Subscribe RSS FeedQuestion by Chloe: Possible Identity Theft?
I was in the parking lot of a store, and some girl walks by and tells me, “hey, that guy just stole your wallet!” So, after going through my pocketbook, I notice that my bank statement, bank card, and new leather (empty) wallet is missing.
So, I cancel the card and go to the police to report the crime. My daughter just checked Google and told me that, with the bank statement, the guy could steal my identity or the identity of my husband and that I have to close my account first thing in the morning.
My questions are:
1) What are the chances of him actually being able to steal my identity? I don’t know if anyone has gone through my garbage recently, and my shredder is broken.
2) How do I prevent him from opening other accounts and/or starting new credit cards in my name?
3) What is the possibility of him getting caught?
4) What else should I do?
5) Can he steal my husband’s identity since he is the owner of the account?
Please, any information you can give will help. Thank you in advance.
And yes, I will be picking a best answer.
Unfortunately, I left my purse unattended for a long time; I keep a piece of paper with everyone’s name and SSN on it in there. I don’t know if he checked it before he took my other stuff and ran off. And no; I caught no glimpse of him. Nobody did except that one girl, and she left as quickly as she came.
Best answer:
Answer by Pablo
1) It’s very possible he can do that. Was your SSN included in the documents? All they really needs is DOB, SSN, name and address and they can really steal your Identity.
You may consider closing the accounts, or at least with your checking account blocking all the checks that were stolen.
2) You can put initial fraud alert on your credit report. Go to annualcreditreport.com and check all three credit reports. Contact each of them directly to put 90 day fraud alert on there.
3) If you know what he looks like, what he was wearing, any information will help him be arrested. If you don’t know that information it could be difficult for him to be caught.
4) Make a folder with all the documents you have so far (police reports, etc). Keep it in a save place if something bad happens. You may consider doing fraud alert. You may consider closing your checking and opening new account. I’d talk with your bank and see what they advise. It’s not good at all to get your information stolen 
5) If the person knows DOB, SSN, address and name it’s very possible.
Lastly ftc.gov/idtheft is a good resource to read about ID theft.
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