Identity Theft Questions
 

I've just spent all morning cancelling credit cards, closing bank accounts etc. It started when I received an e mail alert from Chase Bank that my password for online banking had been changed. I called Chase and got it straightened out (so I thought).

Then a few hours later I receive an email from Paypal that my password had been changed. Talked to Paypal and the gal said that usually if your passwords are the same for banking, Paypal, Amazon, etc. they just put in your email and password and they're off to the races.

I thought all was good until this A.M. I get a call from Comchek that 2 wire transfers were made on my Chase Visa credit card for a total of $1,400. They tried to make a third but the woman in their fraud division got wise and called me at work. It seems this effing lowlife was able to forward my cell number to his phone so that when anyone called to question the charges he would just tell them it was good and to proceed. She also told me he had my social, birth date and other info.

My question is, how did he get this info? I called ATT and the forwarded number is a local number. Did he hack e mail? Anyone who has been through it or has input it would be greatly appreciated. SmileWavy

They could have gotten your social from any number of places.

Recently had a course of chiropractic work that needed to be done.

Not covered by my policy so I was a cash customer.

They wanted my SS#. I said no. I'm a cash customer.

They said their billing required it. I said no. The only reason you need that is if I don't pay. You can bang my card before each treatment if you want.

Office Manager comes over and says they need it.

I said you and your staff seem like nice people but how do I know, pointing at the receptionist, that this one here won't turn out to be a lousy employee who grabs a bunch of info before you fire her? Or someone won't throw a brick through that front door and yank the computer off the desk.

I then asked to see their records storage. I wanted to ensure it was locked and enquired who in the facility had access to it.

They kinda looked at me and did not say a word as I turned and left.

My advice, get Lifelock for now.

It won't protect your bank account but if your number is out there they'll be using it to open accounts you don't and won't know about till it's too late. If they have not already.

Call all 3 credit agencies and put a lock on activity.

Good luck, this stuff tends to be a nightmare for a while and you now need to stay hyper vigilant for a few years at least.

That really sucks. Just keep on top of it.

Just today I thought to check my credit report. It all looks fine but there is one old credit card I thought I had canceled long ago that is still shown as active. I will close it on Monday.

I was amazed to see they have stuff on there back to 2003. It is all good but I was amazed to see stuff that old.

This is the site for a legitimate free credit report. Everyone should check their credit often.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

I put a freeze on my credit with Experian and changed passwords, accounts, etc. But I can't understand how they were able to forward my calls to their phone. The gal at ATT said they would physically have to go into the settings on my phone to do it. We have a new phone network at work where they can forward work calls to my cell, wondering if that's how it was done.

Were you receiving calls on your phone other than the card companies?

If yes it sounds more like they changed your contact info once they got into your account.

Can you call your cell phone # and track where it forwards to? You may be able to catch a break - espeically if the perp doesn't know you are on to him yet...

-Z

Yes, some how he was able to have all my calls to my cell (my main contact number) forwarded to his phone. When Chase or some other institution would call me, he would answer and tell them the charges were good.

The wire transfers went to a Jacob Jimenez, and my calls were forwarded to (818)927-9490, which is a local number. I was able to call him from my work phone and pretty much told him what I do to scumbags like him. Of course he hung up. He knows my info is no good to him anymore, at least for now. Just chaps my hide.

No, all calls were forwarded to his cell phone. I think he just called ATT, gave them the last 4 numbers in my social and had them forward my calls to his number. Sneaky bastards. I did run Malwarebytes on my computer and 7 threats were detected. Deleted those, changed all passwords (different passwords for each account) cancelled all credit cards, closed bank account, put credit freeze through Experian. Man, like I didn't have enough crap to do today. At least my damage was minimal (so far).

Can't his cell phone be traced back to him by the number? Seems if you have his phone number, you're way ahead of the game...unless it's a stolen cell phone. Anyone know if such a trace is possible?

I would think that there would be some LE agency that you could contact, local, federal, something like that.

Yeah, I'm going to get the police involved. It just stumps me how this guy could have gone all the way, from accessing banking websites, figuring out passwords, changing my phone settings, just unbelievable. I'll tell ya, I'm changing everything when it comes to managing personal data.

Likely what he did.

Probably a google voice number set up using OP's own info.

Or pay as you go burner.

we always burn everything with a name adresse or any personal info on it whatsoever. dont know how effective it is but cant hurt

Hunt him or her down, we can do a blanket party and then shoot their ass.

Cops won't do a thing. ID theft should be like horse theft. Vigilante justice.

Sorry to hear about this Craig - what a pain in the....

We should track the douche down and then leave him in a room with Craig T's dog for a few minutes. Then (if he's still breathing) do what Z said above...

