Panic attack from ID theft

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This keeps happening to me and I can’t stand it anymore. Long story short, I received an alert about my phone number being found on the dark web, like other people’s as well I assume. Now I have this unnerving fear because someone could find everything out about me and I have this unrelenting fear and panic. It’s getting to the point where it’s crippling. The part that makes me mad is it was found almost a month ago and I was just notified yesterday.

I don’t have anything left to do, and it’s so easy for me to throw in the towel at this point. It’s a short but panicking moment in time for me and I just wish I could find someone who’s had this same situation. I’m just upset because I was doing so well and now this has to happen.

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Originally Posted by Caribou93

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I received an alert about my phone number being found on the dark web

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From whom?

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Originally Posted by Caribou93

:weep:
I’m just upset because I was doing so well and now this has to happen.

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What exactly has happened?

It’s like a fraud alert. And I’ll just say the alert is from a legitimate company, and not a pop up or phishing scam. I’m beside myself because I think other items could be compromised as well.

I just feel violated now and panicked. Because something attached to me is compromised and like I said before could mean other items of my information could be compromised as well.

I’ve had this a few times, I responded to a phishing email when I was deep in grief and not thinking straight. For a while I go so many emails & texts or phone calls from people trying to scam me but then it tapered off and I don’t get too many now. You just need to ignore them. Change all your passwords if you think it’ll help, it’s good to do that anyway.

These people are unlikely to put the time and effort into finding out about you, they are really just looking for details so that they can scam.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Caribou93

It’s like a fraud alert. And I’ll just say the alert is from a legitimate company, and not a pop up or phishing scam. I’m beside myself because I think other items could be compromised as well.

I just feel violated now and panicked. Because something attached to me is compromised and like I said before could mean other items of my information could be compromised as well.

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But again, a fraud alert from whom?

A telephone number is meaningless. It's a widely available piece of information. Of course it's going to be available somewhere. It's not 'compromised'. You're making a massive mountain out of....nothing really.

Hi, I have this anxiety too to an extent. I have a phobia of my identity being compromised, being hacked, etc.

Only yesterday I noticed that someone had somehow managed to log into my Instagram in another country so I quickly changed my password.

I get very scared if I get sent dodgy links randomly via an SMS because I think, how on earth could they know my number in the first place?

As others have said you are probably in a heightened state of anxiety so feel more susceptible to reacting more acutely to things like this. As the above poster has said I think anyone could get hold of a telephone number, this is how scammers manage to con people because they type in random numbers out of nowhere.

I understand though because I would be the same. I think though with just a telephone number they're likely to not know too much. I would imagine they would need more detail than just a phone number.

Contact Fraud Police, they will give you a case number which you then give to the people that require it x

I should mention other info was compromised, home address being one of them. At least that’s what the notification stated, additional information was compromised, and the address was correct. So of course I’m freaking out. I hear some people say that can be found anywhere, while others feel how I feel. It just ticks me off that people have this kind of time on their hands to try and ruin someone’s life. :weep:

And now I received another notification, same phone number by the way. But this time I was given a website where the information might have been compromised, and I was unaware that this site suffered a massive data breach a few years ago. However, I will say none of the info that was compromised was mine, it was a relatives. Yet the relative hasn’t received info about any of it, and I have. I just don’t know what to do anymore.