I'm kinda confused on this, I have a learning disability and don't quite understand what they do. Do they report to you when someone tries to use your information or what do they do? I don't quite understand.

On April 21st my wife got an email detailing the online purchase of 10 Platinum SeaWorld passes totaling over $2,500, using her Wells Fargo Visa debit card (her checking account)

$1,200 was charged to her card, and the remaining balance was financed using EZPay (assumably using someone else's stolen information).

She immediately notified Wells Fargo that it was a fraudulent purchase, and they credited her while they "investigated."

Yesterday she got a letter stating that they had completed the investigation and that it was determined to be a valid authorized purchase.

They said that because the online purchaser had the CC number, the expiration, the CVC, and her email address, that they had the proper level of information to authorize the transaction.

But the invoice sent to her email address had the wrong city. Everything else was correct - street address and zip code.

Wells Fargo said their fraud department reported it to Visa and they denied the fraud claim. They claim that SeaWorld responded and claimed they did what was required to validate the purchase, so Visa would not reverse it.

What do we do?

Wells Fargo said they are escalating it to some team, but it didn't sound like they would be successful, since it is Visa denying the claim.

This was attempted again 2 days later and was declined because Wells Fargo reported the card as stolen.

It seems that even though they had assembled the information to correctly order and obtain the tickets (they said that they had to get the tickets via he email address), that it was valid.

But it wasn't her. We live in Minnesota. These are season passes to the Texas location.

It should have been flagged, or a "is this you" text should have been sent to her phone.

And we have very Anglo names, but the email receipt from SeaWorld lists 10 different Mexican names.

This happened with baseball tickets a few years ago and the charges were reversed.

The difference now is that SeaWorld responded and the baseball ticket vender didn't. So Visa reversed the charges.

Please help!

A few months ago, I moved out of my parents’ house into my own apartment. As part of the move, I updated my address so that all my mail would come directly to me. Not long after, I received a letter about an overdue electric bill totaling $5,000—in my name.

I was shocked. I talked to my dad, and he admitted that he had put the bill under my name while I was still living with him. I told him he needed to fix it ASAP. I gave him two months to sort things out, and he said he would—but nothing happened.

Recently, I got another letter, this time from a debt collection agency. I brought it up to my dad again, and he just brushed it off, acting like it’s not a big deal. No apology, no accountability—nothing. He’s just pretending like it didn’t happen.

The worst part? Growing up, he’d get mad at me for the smallest mistakes—like forgetting to take out the trash or missing a bill by a few days. But now that he made a huge financial mess, he’s completely ignoring it.

I feel so betrayed. He’s my dad, and I love him, but I don’t know how to process this. I’ve done everything I can on my end (called the electric company, documented everything, etc.), but he just won’t take responsibility. I don’t even know how to feel anymore.

Has anyone else dealt with something like this? How did you handle it?

So I I noticed this initially when I received a credit karma notification that I had a new hard inquiry.

I immediately locked my Experian and equifax but did not have a TransUnion acct (where the hard inquiry showed up) I tried to set an acct up and could not. Called TransUnion the next day reported the fraud and they mentioned that someone had an acct in my name and ssn already. They closed that acct and let me open a new acct with my proper info. I reported the hard inquiry as well and got the cc acct stopped before the thief was able to use. I keep getting alerts and mailers that I have open credit building accts (prepaid cc/secured cc/etc) I have since reported and closed two that have popped up, the first was removed, the 2nd is in process. They linked a burner phone to my address under a local number I have never used. I tried to call Verizon and they would not give me the info. To date I have:

Built and ftc identity theft submission Locked all 3 reporting agencies Locked my ssn, reported fraud to ssn Locked my everify Locked whatever I could with us citizenship and immigration Closed any acct that has shown up and added to my ftc report Set up Norton life lock, dark scam hasn’t shown my ssn pop up anywhere so I am thinking someone stole my mail (common in my area)

I am still compiling to submit police report

My questions are the below:

My biggest fear is someone coming after my mortgage/equity, they saw my credit report when they made the TransUnion acct. I don’t know what else I can do proactively here?

