Fort Lee, NJ asked in Consumer Law and Identity Theft for New Jersey

Q: a staff in at&t stole my SSN, bought new phone and opened a new mobile account.

I contacted at&t so the account is canceled, but I'm worried because the person still has my SSN. I asked proper action and compensation to at&t but they offered me $19.99 x 22 months credit.

Do you think I should accept that offer? Or will it worth to sue them?

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: If you are not responsible for the cost of the new phone and the new mobile account, and your SSN has not been used further, you have no current damages to sue for. they are already offering you compensation, but you can also request the company to pay for a credit monitoring service so that you are immediately notified of any new extension of credit or inquiry under your name. Also, you can contact the credit reporting agencies and notify them of what happened. They can put a note on your credit report that will make it more difficult to obtain immediate credit (like when you are approved for a new credit card at a store while you are at the register, etc.). The credit reporting agencies can explain the process to you and it would be your option to put the notice or not.

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