Annoyed

Audi, yes, the car company, has been using the serious crime of identity theft in a series of commercials. They're marketing their new car as "unmistakable." So to illustrate this, they're using identity theft. In one commercial, kids exit school to be confronted with a line of cars that are exactly the same...only the kid who's mom is driving the Audi is able to find her and confidently gets in the car while his classmates are stumped at identifying their moms. In another, a woman is confronted with line after line of identical cars in a parking garage, unable to find hers. Of course, the Audi is the only one that's different. You get the idea.

Frankly, I find them disturbing, insulting, and they really piss me off. Everytime I see one of those commercials I want to throw something at the TV I get so angry.

Identity theft is serious. VERY SERIOUS. I cannot stress that enough. You have to take it seriously, both to prevent it and if you are unfortunate enough to be a victim. It's much more serious than your car looking like someone else's car, thankyouverymuch. My identity is so much more important than a friggin' car. It determines whether or not I can buy that car. Or buy anything else, for that matter. As a victim of identity theft, seeing Audi use that serious crime for a car commercial only makes me want to never ever buy one of their products. Ever. They have permanently lost my business.

I think that Audi take a long hard look at their use of such a serious crime to sell a vehicle and consider publishing an apology to those of us that have been victims. Not to mention fire their head of marketing for letting a campagin like that move forward. Poor taste. Very very poor taste, Audi. I am not impressed.

Panic arrived with the mail

I received one piece of mail on Monday. Just one. A plain envelope, nothing unusual about it. I figured it was another credit card offer. Especially since my last name spelled incorrectly.

I was wrong. What was contained in that envelope was a panic attack on one 8 x 11 sheet of paper.

A letter from a collection agency. For a debt I've never heard of. Submitted for collection by an insurance agency I've never heard of or ever had contact with. I have no record of any of these companies anywhere.

I had a panic attack. I couldn't breathe. I started crying hysterically. I couldn't even speak for a good 10 minutes. The room was spinning and I had to sit down in the middle of the living room so I didn't fall over.

Once I pulled myself together again and the hysterics stopped, I realized what this actually was: yet another remnant of my identity theft. I thought it was over with the sentencing of the two women by the Federal courts back in February.

But someone, somewhere, didn't do what they were supposed to do and neglected to remove my name from one of the accounts when they set about recouping their losses for the property the women bought with the fraudulently acquired loans. I was deemed not financially responsible for ANY PIECE of it over a year ago now (see this post). My credit report was expunged of all traces. All per Federal law. I have an extended fraud alert on my credit file, meaning no new lines of credit can be opened without contacting me via phone first. Last time I checked, everything on my credit report belonged to me.

Which is why this letter is so out of left field. This is the first contact I've received about this claim. Not a single phone call. I've received no letters until this one from any of the companies involved in the claim. And I do actually open every piece of mail addressed to me (including misspellings of my name). I'm obsessive about opening it, and shredding anything and everything with my name and/or address on it.

So now I'm back to making phone calls. I called the collection agency to let them know it's related to the identity theft and if they don't remove my information and all claims against me from the file and cease pursuing me for the money they'll be in violation of Federal law. I was assured by the woman that the account would be closed immediately, and I would be receiving a letter confirming that immediately. She apologized profusely, and told me they have no record of identity theft in their account files. So I traced it backwards to the initial credit union that filed the insurance claim to recoup their losses. Their records clearly indicate that it was fraud and they forwarded all the appropriate paperwork (such as a copy of the ID Theft Affidavit I filled out) with their claim to the insurance agency. I then spoke with the insurance agency that initiated the collection, and they say it's indicated in their files that it was fraud and it never should have been sent to the collection agency (who is also apparently part of the same insurance company). Basically someone didn't read the entire file and it was pursued in error. But there's still the question as to WHY my information was still present in the file in the first place, since it should have been removed. They collection agency should never have had access to it.

I also called and added an addendum to my report filed with the FTC. And I'm in the process of requesting more credit reports to be on the safe side (all additional reports related to the theft are free, above and beyond the 3 free a year everyone gets). I've already done everything else I was supposed to do. Everything else I can do. There isn't a piece of paperwork to fill out or a phone call to make or a report to file that I haven't already done. There was literally nothing left for me to do but call and give the collection agency the FTC report and Federal court case numbers. Numbers they should have received from the initiator for the claim as proof that this was fraud.

