Do you think that public court records open folks who file BK up for identity theft?

[butterfly_doll]

We have just filed but I am really worried about this. We've been hiding behind our PO BOX for the past couple of years, but when the attorney's assistant asked me if I wanted them to put down our home address for the court notifications I said yes, thinking that it might get those papers that would give me rest in my hand sooner... ya, know what I mean?

Anyway, right after we filed... Like 2 days after we get these letters in the mail offering us car loans!!! from 2 different companies and I am really concerned now that people might be getting our address an other info from the court records to open accounts after this is all done with.

Do you all have any experiences with this or ideas on how to avoid possible issues?

[daxtell]

yes that happened to me too. bankruptcies are public record and at least in my area they do publish them in major newspapers. plus i would think that anyone who signs up for a pacer account can view anybodys record there.

[wantout]

I doubt anyone would want to steal the identity of a person who has filed for BK. No offense, but I am LOL at the thought of someone stealing the ID of a person in BK then trying to open new lines of credit, LOL thanks I really needed that .....

[DesdemonaB]

Does filing BK open you up to identity theft?

I would argue no, I know that if someone got a hold of my ss today, they would find that they wouldn't be approved for any credit.

Now before anyone blasts me, this statement was made based on my personal credit scores before, during and after my bk. I know that you could have 700+ credit score and still file bk due to personal reasons.

Identity theft is grab and dash kind of crime - they get what they can quickly and get out before anyone sees. They will dump a ss number on the first decline; they can't afford to get caught shopping for credit.

As Daxtell said once that petition page is stamped your BK became public, and yes you could create a Pacer account and view details of that public record but ss are not complete - I only see the last 4 digits. As for protecting your address - it's listed on your petition so it became public regardless if you used the PO Box anyway.

I received letters from lawyer saying I am making a mistake filing pro se, I received 722 redemption letters, I received "pre-approvals" for auto loans, but I have yet to receive a credit card "pre-approval" It's par for the course.

The more I think about if someone is trolling Pacer and public BK notices looking to score "cash" in the form of credit should star in "World's Dumbest Criminals".

Besides with the BK filed you will find you have less mail and sometimes it's nice to see more the local drugstore weekly flyer in your mailbox

[feelingnutsy]

Hey---Desdemona---that last part is so true---I get so much less in the mail now---what a relief

[butterfly_doll]

I would argue no, I know that if someone got a hold of my ss today, they would find that they wouldn't be approved for any credit.

Now before anyone blasts me, this statement was made based on my personal credit scores before, during and after my bk. I know that you could have 700+ credit score and still file bk due to personal reasons.

Identity theft is grab and dash kind of crime - they get what they can quickly and get out before anyone sees. They will dump a ss number on the first decline; they can't afford to get caught shopping for credit.

As Daxtell said once that petition page is stamped your BK became public, and yes you could create a Pacer account and view details of that public record but ss are not complete - I only see the last 4 digits. As for protecting your address - it's listed on your petition so it became public regardless if you used the PO Box anyway.

I received letters from lawyer saying I am making a mistake filing pro se, I received 722 redemption letters, I received "pre-approvals" for auto loans, but I have yet to receive a credit card "pre-approval" It's par for the course.

The more I think about if someone is trolling Pacer and public BK notices looking to score "cash" in the form of credit should star in "World's Dumbest Criminals".

Besides with the BK filed you will find you have less mail and sometimes it's nice to see more the local drugstore weekly flyer in your mailbox

Thank you so much for your reply...

I guess I thought that getting those offers to buy a car meant that our credit score might actually go up after filing, or that we somehow would look good to some types of lenders (not right after filing but as time goes on) because we'd be getting rid of old debts.

My husband and I talked about it an the last thing we want is any type of loan attached to our names. Why anyone would offer us a car loan soon as we filed is beyoned me! The reason we got into this mess in the first place is because we tried to go into business for ourselves and it didn't work out. We don't ever want to be in this situation again so it seemed scary that folks were offering to help us get into more crap.

This world is crazy...

[tobee43]

Thank you so much for your reply...

