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How is it fair that the government REQUIRES that we all have a social security number, yet offers absolutely NO protection of it when someone steals another's identity? And the banking industry, retailers and so many other corporate entities have ALL FORCED us to make most transactions electronically, putting us at even higher risk of identity theft yet also offer absolutely NO protection? Here, if we want protection, we have to PAY some company like "LifeLock" or whatever???
Then, when someone's identity IS stolen, they are S-O-L with NO help from the police or anything, yet the FBI can find a bank robber three states over off of a 2 millimeter vehicle paint chip and a sliver of toenail?? Are they seriously claiming that they cannot pinpoint EXACTLY WHO stole the identity and from WHERE the info was stolen?? Look at how Amazon, eBay, Target, Home Depot, Menards, etc. have ALL been hacked, yet anyone who's information was stolen through those entities is left out in the cold to fend for themselves. WHY isn't the entity where the info was stolen FROM responsible for replacing any monies stolen from the victim? Why don't the police or investigators DILIGENTLY investigate and pursue identity thieves as they do for banks when banks are robbed??
What do you mean by identity theft ?
My bank and my CC protect me from fraud.
If some-one tries to open a credit card in my name, I did not open the card so it's a fraud against the bank.
About 10 years ago, someone opened a bunch of accounts in my name/SSN, after getting a paystub that had my SSN and address on it. They had computers sent to an address about 10 miles from me, but the police had zero interest in checking it out, which was frustrating. I was also amazed that of the 5 different credit accounts they set up, only one company thought the kind of crazy buying pattern seemed suspicious. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Capital One for noticing and sending me a letter. In the end, except for some weirdness on my credit report in terms of addresses, nothing terrible resulted.
What do you mean by identity theft ?
My bank and my CC protect me from fraud.
If some-one tries to open a credit card in my name, I did not open the card so it's a fraud against the bank.
In 2006, A co-worker of mine, and in 2009 one of my sisters-in-law, had their identity stolen which resulted in lost savings and credit card debt.....BOTH were forced to deal with horrendous red-tape and an awful credit-rating for MANY years afterwards and the thief was NEVER found. Plus, they were forced to pay off some of the debt incurred.
SOME banks and SOME credit card companies offer fraud protection, but not all and they didn't always.
In the instance of my co-worker, she was able to narrow down that her social security number and banking info had to of been stolen from a medical document at the hospital as that was the ONLY place she had reported her social security number AND financial institution info at the time. She was always very careful and safe/protective with her information. By all rights and purposes, the hospital should of been held responsible, but nobody could prove it and nobody wanted to bother investigating it.
I just feel that if we are required to have a social security number and it is required to be used on all sorts of documents that can get into the hands of the wrong people, it really should come with SECURE protection. It's bogus that if we want that protection WE have to PAY some company to do it. Same goes with all these other industries that are forcing us to go "paperless" and do financial transactions online where the cyber-criminals are much smarter and cunning....where even some still don't provide fraud protection. ALL should HAVE TO provide fraud protection by law. They should also be required, by law, to have top-notch security measures in place. How is it that so many companies and major retailers that can afford top-notch security are being hacked into??
Luckily, just last winter my Credit Union caught some questionable transactions on my debit card almost immediately, before I even realized I had lost it....I thought I stuck it in my coat pocket at the gas pump, but being that I had gloves on I missed the pocket and didn't even realize it. Why can't EVERY financial institution be that way?
It's not fair, in my opinion. The onus of protecting against fraudulent account openings should be on the banks and credit card issuers, not the individual. If this means it's not so ridiculously easy to open credit accounts, so be it.
How is it fair that the government REQUIRES that we all have a social security number, yet offers absolutely NO protection of it when someone steals another's identity?
You can protect yourself, it's called a Credit freeze. It's free to place a credit freeze on your credit profile with the three credit rating agencies, this prevents anyone from running your credit, thus no one can open any new accounts in your name. The credit freeze doesn't affect existing accounts you have with open already (Credit Cards, Car Loans, mortgages, etc) and while it's possible for a thief to steal your existing credit card number and charge stuff on your credit card, they can't open new accounts under your name.
I have a freeze on my credit profile, it cost me $5 last year to temporarily unfreeze my account so I could apply for a car loan, after I was approved for the loan, it was re-frozen after the 7 days expired. Anyone with any common sense will do the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DataWarehouse
What do you mean by identity theft ?
My bank and my CC protect me from fraud.
If some-one tries to open a credit card in my name, I did not open the card so it's a fraud against the bank.
This is incorrect. The Credit Rating agencies control your credit, NOT the bank. If a thief have access to your Social Security number, enough personal information and a phoney ID, they can buy houses, cars, open credit cards, under your name, take the stuff and money and disappear. The people who issued the credit to the thief will look for the person on the application for payment, and that you be YOU. While they can't force you to pay, your guilty until you prove you innocent, which takes a lot of your time and money to do.
