McCombs Help Center
Frequently Asked Questions
- Was my credit card information accessed?
- Is information on my parents or family members at risk?
- I am a current student at McCombs. Were my grades stolen?
- I’m not affiliated with McCombs at all; should I be worried?
- Why would the business school have my Social Security number?
- Will filing a fraud alert affect my ability to use my credit card now or obtain credit in the future?
- I was told I have to provide a police report to get an extended (7-year) fraud alert. Where do I get a police report?
- I have never had a credit card or other credit history. What should I do?
- I called to file a fraud alert with a credit monitoring agency, but they said they could not match my record. Now what?
- I live outside of the United States. How can I contact the credit monitoring agencies?
- Doesn’t frequent checking of the report have a negative effect on my credit score?
- I am/was an international student and don't have a Social Security number. Should I file a fraud alert?
- How can I protect the Social Security number of someone who is deceased?
- How can I protect myself against people using my SSN to apply for a job?
What should I do?
If my Social Security number was stolen?
You should place a free “fraud alert” on your file with one of the three major credit monitoring agencies. (You need only to place a fraud alert with one of the agencies; it will share the information with the other two.) The fraud alert stays on your record for 90 days. You can re-file the free fraud alert after the initial period has ended.
Step-by-step instructions can be found at the Fraud Alert, Data Theft and Identity Theft Resources page.
This free service requests that any creditor contact you by phone at a number you designate before opening a new account. Provide them with all of your contact numbers so they can reach you at any time.
In addition, you are entitled to one free credit report in a 12-month period. To request this free annual report, go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also call toll-free (877) FACT ACT (322-8228). Review your credit reports carefully to ensure no fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized charges made to your existing accounts.
What if I have been a victim of identity theft?
If you find evidence of identity theft on your credit reports, take these steps:
- Immediately contact the affected creditor and close the accounts that you believe have been opened fraudulently or have unauthorized activity.
- File a police report and get a copy to submit to creditors and others that may require proof of a crime. (Make several copies of the police report for future use.)
- You may file an extended security freeze on your account if
you live in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine,
Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, Texas, Vermont or Washington.
You will need to contact each of the three major credit bureaus
and follow specific instructions:
- Equifax (https://www.econsumer.equifax.com/consumer/sitepage.ehtml?forward=elearning_idtheft3),
- Experian (http://www.experian.com/consumer/security_freeze.html), and
- Transunion (http://www.transunion.com/content/page.jsp?id=/personalsolutions/general/data/securityFreeze.xml).
If you live in Illinois, Texas, Washington, or Vermont, you must include an identity theft report or a police report indicating that you are a victim of identity theft.
- File a complaint with the FTC online at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ or by calling 877-438-4338. Use the ID Theft Affidavit Form developed by the Federal Trade Commission to help you file a case with the affected creditors at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/pdf/affidavit.pdf
- If you discover misuse of your Social Security number, call the Social Security Fraud Hotline, 800-269-0271.
- Keep a detailed record of both written and oral communications with credit bureaus, creditors, financial institutions, and police, including dates and with whom you spoke. Any records should be kept for three years.
Additional Resources
The following links provide detailed information related to identity theft and protecting yourself.
Federal Trade Commission
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
Also see from the Federal Trade Commission, the booklet “Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft” http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft.htm
Social Security Administration
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html
Department of Justice
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html
Identity Theft Resource Center (858-693-7935)
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/index.shtml
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse - Identity Theft Resources
http://www.privacyrights.org/identity.htm
National Fraud Information Center Hotline: 800-876-7060
Was I Affected?
The University notified by e-mail or by letter those whose information was contained in the compromised databases at the time of the April 2006 data theft with details about what personal information was accessed. If you believe you were in the affected group of business school affiliates (see the categories below) and have not been contacted by e-mail or by letter, it is possible the University does not have your correct contact information. If so, please take a moment to fill out the form at the McCombs Contact site.
- Business school alumni
- Past or current employees of the business school
- Past or current business students
- Students that took one course at the business school
- Those who requested information/brochure from the business school
- Those who applied for admittance but did not attend the business school
If you believe that your private information has been compromised, step-by-step instructions can be found at the Fraud Alert, Data Theft and Identity Theft Resources page.
