# How do I find out if an ex used my ss# in a large purchase? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429 "2010-05-05T18:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/1 "2010-05-05T18:22:42Z")
Situation: my first real relationship, starting when I was 17, was with a woman about 5 years older than me. She’d ruined her credit already by the time we got together. While together, she got many credit cards in my name (some with my knowledge and permission, some without - what did I know? I was in love). While we were together she pretty much maxed them out, but she made sure the bills were paid. When we broke up, when I was almost 21, I had great credit because of her. We split up the debt I knew about. However, she didn’t pay anything once we broke up, killing my credit, but that’s neither here nor there. 13 years later (ie, last year), I went to get my free credit rating from [annualcreditreport.com](http://annualcreditreport.com). As part of the verification process, you have to answer a few questions like “Which of the following is a previous phone number of yours?” or “Which of the following is a current or previous employer?” One of the questions was about the year I bought a house. Problem: I’ve never bought a house. Since my credit got ruined so quickly after breaking up with my first girlfriend, and because of her sketchy history with those credit cards, she’s the most likely suspect of any wrongdoing. **Actual questions:** a) Would it have been possible for her to use my ss# and credit score to buy herself a house without my knowledge? b) If so, how do I find out if that happened? Thanks for any answers. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/2 "2010-05-05T20:55:09Z")
The mortgage would be on your credit report, presumably. Was one of the answers “none of these”, though? The last time I got a free credit report, one of the security questions was asking me about a completely unfamiliar loan. I was alarmed at first, but “None of these” was the correct answer. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/3 "2010-05-05T20:56:40Z")
It was, but when I checked that it told me that my answer was wrong. Also, this purchase would have taken place in 95 or 96. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/4 "2010-05-05T21:10:21Z")
If there was a mortgage taken out using your SS#, the debt should have showed up on the list of debts on your credit report. If there was no mortgage on the credit report, it wasn’t taken out under your SS#. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/5 "2010-05-05T21:22:37Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > If there was a mortgage taken out using your SS#, the debt should have showed up on the list of debts on your credit report. If there was no mortgage on the credit report, it wasn’t taken out under your SS#. This sounds like a chicken-and-egg problem. The OP can’t check his credit report because he doesn’t know when she would have bought a house. And he can’t know when she would have bought a house without looking at his credit report. Or am I misunderstanding something? ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/6 "2010-05-05T21:23:13Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > If there was a mortgage taken out using your SS#, the debt should have showed up on the list of debts on your credit report. If there was no mortgage on the credit report, it wasn’t taken out under your SS#. I think part of his problem is that he can’t check his credit report because he couldn’t answer the verification questions correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/7 "2010-05-05T21:25:40Z")
You can always call them if you’re having trouble with the questions. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/8 "2010-05-06T00:50:48Z")
> [@TerpBE](#): > > I think part of his problem is that he can’t check his credit report because he couldn’t answer the verification questions correctly. TransUnion couldn’t “verify” me, so they gave me the option of doing it by mail. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/9 "2010-05-06T01:38:19Z")
When you were told that your answer was wrong, were you given the chance to answer a replacement question? I have this (unfortunately) vague memory of running into a similar situation, where I was asked a question I couldn’t answer; I think it was something like confirming the last four digits of one of my credit card accounts, except that it was an account I no longer used (which was one of the reasons I was requesting my credit report, so I could check for accounts I needed to close). I remember being offered the mail option, but I’m certain I was able to resolve it some other way. What I might have done is abort the request and try again later, at which time I was offered a different set of questions. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/10 "2010-05-06T02:24:53Z")
The real free credit report site (annualcreditreport) only gives you your credit score, not a full report. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/11 "2010-05-06T03:41:44Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > The real free credit report site (annualcreditreport) only gives you your credit score, not a full report. Really? From that site: > [@](#): > > This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. > > What is a credit file disclosure or a credit report? > A credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, provides you with all of the information in your credit file maintained by a consumer reporting company that could be provided by the consumer reporting company in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as a lender. A credit file disclosure also includes a record of everyone who has received a consumer report about you from the consumer reporting company within a certain period of time (“inquiries”). The credit file disclosure includes certain information that is not included in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as the inquiries of companies for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance and account reviews, and any medical account information which is suppressed for third party users of consumer reports. You are entitled to receive a disclosure copy of your credit file from a consumer reporting company under Federal law and the laws of various states. What I’ve gotten in the past from there is a multiple-page report which listed every credit card/line of credit/mortgage I’ve ever had, several past addresses, and other information. The one piece of information it _didn’t_ give me for free was my credit score; I could have gotten it by paying a small fee, however. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/12 "2010-05-06T03:44:49Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > The real free credit report site (annualcreditreport) only gives you your credit score, not a full report. Other way around. ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/13 "2010-05-06T03:45:53Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > The real free credit report site (annualcreditreport) only gives you your credit score, not a full report. On opposite day. I say try again, maybe with a different credit agency. With luck, they won’t ask about the mortgage. Or, you could take the list of choices and call each institution. Ask them if they have any records under your SSN. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/14 "2010-05-06T03:54:26Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > The one piece of information it _didn’t_ give me for free was my credit score; I could have gotten it by paying a small fee, however. Coincidentally, I just checked [annualcreditreport.com](http://annualcreditreport.com) about three hours ago to check up on my credit info. It is indeed the same as it’s always been: credit report free, credit score fee (although it did have an offer somewhere that said “Get your FREE\* credit report,”) with the predictable asterisk leading you to all sorts of terms and conditions (the typical 30-day trial that must be canceled, lest you give up your first-born son as payment for the service.) ---
**Author:** ![Bobalude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bobalude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobalude)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/15 "2010-05-06T05:18:53Z")
Were you allowed to select not applicable? I recall that during a similar verification process I was asked a question on a credit account I never had, and the answer was like not applicable or something. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/16 "2010-05-06T05:32:02Z")
Why don’t you tell us your SS#, first and last name, date of birth and current address and we’ll get right on it for you? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/17 "2010-05-06T15:17:22Z")
Yeah, that’s the ticket! Thanks for the answers, y’all. I’m going to have to get it by mail, I think, if only to satisfy my curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-if-an-ex-used-my-ss-in-a-large-purchase/538429/18 "2010-05-06T15:48:46Z")
Did you try all three credit agencies? Last time I tried checking my credit reports (about a year ago), I could get the reports from Equifax and Experian without any trouble, but Transunion wouldn’t verify my identity online.