About a year ago, someone who is not me bought a plane ticket on my credit card. I called the credit card company, signed a form they sent me, and I didn't have to pay for it. (See the story here.) Anyway, they recommended that I contact the credit bureaus to tell them about this. I did, and they both asked me to sign something and mail it in. Both of them put a warning on my file telling anyone who might be offering "me" credit of some sort has to phone me first to confirm my identity. (This way, if someone tries to get a loan or cell phone or something in my name, intending to stick me with the bill, they won't be able to do it.)
Today there was a message on the phone from Telus. They said a dealership of some sort was trying to get a cell phone in my name. Thanks to the warning on my credit report, they had to call me to confirm that I really was trying to get a cell phone, which I wasn't. So if you've ever been a victim of credit card fraud, I'd recommend contacting the credit bureaus (Equifax, Transunion, and possibly one other company if you're Canadian) and getting a fraud warning on your file.
The problem: The Telus person only left a general Telus number to phone, she only left her first name, and I could hardly understand her name, so when I called back, the people I talked to couldn't track down this fraudulent request. I'm not too worried though; I don't think they'd actually let someone open the account without confirmation from me. But if I ever tried to sign up for a new account with Telus and they don't start leaving more information in their messages, I might not be able to confirm my identity. If that happened, I might have to try a different company.
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Don't be so sure. 6 years ago that very thing happened to me. An account was set up in my name by a 45 year old woman (I was 18 at the time, think that would have set off some alarm bells) with a fake driver's licence # (I didn't even have a driver's license at that time) and a fake signature I am guessing. That was good enough for Telus though! It was a big enough of a fight back then to try and get them to admit it was their fault, but finially they admitted it was a fraudulent account and we would not be responsible for it. Well, that was 6 years ago and suddenly I have a charge from a collections agency show up on my credit. Now I'm stuck again trying to deal with Telus and it's a total nightmare! I can't get ahold of the people who are supposed to help me, and everyone else just gives me the run around and treats me like an idiot. I tried contacting the collections agency but unfortunately they need more info than is available. Since it was so long ago, my witness statement is no longer in existence and only a summary of the case is available. Telus has everything on file, but getting ahold of them is impossible. I NEED it resolved immediately, as it's holding me up from getting a mortgage and a line of credit so I think I'm going to have to get a lawyer. What a nigtmare, and a shitty company.
Yikes!
I actually had a collection agency contact me in January, but it wasn't because of Telus. It was because someone had opened a bank account in my name, deposited a counterfeit cheque, took out the money, and closed the account. It took at least a month, maybe two, but I got that cleared up.
Then I ordered my credit reports. They list everyone that has checked my credit report, and there were a few inquiries that I didn't authorize. I checked into those and it turned out that these people hadn't successfully opened any other accounts in my name. Believe it or not, I even managed to get in touch with Telus and finally confirmed that they didn't open an account that time.
I also contacted the government and confirmed that they only got one T4 for me this year, so I'm pretty sure these jerks didn't get a job in my name and stick me with the taxes. Not last year anyway.
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