

Helpme? Ok, here's some help:

http://www.hookedonphonics.com/

true. most people i know dont carry it around with them. just carry it when you need it. Like when you try to get hired or take out a mortgage, etc.

I hear lawyers are sometimes good at forcing phone companies to divulge their records etc, and for forcing cops to actually do their jobs and take crooks to task. Don't most lawyers offer a free consultation? Can't hurt to go talk to a few, get some opinions.

exactly, which is once a year maybe. get a safe and leave it in there until then.

yeah, i cant be that hard to get the list of numbers called and findout who owned the phone.

Smart move, I think I'm going to start doing the same. I check every once in a while but not monthly. Scary shit to think what they could do if they were fucking with you for 6 months unchecked. :helpme

I think I posted about it before, but a friend of mine had his identity stolen years ago, and sometimes the police show up at his door and arrest him randomly. Once they find out what's happened it's all good, and he even has papers from several courts stating that his identity has been stolen, but still.. He gets turned down for credit all the time, he gets arrested, he gets bills for things, it's insane. The poor man will never live a normal life again. He's been dealing with it for like 5 years now.

Same situation we have here..people are hacking into peoples dial up access and making long distance phone calls around the world and the phone company won't do shit about it. where is the fucking justice in this world?:BangBang:

I also check it monthly to maximize my credit score. Its up to 736 now, just got approved for a used car loan with a 4.74% interest rate. At 680 they gave me 8.9% so thats a pretty big difference

are you kidding? it was harder for me to get a sprint cell phone than buy my last car.