Victim of Identity theft.....

The good thing is that I have been with my bank for 15 years and they know me very well They took care of the situation right away and refunded me all the fraudulent charges THAT SAME DAY. VERY COOL!!!

Wow, that rocks - a bank that offers more service other than charging you to access your funds . . . Sorry to hear that the theft happened, I hope you can get it all cleaned up quickly and without any further damage.

I tried to buy a computer on the internet recently, and I got a call from the company to verify my ID. They asked me some really strange questions like, which city issued your SSA#? and I'm like WHAT? But the list didn't include my hometown, so I answered none of the above. Another one was, "Do you know someone named <insert common man's name here>" and now I'm freaking out. I start harassing the girl on the other end..."How would you know who I know?" and she said she didn't know where the questions came from. She had about 6 or 7 questions total. Turns out, I passed - I am who I said I was. Got me thinking that they just throw in some googlies just to scare off the scammers.

Joel, thanks for posting this. It might make others be more careful and therefore avoid the same thing. I'm glad your bank is on your side!
I shred most everything and sometimes wonder if I'm being too paranoid. Not anymore.

Major bummer Joel. Hopefully it ends with that. It's tough enuf to get by nowa days without contending with that crap.

I tried to buy a computer on the internet recently, and I got a call from the company to verify my ID. They asked me some really strange questions like, which city issued your SSA#? and I'm like WHAT? But the list didn't include my hometown, so I answered none of the above. Another one was, "Do you know someone named <insert common man's name here>" and now I'm freaking out. I start harassing the girl on the other end..."How would you know who I know?" and she said she didn't know where the questions came from. She had about 6 or 7 questions total. Turns out, I passed - I am who I said I was. Got me thinking that they just throw in some googlies just to scare off the scammers.

they probably got the questions from your LexisNexis report.  You can request a copy of your own LexisNexis report for free by following this link:

http://www.lexisnexis.com/privacy/for-consumers/request-personal-information.aspx

These reports are being used more often for identification due to increases in fraud. the questions are fairly random and are compiled by LexisNexis through internet and database searches.  It would be a good idea for people to be aware of what is being reported by them.

while Joel's case is not necessarily a case of what I would call "Identity theft" - more of "Unauthorized Use", it is important that all of our members and your family/friends make sure that you ARE protected.  Don't fall for the "LifeLock" scam and pay good money to get done what you can do for free. 

Access your credit reports.  You can get them free from each credit bureau once per year - links are provided at http://www.annualcreditreport.com (not freecreditreport.com which is a paid service).

I would stagger them every 4 months or so from each bureau so that you can be covered year round.  Additionally, make sure you have a good document shredder - I would recommend a diamond cut or cross cut shredder rather than a simple "strip" shredder.  for the MOST important of documents, keep them locked in a locked file cabinet, safe, safety deposit box.  If you want to destroy those, shred them separately, throw them away separately (pieces in multiple bags thrown away over multiple weeks) or BURN them (not very good for the environment so don't do this often).

shred your old credit cards or cut them in pieces and throw the pieces away in random trash bins as you walk through town...don't use them to tile your pool like in that old martha stewart commercial.

If you're really serious about protecting your identity I can give a little more advice, but there is plenty of information available on the internet on places such as creditboards.com (creditboards.com/forums)

shredders are okay, but the best way I have found is to burn the shredded stuff after your done.  Shredded stuff can be put together, cross cut shredders are better cuts in both directions makes it more like confetti.  But burning, you can't put that together.  I used my shredded stuff for charcoal starter material, it burns hot and fast. 

sorry to hear that man

hope karma catches up with them.