Possible stolen identity.

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ziggy©

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Ok I need some advice. I came home from work today to find a credit card statement with a balance of around £700. I also found two statements for two storecards which according to the statements they have not been used.

It looks like somehow someone has managed to use my name and address to get these cards. I phoned the credit card company to let them know that I never applied for that card. According to them, the card was registered and has been in use since May.

The card is now cancelled and the credit card company are investigating. I am now worried that maybe whoever used my name has used it for something else maybe even other cards that I am not aware of.

The fact that I haven't seen any of the other statements since May suggests that it is probably someone in the same household or someone who has access.

Does anyone know if it is possible for me to find out how and where my name has been used in the last few months? I.e what cards were registered with my name or if anything was bought recently using my name? I am not even worried so much about the £700 bill so much. I am more worried about the bits I don't know of hence why I need to find out if it is possible.

I can't believe someone is able to get a credit card simply by using my details without any I'D. I have checked my wallet and all my Ids are all there so I don't really know how it was done.

The other problem I have now is how do I ensure that my details are not used again? I can't change my address, I can't change my name or date of birth so how on earth can I prevent this from happening again?
 
So which stores are they?
 
I think a credit search provides all the payments, loans etc in you name.
 
Like neil said you can get a complete credit report from experian

the other thing i'd say is that this is an odd one as 700 quid since may isnt very much - usually i'd expect an identity theif to run it up to the limit then default an leave you to deal with the consequences

can the card company tell you what purchases its been used for ? - if you suspect someone in your household this might give you an idea of who (e.g if its all xbox games, and music cds chances are it wasnt your granny, if its all jewelery and womens clothes chances are it wasn't your teenage son etc)
 
are you married
my x wife had been upto this before she left and I had to pay them all 17k
 
Shred you bills etc before disposing and watch places where you use your cards.
 
Just last week a friend said that something similar happened to her. She's had her name put onto a "refer before credit" list as the person doing it still seems to be about. It means that any applications for credit take a little longer (4-7 days) but all the applications are referred back to either her or her bank for authorisation (there's some sort of formula that decides who it should be referred to).
 
Online applications don't need as much in the way of verification. If they are at the same address then they only need to intercept the post if there is any. With online billing they could easily have created an online only account and you'd have no idea about it.

I'd get a credit report done. You'll need to access experian, call credit and equifax as they are the 3 agencies. Experian seems to be the least used of any. I'd definitely start with call credit and equifax.

I have used this one which shows results from all 3: http://www.checkmyfile.com/

Some card providers and bank accounts have free identity theft protection.

I'd definitely report it to the police as if you share with a few people the same person could have been stitching them up too.
 
I know this site/company is not much use to you now, but I think they are good.
We have been insured with them for a few years.
May be worth talking to them even though your not with them, you never know they might be able to help you.

http://www.cpp.co.uk/identity-safe/
 
Alastair said:
Just last week a friend said that something similar happened to her. She's had her name put onto a "refer before credit" list as the person doing it still seems to be about. It means that any applications for credit take a little longer (4-7 days) but all the applications are referred back to either her or her bank for authorisation (there's some sort of formula that decides who it should be referred to).
Click to expand...

How do i add my name to the 'Refer before credit' list? Is it through experian?
 
ziggy©;4931038 said:
Yes i did suspect that it was her but it cant be. She already has one of my credit cards which i let her have so it cant be her.
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asi i said - finding out what's been ordered would go a long way to identifying who has ordered it - also who has access to your mail
 
big soft moose said:
Like neil said you can get a complete credit report from experian

the other thing i'd say is that this is an odd one as 700 quid since may isnt very much - usually i'd expect an identity theif to run it up to the limit then default an leave you to deal with the consequences

can the card company tell you what purchases its been used for ? - if you suspect someone in your household this might give you an idea of who (e.g if its all xbox games, and music cds chances are it wasnt your granny, if its all jewelery and womens clothes chances are it wasn't your teenage son etc)
Click to expand...

Does experian not have a one off check for the complete credit report? I had a look at their website and i can only see the option for the free membership trial which has a monthly charge after the trial period.
 
ziggy©;4931107 said:
Does experian not have a one off check for the complete credit report? I had a look at their website and i can only see the option for the free membership trial which has a monthly charge after the trial period.
Click to expand...

so join for the vfree period, get you check - then cancel at the end of the free period (although you might want to keep it on , as its a lot cheaper than getting ripped off)
 
big soft moose said:
asi i said - finding out what's been ordered would go a long way to identifying who has ordered it - also who has access to your mail
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The statement had a list of things bought in the last month. I do have some suspicions about someone because one of the charges was for fuel at a petrol station near his house but i am working on it.
 
ziggy©;4931040 said:
How do i add my name to the 'Refer before credit' list? Is it through experian?
Click to expand...

From what she said it was something that happened automatically as soon as she reported the identity fraud - most likely initiated by her bank. When she was given the option to have her name removed from the list she instead asked that it be kept on the list indefinitely.

