# ID theft - do I need to worry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652 "2022-10-03T18:18:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/1 "2022-10-03T18:18:15Z")
An “Amazon” rep fooled me into confirming my name, zip code and cell number today. (They already had all three; I didn’t volunteer anything.) I hung up as soon as I figured out it was a scam. (They claimed there were pending orders for multiple laptops to be shipped to a different state and that my billing address had been changed to that state.) There are no pending transactions in my Amazon or bank history. Do I need to do anything? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/2 "2022-10-03T19:03:30Z")
I’m wondering if they will use that to prove you “confirmed” the order. Similar I think to the “Say ‘Yes.’” scam which I still don’t know if it was a real scam or urban legend. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/3 "2022-10-03T19:07:08Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Do I need to do anything? Watch your credit card/bank statements a little more more closely for fraudulent transactions over the next few months, and report any that pop up. If you didn’t place the order, you won’t legally be on the hook for more than $50 worth of loss even if someone else does have your name zip and cell # (this is info that many, many people already have on you), and my experience so far with occasional fraudulent CC charges is that my CC bank doesn’t leave me on the hook for any of it. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/4 "2022-10-03T19:15:24Z")
I’m thinking you hung up just in time. The rest of the conversation would have been about how they need your credit card info in order to cancel the sale and process a refund. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/5 "2022-10-03T19:17:32Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Similar I think to the “Say ‘Yes.’” scam which I still don’t know if it was a real scam or urban legend. There were no confirmed cases of it actually happening. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/6 "2022-10-05T01:34:06Z")
Thanks all! This is more or less what I thought, but it’s nice to have reassurance. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/7 "2022-10-05T15:53:36Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > confirming my name, zip code and cell number today Does anyone else remember when all three of these were effectively public record? > **[Telephone directory | Content](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_directory#Content)** > > Subscriber names are generally listed in alphabetical order, together with their postal or street address and telephone number. In principle every subscriber in the geographical coverage area is listed, but subscribers may request the exclusion of their number from the directory, often for a fee; their number is then said to be "unlisted" (US and Canada), "ex-directory" (British English), or "private" (Australia and New Zealand). > A telephone directory may also provide instructions: how to use t... ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/8 "2022-10-05T18:14:06Z")
If your name, zip code and cell phone number is all that you confirmed I would stay a little vigilant but not worry. With your zip code and name I could find the county web site where you live, find the tax information part of the site and learn which properites you currently own in that county, their value, when it was built, a surprising amount of info. I used to work for a building contractor and if you didn’t pay your bill we could find things to put a lien on that way, and you would end up paying. With so many real estate web sites in use now there is even more. Just this morning I read the local police dispatch report and saw that someone local to me had died yesterday. Typed in the address provided for the 911 call and one of the real estate sites, not Zillow but like that, pulled up a picture of the home, where it was at, and listed all current residents, probable residents, past residents, or anyone who may have used that address for something, and one had last known phone numbers. The info on these places is often incorrect and never updated, but it is there. Everything is out there somewhere if you know how and where to look and are patient. Stay careful. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/9 "2022-10-06T01:51:30Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > all three of these were effectively public record? Cell phone numbers have always been unlisted by default, at least in the U.S. Only landline numbers appeared in phone books. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-theft-do-i-need-to-worry/972652/10 "2022-10-06T19:28:28Z")
Another concern is hijacking cellphones. It was a problem a while ago that a person would go into a cellular store and claim to be someone who lost their phone and needed to transfer the number to a anew phone. (Or find a compliant employee who would do this for a personal emolument) This allows them to receive text messages, which a lot of sites use to authenticate logins or especially to verify “forgot my password” changes. (“Please enter the code we texted to 800-555-1212”). Since this became a prominent problem in the news, I believe most cell companies have tightened their procedures and ID requirements.