[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

It isn't just Equifax- even if the fraud totally disappears of your credit report, you now have to deal with the creditor who issued the cash. Identity theft or not, they will attempt to collect from you. If it's big and expensive enough, you can expect to be served over it.

Some of you may even become unknowing cosigners of cars, credit card accounts, etc..

rjp

Originally Posted by Ferraripete

says that my info has been compromised.

I checked credit reports and credit cards and see nothing that appears odd. credit score remains in tact.

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

May not (probably won't) happen right away but certainly can for many years to come, without warning. Lock it down.

This^^sums up the problem we all face. Freezing your credit reports only protects you from an attempt to establish new credit under your identity. The credit reports you receive only report on credit activity under your name. However, the ticking time-bomb is the identity theft possibilities that may come at any time in the foreseeable future that can impact your credit report, examples of which Randy mentioned.

Many circumstance can lead to your credit being attacked without the need to get a "frozen" credit report. Someone can go to the doctor, claim to be you, have an insurance card in your name, and incur a large bill that they fail to pay. A front office that doesn't run a credit check on a new patient now has established a claim against "you." When it goes to collection, you are held accountable and you are reported to the three credit agencies.

An ID thief can change your address or passwords for legitimate accounts you currently hold. You never know of the charges/activity because you're no longer being notified. Soon, your credit report shows delinquent payments.

A minor version happened to me recently. I began getting an additional newspaper delivered to my house that I hadn't subscribed to. For three days, I thought it was just a mistake by the delivery person as I do receive a paper, but not that particular one. I called after the third delivery and was told that a subscription was opened for my address by someone who I had never heard of. It was in conjunction with a "fund raiser." Apparently, the only thing necessary to open an account is the street address and phone number--something that can be obtained from a phone book. I never got a notification that I was a new subscriber.

The point is, it is now up to all of us to monitor all activity on current accounts, look for evidence of accounts that are unfamiliar, don't ignore bills/calls from businesses or services that claim you owe them money, freeze our credit reports, and expect to be a victim of ID theft sometime in the future.