ID Theft

I guess I should not be surprised that I’ve become another victim of Identity Theft. So far it seems pretty contained; If I learn more or there seems more to add here, I’ll do so.

Yesterday’s mail brought a bank statement for a checking account I never opened. I sent a quick disputing email via the bank’s contact us webpage and then called them this morning. The nice representative I spoke with this morning noted that it was flagged for looking fraudulent on what I believe to be the day after it was opened. (The statement period was 10/16 - 10/24 and she said it was flagged 10/17.) She noted that they would close the account and all the related access and said it looked like I was a victim of ID Theft. I did express a bit of surprise that they would open an account without a credit report, but she confirmed that is the case: They don’t require a credit report to open an account, at least not for a checking account.

I hope the $306 the statement said was in the account is a net loss for the thief.

I’ve spent about 3 hours between the email last night, the call this morning and many of the steps outlined on the FTC website to report ID Theft. And so far, it looks to be only that one checking account opened with my name and address. I’m cautiously optimistic that following the advice years ago from Brian Krebs and freezing my credit report will help to keep the impact contained — though I have now filed for a fraud alert to be added to my credit report as well.