You do need to report it. Now that you know about it, by not reporting it you're complicit and not taking reasonable care to prevent fraud.
 
ziggy©;4931038 said:
Yes i did suspect that it was her but it cant be. She already has one of my credit cards which i let her have so it cant be her.
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don't be so sure I was horrified when I found out how many cards I actually had that I had never applied for or ever seen
My x wife was a house wife
any way the credit card spending was cheap compared to the divorce :lol::'(
 
big soft moose said:
so join for the vfree period, get you check - then cancel at the end of the free period (although you might want to keep it on , as its a lot cheaper than getting ripped off)
Click to expand...

Yes i agree but to be honest £15 a month is not cheap. I have registered but it looks like i cant use it straight away without a PIN number. They have sent the PIN to my home number and should arrive in the next few days.

Looks like i have to wait before i can see the report.
 
£15 a month , kinnel - i pay a fiver a month through my credit card co
 
ziggy©;4931132 said:
Yes i agree but to be honest £15 a month is not cheap. I have registered but it looks like i cant use it straight away without a PIN number. They have sent the PIN to my home number and should arrive in the next few days.

Looks like i have to wait before i can see the report.
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Assuming someone else doesn't get to it first :suspect:
 
I think you can get them to text it to you
 
How close are you to your local sorting office for the mail.
Pop in with proof of ID and ask them to hold your mail for collection for afew days.
 
One of the latest scams is card swop...

You pay your bill with your card, mostly in restraunts, someone then returns your paid bill with your card, and you look to check the bill, but not your card, next time you try and use your card, you can`t because it`s the same type of card as yours, but someone elses out of date card, they then have plenty of time to use it, and the card companies don`t want to know as you have not canceled your card straight away............don`t use them myself
 
Gremlin said:
How close are you to your local sorting office for the mail.
Pop in with proof of ID and ask them to hold your mail for collection for afew days.
Click to expand...

or get a PO box and redirect all your mail to it using the RM redirect service (which doesnt cost much)
 
easylife said:
One of the latest scams is card swop...

You pay your bill with your card, mostly in restraunts, someone then returns your paid bill with your card, and you look to check the bill, but not your card, next time you try and use your card, you can`t because it`s the same type of card as yours, but someone elses out of date card, they then have plenty of time to use it, and the card companies don`t want to know as you have not canceled your card straight away............don`t use them myself
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thats been arround a while - I don't let my card out of my site - they can either bing the chip and pin machine to the table, or i go to the bar - but no b****r else is touching my card
 
big soft moose said:
or get a PO box and redirect all your mail to it using the RM redirect service (which doesnt cost much)
Click to expand...

PO boxes are quite pricey though !
Fasr easier and cheaper to have a word with your local sorting office and explain the problem. they may do it free :)
 
Which is fine so long as its not your local postman who's stolen your identity - going the PO box route can redirect the mail before it gets to your local sorting office (you could also have it sent to work - or to a freind you can trust or whatever)
 
If its any help to anyone, I have house and contents insurance with direct line and I got Experian services included in the package, with alarms when someone tries to do a search on you.
 
ziggy© said:
Yes i will try and see if there are any other cheaper options.
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I have a capital one MasterCard and I get a equifax membership with it. I can see a history of credit file changes, get a monthly summary email, and two free credit reports a year. I pay a small yearly fee which the cash back easily covers. The current offer doesn't even have a yearly charge any more. You do need quite a good credit history though.
http://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/aspire-world-credit-card.jsf
 
big soft moose said:
Which is fine so long as its not your local postman who's stolen your identity - going the PO box route can redirect the mail before it gets to your local sorting office (you could also have it sent to work - or to a freind you can trust or whatever)
Click to expand...

Can't see anywhere that says he suspects the postman
A PO box cost £185 per year more if you want the mail delivered
http://www.royalmail.com/delivery/inbound-mail/po-box/prices

PO Box Mail is normally held at the loacal sorting office for collection so don't know where you got the idea it get's sorted before it get's there, redirects are done by whoever delivers the round, so if someone suspects it is the postie then best have a word with the manager so he can keep an eye on it.

Pretty sure if th OP goes into his local sorting offices and explains the situation to them they will try and help out
 
I've got a similar (but different :lol:) situation at the moment with Sky. Now, I'm not a Sky customer but I was up until about 8 months ago so when a Sky envelope dropped through the letterbox I didn't pay much heed to it, but when I did I noticed the name on it wasn't mine.

The address was correct so I opened it (tampering with the mail, m'lud :police: :lol:) and it was a final demand for arrears on a Sky account, in someone else's name ( a foreign-sounding name that I'd never heard of) and with a different number from my old account.

I phoned Sky and after the usual questions ("are you sure there's no-one else in your house that has recently had Sky installed?") it transpired that this account WAS registered at my address and Sky had no idea how it had happened and wouldn't tell me how long the account had been active.

I'm trying to work out how this would benefit anyone, I mean if you sign up for a new Sky account Im pretty sure they won't do an installation at a different address to the billing one and from what I remember you need to provide bank details for the direct debit.

I've checked my account and there's no suspicious activity, so is this a scam? It's not like the account is in my name and it hasn't be paid for out of my funds, it's just registered at my address :thinking: :shrug:
 
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