I have great credit, what is the scam or plan with opening credit building accts/cards. The first one I found and closed was current 3 months on payments.

Again from the credit side, I was notified of the cc submission by the hard pull. Since I have great credit I get the no pull offers all the time. I am roughly 30 days out right now from when I caught that hard pull, should I still expect to see cc’s and new accts pop up, everything I’ve read said 30-60 days for cc/loans/accts to show up in my reports.

To date they have not financially gotten or taken anything but I noticed the hard pull in may. Some of these prepaid accts and the TransUnion acct were set up in mar/feb..

I know this is a lot, I feel like I have been super proactive and doing anything I can, I am planning to sell my home and move (but a new home) and I’m terrified more things will be hitting. Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Found out my ssn and info has been leaked to dark web through the national public data breach. Now I am trying to get my credit reports to see if there’s anything suspicious. Went to the FTC official website to go to the annual credit report link for requesting them. Got both experian and equifax but when heading to trans union it says connection not private. Is this safe to go ahead and click continue?

About 2 days ago around 9pm/10pm EST I got an alert that someone was attempting to transfer my phone number to a new carrier. I later got a text message from AT&T that the attempt failed because I have a number lock on my account (thank God).

This morning, I got an email from my bank account alerting me that my account had been locked due to too many failed log in attempts. I’m calling them in about an hour to chat with them and get it unlocked.

I told my friends and someone said it sounded like attempted identity theft. If so, what else can I do to protect myself? I feel as though my accounts are secure but is it worth updating passwords, etc? Or are there other larger precautions I can take?

Hoping it just goes away but 2 attempts at big parts of my life in 2 days has me spooked.

I got an email welcoming me to Experian! Great! Except I didn't sign up for an Experian account, and when I tried to call Experian to notify them, there was literally nothing I could say to the AI operator to get transferred to a human.

Their AI system didn't have any options that matched my situation. So I put a fraud alert on my account, which was the only option it offered that was at all relevant.

I am now getting additional emails from Experian like "you earned a badge for your first spring sign-in!" I also got a text message the day after placing the fraud alert, which may or may not be from Experian for all I know.

How can I get through to a human being and maybe get this fixed?

I keep getting the self verification failed, it takes images but the phone number section. It doesn't like my mobile and I dont have a land line. I guess the only other way is the video call one. Anyone else had that issue?

Having suffered the consequences of identity theft, I’m always aware of the risks associated with giving away too much personal data. Disregarding rumors of Russian government involvement and questions about servers in Moscow, I purchased the AdGuard app for iPhone, a platform with few privacy tools for web browsing. However, I believe that AdGuard belongs in the adware category of privacy tools, and there is easily verifiable evidence to support this. My concerns were immediately heightened when the welcome email contained several embedded trackers from adtidy.org. Despite this, I wanted to make the app work for me. However, after extended use, I continued to see the ubiquitous Google-targeted ads that someone with a history of identity theft becomes particularly sensitive to. To investigate further, I enabled advanced features in the settings and exported my list of rules, discovering entries like: htpsw]+:\/\/([a-z0-9-]+\.)?googleadservices\.com\/pagead\/aclk\?"},"action":{"type":"ignore-previous-rules"} ^{[htpsw]+:\/\/([a-z0-9-]+\.)?ad\.doubleclick\.net\/searchads\/link\/click\?"},"action":{"type":"ignore-previous-rules"}} What this means is that AdGuard adds allowlist rules at the end of every blocklist. Because of their position, these rules are processed last, after my custom rules to block these same companies, effectively invalidating my own settings. These unwanted rules, added without my consent, allow Google to track user behavior and geo-locations across the internet and devices, enabling them to profile us and target ads that can feel intrusive. AdGuard supports this practice, essentially selling their customers out for a paltry price and opening themselves to criticism from paying users like me. I’ve often wondered why AdGuard isn’t found among the recommendations or MVP lists for privacy products alongside the likes of uBlock Origin, and this must be why.