Was my credit card information accessed?
No. Financial information — including credit card numbers — was not included in the information accessed in the April 2006 data theft.
Is information on my parents or family members at risk?
No. Information about family members is not maintained on our databases.
I
am a current student at McCombs. Were my grades stolen?
No grades or other academic information were compromised.
I’m not affiliated with the business school at all. Should I be worried?
If you have never worked, studied or recruited at The University of Texas at Austin campus, then it’s very unlikely you were affected. People likely to have been affected include:
- Business school alumni
- Past or current employees of the business school
- Past or current business students
- Students that took one course at the business school
- Those who requested information/brochure from the business school
- Those who applied for admittance but did not attend the business school
Why would the business school have my Social Security number?
The University is required by law to obtain and record the Social Security number for everyone who receives a salary, hourly wages, or expense reimbursement (including student workers), and for most students receiving financial aid. It is also common to use Social Security numbers to match admissions materials from multiple sources, such as applications, school transcripts and test scores.
For many years, however, the University also used Social Security numbers as the primary “University ID” for students, faculty and staff. This led to inclusion of Social Security numbers on various reports and in various databases. The University has replaced the Social Security number as primary ID, and an extensive Social Security remediation process is being undertaken at the University and at McCombs to eliminate all but essential Social Security numbers from our information systems.
Questions about Credit
Fraud alerts are reported to credit bureaus to help protect against fraudulent new credit accounts from being opened. A fraud alert should not interfere with your daily use of a credit card or banking/checking accounts, however, you may not be approved if you apply for instant credit in a store.
An extended (7-year) fraud alert may be filed in the event that you discover you have personally been a victim of identity theft. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes, and that is different than the data theft at the University. While the theft of personal information from the McCombs databases was a criminal act, it is not sufficient to trigger an extended fraud alert in most states. If you discover that you have been the victim of identity theft, you should close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently and file a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place. This police report of actual identity theft is used in creating an extended fraud alert.
I have never had a credit card or other credit history. What should I do?
If you do not have a credit history, the credit monitoring agencies may not have your Social Security number in the database. You will need to send a letter requesting they place a fraud alert on your Social Security number to one of the credit monitoring agencies:
Equifax
Fraud Division
P.O. Box 740250
Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian
Credit Fraud Center
P.O. Box 1017
Allen, TX 75013
Trans Union
Fraud Victim Assistance Department
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92634
You should include:
- Your name, Social Security number, current mailing address, previous mailing address during the last two years, date of birth, and telephone number (if you want it to appear on the fraud alert so that creditors may call you),
- a COPY of:
- an official document showing your name and Social Security number (a copy of your Social Security card or W2 form), and
- a government-issued identification card (such as driver's license, state-issued ID, military ID) showing your name and current address, and
- a recent copy of a utility bill, bank statement or insurance statement that shows your current mailing address and the date of the statement. Credit card statements, voided checks, lease agreements, magazine subscriptions or postal service forward orders are not accepted as proof of current mailing address.
Be sure you are only mailing copies because documents are not returned.
There are three reasons a credit monitoring agency may not be able to match your record.
- The name and address you gave them do not match what they have on their database, or
- You do not have a credit history so they do not have your Social Security number in the database.
- You did not provide enough information to match their records.
You can try a couple of things:
- If you are a student, try using your home address instead of your current school mailing address. (The credit monitoring agency will mail a confirmation of your fraud alert to the address that matches their database.)
- Try submitting your information to another of the credit monitoring agencies.
If neither works, then you will need to send a letter requesting a fraud alert to one of the credit monitoring agencies:
Equifax
Fraud Division
P.O. Box 740250
Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian
Credit Fraud Center
P.O. Box 1017
Allen, TX 75013
Trans Union
Fraud Victim Assistance Department
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92634
You should include:
- Your name, Social Security number, current mailing address, previous mailing address during the last two years, date of birth, and telephone number (if you want it to appear on the fraud alert so that creditors may call you),
- a COPY of:
- an official document showing your name and Social Security number (a copy of your Social Security card or W2 form), and
- a government-issued identification card (such as driver's license, state-issued ID, military ID) showing your name and current address, and
- a recent copy of a utility bill, bank statement or insurance statement that shows your current mailing address and the date of the statement. Credit card statements, voided checks, lease agreements, magazine subscriptions or postal service forward orders are not accepted as proof of current mailing address.
