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Rectifying Social Security Identity Theft?
VxSote asks: "A 19 year old kid tried to buy a car only to find out his
SSN had been stolen and used by a terrorist. Now, after talking to various government entities, he is no closer to having his (presumably) good name cleared. So this situation begs the question: how exactly does one go about fixing such a mess?"
Seriously. It can be done.
-psy
Recently Wells Fargo gave my Name, SSN, Address, Bank Account info, and other info about myself and my wife to a data miner who works in an office located behind a sports bar. The office of that contractor was burglarized, and a laptop was stolen containing the data on us and an undetermined number of people ranking in the thousands.
The laptop was recovered after 30 days, found in the apartment of a known identity thief. I'm supposed to believe he never copied of shared the information. The laptop was located because it had AOL software on it. That laptop could have been penatrated even if it had never been stolen. Well Fargo information security at it's finest.
All of my family's personal info in a nice, neat package for anyone to abuse. Not a fucking thing I can do about it beyond moving my business elsewhere. Which really doesn't solve the bigger problem, our personal and financial info drifting in the wind.
Notice the gaping loopholes. It also doesn't protect you from private entities that want your SSN as a condition of doing business with them, such as landlords, employers, banks, etc.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
This is ridiculous. After all this "war on terrorism" bullshit, all of the infringements on our civil rights, they still can't solve the most basic terrorism-related problems.
This guy is basically saying, "Help me! I'm a victim of identity theft by a terrorist," and federal agencies respond with, "Sorry kid, can't help you, we're too busy tapping phones and reading email to deal with terrorism."
What the hell is Homeland Security good for?
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You're basically screwed. The government isn't called "The Government" for nothing. They've got tons of checks and balances to make sure that it's virtually impossible for them to correct their mistakes, much less admit to them. Even if you could get the government to do something, you'll have to get the credit reporting bureaus to do something, too. Have you ever been damned to spend eternity pushing a boulder uphill only to have it roll back down?
The rest of this isn't very helpful, but what the heck...
Scenario #1: Do something
A) Keep poking at various three letter organizations til you get the end result of scenario #2.
B) Get a new SSN. Find out that you're still on watch lists, and will be forever. Don't plan on travelling by plane or Amtrak.
C) Leave the country... permanently.
D) Since you're only 19, you haven't paid much into Social Security, which won't be there anyway when you retire, so, manufacture a new identity with a new SSN. It's much easier than you might think. I leave this as an exercise to the reader. Do a Google search.
Scenario #2: Do nothing, or annoy the gummint. Sooner or later you'll be going on an all expenses paid permanent Carribean vacation.
*bad dream sequence*
Khan, reprising his role as Ricardo Montalban reprising his role as Mr. Roarke, dressed in olive drab will greet you at the debarkation point. "Welcome to Fantasy Isl -- er, Guantanamo Bay Mr. Allen, or should I say Mr. Bin al-Shibh? We hope that you will find the amenities (waves hand at razor wire) to your liking. Sgt. Tattoo will take you to your cage. Don't worry about your rights, we'll take good care of them for you during your stay.
Sgt. Tattoo. Sgt. Tattoo!! Get out of that Cordoba and take this man to his new home."
Here come da fudge!
I know several Americans who finally gave up, and moved themselves to Europe to start a new life. After Canada, London and Paris are the most popular destinations for economic refugees from the US. The current US system makes it impossible to for victims to buy major items, like houses or cars. Regular tax audits suck out all your energy. It becomes impossible to take a job with an employer who only pays salary via direct deposit when you can never open another bank account. Not having a credit card means you can't do many things like internet shopping.
A few years ago I was talking with some US consular folks at a party, and they have a separate category for ex-pats who had to leave the US because they could no longer lead normal lives after ID theft. They call them "Forced Economic Migrants" or something similar. In France and England, the number is in the tens of thousands. That's just the number of people who bothered to register with the local embassies.
I have an American friend here in Belgium who had his US SSN abused more than 20 years ago. After a few years of fighting with the data reporting agencies, losing his house and all his bank accounts in the process, he gave up and moved here. The case officer at the SS administration told him he would have a better life if he gave up, cashed out, moved to another country and started his life over again. Since millions of people all over the world do this every year, it isn't that difficult, but it does really fsck up your life for a few years. A few years is better than the rest of your life. He claims he is much happier now, in a country with a working health care system and a real appreciation for beer.
His ex-wife tried to move back to the US in 2000, at the height of the boom, more than 15 years with no credit history in the US. But after 6 months of fighting with the credit reporting companies over the old data which is supposed to be deleted after 10 years, she is back here and swears never to go back except to visit family.
the AC
Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
If I was writing a book on how i would get congress to do something... I would get together(in the book) 20 or 30 hacktavists who were willing to go to jail to steal the identities of the entire US Senate and maybe some house memebers too. Lets see how fast the laws would change (in my books world). Any suggestions on a possible ending to this book.
Find a good attorney and file a law suit.
Seems to work for every other bad situation. Surely the government can't prove in a court of law that he is in fact the terrorist in question. Let the Supreme Court decide what to do about it. That's what they are there for. This is why we have checks and balances... why settle for a presumably bad financing deal on a car he won't even own in 2 years when you can get millions in punitive damages. It might take a while but hell, he's only 19... his parents can support him for a few more years right?
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
Second, most of the entries on that list don't have SSNs, because they're not US persons. Here's the entry mentioned:
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BIN AL SHIBH, Ramzi
There's no SSN given. Only 33 of the names on the "blocked persons" list have US SSNs listed. Also note the date of birth. Bin al Shibih is in his 30s, and the applicant was 19.(a.k.a. BINALSHEIDAH, Ramzi Mohamed Abdullah; BINALSHIBH, Ramzi Mohammed Abdullah; a.k.a. OMAR, Ramzi Mohammed Abdellah), Billstedter Hauptstr Apt 14, 22111 Hamburg, Germany; Emil Anderson Strasse 5, 22073 Hamburg, Germany; Letzte Heller #109 Hamburg University, 22111 Hamburg, Germany; Marienstr #54, 21073 Hamburg, Germany; Schleemer Ring 2, 22117 Hamburg, Germany; DOB 16 Sep 1973; alt. DOB 1 May 1972; POB Khartoum, Sudan; alt. POB Hadramawt, Yemen; Passport Nos. A755350 (Saudi Arabia), R85243 (Yemen), 00085243 (Yemen); nationality Yemeni (individual) [SDGT] BIN MANSOR, Amran (a.k.a. BIN MANSOR, Henry; a.k.a. BIN MANSOUR, Amran; a.k.a. MANSOR, Amran); DOB 25 May 1965; POB Malaysia (individual) [SDGT]
So this is a credit bureau screwup, not a Government screwup.
Misery, though, is having the same name as someone on the list.
a few loudmouth obnoxious types that engage in ad hominum attacks at the outset.
I guess we're ignoring conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc?
Whilst the left loonie are more interested in making a spectacle of themselves.
I guess we're ignoring conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc?