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Q:  How can I dispute my credit report after someone has used my social security number?

A: I’m making some assumptions based on your question, but it seems that there are actually 2 issues involved.  The first is if someone used your social security number for gain, without your permission, you have been a victim of identity theft.  The second is that you need to dispute an item that has shown up on your credit report due to this identity theft.

Number one, take the appropriate steps to report the identity theft and make sure it doesn’t happen again.  Read our post on what to do if someone has stolen your identity, for a complete writeup on what these steps are.  It would also make sense to sign up for an identity theft protection service like Identity Guard to further protect yourself.

Number two, contact each of the 3 credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and Transunion – to dispute any items on your credit report caused by this identity theft.  You’ll want to do this after step one above, as you may need to provide documentation to prove your claim.  Although you only mention one credit report in your question, you need to check all 3 of your credit reports to make sure they are all accurate.   Once you’ve done this, you can file your disputes online, via the links below.

Experian
Equifax
TransUnion.

It goes without saying that good and evil often do exist side-by-side. And much like the Chinese concept of the Yin and Yang — contrary forces that are interconnected in the natural world — so too does this exist in the identity theft world. Each week we highlight the “Worst Person” in identity theft; while contrarily we also highlight the “Best Person.” Yes, there are many hard working professionals who work tirelessly to fight identity theft, and they deserve all the recognition in the world.

And, this week, we would like to commend Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey for leading the charge to arrest of 10 members of a criminal mortgage fraud and identity theft operation. The group i

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dreaming of a transhuman future asked:

My government keeps billing me for all these services I never ordered, like crummy public schools and military wars in other countries. So far I’m in the hole for over $35,000! (My share of the $10.4 trillion national debt.) How can I get this matter straightened out and get a refund on all these unwanted services people keep ordering for me?
My government keeps billing me for all these services I never ordered, like crummy public schools and military wars in other countries. So far I’m in the hole for over $35,000! (My

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The most common form of identity theft remains computer crimes, especially those that allow hackers to capture personal information and use a victim’s credit cards fraudulently. And yet many people don’t understand the depth and danger of computer crime — instead, they think of it as a ‘lesser’ crime when compared to face-to-face offences.

Obviously, though, perpetrators commit identity theft in secret — and that makes computer crimes the perfect approach. Here are the three most common identity theft computer crimes and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Phishing

By now most people know better than to send money to African princesses, but there are literally thousands of phishing emails out there, and some are pretty insidious.

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ibdust182 asked:

My attempt on the identity theft commercial

This weekend, a small but undisclosed number of iTunes accounts were hacked by a developer whose rogue ebooks inexplicably captured 42 of the top 50 best seller slots on the iTunes App Store this weekend. It seems that purchases through the hacked accounts helped propel the books into their high sales positions, but it’s unclear if that’s the whole story. Apple hasn’t said if the iTunes store was hacked as well. The developer, Thuat Nguyen, has since been booted for violating the App Store’s terms of service.

People that have iTunes accounts should be on the lookout for unauthorized charges. Apple claims that developers do not have access to any sensitive user data, such as credit card numbers, and one would hope that’s true.

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