I have the cell number so I might call this weekend offering him a great deal on a "New Chase Platinum Card with unlimited executive priviliges". I just hate scumbags.

What I've learned from this is:

1. No repetitive passwords on accounts

2. Have your cell provider require a PIN text to your cell phone before any account/call changes can be made (so they can verify). You can forward calls but you can't forward texts.

3. Make sure your home WiFi is password protected (mine was, with the same password as my bank,Paypal) and make it long and tough.

Probably normal stuff to think of, but according to all the fraud prevention people I've talked to today, these guys are getting smarter and smarter (they had some horror stories).

Jacob Jimenez Phone and Address | Zabasearch.com Free People Search in the San Fernando Valley.

Wire transfer = He had to open a bank account, and pass federal screening = real name.
There shouldn't be a reason the local cops wouldn't pick up an easy case.

The best way to do passwords is to use 3 or more word phrases.

"Craig likes chili" is easier to remember than a random 6 character password like "y3klh7".

Random character passwords can be brute forced in a matter of months.

Pass phrases can take 2,000 years to brute force.

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I hope you sounded like that on the phone Craig!

Sorry to hear about this, damn crooks are everywhere!

Sorry to read about your predicament, Craig. But I did learn a few things on this thread, especially about passwords.

Well, just a little update. Sid, I did give him the "Taken speech" but it included manual decapitation and defacation down the esophageal region.

I recieved another call 30 minutes ago with a blocked ID. I knew it was him so I called his number from a non local traceable cell phone. He picked up and I acted like I had the wrong number. He went all "Cholo" on me for wasting his time. The dumbass is still using the phone.

I'll file a police report (don't know how far that wil go). But I've got his number, might be worth messing with a little further.

Some nasty trojans going around right now that would have got all your info, usually with a phishing email or even off a search engine.

As for the phone, Imwould freak on the phone company for not having valid security around this.

Good luck, and whoever suggest lifelock, the CEO was hacked minutes after posting his SIN on the side of their trucks in the the old comercials pwnd

Can get a lot better than Zabasearch stuff out there.
US Search
People finders..
Intelius...

entire background checks, relatives, etc...

I'm showing about 20 Jacob Jimenez' in the Socal area...

We were advised to never give out a SSN #. If they need a # I make one up.

My former employer got hacked recently and my info was stolen. So I've contacted the three credit bureaus, the IRS, the FTC, my bank, my investment broker and just now the USPS.

Man this is nuts! Whomever got my info has tried credit applications, phone accounts and just now my broker called me to confirm a change of address. Faaack me what next?

Sounds a bit more sophisticated, but #1 is skimming at ATM's and gas pumps.

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I still have my credit frozen with the 3 companies. The thing that sucks is you can unfreeze it for 24 hours but costs $15 every time ( in Calif at least). The one piece of info that he didn't have was my Mother's maiden name, that tripped him up on 3 credit card applications.

After all this the main thing I learned was that both LE and the CC companies could give 2 shytes about fraud. They really truly did not seem to care.

It's simple economics.

The shear volume of fraud and the ease with which it can be done make preventing identity theft from their end near impossible.

It's far easier and cheaper to detect after the fact and try to shut down before too much money has been lost.

Like any war the fact that casualties will be inflicted leads to the reality of and planning for acceptable loss.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1467399603.jpg

Whoeasy.com says they have more information and it cost 95 cents to see it.

Were yours all the same?

Unfortunately yes. It was a strong password but after they cracked at Chase they went straight to Paypal. My Amazon was different but fortunately I was able to head them off at PayPal to avoid any charges.

They were also able to contact Discover Business card directly and add themselves on as an additional card holder. When I called Discover to ask if any transactions had been made lately the woman told me no charges but I had ordered a card for an employee by the name of Daniel Lopez. I'm the sole employee of my LLC. Dirty rat bastards.

It looks like this fool has a registered phone with T-Mobile:

Free Carrier Lookup - Find the carrier information for phone numbers - worldwide.

Phone Number: 18189279490
Carrier: T-Mobile
Is Wireless: y
SMS Gateway Address: 8189279490@tmomail.net
MMS Gateway Address: 8189279490@tmomail.net

I suggest you document every single step you took in a timeline. Be as accurate as possible with dates, times, and actions. With the complete information, contact your local police department and ask to have a report written. Follow-up with the handling detective and ensure you are in close contact with him/her. They can write search warrants for his phone records, bank accounts, etc. and nail him. You are not the only victim and this fool will victimize others as well.

If you have any questions, or need and direction, PM me your number and I'll call you.

Good luck!

Bet you ten to one, when you try to get the police involved, they'll just give you lip service. Sucks to have to go through the inconvenience & problems. Gives impetus to my thoughts about having my credit reports frozen.