SSN appeared to be stolen, 10 credit report inquiries in 2 days, actions to take?

There were 10 new inquiries on my credit report in the last 2 days from all the different banks and retail card cos. Well, someone got my SSN apparently. The interesting thing is that while on the phone with banks I was told that some inquiries and applications were done using not only my SSN but also name and address, and some only had SSN matched.

So I called all the banks and cos and thankfully none has yet approved applications or opened accounts (express alerts do work indeed). Couple banks refused to remove inquiries saying that they were done in my name therefore I need to work with the credit bureaus directly. Which I did - put a fraud alert, filed a police report, sent requests to CBs blah blah blah.

In the end there were 10 additional inquiries on my reports, 3-4 on each (among Equifax/Experian/Transunion). Scores dropped from 780 to 740 on Experian, haven't seen updated scores for the rest two.

The problem is that I am set to apply for a mortgage in 2-3 weeks. Does the knowledgeable all have any suggestions, bits of wisedom, actions to take I haven't taken yet to ensure that 1) the damage is contained to what has already been done and 2) what can be done to get these inquiries out of the reports quickly and get the score back up at least a little bit.

Any suggestions are highly appreciated

Bullshit. Your score did not drop 40 points on 3 inquiries.

chrishaw said: Bullshit. Your score did not drop 40 points on 3 inquiries.Maybe you should change your title to "Not So Happy Member"

Be careful about disputing credit-lines right before buying a house. Some banks will not give you a mortgage if you have any disputed scores.

XBOHDPuKC said:

So I called all the banks and cos and thankfully none has yet approved applications or opened accounts (express alerts do work indeed). Couple banks refused to remove inquiries saying that they were done in my name therefore I need to work with the credit bureaus directly. Which I did - put a fraud alert, filed a police report, sent requests to CBs blah blah blah. Any suggestions are highly appreciated

One thing I'd add is to send a certified letter to all places where inquiries were made, with cc to the CB's, explaining what happened and requesting an investigation to remove the inquiries and immediately close all accounts in question.

OP,

DOCUMENT everything. All calls, all emails, all letters.

IF you have probs getting your mortgage, ask WHY (and document).

pre-emptively, you could supply your lender with an older credit report, the latest credit report, and the Police report. And tell them it is being taken care of, but you will be willing to take this as far as it needs to go...

thanks for replies and suggestions.

qcumber: no, nothing was stolen from the wallet. I kind of suspect that this might be a consequence of a year old security breach at the UT at Austin when thousands of students SSNs were stolen. Can't think of anything else.

Got old reports and scores stored. Will see how it goes, will be applying for a mortgage in a couple weeks.

connorzen said: Having your Soc. number, bank account information (like I did), or identity stolen is a pain in the butt, but there ARE things you can do to fight back.

Like sue

chrishaw said: Bullshit. Your score did not drop 40 points on 3 inquiries.

Chris - check out Hot Deals to get your meds refilled.

So if anyone is interested in a quick update. Talking to banks was a major pain of course. Well, some of them weren't that bad at all, helpful and such. It appears that CrapOne pulls reports from all 3 bureaus. Some banks wanted a mailed in or faxed letter in order to start looking into it - they got it, along with the police report and all that jazz.

In most cases it appears that the bastard used my name, street name and number, but wrong apt #, wrong phone, and place of employment. The kicker is that my previous employer name is totally misspelled on my Equifax report - only there, and this spelling was used in all applications. Not sure if I can make any conclusions outta this though. Most of the applications were for retail credit cards (but through banks, except one through Nordstrom). In all but one case applications were submitted through internet, in Wachovia case they tried to apply over the phone and "were referred to the local branch as the CSR wasn't able to verify the identity."

No losses so far, from pretty much everyone I got an oral consent to remove the inquiry from the credit report.

As far as FICO/FAKO - I used to have 782 on experian through Citi identity monitor, when I got the score through Experian itself it showed 740. Maybe these are two completely different beasts, but for an uneducated consumer (ahem) they look as completely comparable numbers.

Well, it's too early to tell whether they would do anything. They all claim that it might take the bureaus up to a month to clean those up. It does not appear that any of the bank actually opened accounts. As a matter of fact I got two letters from US Bank and HSBC requesting additional information to support applications, so I am not all that worries about accounts being opened and used. As far as inquiries go I guess I'll have to wait a bit to see if anything is done, and if not - then another round of talks, mailings, faxings etc is coming to town.

I would remove those credit inquiries ASAP. Those can hinder you.

SuperG03 said: I would file an online dispute to remove the INQ from each of the credit bureaus. Most of the time, when you do it online, they are removed in very short order (like 24-48 hours). Now keep in mind, disputing INQ on credit reports raises flags as to potential id theft / fraud, so disputing legitimate INQ can have a negative impact. However, since you have already placed a fraud alert, etc, I think you will have no problems getting those INQ off right away. Hope that helps. Let us know how it goes. Thanks.

SuperG03

There is fraud. OP needs to file a police report. Things have changed from the old days, though, regarding inquiries. Sometimes it happens quickly, most often now the credit bureaus want a letter from the creditor/bank stating that the inquiry was fraudulant/non-permissible/a mistake. I haven't removed any inquiries; but then I haven't tried - just got the 'we need a letter'.

Have you been able to do so recently online, though? what was your secret?

Maybe the OP will have better luck since there is actual fraud involved and not an attempt at goodwill.