Once I got over the panic attack, I got angry. Angry that someone's oversight has reopened old wounds. Angry that once again, it's on ME, the VICTIM, to fix it. I thought the nightmare was over.

When will it be over?

How much more do I have to endure?!?

Identity theft conclusion and irony defined

So with help from a friend who knows how to get information out of the Federal court system better than I do, I finally have a conclusion to my identity theft case. Both defendants have been sentenced to several months in prison followed by several years of supervised release (i.e. probation). They also have to pay back the people they stole the money from using my identity. I can now send the court case number, etc. to the credit bureaus so they can add the information to my record and finish clearing the errant information still present in my credit reports (yup, over a year later I'm still trying to get the last of the identity theft related false information removed). The remaining open ended and frustrating bit to this saga is that I don't know how they obtained my information. It wasn't in any of the court records. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I will probably never know, but it will most likely still bother me for quite some time.

I learned all of this today. All because I have awesome friends that were able to help me. I still haven't actually received a return phone call from any of the voice mails I left with various Court offices. But I have a conclusion to the legal bits anyway, and I'm feeling much less frustrated.

The irony bit? In the mail today was a form letter from the U.S. Postal Service with information on how to protect myself from identity theft. Information I already have because I looked it up when this whole mess started over a year ago. Thanks, USPS, I appreciate the attempt to be helpful and provide useful information (and it is useful information), but you're a bit late for me. Hopefully it will help others instead and they won't end up having to go through what I did.

Identity theft frustrations

So there's actually two women involved in my identity theft. They worked as a team to take out almost $50,000 worth of loans in my name. One of them used a fake driver's license. Well, as I reported back in August, they caught them and they plead guilty. At the time I only knew of the first person; I learned about the second a little over a month later. I received two letters, one for each defendant, telling me that there would be sentencing hearings for each of them and I could submit paperwork for my losses. After consulting with several family friends that are lawyers to make sure I was understanding the legal language, it was determined that unless I wanted to submit receipts for the vacation time, the phone time, etc., there wasn't any way I could legally petition for compensation as I was cleared of all financial liability (I'm not complaining, that was the best thing for my financial and credit health).

But I could submit a letter to the court detailing my experience to give myself, the victim in all of this, some sort of voice in the process. Which I did. It was the hardest letter I've ever written in my life as it required me to re-live the horror of the past year (while writing it I ran the gamut of emotional response all over again, only in a condensed or concentrated format). But that letter to the court is my only option to share my experience and have a role in the process.

I'm not going to lie to you, I find the fact that I have no concrete role, no voice, in the proceedings exceedingly frustrating. I'm the VICTIM. They stole MY identity. Not anyone else's. MINE. I'm the one that has spent what is now over a year of my life trying to repair my identity. Yet there's absolutely nothing I can do to be compensated for the time, tears, frustration, stress, anxiety, etc. over the past year unless I want to engage in a civil proceedings where I sue them both. Given that they stole my identity to get money, somehow I don't think that they have any money so it would be pointless.

What's equally as frustrating is the amount of work I have to do to find out what's going on. Yes, I received the letters about the cases, which was refreshing and the first time in all of this that I didn't have to seek out information. Mind you, to add insult to injury, on the first letter my last name was spelled wrong yet again. Good lord, the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT had my name wrong in the case about my stolen identity, which was made possible by a common mis-spelling of my last name. Are you kidding me?!? Am I surprised? NO. Am I frustrated? Yup. Will it the mis-spelling continue to happen for the rest of my life? Yes. It's something I've dealt with since my birth certificate was wrong the first time (my parents made the hospital re-issue it). I've accepted it. But it's kind of a slap in the face that my name was wrong in the federal court documents detailing the theft of my identity. The court officer did say she'd correct it in all the court documents, and it was spelled correctly on the second letter, so I'm assuming that detail has been fixed.

Anyway, back to the frustrating lack of information. The sentencing hearings have been continued. Mind you, no one notified me, I'm the one making all of the follow up calls. And getting a hold of someone that can tell me the status is not always easy. I leave lots of messages. I make repeated calls trying to talk to a person. It's now several months after the last date I was given for the sentencing hearing, and I'm back on the phone trying to learn what happened, what the sentencing was, if how they did it was revealed, or if it was continued again.

There has got to be a better way for the victims to get information. There has got to be a way for us to have a voice in all of this. Because instead of relief that the people have been caught, right now all I'm feeling is frustration.

