Last year I received a letter from the US Postal Service to confirm a change of
address order. The type we normally fill out when we move and want our mail
forwarded to a new address. Trouble is, I haven't moved for several years and
don't plan to.
The name on the change order had my address on it but the
last name was spelled Waze. Close - but not quite my last name.
I called
the post office immediately and had the forward order stopped. Since the name
was a little off, I did not lose any mail (that I know of) and I had nearly
forgotten about it - until a couple of weeks ago.
The name Waze
re-appeared on a piece of mail in my box the other day. This time it was on a
letter from Capital One Credit Card - regarding my account! I like their
commercials, but have never been a customer and my wallet does not have a
Capital One Credit Card.
After an hour on the phone with their fraud
department, the situation is now somewhat resolved. They did have an account
under the name Tim Waze, with my address, my social security # and my date of
birth. However, in one year, nothing had ever been charged on it. The account is
now officially closed. Next step, of course is the big 3 credit reporting
companies.
Experian 1st: Yes, the fraud account was on my credit record,
thankfully with no adverse information. As reported by Capital One, no balance
had ever appeared on the account. Also, Tim Waze was listed on the credit
report under personal information (versions of my name, an
alias?).
Using the formal dispute process, the record has now been
cleared up. No more Capital One. No more Waze, at least on Experian. Now I just
have to clear things up with Trans Union and Equifax.
I've also filed a
report with Scottsdale Police Department and the US Postal Service mail crimes
unit. Although, this has turned into a minor hassle, I have lost no money, and
my credit is undamaged by the appearance of Mr. Waze.
While talking to
Capital One, I asked them how in the world could you do a credit approval on
someone and not catch this? The very polite service representative from Cap One
mumbled something about a typo and couldn't explain any further. She did offer to
refer me to a credit monitoring company who would be happy to have me as a
customer. For a monthly fee, I bet they would.
This got me to thinking
that the CC companies and Credit Reporting Agencies do have an interest in this
type of fraud. Not only by preventing it, though. Credit monitoring is a growth
industry, these days.
Like it or not, we all have an ID# and it is on our
social security card. If a government or private entity stores false information
under that number, at some point you will be harmed. We live in a world of easy
credit, easy access to data on computers, and a government, with each passing
day, that seems less interested in our privacy.
Our best defense is to
look through all the mail that shows up in the box. Get a copy of your three
credit reports. Once a year, they are free and can be accessed easily (maybe too
easily) on the Internet.
