Fraudulent Transunion Account

[PaunchyPirate]

I was able to call Transunion and have them walk me through how to change the account to my information. Probably the same way the fraudster set up the account to begin with. This is a known problem based on what a 5-minute search revealed. One poster (I think it was Reddit) said they are constantly having to check their Transunion credit bureaus because someone keeps changing it back (unfreezing as they go). It sounds like it's always done over the phone.

The person at Transunion was nice enough to give me the fraudsters Userid. They asked if my email ended in Hotmail and I said no. I gave them my actual email address. They sent me an email with a password reset. Once I got in, I changed the security questions, phone number, User name and Password. The only things that were consistent between my information and the fraudsters was Name, SSN.

So, I guess I'll be checking my Transunion credit account information on an ongoing basis. I'm not sure if the other bureaus have the same problem.

Fortunately, I had numerous credit alerts set up that sent me the Hard Inquiry in real time.

What info did you need to supply on the call to convince the agent you were the right owner of the account?

 

[Sunset]

Everyone over the age of 18 and living in the U.S. needs to do at least these things.

In Spring 2024, the Telco’s implemented an unadvertised FCC-mandated anti-porting mitigation in an effort to make their customers less susceptible to SIM-swap/port-out attacks.​

Enable it HERE ​

AT&T For better or worse this can only be done thru the AT&T mobile app forever linking it to the device. Replacing the phone will require extra steps.​

T-Mobile​

Verizon​

There's confusion on the topic of SIM fraud.
It's not covered accurately online or in mass media with the following 3 terms often used interchangeably.
These are completely separate from one another and except for CLONING have nothing to do with setting a PIN on the physical SIM card in the phone.

SIM-Swapping aka port-out has been one of the greatest identity-theft threats to ordinary consumers since ~2018. Just because you don't do mobile banking doesnt mean you cant be SIM-swapped. You can be.

SIM-Jacking has been endemic since feature phones (2001) and can’t be mitigated because it’s a built-in feature not a bug.

SIM Cloning hasn’t been a thing since the advent of 3G networks (2005). It requires physical access to the SIM card, has been mitigated by technology and can be prevented by setting a SIM PIN on the physical SIM card in the phone.

Plant Your Flags

You cannot do these next 2 while credit freezes are in place

Secure Your Social Security Account
Create an account with the SSA Social Security and secure it with ID.ME if you can.
Accounts opened prior to 2021 cannot use ID.ME and will need to be re-established from scratch.

There can only be one account per SSN so doing this prevents anyone else from claiming yours.

Secure Your IRS Account
If you file electronically using tax software you should already have established a static 5 digit PIN with the IRS that you use to e-file every year this could also be last year’s AGI. This isn’t the same as the IRS identity protection PIN below.

The IP PIN program became active in Jan 2021. When you sign up, the IRS will issue you a 6-digit PIN. You put the PIN on your tax return. Any e-filed tax return without the correct PIN will be rejected. Any paper return without the correct PIN will be subject to extra scrutiny.

A specific PIN is valid for only one year. After you sign up once to participate in the program, you must log in to the IRS account each year to retrieve a new PIN before the tax season starts. You always use your most current PIN. You don’t need a PIN when you amend your previous tax returns.

Freeze ALL 4 Credit Reports
These are free and should take less than 20 minutes to do online.

No one including yourself will be able to open a new account when a freeze is in place but you need to close all 4 doors. This will also help reduce the information that data brokers can see because it prevents the CRA from selling your data to them. The freeze can be temporarily or permanently undone online in 20 seconds with the PIN they’ll issue. They've all been issuing PINs since 2016.

When applying for new credit, ask the lender which service they use so you can lift a freeze. Do it at least an hour before you submit the application. Most lifted freezes allow you to enter an expiration date for the lift so the freeze will be automatically reinstated.

Transunion

Experian

Equifax

Chex systems Used by Banks and CU to perform KYC for bad checks and closed accounts

After a freeze, insurance companies will still be able to review your credit report for underwriting purposes so reports of “my insurance went up after I froze my credit” are no longer valid. Existing creditors will still be able to raise or reduce your credit limit. Unfortunately you’ll also still receive prescreened offers of credit unless you opt out
Also here --> Innovis Used for mass mailing data for pre-screened credit card offers
and here --> Lexis-Nexis use a pdf of anything when it asks for a picture ID such as drivers license I used a leaf blower brochure cover page and they accepted it.


Don’t let yourself get tricked into paying for a credit lock or a fraud alert. Those aren’t freezes and will still allow the CRA to sell your data. Credit reports are now available weekly instead of once-a-year for free.

​

Thanks,
Just locked my sims !!

 

[PatrickA5]

What info did you need to supply on the call to convince the agent you were the right owner of the account?

Well, I called 3 times. Got hung up on the first time LOL

Saturday, 2nd attempt, he asked for Name, SSN, Birthdate. He asked if my email ended in Hotmail.com. I said "no", so he was nice enough to change it to my real email. He asked for an old mailing address. I told him an old address but I couldn't remember the Zip code, so he told me what it was. He told me the UserId that was currently being used. Then sent me an email with a link to reset my password. I reset my password and tried to login, but it didn't work. He said "no worries, wait 10 minutes and try again". Never worked.

Called again today. He asked Name, SSN, Address, Birthdate and email address. He didn't ask about an old physical address. He basically did the same thing the other guy did by telling me the Userid and sending a link to reset the password. This time it worked. I went in and changed the phone number, security questions and set the freeze (no PIN).

I know I used to have a Transunion online account at some point, but the first guy said that old online accounts were deleted.. Not sure I believe him, but he said that the account was "set up" in December. So, I really don't know if the account was "changed" or "set up" in December. I have other ways of seeing my Transunion data, so I haven't had a recent need to actually go into my online account. I'll be keeping an eye on the actual accounts going forward!

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Well, I called 3 times. Got hung up on the first time LOL

Saturday, 2nd attempt, he asked for Name, SSN, Birthdate. He asked if my email ended in Hotmail.com. I said "no", so he was nice enough to change it to my real email. He asked for an old mailing address. I told him an old address but I couldn't remember the Zip code, so he told me what it was. He told me the UserId that was currently being used. Then sent me an email with a link to reset my password. I reset my password and tried to login, but it didn't work. He said "no worries, wait 10 minutes and try again". Never worked.

Called again today. He asked Name, SSN, Address, Birthdate and email address. He didn't ask about an old physical address. He basically did the same thing the other guy did by telling me the Userid and sending a link to reset the password. This time it worked. I went in and changed the phone number, security questions and set the freeze (no PIN).

I know I used to have a Transunion online account at some point, but the first guy said that old online accounts were deleted.. Not sure I believe him, but he said that the account was "set up" in December. So, I really don't know if the account was "changed" or "set up" in December. I have other ways of seeing my Transunion data, so I haven't had a recent need to actually go into my online account. I'll be keeping an eye on the actual accounts going forward!

Yes, that does seem like thin verification that you are who you are. So someone else calling to make changes would seem possible. I would have thought they would have made you answer 4 or 5 questions from your past to confirm your identity. Like “which of these 3 banks do you or did you previously have a mortgage with…”

 

[Teacher Terry]

JOBO, thanks so much for the information about the SIM card. I took care of that immediately.

 

[rembrandt]

The worst part of identity theft is convincing people that it was a criminal, and not you who did the transactions. This happened to me in the 90's and it was a nightmare.