Identity theft update

I received a letter over the weekend telling me that the person responsible for stealing my identity has been caught. What's more, they plead guilty to "Fraud with Identification Documents" (apparently the official Federal crime). Now they are awaiting sentencing. The letter also told me I can submit documentation declaring my "losses" and petitioning for restitution/compensation.

Yeah. Kind of anti-climatic, no? I had resigned myself to not ever knowing who the person was. Instead I focused on "fixing" the problem and re-establishing my name. And despite the fact that they've caught the person, I still may never know how they stole my information, which is infinitely frustrating.

I've cleared myself of financial responsibility for everything the individual opened using my personal data (almost $50,000 in loans). All loans the individual took out have been removed entirely from my credit report. I've cleaned up my credit report, removing all other erroneous data such as false employers and addresses. Actually, I'm still working on removing the person's address, almost a year after things first started. But there's no telling what impact this has had on my credit rating. There's been a lot of activity on my credit report in the past year, including several "fraud alerts." Anytime a new line of credit is applied for, they have to call me and verify before anything is done. And I have to make sure my contact information is kept current to make this happen. It's an extra layer in the already complicated world of personal financial health.

But the question remains: how and for what does one ask for compensation? For the stress? The lack of sleep? The anxiety? The tears and frustration? The continued (and, let's face it, perpetual) vigilance? The time taken to fill out piles and piles of paperwork and submitting reports? The time spent on the phone in the countless phone calls to various individuals, offices, and companies? The abuse/rudeness I received from some (not all, some were very nice) of the people I talked to (like I did this on purpose)? The time spent doing research? The fear that this person was using a driver's license with my information, potentially impacting my insurance and legal record/status? The fear that still sits in the back of my brain and probably won't be going away anytime soon despite the fact that they've caught the person?

It's really hard to shake that fear and anxiety and stress...it will probably take years for me to feel comfortable and solid that my identity is really mine.

The number of victims of identity theft is staggering. And it's growing. Almost 10 MILLION Americans each year are victims. It's nice to know I'm not alone, yet, proving my identity has not been easy. It sounds so ridiculous, having to prove I am who I actually am. But I've spent the last 10 months doing just that.

How does one quantify that into a number?

Relief...I'm allowed to leave the country again!

My passport expired in January. Now, for most of you, this is no big deal. I know some of you have never had a passport. Never in your life. Or you got one way back in high school that you have long since lost to the boxes of childhood memories in your parents' attic. Not me. I've had a valid passport since I was 16. A little over 10 years ago, my parents moved to another continent, a continent on the other side of the world. Going to visit them means I need my passport.

I have forgotten this in the past, and had to have a friend overnight mail me my passport so I could leave on a plane the following evening. I am now mildly obsessive about knowing where my passport is and making sure I have it on my person when I travel.

As those of you that read my blog regularly know, my identity was stolen this past fall. Even though I knew my passport was expiring in January, I was very very reluctant to let it out of my sight. The person that stole my identity had generated a fake driver's license, so the only photo ID I had that truly proved who I was happened to be my passport. Well, s*it. Guess it's gonna expire. I'm not happy about this, but I don't see any other option. Fortunately, most states consider an expired passport a valid form of identification for at least a year after expiration. So once it was proven that my identity had been stolen, and who I really am was firmly reestablished, and I had successfully obtained a new driver's license for Pennsylvania, I knew it was time to send in my passport for renewal.

I had no idea what I was doing, apparently. Surrendering my passport into a void. Due to the new laws that will require people to have a passport when they drive to Canada, the backlog going on at the passport agencies is out of control. When I mailed my passport in in March (to a PO box in the same building...absurd!), I was told that it would take no more than 8 to 10 weeks for a renewal. Especially since I was changing nothing. No name change, nothing. Just a new really bad picture (horrid! it's horrid this time!). Note: last time I renewed it took 3 weeks. But OK, no problem. 8 to 10 weeks it is.

They lied.

At around 12 weeks I started to panic. With your parents living in a foreign country, not having your passport in hand and knowing that you cannot get to them if an emergency arises really starts to make you nervous. So I checked online on the handy government travel site. I knew they had my passport, as they had cashed the check in mid-April. But that was still over 8 weeks ago. And no passport had been returned to me. I hadn't heard anything telling me there was a problem. The online "check the status" option just told me that they had it. No update of any use at all. OK.

