Comments on: Maria and the Credit Card Con Artist http://www.joeydevilla.com/2006/10/12/maria-and-the-credit-card-con-artist/ Joey deVilla's Personal Blog Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:01:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1-alpha-10188 hourly 1 By: Anonymous http://www.joeydevilla.com/2006/10/12/maria-and-the-credit-card-con-artist/comment-page-1/#comment-8332 Anonymous Thu, 12 Oct 2006 22:18:34 +0000 http://www.joeydevilla.com/2006/10/12/maria-and-the-credit-card-con-artist/#comment-8332 In a related vein, a family member had her identity stolen while she was away on vacation. A "good friend" was looking after her house (feeding pets, watering plants) while she was gone, but this "good friend" took it upon herself to rifle through the apparently unlocked filing cabinet and collect the family member's social insurance number from tax records. Using that information the "friend" was able to apply for and receive a load of credit cards. Incidentally, if you are the victim of identity fraud in this manner, your SIN number does not change. Meaning that the fraudster, if they have a good memory, could go and do the same thing again using the same information once the justice system releases them. The only safeguard against it is your vigilance in regularly checking your credit history. Of course creditors will flag you as a risk afterwards and you will have to jump through some extra hoops to secure large-scale financing like a mortgage. I understand the "good friend" had something like two or three months behind bars and this was her fifth or sixth fraud conviction. So lock your filing cabinets and such when you go away, even if a trusted pal is looking after cats / plants / etc. And check your credit history at least once a year for anomalies. In a related vein, a family member had her identity stolen while she was away on vacation. A “good friend” was looking after her house (feeding pets, watering plants) while she was gone, but this “good friend” took it upon herself to rifle through the apparently unlocked filing cabinet and collect the family member’s social insurance number from tax records. Using that information the “friend” was able to apply for and receive a load of credit cards.

Incidentally, if you are the victim of identity fraud in this manner, your SIN number does not change. Meaning that the fraudster, if they have a good memory, could go and do the same thing again using the same information once the justice system releases them. The only safeguard against it is your vigilance in regularly checking your credit history. Of course creditors will flag you as a risk afterwards and you will have to jump through some extra hoops to secure large-scale financing like a mortgage.

I understand the “good friend” had something like two or three months behind bars and this was her fifth or sixth fraud conviction.

So lock your filing cabinets and such when you go away, even if a trusted pal is looking after cats / plants / etc. And check your credit history at least once a year for anomalies.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.joeydevilla.com/2006/10/12/maria-and-the-credit-card-con-artist/comment-page-1/#comment-8331 Anonymous Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:18:47 +0000 http://www.joeydevilla.com/2006/10/12/maria-and-the-credit-card-con-artist/#comment-8331 They catch you off guard because you're staying at a hotel. They catch you off guard because you’re staying at a hotel.

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