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Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 30

Recently I recived a letter from my state department informing of my Social being stolen. Any tips or ideas on what damage may be cause and how to prevent it if things turn for the worse?

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

Moved here from Main.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:29 am

Did it have a return address with Yahoo in it? Very Happy

If you think your social was really compromised, I think you are supposed to contact the credit bureaus and have them note it on your record in case anyone tries to open an account w/ the social.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 30

no need to quote the post directly above yours (Don)

No it came through the snail mail and it came from my states department of taxation. I do not think it is a fraudelent letter.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:50 am

I know this might seem like stating the bleeding obvious, but why not contact the department and ask them? They would be able to confirm they sent the letter, and advise on your best course of action.

Good Luck, and welcome to the 'Eater too.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:02 am

what does that mean exactly, "my social was stolen" ? Sounds a bit to me like you could say, "My lonely was nicked", or "OMG, I lost my itchy somewhere".

anyone has seen my pink?

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:29 am

Even though I'm not from the US I assume it means someone else was trying to use their social security number, which seems like a sort of ID tag everyone in the US runs around with.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:38 pm

If it truly was stolen, you'll want to monitor the hell out of your credit rating and credit report. And look into whether your state offers a "credit freeze". This handy little tool keeps anyone (including you) from opening any credit in your name or even checking your credit rating without written permission.

In most states that offer it, if you can prove your identity has been compromised, you can get a credit freeze for free. That should be no problem if you have a letter from the appropriate office.

It's a minor hassle if you want to do something like buy a house on short notice, but it keeps identity thieves from running up bills in your name, which is a much bigger hassle.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 30

Thanks guys for the advice.

Now I have a different question.

I have a relative who is gulliable. He fell for a Nigerian scam a while ago even through I told him not to click on a certain ad for employment (He asked me if it was a scam, I told him it was and he clicked on it any ways. Guess what? It was a scam)

Is there any way I can get him to be reformed or not as eager to fall for something like this? He has a habit of doing so.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:35 pm

Some people are VFL (victims for life). All you can do is tell them to be paranoid and question everything. The sad truth of it is that some people are going to fall for the same thing over and over again and are never going to see the light. Just do whatever you can to expose them to this stuff. But honestly, that's all you can do.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:06 pm

http://www.nextwebsecurity.com/Top10.asp

^This is a very good and concise Top 10. Maybe you can print it out and hang it next to his computer. Problem is, there is no black and white rulebook on scams. If you warn somebody about a fake lottery, they may be able to spot another fake lottery, but will they be aware that charity is not a real registered charity, or will they answer a mail telling them they can have a great job-from-home cashing cheques for an organisation?

The above linky can be of some help, but please inform your friend that he should be very wary of ANY email he receives and best run it by you for instance when he feels he was offered a great opportunity.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 30

He does run them through me yet stills ignores me and goes on to learn the hard way.

I do not know what to do.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:25 pm

If he doesn't listen to you, is there one person he will listen to no matter what? If there is try having them talk to him. If not then you have done all you can. Keep trying though, baseball bats help make your point too.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:31 pm

At the end of the day, he is a grown man and entitled to make his own (bad) decisions. I am sorry to say this, cause it is not easy to allow someone to make these mistakes. The best you can do is feed him as much information as possible to give him some tools to recognize scams. You may also leave him some URLs of victims support sites where he can post his emails and he can get some decent advice. Sometimes it is easier to get advice from a complete stranger than someone you know Wink

Baiting Guru Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 2163

checknomore wrote:

Thanks guys for the advice.

Now I have a different question.

I have a relative who is gulliable. He fell for a Nigerian scam a while ago even through I told him not to click on a certain ad for employment (He asked me if it was a scam, I told him it was and he clicked on it any ways. Guess what? It was a scam)

Is there any way I can get him to be reformed or not as eager to fall for something like this? He has a habit of doing so.

kick him in the nuts

419Eater is my life Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 344

in regards to the social number thing - Dont call any number on the letter, instead look up the number yourself. If the letter is a fake, they'll might have set up fake phone numbers as well.

in regards to the friend - like others have posted, some people are simply victims for life, so to speak. No matter what you tell them, they still fall for the scam. Some fall for the same scam over and over. That's one of the many reasons why these 419 scammers are successful.

If most of the scams he's receiving are via email, get him to change his email addy and to NEVER post it anywhere on the net. That will eliminate most of it. Unfortunately, some of the scammers do just like the spammers and have email address generators that send the scam out to thousands of addresses that may or may not exist, hoping to hit at least a few existing addresses.

Of couse that wont prevent him falling for ones he comes across on his own on the 'net, but will help.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 30

Tempted to, however as long he does not do it in a way that affects my money, I will not have to.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 3:29 am

yrubraj wrote:

...seems like a sort of ID tag everyone in the US runs around with.

US citizens must have a Social Security account number to obtain legal employment. The SSN is a 10-digit numerical string (where have I heard that before?) that enables government "lads" to funnel substantial wads of one's paycheck into a sort of fake bank, presumably to be held there as one's retirement benefit, but actually plundered in support of countless black hole social and "pork barrel" programs.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 3:39 am

Thanks for the heads-up. We have the same thing here it's just called our IRD (Inland Revenue Department) number. If you don't give that to your employer when you're hired they tax you at like 47%. Ouch.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 30

Doesn't your country do that already or rates some what as high?

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 30

TheGreatOok wrote:

If he doesn't listen to you, is there one person he will listen to no matter what? If there is try having them talk to him. If not then you have done all you can. Keep trying though, baseball bats help make your point too.

Nope, he asks for advice and when you tell him what he does not want to hear, he will do it just to prove you cannot tell him what to do. If I kick his ass (or yell at him for his mistakes.), he will keep things secret from me and that is when a lot of trouble starts. When I say trouble, it means he will do something where the consequences of his actions will fall on me or tie me into it unwittingly and he gets into the trouble unwittngly. He is very implusive and does not plan this stuuf and when shit like this happenes, alot of misfortune comes around.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:52 am

Top tax rate in NZ is 39%. Just to be incredibly off-topic.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 08 Jul 2007 Posts: 30

I came up with an idea while writing my last post.

Is there any way you guys could string a possible victim along to keep him busy enough to keep him away from real scammers?

39 percent? That is a load of crock. As for being off topic, no way this could be possible. This is something different.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:59 am

A load of crock? You're doubting my knowledge of the top tax rate in New Zealand??

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:01 am

checknomore wrote:

Is there any way you guys could string a possible victim along to keep him busy enough to keep him away from real scammers?

NO, NO, NO.

We bait scammers in an attempt to keep them away from victims.

If you have 'a gullible relative', as you stated above, then you and your other relatives need to take the necessary steps to keep him or her out of the clutches of scammers.