At a little over 14 weeks, I tried to check back, but the website was "down for maintenance." So I decided to call. I finally go through (about a good 20 minutes on hold, mind you), and in a rather panicked voice, asked the nice lady when I would be getting my passport back as it had been almost 15 weeks and OMG do you understand that my parents don't live in this country so being with out it for very long starts to freak me out?? To her credit, she calmly asked me the info she needed to look it up in the system, acting as if she was oblivious to my shaky panicky voice, and then said, with some surprise: "Oh, it's done!"
Me: "What?? So where is it?"
Nice Lady: "They put it in the mail this morning, it should be there in 3 to 5 business days."
Me: "Oh! Excellent! Thank you very much!"
Nice Lady: "No problem. Have a nice day."

This was before the conference. I returned from the conference to a rather large pile of mail. Can you guess what I looked for first? Yup, my passport. And it was there. Bad picture and all. Thank the heavens, I can leave the country again.

I am now free to move about the world.

Identity update: it's MINE again!

So I'm out of the woods. All three accounts were determined to be fraudulent and removed from my credit file. The jobs and address for the b*tch who did this have also been removed from my credit file. This also means that I am NOT, I repeat, NOT financially responsible for any of it and have no record of her on my credit report. Nothing. I'm cleared. My identity is ALL MINE again.

This is not, however, stopping my vigilance. The fraud alert on my credit file has been extended until April. I will be requesting a final copy of my credit report from all three agencies then, and will most likely request another copy about 6 months from now just to be sure nothing additional surfaces.

In related news, two of the three creditors have contracted with reclamation agencies to find the vehicles (yes, plural, 2 to be exact) that were bought under my SSN. Apparently they have to try and find the cars before they can be financially reimbursed by their insurance companies for the loss. Both agencies have contacted me to try and track the b*tch who did this down. They both asked for all my previous addresses in the city to weed them out, as well as any previous employers in the past 5 years. One even read a list of names to me to see if I recognized anyone (I didn't). The third account was for an open line of credit, and I haven't heard anything from any reclamation agency for that, so I think that creditor is just filing it as a loss with their insurance agency. No physical property means nothing to find, I guess.

In addition, the loss of these vehicles is being considered theft (well, duh). So one of the creditors contacted the police department for their district and filed a report. The police are now investigating the vehicle theft and have contacted me for information and anything additional I can tell them (i.e. people I spoke with, anything else I may have learned since I filed paperwork, etc.) since it's related to my identity theft. Just to be clear, this is NOT an investigation of my identity theft, but rather an investigation into the missing vehicle bought under my name with my SSN.

Apparently an individual who had their identity stolen can do nothing to prompt investigation (see previous posts), all you can do is file piles and piles of paperwork, but when there's a $20,000 vehicle involved, someone makes a few phone calls, files a report, and investigations happen. That's so depressing...

Reclaiming my identity, there's progress!

I got word today from one of the three creditors the person opened accounts with using my identity that the "account has been closed due to fraudulent activity"!! And that paperwork has been submitted to the three credit bureaus to delete the account from my credit report.

Woo hoo! All the paperwork is finally paying off. One down, two more to go.

Yet more paperwork

I thought I was done with the paperwork. I submitted the federal ID Theft Affidavit to all three creditors, and I"ll be mailing copies (shortly) to each of the credit agencies to support the disputes I filed with each of them. One of the creditors also required an additional form. Then I learned that the state Attorney General has a separate identity theft office and investigator that requires even MORE paperwork. They need their own copy of the federal ID Theft Affidavit (notarized, of course) and they have their own form for me to fill out, AND they want copies of my credit report and any and all communications from the creditors. It's all the same information, over and over again, just organized differently. In my case (I confirmed this with the investigator's assistant when we spoke), it is the state's jurisdiction/responsibility since all the activity has been limited to the same metro area in their state, even though I don't live there anymore.

The discovery of the ID Theft component of the Attorney General's office also presented a frustration. They have a hotline. This hotline is the ONLY number listed on the website to call if you're a victim ID theft. It's a 1-800 number. But there's a catch. The number only works if you're calling from inside the state. No joke. So if you're the victim of ID theft that happens to fall under their jurisdiction and not calling from inside the state itself, you have to figure out how to contact them. I ended up calling the number listed for setting up an education program and got routed to an operator, who gave me (at my request) a non-1-800 number I can call in the future before she transferred me to the proper office. Why this non-1-800 number isn't listed anywhere on the webpage I don't know.

