r/IdentityTheftHelp

This morning I received a text from a legitimate loan/asset recovery in regards to my former-step-father My mother divorced this man when I was 14 years old. 20 years later I am being contacted by his debt collectors. When I contacted the loan/asset recovery they told me that I was listed a one of his references for the loan, the agent explained that they could not confirm or deny if my social or any of my information was used to get the loan ( as they are the 3rd party trying to recover the debt).

I am at a loss on what to do should I contact the IRS? Where do I start to make sure he has not stolen my information.

He is a shady character and a previous felon, I want to go about this in a safe manner even though I do not live in the city/state I grew up in anymore, my mother does.

With all the data breaches happening lately, I’ve been thinking more about how easy it probably is for someone to open accounts in your name. Right now I check my credit report every once in a while, but that feels pretty reactive. By the time you see something wrong, the damage might already be done. What do people actually do to protect their credit? Besides freezing, in the process of doing that rn.