Thread: Identity theft!

I know that the subject has been aired extensively on both the radio and tv over the last few months. Personally I thought that buying a shredder from Office World and turning paper into confetti was the end of it. WRONG!!

This fine morning, whilst shuffling paperwork at home I heard the thud of mail hitting the floor. Brown envelopes normally mean bills....or in this case the DVLA logo on it.

Dear Mr R*****e, blah, blah blah. your licence has now been revoked and further enquiries will bee made with the police regarding the drink drive offence and failure to provide a specimen for analysis when requested to do so.

Numb and confused....a little! Shocked and totally bu@@ered more like!

I got on to the DVLA and spent the best part of 45 minutes getting shoved from pillar to post by a variety of very nice welsh women that were little use. Finally the storm unfolds.

I new driving licence was applied for with new address three months ago in my name. The DVLA would not hand out many detail at this stage, however nuff' said. I have been a victim.

My so called accident occured last month in Leeds. The gentleman was of 'Eastern European' decent. Bailed and forgotten now.

I have just applied for all and any info under the DPA from the DVLA. I am not allowed to drive until this is resolved by them and the police. Oficially on gardening leave as I need to drive rather a lot.

To all of you, beware of this theft. I'm stumped as to how anyone could have obtained personal details, however I am now more aware of PERSEC.

Let's be careful out there

Do you now have to change your name to 'slowmedic'? :D

Hope the situation gets resolved quickly and that you come out of it without being financially disadvantaged.

Cheers ST2B,

I think that the 'dim witted' medic might be more appropriate for me now

Not that I want to upset you even more but could this just be the tip of the iceberg? Maybe its worth paying have a credit search against your details done for peace of mind. Using a Driving licence as ID goes quite along way in this country especially once you have a couple of paid utility bills to back it up.

www.Experian.co.uk

I hope it all gets sorted.

BGL

I don't think it's your fault, you've been careful but just unlucky. I'd definitely follow BGL's good advice. Hope there's no more shocks.

Thanks B_G_L

I contacted Experian and my bank, building soc and solicitor about an hour ago. They are aware.

Experian were very helpful and able to identify measures for reducing id theft exposure. :P

fastmedic

I am a privacy nerd.

I burn all unwanted/ unnecessary correspondence in the back garden. I don't sign up to any loyalty card schemes. I am ex-directory. I am aggressive in protecting my Data Protection rights with companies and bodies who ask for what I consider to be excessive antecedent details. I only rarely buy things online using blue-chip companies. And so on. I have removed my details from the Voter's Register, too, anybody can ask for this to be done with their local authority.

I have no problems with identity theft, touch wood.

Originally Posted by Vegetius

I have removed my details from the Voter's Register, too, anybody can ask for this to be done with their local authority.

Just to add, yes this is true and I have done the same. However for general interest people should be aware that there are two versions of the electoral roll. One can be sold to anyone who is willing to pay for it. This is the one you can have your name taken off.

The other is the full version and is used for electoral purposes. You cannot be removed from it, but its contents should be secure.

Originally Posted by Vegetius

I have no problems with identity theft, touch wood.

No, but a Roman writer called Vegetius is very upset about it.

I had a photo licence ( full uk) sent to my address for the lady who owned the house before me, complete with her photo and details, but my address. A few weeks later her husband called round and asked for it. I told him that i had returned it to the DVLC. What i want to know is, why 3 years after the exchange of contracts, did she put my address on her driving licence. More to the point, how stupid is she that she could have left herself wide open to fraud etc.

I hope your situation is resolved asap fastmedic.

i was quite surprised about 18 months ago to receive a letter from a debt collection agency, warning me of court proceedings to recover the £17,000 loan i had defaulted on! that one took a bit of sorting out, i can tell you.

Before you buy a house or even rent property, for the love of god get it checked for County Court Judgements (CCJs) and so on incurred by previous occupants.

If you don't this info gets stuck to your name like glue and can cause problems when you apply for credit (etc).

Originally Posted by Vegetius

I am a privacy nerd.

I burn all unwanted/ unnecessary correspondence in the back garden. I don't sign up to any loyalty card schemes. I am ex-directory. I am aggressive in protecting my Data Protection rights with companies and bodies who ask for what I consider to be excessive antecedent details. I only rarely buy things online using blue-chip companies. And so on. I have removed my details from the Voter's Register, too, anybody can ask for this to be done with their local authority.

I have no problems with identity theft, touch wood.

I do that too.

I go one step further though, I burn people too.

Originally Posted by Vegetius

Before you buy a house or even rent property, for the love of god get it checked for County Court Judgements (CCJs) and so on incurred by previous occupants.

If you don't this info gets stuck to your name like glue and can cause problems when you apply for credit (etc).

Indeed. I've also been in a situation where a bank error meant that a woman with a poor credit history with the same surname as me (but no connection whatever), was linked to my address. A nightmare to resolve, mostly because the banks think they never make mistakes.

Originally Posted by ViroBono

Originally Posted by Vegetius

Before you buy a house or even rent property, for the love of god get it checked for County Court Judgements (CCJs) and so on incurred by previous occupants.

If you don't this info gets stuck to your name like glue and can cause problems when you apply for credit (etc).

Indeed. I've also been in a situation where a bank error meant that a woman with a poor credit history with the same surname as me (but no connection whatever), was linked to my address. A nightmare to resolve, mostly because the banks think they never make mistakes.

And this is always the case and the crux of the problem! Any mistakes made by banks, utility companies, gobment offices etc, is automatically your fault!
You always have to prove your innocence!

If you do nothing about it, you're still in the shite and liable to have the bailiffs come around for a visit.

Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty?

MsG