Originally Posted By: Gordon Scott
Originally Posted By: edshaw
I got caught off guard by one of the ID Theft schemes, involving banking.
It gave me a new outlook on web security.

... and the more data they can scavenge, the more credible the scams can seem.

I had a wallet stolen a while back, which quickly turned into serious, professional identify theft. Never mind cash or cards, which of course I immediately cancelled, or the license he couldn't use. He used the information he found to create fake ID and open credit lines in high-end retail stores and walk out with goodies. He bought a lot of jewelry, even tried to buy a car. Within a few days he got to around $16,000 total. What finally undid him was he has the audacity to go into a bank and try to get a debit card to replace the one I had cancelled! I have surveillance photos of him doing that, the police gave them to me.

I am not ashamed of my Social Security number, but no, you cannot have it, and that sort of thing is why.