And if your lucky that is the worse that will happen. If your thief commits a crime, gets arrested by the police and show them a good phony ID and look all these credit cards I have, I must be this person, make bail and disappear. Now the police have an arrest warrant for YOU! Just think what fun it would be to get arrested, transported halfway across the country to the jurisdiction the original arrest was made in, before they realize the mug shot they have doesn't match.
Last edited by TechGromit; 11-20-2014 at 06:35 AM..
How is it fair that the government REQUIRES that we all have a social security number, yet offers absolutely NO protection of it when someone steals another's identity? And the banking industry, retailers and so many other corporate entities have ALL FORCED us to make most transactions electronically, putting us at even higher risk of identity theft yet also offer absolutely NO protection? Here, if we want protection, we have to PAY some company like "LifeLock" or whatever???
Then, when someone's identity IS stolen, they are S-O-L with NO help from the police or anything, yet the FBI can find a bank robber three states over off of a 2 millimeter vehicle paint chip and a sliver of toenail?? Are they seriously claiming that they cannot pinpoint EXACTLY WHO stole the identity and from WHERE the info was stolen?? Look at how Amazon, eBay, Target, Home Depot, Menards, etc. have ALL been hacked, yet anyone who's information was stolen through those entities is left out in the cold to fend for themselves. WHY isn't the entity where the info was stolen FROM responsible for replacing any monies stolen from the victim? Why don't the police or investigators DILIGENTLY investigate and pursue identity thieves as they do for banks when banks are robbed??
How is this fair or even RIGHT??
You aren't left out in the cold. When BoA had a breach, we were offered free credit monitoring service for a year.
My credit card companies offered free credit monitoring PLUS each of my credit card companies sent free replacement cards whenever a large breech was announced and I had used one of those cards at that retailer.
Actual identity theft is pretty rare compared to the number of cases of credit card fraud out there. Thieves don't need your SS# for fraud these days, hackers (like in the Target/Home Depot cases recently) find out your card number when you use it at a store, and then they have a credit card either physically made, or they make purchases online with your info until you or your credit card company discover what's going on and stop it.
I've had my information stolen 4 times in my life, the last one was just a few months ago. Thieves got my credit card info somehow, and charged up $500 worth of groceries in FL. This particular case was interesting, because I know they didn't get my information from anything I did. Capital One screwed up somehow, they were either hacked or lost my information, because I don't use my Capital One cards at all. They've had a zero balance for 2 years, in fact, I never even called to activate my new cards when my old ones expired, they're just sitting in our safe with the sticker still on them. It didn't cost me a thing, Capital One took care of it.
The other times I've had my card info stolen have been related to online purchases. Each time, my credit card company took care of the charges. Total cost to me has been my time on the phone with a service rep.
How is it fair that the government REQUIRES that we all have a social security number, yet offers absolutely NO protection of it when someone steals another's identity?
The original intent behind SS# was not that it would be used as ubiquitously as it is today - as the name suggests, it was originally just a number used to keep track of a person for Social Security records, such as earnings, benefits drawn, etc.
The other uses of SS# have crept in to our society over time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelEyez
And the banking industry, retailers and so many other corporate entities have ALL FORCED us to make most transactions electronically, putting us at even higher risk of identity theft yet also offer absolutely NO protection? Here, if we want protection, we have to PAY some company like "LifeLock" or whatever???
No one forces you to do any transactions electronically, with the exception of any employer that only offers direct deposit and not a paper paycheck. All other uses of electronic transactions are voluntary, though it may be inconvenient to avoid them, it isn't impossible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelEyez
Then, when someone's identity IS stolen, they are S-O-L with NO help from the police or anything, yet the FBI can find a bank robber three states over off of a 2 millimeter vehicle paint chip and a sliver of toenail?? Are they seriously claiming that they cannot pinpoint EXACTLY WHO stole the identity and from WHERE the info was stolen?? Look at how Amazon, eBay, Target, Home Depot, Menards, etc. have ALL been hacked, yet anyone who's information was stolen through those entities is left out in the cold to fend for themselves. WHY isn't the entity where the info was stolen FROM responsible for replacing any monies stolen from the victim? Why don't the police or investigators DILIGENTLY investigate and pursue identity thieves as they do for banks when banks are robbed??
How is this fair or even RIGHT??
Perhaps the FBI is a bit understaffed these days, who knows. Economically, the FBI is just another taxpayer-funded public service and there is always a tradeoff between more service on the one hand and saving the taxpayers' money on the other. As with many things in life, you can't always have your cake and eat it too.
Also, the investigation process is long and complicated, so even if they deemed it of highest importance it would take some time before everything could be rectified.
Another thing to consider is that added layers of security measures result in added overhead - delays in processing, software update inconveniences, etc.
Finally, there are limits to how much information the government can collect due to privacy issues. There is another trade-off at play - if you did everything to eliminate any possible risk of unresolved identity theft, you'd have an Orwellian police state with much bigger problems. Thanksgiving is approaching - stop complaining and count your blessings!
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