Identity Theft

It briefly crossed my mind that I was a potential victim of identity theft, though I firmly believe that nobody would get very far on my identity, due to my massive student loan debt.

I recently requested my annual free credit reports from the three major bureaus and received similar letters from each, informing me that I had failed to substantiate my identity and would need to send them additional information, including a copy of my drivers license or photo ID and a copy of a utility bill, bank statement or insurance bill. Combined with a recent letter from my financial institution informing me that a retailer had been breached, transactions on my card had been blocked for Florida and I would shortly receive a new debit card, I was convinced someone had stolen my identity.

The bank is close to where I'm working, so I stopped in and talked to someone. He told me that it was related to a letter I had received a year ago indicating it was possible my card was compromised, based on a retailer's information having been breached. It took them nearly a year to determine which card numbers were affected. Once they had that information, those customers were automatically sent new cards. Because I had filled out a form for the credit report people and someone later input it for their system, we think my credit bureau question was a matter of a typo; I'm going to try again, tonight, online and see if I get copies. If not, I'll have to send them the information they want. I should've just done it online to begin with but didn't want to take the time.

The banker also printed off a copy of my credit report and went through it with me; I know my credit score, which could use some improvement but also have been told that my tactic of targeting the smallest loan and paying it off is the right way to go. He also pointed out that a few accounts which were supposed to have information from the last 24 months were based on older information and told me to request an update of that information, once I actually have my credit reports. That was helpful.