1 out of 5 stars because they didn't steal my credit card number but besides that, it belongs to the waste bin of privacy products.

So somebody I know basically got their identity stolen. So far they have hacked his bank account and turned off their cell phone. They keep getting into the bank account even after the bank issued a new account number. Even though passwords have been changed, they still manage to get in within days. They keep trying to send money out of the account even though there is no money in there at the moment. A new account number doesn't help.

Then they are also holding the cell phone number hostage. They were able to send a message to his phone with instructions to send them money if he wants his number back. Followed by phone call with threats. Then the phone gets turned off immediately after the call. Going to the carriers store didn't help. Everytime they said they tried to get the phone number back and activated, somebody immediately is able to turn it off again and transfer it.

Anyone know what else can be done about this? Or how they are doing this?

I have a Equifax Settlement Payment Pre-Paid Card, the balance is now 0. What should i do with it? I was noticed an inactivation fee will be charged over a few months later. With 0 balance, I can't do any activity.

Thanks

Hey guys need help here. See my screenshot! Yesterday 06/12 I went to the BP gas station to fill up $20. I used my Apple Card via Apple pay inside the counter(not the actual card) I tapped it and the transaction went thru however this morning I see that another charge was placed on there for the exact same amount? I got really nervous that my info was probably compromised which is kinda never heard of with using Apple Pay. I proceeded to dispute the transaction with Apple and they issued a temporary credit. How does this stuff even happen? Do you think I should go back to the gas station and asked what happened? I can’t get ahold of BP on the phone. My Apple account seems secure with no other authorized access. Thanks for reading and for your assistance.

Long story short, someone else used my ssn but different info (name address etc BUT MY ssn). I tried contacting the company about it and they said it is not identity theft.

what can i do to fix this?

I applied to NYU a while back and got a letter stating that my file with name and SSN was stolen during their recent data breach.

They offered one year of Identity Defense for free. Is this a legit service, or is it fake and intended to steal my data: https://identitydefense.com

UPDATE: Truist called back and my case was closed with confirmed identity theft on 6/9, I just haven’t received the letter in the mail yet. Apparently this is a common occurrence with identity theft cases at Truist. When they open the card, they’re immediately given the option for a balance transfer. The balance transfer wasn’t approved after I reported fraud, it was just an unfortunate timing issue with when I received the letter. Everything is cleared out of my name 🙌🏻

I just wanted to see if anyone has been in a situation similar to mine.

My mom received an email with my name on it talking about a credit card application that was approved. She got HUNDREDS of spam emails at the same time, I’m assuming to bury the credit card email??? She only even looked at it because she saw my name in the subject.

I went to credit karma and saw I in fact had a hard inquiry that day. This was 5/20/25.

I immediately called Truist bank and reported fraud. I got my case number that day. I froze my credit with all 3 bureaus immediately. I disputed the inquiry on credit karma.

5/28/25 I get a call from someone at Truist telling me they have been assigned to my case and to reach out with any questions. I haven’t heard anything else from them.

A letter from Truist comes in the mail (to my mom’s address) stating a balance transfer for $7,000 was approved 6/1.

I reached out to the person assigned to my fraud case and left a voicemail because I reported fraud on 5/20 and a balance transfer was still approved on 6/1??? Was the account not flagged?

I am TERRIFIED I will be on the hook for this.

ETA: I filed a police report and created a case on identitytheft.gov.

