Identity Theft -- Share Your Stories, Eh?

I am doing this thread mostly to see how many people became victims of identity theft, how they dealt with themselves having become identity theft victims, and roughly how much money they were forced to spend in order to clear their names.

I am slowly finding out that I might be the victim of identity theft all the way back in 2014 or even 2006. Equifax has abruptly ruined a financial opportunity of mine. I got the paperwork in the mail today and found out for the first time that apparently there are up to alot of different accounts that were opened in my name years ago. I find this to be incredibly bizarre because I could not even get my current car without a hard credit check. Even effin' Equifax said the only real delinquent open accounts I have in my name are my defaulted student loans. How it is possible that I keep getting bizarre different bits of information from Equifax's nearly fully automated numbers to call? I will have to try again tomorrow to see if I can get my Equifax account opened. For unknown reasons just as my Equifax account was being finalized it crashed server side.

I called the number given to me on the webpage when I tried to log into my new Equifax account. My Equifax account is somehow fundamentally broken because their server crashed on me. To even get to your Equifax account information you need your Equifax account information at hand. Yes, guys, it is as stupid as it sounds. This is how I was able to find out this new information that apparently I may be the victim of identity theft. When I managed to progress with the Equifax AI bot to the point of being asked four totally personal questions that are answered on your Equifax credit score stuff I could not even reach a human being to talk to. Even that possibility is locked away behind the very same "You must know your Equifax information to proceed!" BS.

Apparently I am not a victim of the Equifax Data Breach from several years ago. At least that is what I understand from their website: [link to www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com (secure)] . So that is good news I believe.

From what I have been finding out over the course of this rather negative day is Equifax is indeed the top Credit Reporting Service/Corporation in America at least. Everyone reports to and from Equifax. Period. You can eff up with the other smaller Credit Reporting corporations and still have an investment portfolio and/or other good things in life (apparently for the investment side of things anyways), but eff up with Equifax and your life is getting forcibly put on hold for the foreseeable future.

I am curious about possible ways to fight back without resorting to physical violence which will undoubtedly lead to my immediate demise via murdered by cop. I am wanting to fight back if indeed it is somehow proven to me that I am an identity theft victim. However, I am not wanting to fight back at all really if it will cost more than what little more inheritance I am due sometime soon. I am not wanting to fight back in this case simply because I have had a very crappy lifetime so far. I have been very much looking forward to building my life rather than desperately and most likely futilely fight for my life because someone or someones stole my identity years ago and destroyed my credit so completely. However, this thread should not be viewed as a suicide note of any kind. I am not giving up, nor am I suicidally depressed. I am trying to do some research about this topic. I figure first hand accounts from those who have been identity theft victims at least once in their lives should most beneficial. Not only to me, but to others who visit this thread too.