ID Theft

Lost ID Card Only. Is Identity Theft Possible?

About 10 months ago I lost my ID (not Drivers License, just ID) card. I was naive and stupid, I didn't report it in any way. The other day I applied for another ID and in doing so reported it 'lost.' Just today, I received an odd envelop from the Postal Office, with a letter enclosed, stating that they 'Found it my id outside the Post Office in San Fransisco.' My old ID, the one i haven't seen in 10 months. I didn't lose it in SF, I know where i lost it, it was very far from SF. It seemed odd to me that I got my ID card back almost immediately after I reported it lost. I came to the following possibilities: 1) The PO had it somewhere and when it was reported lost they sent it to me. 2) Somebody has been using it, and when it went expired, they thought they may be cruel and unusual and let me know that I was being screwed. Is it possible for somebody to steal my identity with just an ID? My credit has went up ALOT in the past 10 months, could this be an indicator? Heh ... Here's another possiblity, a minor found it and was using it to buy cigarettes. When they went in to the 711 teller scanned the card and it was denied, they figured they would send it back my way by the 'baby in a basket on the porch' technique, except this time the baby was an ID and the porch was the PO. I have tried the link provided for the credit report. None of the three worked. One said "You have already gotten your annual credit report" and the next one said this: "For security reasons we cannot provide a credit report online. This may be because the government has placed a freeze on your account, has a fraud flag or you are in active military duty." Weak. Note: By weak I meant the websites are weak, not your answer. Thanks for your help everyone! I will be going to the bank tomorrow.

Public Comments

1. probably not. There no social or even DL number. What can they do use your mailing address?
2. I would definitly get a copy of your credit report to see if anything is off from what you have done in the past 10 months. There is a really high risk of your idenitiy being used elsewhere.
3. I wouldn't be to terribly worried. I don't know what state you are in but if it's one of the few that still use your SSN number as your drivers license number then I would be more concerned. As far as the postal service sending it back that could just be coincidence. If your credit score has gone up in the last ten months then that is a good sign, not a bad one. If you know that you credit has gone up I assume you are checking your reports. You can check your credit report for free the URL I am listing. It's the one that the government made the credit reporting agencies set up. It's the only one i know that is truly free. You don't get your FICA score, but you do get to see if anyone has opened an account without your permission. Good luck with all this.