Be sure you are only mailing copies because documents are not returned.
I live outside of the United States. How can I contact the credit monitoring agencies?
By Internet:
You may place your fraud alert online at Experian’s Web site,
http://www.experian.com/fraud
By telephone:
You can request a fraud alert by telephone or postal mail with TransUnion.
TransUnion will then notify the other two credit monitoring agencies.
To make a telephone request to TransUnion:
- Call TransUnion, 714-738-3800, ext 7289. There is no international toll-free number.
- The TransUnion representative will ask for your name, Social Security number and a previous United States address. It does not matter if the U.S. address is your current address or not; you need a U.S. address to access the database.
- TransUnion will place a fraud alert on your Social Security number and mail a notification and credit report to your international address. They will accept an international telephone number as a note to the file, but it is not part of the database. While the fraud alert will be shared with the other credit monitoring agencies, neither the international address nor the international telephone number will be shared. Only U.S. telephone numbers and addresses are entered into he TransUnion database.
- Creditors who call TransUnion will be able to see the international phone number on your record but are not likely to call for authorization. The creditor will likely deny the request for credit if they cannot reach you, although there is no assurance.
- It's important to check your credit report regularly and be on the alert for other fraudulent uses of identity. You can request your free credit report from each of the agencies.
To get your free annual credit report:
- Under the FACT Act amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to one free credit report in a 12-month period.
- To request this free annual disclosure you may contact the Central Source online at http://www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also contact the Central Source to request this free annual disclosure by calling toll-free (877) 322-8228 or by using the mail request form available at the Central Source Web site by going to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/order.
By postal mail:
Equifax
Fraud Division
P.O. Box 740250
Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian
Credit Fraud Center
P.O. Box 1017
Allen, TX 75013
Trans Union
Fraud Victim Assistance Department
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92634
You should include:
- Your name, Social Security number, current mailing address, previous mailing address during the last two years, date of birth, and telephone number (if you want it to appear on the fraud alert so that creditors may call you),
- a COPY of:
- an official document showing your name and Social Security number (a copy of your Social Security card or W2 form), and
- a government-issued identification card (such as driver's license, state-issued ID, military ID) showing your name and current address, and
- a recent copy of a utility bill, bank statement or insurance statement that shows your current mailing address and the date of the statement. Credit card statements, voided checks, lease agreements, magazine subscriptions or postal service forward orders are not accepted as proof of current mailing address.
Be sure you are only mailing copies because documents are not returned.
Doesn’t frequent checking of the report have a negative effect on my
credit score? No. Individuals may request their credit reports as often as they
would like to without negative effect. You are entitled to one free
credit report disclosure in a 12-month period. To request this free
annual disclosure, visit
http://www.annualcreditreport.com
or call toll-free (877) FACT ACT. At the University of Texas at Austin, international students are
issued a unique identifier in place of a Social Security number. It
is for internal purposes only and is not a government-issued Social
Security number. Although the number may have been part of the database
that was stolen, these unique numbers may not be used for credit purposes
so there is no need to file a fraud alert.
How can I protect the Social Security number of someone who is deceased? The executor of the estate or the spouse should notify each of the
three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) in writing.
The letter should include the deceased person's full name, most recent
address, date of birth, and Social Security number. Include a copy of
the death certificate. An executor should send a copy of the legal document
authorizing executorship. Please see the following site for further details on the steps to
take when a loved one passes away to decrease the risk of identity theft.
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/vg117.shtml#steps
How can I protect myself against people using my SSN to apply for a
job? Social Security number fraud is different than credit fraud and requires
a different response. The Social Security Administration cannot put
a flag or alert of any kind on your SSN, but they will allow you to
request a copy of your earnings statement online. You can request a
copy of your statement at
http://www.ssa.gov/mystatement. You should review this information
on a regular basis. Instances of fraud should be reported to the Social
Security Fraud Hotline (800-269-0271) and the Federal Trade Commission
(877-438-4338).
If you do have government-issued Social Security number for any reason,
it would be prudent to place a fraud alert with the credit bureau.