URGENT advice needed. Identity Theft.!

C

Compleks

Morning guys.
Will keep this quick.

A few years ago I had my identity stolen and used for credit fraud. Was a nightmare of a process, but eventually got it cleared up.

Now. A friend of mine just called me and his case it a lot worse.
He has had someone physically duplicate his sim card and access his phone. They have been using his account to make calls remotely and basically hi-jacked his entire online identity. G-mail accounts, apple id, cloud info, the lot.
Passwords have been changed so that he can no longer access most of his accounts.

The police have basically been no help to him what so ever.

He was quick enough to transfer all his savings out of his account to a place no one can get it.

He is about to call veda and get a check done on his credit history to see what they have been up to.
I told him to prepare for a **** fight trying to clear everything up.

Can anyone offer any advice on how to best deal with this?
Is there a specific service that can help him through the process?

It was bad enough when I had a few applications under my name, but this is shaping up to be a lot worse than what happened to me.

Please any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks guys.
I'm leaving the country in a few hours, but will check in before I go and relay any information to him.

Cheers.
 
Not Craig Thompson. Not sure if that was a reference I didn't get...

To duplicate the sim they had to physically have posession his phone. So they would have accessed his information then I guess.
Presumably they were making calls from his account and potentially applying for credit or trying to access his money.
I don't know the ins and outs of it all, but it doesn't look good for him.
 
They dont need physical possession of the Sim card. If they have stolen his identity, it does not take much to ring his mobile carrier, order a new SIM and activate it.
 
Fair enough.
But the phone company were able to see what calls were made from his number and where they were made from.
This was all apparently from his phone, which was in his possession and broken.
He only found this out because he had taken it in for repair and the phone was full of dodgy software.

He knows who had access to his phone and is most likely responsible.

But regardless of details, is there an easier way to deal with identity/credit fraud.?
I had a real hard time clearing up my name. Was hoping there might be a better way for him...
 
If you have sizeable asset you need to ways to protect yourself.. I been using this service for a while, fairly good...it alert you right away as soon as someone using your name to apply for credit or doing any financial stuff under your name

https://www.veda.com.au/yourcreditandidentity/
disc: I have shares in them

second enable all your online activities to 2 factor authentications
it nearly impossible for someone to break 2 factors authentication doesn't matter how skillful you are, you need access to physical device which most cant

use something like gmail which has sophisticate anti-theft system
in place as oppose to your ISP which has none or little.

there is no easy way once your identity is stolen, there are countless of people who has lost it all because it hard to prove it is you or someone else who did it...

so PREVENTION is a must and far cheaper than cure.
 
So.......... If your identity gets stolen, and the crooks sell all your ips from ubderneath your eyes

Is it a civil case ie you have to sue the bad guys, or is it the banks fault for accepting forged signatures?
 
TMNT the bank has fraud squads and procedures to pick up this type of thing, but it's by no means fool proof. For the most part the banks do rely on simple things like your signature and back account numbers, and these are easy things to obtain and copy. This sort of thing is probably why there's been a drive towards using PINs on credit cards instead of signatures. The example you give would likely be a criminal and civil case, you probably wouldn't get your IPs back.

A lot of it starts in the internet. Don't publish your birthday on Facebook, it's one of the major pieces of identifying information you have. I even know someone who proudly showed of his new drivers license on Facebook.

Limit the information available on your phone (this whole phone as a credit card replacement is scary to me). Use different passwords. A PO box is more secure than your mail box. Learn to spot fraud emails.

Last year the bank called me saying there was an issue with my card but I needed to identify myself before they call tell me about it. Oldest hacker trick in the book! I told them they were asking me for personal information but hadn't proven they were actually from the bank. I asked them for a reference number for the issue and then I called them about it.
 
probably a warning in this somewhere, make sure phone is password protected and encrypted if you have that functionality. Sounds like they got access to the phone for long enough to change passwords on multiple accounts. Best bet is for him to contact all the accounts he can think of and get them to disable his accounts. Something similar happened to a friend of mine.
 
"Last year the bank called me saying there was an issue with my card but I needed to identify myself before they call tell me about it. Oldest hacker trick in the book! I told them they were asking me for personal information but hadn't proven they were actually from the bank. I asked them for a reference number for the issue and then I called them about it."

You would think you were safe doing this wouldn't you ?

Except they don't actually hang up the phone !!

They play back a recording of the phone being hung up and a dial tone, then when you dial the number they have given you they play the dial a number sound, followed by the ring ring !! They then get someone else to answer it just as if you have called a different number and put you through to such and such.

So you cough up all your details because you think you are speaking to a legitimate bank !!

Chomp
 
Because they play you a dial tone as if they have hung up, you already have the number written down they gave you so you would start dialing.

Its not going to work on everyone but as far as scams go it still fool quite a few people.

Chomp
 
lizzie said:
So - why wouldn't you hang up the phone at your end before redialling?
Click to expand...

Unless the person initiating the call hangs up (assuming land lines) the line remains open.

If you hang up the mobile it terminates the call.

I just tell them that my personal banker looks after my faculties (oops facilities).
 
roe said:
If you have sizeable asset you need to ways to protect yourself.. I been using this service for a while, fairly good...it alert you right away as soon as someone using your name to apply for credit or doing any financial stuff under your name

https://www.veda.com.au/yourcreditandidentity/
disc: I have shares in them

second enable all your online activities to 2 factor authentications
it nearly impossible for someone to break 2 factors authentication doesn't matter how skillful you are, you need access to physical device which most cant

use something like gmail which has sophisticate anti-theft system
in place as oppose to your ISP which has none or little.

there is no easy way once your identity is stolen, there are countless of people who has lost it all because it hard to prove it is you or someone else who did it...

so PREVENTION is a must and far cheaper than cure.
Click to expand...


Top Advice, two factor Authentication for everything.
And always password protect phone.
 
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