Why can't they make things easier for those of us that are victims? Why does everything to do with defending myself and proving my identity have to be so damn complicated and difficult? It gets discouraging to do the same damn thing over and over again and not see any results. It will still be a month before I can expect any resolution from the creditors regarding the accounts or the credit agencies regarding my credit report. And yet I'm still filing paperwork.

Identity ping pong

Ever feel like a ping pong ball? That's about the most accurate description of what's happening with law enforcement and my identity theft case. No one seems to think it's their jurisdiction. So where does that leave me? Filing paperwork with every agency I can think of.

When I first found out that accounts had been opened, I knew I had to file various reports with various law enforcement agencies. What I didn't know was just how difficult that would be to accomplish.

First step. Find the non-emergency number for the city police department (harder than it sounds, really). Call the city police because I used to live in the city. They refer me to the county since that's where the accounts were opened. I call the county. They tell me that the accounts were actually opened in several different police districts of the county, each with their OWN police department. Grand. They then recommend I call the district that covers the address the individual is using when opening these accounts. Logical...makes sense to me. So I get that number and call them.

They don't want me to file a report because there's "nothing we can do here." Simply put, since I don't know WHEN or WHERE the theft of my information occurred, they can't/won't do anything. The fact that I can give them the names of the places the accounts were opened, and the ADDRESS they've used for ALL the accounts that's IN THEIR DISTRICT and that I have the description on the fake driver's license they're using isn't enough. I have to know WHEN and WHERE the theft of my information occurred. If I knew that, I would have dealt with it then and wouldn't be dealing with identity theft now, DUH! Eventually, they take down all the information I have, and give me a report number to give to the credit agencies and the creditors when I file paperwork with them. They recommend I call the Postal Inspector and file a report. Great, thanks for your help.

Next I call the FTC. I go through all the insane automated menus, pressing 1 or 2 or entering numbers accordingly so the computer can figure out where to send me. I finally get a real person. I tell her EVERYTHING I know about my situation, knowing that in this case, more information is definitely better. What I or they don't know can hurt me this time. I tell her about the police department and give her the report number. I then ask her a series of questions about other organizations/agencies I had been told to call and file a report with. First I asked her about my local police department. She says that it isn't necessary because all the fraud has occurred in another state, and halfway across the country at that. Next I ask her about the Postal Inspector. She asks if all my mail has been forwarding properly and if anything went missing or just didn't show up. I tell her no, I'm getting everything I'm supposed to. She explains that since there's no evidence or even a clear possibility (like if a credit card bill hadn't shown up), the Postal Inspector can't do anything. She recommends I send a copy of the ID Theft Affidavit to each of the three credit agencies to back up my credit report dispute, but that I was doing everything I was supposed to and filing all the appropriate paperwork. I think she's impressed that I'm actually on top of things and doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm still stressed as hell.

For good measure, I do call my local Postal Inspector office. I talk to a nice person doing triage of the phone calls/help-desk duty, since I'm not sure what department I should be talking to. They tell me the same thing the FTC did. That without evidence or even any inkling of mail fraud/theft/etc. there's nothing they can do. They can't even file a report without the clear possibility of mail fraud. I have no such evidence or inkling, especially since I've received all my bills, magazines, letters, etc. since I've moved. The paper (very important, use the PAPER) change of address/mail forwarding form from the USPS I filled out is in full effect and working like a charm (as opposed to the online filing, print it out and take it to your local office instead, trust me) so the possibility of them gaining my information through mail fraud is slim, though not impossible, fairly slim.

So now it's on the creditors and the credit agencies to follow up on all the paperwork I filed regarding my fraud claims, the theft of my identity, and the credit file disputes to clear things up. One of the creditors calls me today and tells me they contacted the police department I filed the report with as part of their process, and was told that they're NOT INVESTIGATING and asked me if I had done what they suggested (and told her they suggested) and filed a report with the Postal Inspector. I explain what both the Postal Inspector help-desk/triage person AND the nice woman from the FTC told me, that it's not postal jurisdiction. Apparently, other than Federal, it's no one's jurisdiction, and the FTC doesn't have authority to bring cases, they just keep a clearinghouse of all the complaints and make them available to other law enforcement agencies.

