Identity Theft? See what Fred went through...
On Sunday, July 13th I noticed a strange transaction on my credit card statement. When logging onto http://www.epoch.com/ I was surprised to see that the company handles transactions for pornographic websites.
Click on Comments to see the steps Fred took to correct this problem...
Click on Comments to see the steps Fred took to correct this problem...
Comments
I initially contacted the website through their instant messaging system. Though it was early Sunday morning the representative quickly responded. I declined to give my credit card information via the web so instead contacted them via phone.
The company quickly picked up and the rep was very professional. I gave them my credit card number. They said my wife was on the account so only she could communicate about the transaction. We did not sign-up for the account. The company has stopped the transaction and will credit our credit card account.
My credit card company quickly responded by cancelling our cards and will send out new ones. Unfortunately I will not know when the credit will come through because it might take up to three statements before the two month credits come through.
I went to www.annualcreditreport.com through our website by choosing Perks Plus then FREE Credit Report. This is not the site with a catchy song advertised on television.
I want to verify information from each of the credit reporting companies (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax); not my credit score. I did check my reports last year so had to remember my user name and password for TransUnion. Each company offers many advertisements and for paid services.
I was not able to get each of my wife's credit reports. The Experian report came through easily but I am having difficulty with Experian and Equifax.
I now have three reports for me and my wife. Each report is from 9 to 27 pages each. I also kept a PDF of each report. Now I need to review the reports looking for errors. Most importantly, I am looking for suspicious accounts.
Open and closed accounts are listed on the report so it is important to have your account numbers for current credit card and line of credit available. My current address information is correct but employment information is not; though she has worked most of the time we've been married, my wife's employment history is not listed on Equifax. It seems relatively easy to report problems to Equifax.
It seems easier to tell on the Experian report when a report is closed or inactive. My employment information is not up to date and my wife's current employment information is incorrect by about 18 years. Now I know why we get so many credit card offers in the mail, because many creditors have made inquiries including First USA, Capital One, ACE Mortgage and an out of town car dealer.
I guess they check employment information every 10 years so in my case my employment data will not be updated again until later this year. My wife's employment data is more up to date but her company's name is misspelled. This is the easiest report to read.
I do not see any incorrect creditors listed on our credit reports. The process was time-consuming but not very difficult. Some people feel you will hurt your credit score by when closing account. It would be easier to review my account faster if some of my cards had been closed. I am not in hurry, but will close some accounts over the next year or so. You can find more information on Identity Theft at www.eatonfamilycu.com/idtheft.php
Visa: 800-808-7230
Debit Card: 800-523-4175
More information at www.eatonfamilycu.com/contact.php