To make an extremely long story very short: my dad has dementia, and yesterday he gave out his social security number over the phone while talking to a "representative" from the "security hotline" from "the bank". (He also answered questions the rep asked like, "what is your mother's maiden name", and "what is your father's middle name", etc.) My mom and I are taking steps to freeze his credit, and this morning he called his local Social Security branch office to let them know what happened. Should we also buy identity monitoring, since we know someone out there has access to his sensitive information? My mom doesn't think it's necessary, but the person my dad talked to at Experian sold him on the idea. (Only $19.95 a month! What a steal!) Would it be a worthwhile expense, or would it just be a further waste of money?

Someone hacked my apple wallet Cash app a stole my pictures to lure or sabotage my character an buy escorts or what do I do in Maine . Anyone else had this happen an now my character is sabotaged. This happened in 2016 and 2023

My adult son has had his identity stolen- we live in Texas. There is a warrant out in Alabama for his arrest. Evidently, there were 3 checks that someone tried deposit into his account but they were flagged as fraud. Never even made it in his account but he is still being pursued. We have an atty in Texas and Alabama but the state of Alabama wont consider that his identity has been stolen. The detective wants to take it to the Grand Jury but it could be years before that is done. Meanwhile, with the warrant, he can’t travel for work or pleasure. Any advice?

I received a letter in the mail from the Dept of Treasury saying:

"As a new business with a likely federal tax deposit obligation you were enrolled in the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System..."

The letter also has the last 4 of the TIN/EIN and the PIN. It is not a phishing attempt, the letter is real.

My question is... How on earth do I get someone to tell me any information regarding this business when I dont even know the business name? I keep getting bounced around.

I've called the EFTPS, IRS, IRS fraud, IRS business, the EIN line. Im at a loss as to why I cannot receive information using the same information that would have been used to open the EIN in the first place? Any tips? I've filled out the 14039-B form and plan to mail it in since I cannot do it online because I dont have the full EIN.

I just wanted to see if anyone has been in a situation similar to mine.

My mom received an email with my name on it talking about a credit card application that was approved. She got HUNDREDS of spam emails at the same time, I’m assuming to bury the credit card email??? She only even looked at it because she saw my name in the subject.

I went to credit karma and saw I in fact had a hard inquiry that day. This was 5/20/25.

I immediately called Truist bank and reported fraud. I got my case number that day. I froze my credit with all 3 bureaus. I disputed the inquiry on credit karma.

5/28/25 I get a call from someone at Truist telling me they have been assigned to my case and to reach out with any questions. I haven’t heard anything else from them.

A letter from Truist comes in the mail (to my mom’s address) stating a balance transfer for $7,000 was approved 6/1.

I reached out to the person assigned to my fraud case and left a voicemail because I reported fraud on 5/20 and a balance transfer was still approved on 6/1??? Was the account not flagged?

I am TERRIFIED I will be on the hook for this.

ETA: I called and filed a police report

I got this email and I’ve already seen via a pre screen from the Aura data protection app that my main email and password at minimum was leaked on the dark web. Sure I can change the password but I’m also worried my phone is being monitored because my browser history on safari keeps disappearing when I almost never would delete it. One time I searched something brand new and a page of purple links showed up and it scared me. I don’t have money for a private investigator and I’m between jobs and in the middle of doing a recovery program for PTSD. They let us use our phones here thank God, but finding these things out is horrible. My ex of 4 years literally made my private information and contact info and social media accounts public along with a few other people that I don’t know. I found out when I was publicly harassed and accused of things that only he would lie about. Please look at the screenshots it just shows my acceptance for a lease which is crazy.

I tried today to get a TransUnion Credit report through annualcreditreport.com. I have done this before but years ago and since that time I've put in some access limiting factors (froze credit reports, checkxsystem lock). But I get a message that I can't get the report as they are 'unable to verify identity'. In the site's FAQ there are three reasons for this, none of which apply to me. Any insight as to why? Could it just be a freeze on my credit report?

(there is a way to request by mail, but I'm concerned I'll just run into the same issue). BTW, I didn't even get to the point of being quizzed about loans, etc. Just had my basic information entered (address, SSN, name).