Identity theft and serious ineptitude

[waddsworth]

My fiancee and I received some great news today...

The University of Pittsburgh School of Business informed us, via snail mail, that a university owned laptop was stolen from an employee of the university. Amongst some of the information on the laptop was a database that included names, demographic info, and social security numbers for all graduates over an 8-year period.

Now her ss number is out there, and I don't think we can ever feel safe again. And the beauty is, the fracko from whom the laptop was stolen violated University policy by keeping such sensitive info on a laptop. fracking asswipe should be fired.

[megadeth]

Wow. That is terrible. Hope everything eventually turns out alright.

[LMSkim]

man sorry to hear that

[BART]

that sucks utah. reality of living in the 21st century, and there's nothing an individual can do to prevent this from happening to themselves, which is frustrating.

[DjMattyD]

utah?

[BART]

[CaboWabo]

Holy shit BART is getting senile.


That really sucks though man. I would be freaking out...last thing I need is some dip shit jacking up my credit. I read a thing on yahoo the other day about 'Zombie Debt' too...which makes identity theft even worse. Even if you report it and the charges are taken off...they sell that debt to collection agencies and then up to 5-7 years down the road (after the intrest has compounded) they come back and try to collect that debt.

I was reading that shit like WTF?!

[waddsworth]

The real irony of this was that just yesterday I was reading an article in consumer reports about all sorts of agencies losing laptops with ss numbers on them. I was so shocked and disturbed by it that I read it aloud to the people I was with, only to find a day later that my fiancee is now one of those victims...

And what really chaps my ass is that it almost makes it pointless to take any precautions at all. I mean, what fracking motivation do I have to keep my ss number a secret when the very institutions (IRS, schools, banks, etc) that require you to provide it to them just leave that shit unprotected out in the open.

I suppose I should be happy that they at least notified us. But now I have to check all three agencies monthly. For the rest of my life.

[Walruz996]

Chill out, just get that shit on the commercials with the dude and the truck n stuff.

[CaboWabo]

Chill out, just get that shit on the commercials with the dude and the truck n stuff.

Sarcasm?

If not, like 5 people stole his identity just b/c they could. They didn't make any huge purchases, they just did it to spite him.

[Walruz996]

Haha, I had a feeling that guy would get fracked over. But I mean it's better than nothing I guess.

[waddsworth]

Haha, I had a feeling that guy would get fracked over. But I mean it's better than nothing I guess.

I looked into it and its not - you are referring to Lifelock. I'd rather just monitor my own shit through the agencies. For Equifax its $10 a month and you get unlimited reports, as well as immediate notification if there are any significant changes (ie new account activations, large changes in your balances, etc.).

[LuckyBuMmRa]

my dad's shit got stolen too, i wouldn't be too worried about it, just monitor your shit.

[Icej]

I avoid identity theft by being an illegal alien. It works well.

[jhooligan]

seeing as it's not your ss #, you could also just break up with her

kidding






i guess

[junwin]

Im not very familiar with the social security system in america, what exactly can they do with your SS number?

[RexSkimmer]

everything. open accounts, take your money, destroy your credit

it's a finacial nightmare

[Mapdash]

seeing as it's not your ss #, you could also just break up with her

kidding






i guess

yeah cut that bitch loose. She is tainted now. Plus you know you could do better anyway.