[JudyKayTee]

To answer Artlady's question - if I did not want to report my ID as stolen I could do whatever I wanted to obtain the identity of the person who opened the accounts - and who also, by the way, changed my address to another address. If I wanted to do my own invetigation (and keep in mind that that's what I do) I could claim it on my Homeowners Insurance, the cc company would step back and I would be on my own.

I was NOT happy with the entire situation because in my case "someone" flew from NY to London on my cc, HAD to show ID of some sort and the cc company would not give me the new mailing address.

I reported the problem to the State Troopers, the cc company reversed everything and I never heard another word.

[Fr_Chuck]

And of course if you keep all three of your credit bureau reports frozen they will not really be able to do a lot anyway,
And check your report at least three times a year to be sure no one is applying for credit in your name somehow.

[ScottGem]

And of course if you keep all three of your credit bureau reports frozen they will not really be able to do alot anyway,
and check your report at least three times a year to be sure no one is applying for credit in your name somehow.

Chuck makes a good point. The monitoring services the Credit bureaus sell is well worth it, especially once your identity has been compromised. You can set it so that any request for credit is reported to you BEFORE they release info to the inquirer. That can help catch the perp before they create the accounts.

By the way, even though the thieves charged over $2K on my card, it didn't cost me anything. The card issuer issued a credit the first month, then when there were more charges the second month, they closed the account and issued me a new card.