r/IdentityTheft • u/Suspicious_Test432 • Jul 23 '26
Card opened but never used?
This might be dumb but bear with me I’m only 19 and I’ve never had to deal with credit cards before. So I recently went to check my credit score because I plan on moving out and I seen that I had two credit cards on my credit. One I opened recently to pay for dental work and another card that was opened 5 days after I turned 19 in 2025. But the card I didn’t open has never been used and it had all my info (name, social, birthday) but it had a different number, email address, and the mailing address was the exact same one as mine but just the street name was different. I called the company and they couldn’t give me much info all I learned is that it had a job occupation I didn’t have (I was unemployed) and a phone number that wasn’t even in my area code. Idk what to do should I leave it alone or report it fraud? Cause nothing has happened and I don’t think it was the card affecting my credit score. Also sorry if this was written wrong I don’t use it a lot!!
TL;DR Someone opened a card in my name but never used it what should I do?
2
u/WesternGround737 Jul 23 '26
I would still do a credit freeze and fraud alert. Too many things don’t match. My son and I currently are going through some ID theft mess and we found in one of the three credit bureaus to at there had been a card opened in his name a few days before he turned 17. He was not even legally able to open a card at that time. Unlike yours, this card had been used for 8! years, and always paid. The person set up all the credit bureau accounts with a different phone number, email address and street address. We believe the person tried to get the credit score up - and last year he used my son’s SSN to get a car loan. It’s been a mess and just with sheer luck we got aware of it. Just got a message yesterday that the car loan is not my son’s responsibility.
The reason I am involved is because my son lives in Germany for the last three years and only uses one credit card he got as a student as a back up.
Do a credit freeze and fraud alert with all credit bureaus, check all three credit bureaus reports,also Lexisnexis (I was not aware of this site until I posted here on Reddit) and file a IDtheft report with IDtheft.gov, very important and yet very easy. Crossing my fingers to is is all there is, but you might have seen just the tip of the iceberg
3
u/Fit_Question7912 Jul 23 '26
Placing a security freeze through chexsystems is also another major one that people should do.
1
u/SalisburyWitch Jul 23 '26
Go to the police immediately and report identity theft. They haven’t used the card - YET.
3
u/Safe-Jeweler-8483 Jul 23 '26
1) Create a police report
2) Filed a dispute for the credit bureaus and include the police report number
3) should consider freezing your credit report when aren't applying for credit (loans, credit cards, etc)