Source: Consumeraffairs.com
The next piece is a follow-up from the first story, located here
(See above links for full stories)
Personally, I think most of these massive data thefts are setups - people are offered great sums of money to "misplace" a laptop or report it stolen. I mean, if you knew that you could steal & assume the financial identities of lots of people who, because of the companies they had accounts with, were guaranteed to have great credit for only, say, $10,000... wouldn't you consider that to be a very profitable expenditure? If you knew you could buy cars, houses, empty out hefty bank accounts, and possibly follow trails to other sources of income, like safe-deposit boxes, stocks, bonds, etc?
TO ANYBODY READING THIS WHO MAY BE AFFECTED - You might want to get in touch with at least one of the major credit bureaus, like
Equifax - http://www.investigate.equifax.com
Phone: (800) 210-8760
Experian: http://www.experian.com
Phone: (800) 509-8495
TransUnion: http://www.transunion.com
Phone: (800) 916-8800 (8AM-8PM EST)
I'd visit the website first, so you'll know what info you'll need to supply them with.
And make sure whoever you contact about this is told to get in touch with the OTHER credit bureaus to verify that they all have the same information.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say.
Can't hurt to be cautious.
Last edited by CrimsonStrange on Wed May 24, 2006 3:12 am; edited 1 time in total
The next piece is a follow-up from the first story, located here
| Quote: |
| May 23, 2006
In a failed effort to catch the people who stole 26 million veterans' private and personal information, authorities waited almost three weeks before telling anyone about the theft. The personal data fell into the hands of thieves May 3 after a burglary in Montgomery County, Maryland... |
(See above links for full stories)
Personally, I think most of these massive data thefts are setups - people are offered great sums of money to "misplace" a laptop or report it stolen. I mean, if you knew that you could steal & assume the financial identities of lots of people who, because of the companies they had accounts with, were guaranteed to have great credit for only, say, $10,000... wouldn't you consider that to be a very profitable expenditure? If you knew you could buy cars, houses, empty out hefty bank accounts, and possibly follow trails to other sources of income, like safe-deposit boxes, stocks, bonds, etc?
TO ANYBODY READING THIS WHO MAY BE AFFECTED - You might want to get in touch with at least one of the major credit bureaus, like
Equifax - http://www.investigate.equifax.com
Phone: (800) 210-8760
Experian: http://www.experian.com
Phone: (800) 509-8495
TransUnion: http://www.transunion.com
Phone: (800) 916-8800 (8AM-8PM EST)
I'd visit the website first, so you'll know what info you'll need to supply them with.
And make sure whoever you contact about this is told to get in touch with the OTHER credit bureaus to verify that they all have the same information.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say.
Can't hurt to be cautious.
Last edited by CrimsonStrange on Wed May 24, 2006 3:12 am; edited 1 time in total