So my case, and my identity, is now a ping pong ball being tossed around by the various law enforcement agencies until someone misses and has to deal with picking it up. No wonder I'm queasy.

Proving my identity

So the past few days I've been dealing with the theft of my identity. I've learned a few things, and have become very adept at explaining the situation succinctly and clearly, both on the phone and in paperwork.

Things I've done:

1. Completed multiple copies of the federal ID Theft Affidavit
2. Called the credit agencies on my credit report to report the fraud and to begin proceedings to have the fraudulent accounts removed from my credit record.
3. Cried.
4. Filed a police report.
5. Filed a report with the FTC.
6. Screamed.
7. Requested copies of my credit report from the other two credit agencies.
8. Talked to my bank.
9. Spent A LOT of time on the phone.
10. Done a lot of research online trying to make sure I'm doing everything I need to do to protect myself and my credit.
11. Tried to figure out (theoretically) how this person got my info (nothing has been stolen, so suggestions?)

I've also learned a bit more about the situation. It appears to be an individual that is using my identity to establish themselves. They've used the same address for everything. All activity is limited to the same metro area where I used to live.

I'm angry right now. And scared. I'm feeling helpless and violated. I know I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do to prove the theft, but that doesn't change the fact that the credit agencies and even the government have to believe me. I'm fairly certain they will (it's quite clear, actually, that this person stole my identity), but it's scary to think that someone wouldn't believe me when I tell them who I am. And it's frustrating that it's MY responsibility to prove it.

The thing that's pissing me off the most...they may be using the correct form of my Social Security Number and my birthdate, but they've spelled my last name wrong. And the fcuking credit agencies didn't catch it or raise a red flag that the last name on the fake driver's license they're using doesn't match the name on the (my) credit file/Social Security Number they're using to get the credit. They didn't do their job of verifying data before opening credit lines and now I'm paying for it. And there's no excuse for that.

Protecting my identity

I discovered something really scary recently. Someone is using my Social Security Number.

The beginning of November I logged onto my online banking site and discovered a new checking account. What? I didn't open a new account! So I called the bank. I discovered that someone had opened the account using my SSN, but not my name, the day before. It was opened by someone in a city where I used to live, at a branch of my bank there. I promptly had them close the account and was happy to learn that no cards (debit or credit) had been issued yet. A few days later, I got the signature form to issue said cards in the mail. I called the bank again to make sure, and yes, the account was closed, and the form had been mailed before I called the first time.

In addition to having the bank close my account and set up a security function where they flag my SSN (someone calls me if anyone attempts to use my SSN), I called one of the three the credit report company and had them flag my credit file with a "fraud alert" for 90 days. That company then notifies the other two. Once I had all three confirmation letters that my credit file was successfully flagged with the alert, I requested a copy of my credit report from one of them. [I do this annually anyway, around my birthday (a date that's easy to remember), just to be safe.]

Yesterday I got said credit report in the mail. I was horrified and freaked out to discover that someone had opened not one, not two, but THREE lines of credit in September using my SSN, all three of them opened in same city as the attempted checking account. Two loans and one open line of credit for a total of just over $50,000. I now have a pile of things I have to do to protect myself from being responsible for these accounts and to get them removed from my credit report and to stop it from happening again. I started an investigation into the fraudulent accounts with the credit company. I have to call all three companies that the accounts were opened with and notify them that someone opened the account using my SSN, and that they need to start their paperwork to file the accounts as fraudulent. There are several forms to fill out and paperwork to deal with. I also need to file a police report with the local police department, which is part of the Identity Theft Report. I'm going to get copies of my credit report from the other two credit agencies, for comparison and to make sure there's nothing else.

There's a list of things you have to do on the FTC webpages that address ID theft, including a 52 page document explaining each step and how to protect yourself.

Watch over your Social Security Number. You have a right to request that an organization use a different number as you ID number. Other than for a credit check or tax reporting, there's no reason they need it. Ask questions about why they want it, how it's to be used, and for them to use a different number for your ID. If they say no or you are uncomfortable with any of their answers, take your business elsewhere if at all possible. No one has to use your SSN as your ID number for any reason, and other than credit checks and for tax purposes, no company needs it for general record keeping or paperwork either.

And for those of you that don't make a habit of using your legal right to an annual free credit report ... DO IT! Better safe than sorry.