Mother gave out social security number to fraudulent caller

[Theseus]

Hi

My mother told me she gave out her SSN to a caller who told her she was from Homeland Security. This happened 3 months ago.

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

[whodidntante]

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

If you're doing that, you should be getting power of attorney. Otherwise, you have no authority to do those things.

[sd323232]

You can buy identity theft insurance. With all the breaches happening, probably all our ss numbers are out there.

[CAsage]

Suggest that she/you make sure her credit is frozen at all 3 major credit bureaus (Experian, Transunion, Equifax) as well as the lesser known company used to open checking accounts (Innovis). Another risky area would be filing for false SS claims, so if Mom isn't getting SS yet, she/you probably want to open a user account as fraud can occur with people claiming back SS payments and routing them to Debit cards (really... it happens). I would also be monitoring Mom's SS number with the IRS and her local tax authority, as a big issue might be someone filing a fake tax return and then getting a big refund.... Krebs on Security has an excellent website on issues like this, I would go there and see what else.... And definitely pull a credit report every 4 months from the annualcreditreport.com folks and go through it very carefully. Bummer.

[GerryL]

Hi

My mother told me she gave out her SSN to a caller who told her she was from Homeland Security. This happened 3 months ago.

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

Underlying question: Did she give any other information? Birth date. Previous address? Any seemingly innocent facts that might be used for security questions?

[Startingover2019]

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

If you're doing that, you should be getting power of attorney. Otherwise, you have no authority to do those things.

Seriously? Verbal agreement does not count?

[arcticpineapplecorp.]

Hi

My mother told me she gave out her SSN to a caller who told her she was from Homeland Security. This happened 3 months ago.

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

this will prevent thieves from getting credit in her SSN because they will need the passcode to thaw credit. Without that, they can't get credit.

They can still file a fraudulent tax return if they do so before she files, so make sure she files as early in the year as possible, probably even if she's not required to (just to prevent someone else filing under her SSN). You can ask the IRS if that's the right strategy, and maybe get her a pin for filing (if able to). source: https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-frau ... pin-ip-pin

Speaking of which, do you have the passcodes, does your mom, or do you both? Don't lose the PINs, ever.

The reason I ask is, are there other things going on that demonstrate some cognitive slippage? If so, you need to get POA and check her bank accts, etc. to make sure she's not giving money away, etc. Hopefully, this was just a one off but it becomes more commonplace as one gets older. Best to get involved before it gets too bad. And hopefully your mom will welcome your help, but it sometimes depends on how it's framed/addressed.

does she have many (or too many) credit cards that could be charged up if she's cognitively slipping? I would (with her permission) check her bank accounts to check for any unusual transactions, etc. I've seen people order oodles of stuff off QVC. Do you know how she's living (have you physically seen her place to make sure there's no hoarding behaviors, cleanliness is good, etc)?

Those are some things to consider. But get a POA if you don't have one .

let us know how it goes.

[whodidntante]

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

If you're doing that, you should be getting power of attorney. Otherwise, you have no authority to do those things.

Seriously? Verbal agreement does not count?

If you help her do it that's fine.

She might consider freezing ChexSystems and Early Warning. This will prevent opening certain bank accounts.

She can also do fraud alerts if she's really worried.

[whodidntante]

You can buy identity theft insurance. With all the breaches happening, probably all our ss numbers are out there.

It's comforting to know that if I ever forget my social security number, I can just look it up online.

[Lee_WSP]

Identity theft insurance is probably a good idea. Normally I'd say it's not worth it, but if she's giving out her SSN willy nilly, she probably needs it more than most.

[gtd98765]

make sure she establishes a My Social Security online account if she has not already done so:

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/01/reg ... -guard-up/

KrebsOnSecurity has long warned readers to plant your own flag at the my Social Security online portal of the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) — even if you are not yet drawing benefits from the agency — because identity thieves have been registering accounts in peoples’ names and siphoning retirement and/or disability funds. This is the story of a Midwest couple that took all the right precautions and still got hit by ID thieves who impersonated them to the SSA directly over the phone.

[wander]

Reporting Identity Theft to Police: Steps to Take and Things to Know

[Stinky]

Hi

My mother told me she gave out her SSN to a caller who told her she was from Homeland Security. This happened 3 months ago.

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

Tell her to not answer phone calls from folks or phone numbers that she doesn't know.

Our only phones now are iPhones. The new iOS has a feature called "Silence Unknown Callers", which will send a call from any number not in our contacts list directly to voice mail. I trust that "Homeland Security" wasn't one of your mothers' contacts.

We've found that very few of the scammers will leave voice mail. And if someone leaves your mother a strange sounding voice mail, ask her to get you involved in assessing and returning the call (if needed).

[Theseus]

Thank you for everyone’s input. So far nothing bad has happened on her credit. We have frozen her credit report. And told never to panic when someone threatens her on the phone.

We are hoping her ssn is not going to be used to file a fake tax return.

[Theseus]

Hi

My mother told me she gave out her SSN to a caller who told her she was from Homeland Security. This happened 3 months ago.

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

Underlying question: Did she give any other information? Birth date. Previous address? Any seemingly innocent facts that might be used for security questions?

Yes. She had given out such information. They basically say we are calling from DHS and if you lie to us you will go to jail.

[TallBoy29er]

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

If you're doing that, you should be getting power of attorney. Otherwise, you have no authority to do those things.

Dude, ridiculously silly statement. Helping mom freeze credit and check her credit reports, and you suggest OP needs POA to do so? Come on, please be realistic.

I've done this for my mom. Was I breaking the law?

[TallBoy29er]

You can buy identity theft insurance. With all the breaches happening, probably all our ss numbers are out there.

Unfortunately, more true than not. Even before Equifax, likely the case. But if not then, post Equifax, more likely.

[whodidntante]

Other than checking her credit reports and freezing her credit what else should I be doing?

If you're doing that, you should be getting power of attorney. Otherwise, you have no authority to do those things.

Dude, ridiculously silly statement. Helping mom freeze credit and check her credit reports, and you suggest OP needs POA to do so? Come on, please be realistic.

I've done this for my mom. Was I breaking the law?

It's not an issue to help her do it. It's an issue if you decide to do it and do it.

To help you understand, would you be upset if your mom froze your credit reports and pulled your credit reports without asking you? If not, cool, there is no problem.