I guess I thought that getting those offers to buy a car meant that our credit score might actually go up after filing, or that we somehow would look good to some types of lenders (not right after filing but as time goes on) because we'd be getting rid of old debts.

My husband and I talked about it an the last thing we want is any type of loan attached to our names. Why anyone would offer us a car loan soon as we filed is beyond me! The reason we got into this mess in the first place is because we tried to go into business for ourselves and it didn't work out. We don't ever want to be in this situation again so it seemed scary that folks were offering to help us get into more crap.

This world is crazy...

it sure is............what crazy stuff happens in the mail and by phone...we filed.....were discharged and we surrender our house ...(after living in it for 33 years)...we tried everything to keep ...loan mod route, refin....you know all the list...so what do you think......2 weeks AFTER our discharge Chase calls and asks what we intend to do with our house...(you know the one we surrendered 2 years before...LOL!!)...i'm like...excuse me....what is it about the word "surrender" you don't get...and Chase replied..."well, we see you re-opened your loan mod paper work"......really???? i replied....we live 1800 miles away.....must have been the same robot that signed our mortgage docs then....the house is yours...

it was nice...we get almost no mail anymore other than an occasional credit rip off offer....seems par for the course..

[Amy26]

Well you have to think too... how much of your info is just everywhere whether you file BK or not. When you fill out an app, when you write a check, when you call customer service, when you apply to a job, when you get car insurance, public records, credit reports, hell even the stuff people post on social networking sites. If someone wants to steal your identity they really don't have to do much to do it.

Like for example, even at gov't agencies or places of business where they have all your information... you'd be surprised how much of it is flown about like nothing. I work in a place where we instant message people's socials ...where people leave expense and financial documents with people's socials laying on the printers... hell even my clearance forms were "lost" about 6 times before they got things together. Yes, we are held liable if anything should happen and so forth but still, the amount of information about ourselves that gets around is astounding. Even if you work hard to minimize it, we're still exposed.

[DesdemonaB]

Thank you so much for your reply...

I guess I thought that getting those offers to buy a car meant that our credit score might actually go up after filing, or that we somehow would look good to some types of lenders (not right after filing but as time goes on) because we'd be getting rid of old debts.

There might, I mean might, not know any of your personal credit history be a chance that your scores do rise a little after you discharge. This would be based on the debt to income ratio rule applied in credit scores.

Your credit report should show a public record of the BK and that will lower your score, but your credit lines included in the BK petition should read IIB (included in bankruptcy) with a zero (0) balance and prior payment history removed. Not all OCs and/or CAs report to the credit report agendies on a timely manner (and that is putting it nicely) so you may still see incorrect entries on your credit reports keeping scores lower. But after the discharge is issued and sent to the creditors listed on your matrix you should see something to the effect of "discharged in Chapter insert number" or something along those lines. I haven't pulled my reports yet as I only discharged this week, it would be a waste of my money to do that so soon, four days is not enough time to update correctly so I am not 100% sure what the exact verage should be.

If you have/had positive credit lines not included in the BK with a lower debt to income ratio and everything is reporting correcting you might see a rise in your scores, I hope to.

I personally am not keeping my vehicle, I am doing a pay and ride right now, but I hope to cash in on one of the offers I received in the mail hopefully within the next 30 days so I don't have to spend any more money on my current vehicle.

Good luck with everything

[frogger]

Your trash can opens you up to more identity theft than any public record........

[AngelinaCat]

Your trash can opens you up to more identity theft than any public record........

I agree with that. We once traced the whereabouts of 'Hub's worthless ex FIL and his new live-in, after they tried stealing his mother's mobile home, by going through the trash. Literally. If you want to be safe, shred all of your paperwork that you are discarding, and if you can safely do so, burn the shredded remains.

Do NOT send your paperwork to a shredding company. They will shred the paperwork and sell the shredded results as 'packing material', though I doubt there are many people with the patience to wade through that jigsaw puzzle.

[randian]

I got a bunch of those car loan offers too. I threw them in the trash. My before-BK self would have been a prime target for identity theft. My post-BK self, not so much. What crook would want to apply for a pathetic $300 credit line?