So how does one protect against this if freezing is useless because all that information was leaked anyway?
Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
61–70 of 195 posts
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
This logic is so impressively bad I don't know where to begin. Okay how about this, I'm going to pretend I lack morals for a second. I would do this with the information: 1. Write a script to webscrape sites like LinkedIn to find out if a name/address/ssn key could be tied to people like doctors, engineers and whoever else might have sufficient disposable income. 2. I would take out loans in their name. If I have to…
The flaw in your logic lays with the bank. You will need a bank account/visit branch/transfer loaned money somewhere where you can cash them. Banks have cameras + Irs will quickly find you and won't allow you disappear or use that money
The flaw in your logic is that you fail to realize i have access to 143 million bank accounts and can transfer any number of ways I want to. You also overestimate the competence of smaller banks.
Neglecting all of that you do realize that International wire transfers do exist right?
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#63Okay, blocked of time to freeze my credit on Monday.
The pin code they will give you to unlock it is the date/time stamp of when you locked it. And, if you happen to forget it, they will unlock it if you can cough up the very information supposedly compromised in the equifax leak anyway.
FYI the latest Equifax press release (where it was announced 2 executives were being dismissed) had a small bulletpoint towards the end which said that pins would be randomly generated.
Don't know if that change is live, however.
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#64So how does one protect against this if freezing is useless because all that information was leaked anyway?
Freezing doesn't protect the information, but it does protect your credit account from being added to. Once frozen, you are almost in a 2FA scenario where creditors are required to request any new accounts or credit hits, and the credit agency is required to then obtain your approval using the private information only you (should) know.
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#65So how does one protect against this if freezing is useless because all that information was leaked anyway?
Freezing doesn't protect the information, but it does protect your credit account from being added to. Once frozen, you are almost in a 2FA scenario where creditors are required to request any new accounts or credit hits, and the credit agency is required to then obtain your approval using the private information only you (should) know.
So how should I protect myself other than monitoring my credit using creditkarma? What do people do who have millions of dollars, theres nothing else other than just pray?
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
To confirm your identify: national ID card, passport or driver license. To confirm your income: Your yearly income tax sheet, a payslip or your contract of employment. There is really no reason whatsoever for credit check and background check agencies to exist. All they do is ask for these papers anyway.
It's worth noting that the perpetrator in the bloomberg article had a fake driver's license in the name of the victim. So ID cards aren't a complete solution either.
Couldn't they verify the authenticity of the drivers license by contacting the department of motor vehicles?
One shouldn't verify documents unless you're a member of the organization that issued them.
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
The flaw in your logic lays with the bank. You will need a bank account/visit branch/transfer loaned money somewhere where you can cash them. Banks have cameras + Irs will quickly find you and won't allow you disappear or use that money
The flaw in your logic is that you fail to realize i have access to 143 million bank accounts and can transfer any number of ways I want to. You also overestimate the competence of smaller banks. Neglecting all of that you do realize that International wire transfers do exist right?
It takes 1-3 business days for a US bank to transfer any amount and I am sure it will be even higher if the transaction is not matching a usual pattern of your victim. So 144 million bank accounts mean nothing with such long processing delays
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fixed, thanks. What do you feel are some sensible systems used by the rest of the world? One that's hopefully hard enough to break but easy enough not to cause massive hassles.
India is switching to biometric verification linked to the national identity card. The last lease agreement I registered and the last phone connection I obtained both went through the biometric verification process These are implemented as biometric two factor auth. So you show your id card, scan your finger print and validate via a code received to the registered mobile device on sms
What if you have no cell phone or computer?
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
The flaw in your logic is that you fail to realize i have access to 143 million bank accounts and can transfer any number of ways I want to. You also overestimate the competence of smaller banks. Neglecting all of that you do realize that International wire transfers do exist right?
It takes 1-3 business days for a US bank to transfer any amount and I am sure it will be even higher if the transaction is not matching a usual pattern of your victim. So 144 million bank accounts mean nothing with such long processing delays
Tell that to all the banks that had been sued for millions for losses due to phishing attacks. My mom's bank was one of them. The criminals got the money out successfully somehow.
Re: Three Years in Identity Theft Hell
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Freezing doesn't protect the information, but it does protect your credit account from being added to. Once frozen, you are almost in a 2FA scenario where creditors are required to request any new accounts or credit hits, and the credit agency is required to then obtain your approval using the private information only you (should) know.
So how should I protect myself other than monitoring my credit using creditkarma? What do people do who have millions of dollars, theres nothing else other than just pray?
You freeze. It sucks that it's the only option, but it's the only option right now.
The only way someone can open a new bank account, credit card or loan in your name under the freeze is if they A) have the credit-bureau-specific PIN to lift the freeze, or B) the account was somehow opened without doing any kind of credit check.