topic Re: Discover Security Freeze? in Credit Cards

Discover Security Freeze?

shoo — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 17:02:44 GMT

Hi Everyone!

Logging into my Discover IT account (opened for 7 years) today, I got these messages, making me think there must have been fraud on my account. However, when I called to speak to a rep, they said that many Discover accounts were under a security review where they were matching up information from the account owner with what is on file with the IRS and that the review may take as long as a month or more (account is unavailable during this time period). They also offered me this website where I could go upload my past 3 months of bank statements to 'expedite' the process: discover.com/sdu. She also said I would be receiving a link in my email to electronically sign a document that confirms my account information or something. I haven't seen the email yet, but I'll post more when I get it. I'm just really confused.

This is all really weird - has anyone else had a similar experience either now or in the past?

Another weird thing that happened is that the rep originally pulled up someone else's account and asked me if I still lived on 39th street. When I told her I've never heard of 39th street, she retyped in my account number and then had my correct information. I don't think this has anything to do with the situation but it was just an odd accident, considering I called from my normal phone number on file.

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

thornback — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 17:13:51 GMT

The "unusual activity" notification followed by a proof of income request is a new one.... interesting. And the rep mentioned no such suspicious purchase activity while on the phone? Did they even ask you to verify a specific purchase?

Disco started this mess in 2019. Without notice, a security freeze would be issued on your account forcing you to call in... you were then asked to agree to an IRS 4506t review to confirm the income you noted on your disco app exactly matched your most recent tax returns. At that time, there was no alternative to providing full IRS tax documentation. It seems now (due to Covid-related IRS delays) they have been offering the option of paystubs/bank statements for some. Here's a forum search link on the topic - you should take some time to read through the various posts to get an idea of what to expect:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=false&q=disco%20IRS%20

Sorry you have been selected to go under financial review. If you agree to provide docs, so long as the income you've claimed to disco matches your verified income, you should be fine. Note: if you used household income or included a spouse's but file separately, there's a very good chance your account will be closed by DIsco.

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 17:27:23 GMT

@shoo Sorry to hear about this! They really should remove that messaging regarding unusual activity if it has nothing to do with the account review.

It seems more and more that Discover will eventually get us all with the 4506T request.

It is unfair what they have been doing to those listing household income or at least it seems that way to me.

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

thornback — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 17:31:03 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@shoo Sorry to hear about this! They really should remove that messaging regarding unusual activity if it has nothing to do with the account review.

It seems more and more that Discover will eventually get us all with the 4506T request.

It is unfair what they have been doing to those listing household income or at least it seems that way to me.

It is unfair. The application allows for the inclusion of household income so to punish folks for using it is awful. They should have multiple income fields: individual, joint, household, etc., If this is the direction they want to go.

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 17:05:49 GMT

This just happened to me the day after Thanksgiving. I signed the form and took a little over a week to get access to my account back

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

Remedios — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 20:33:50 GMT

If one is claiming household income on the application, the idea is that finances are comingled enough to file joint return.

While there is a variety of reasons why people may opt to file separately, that also means one may need to use only their income if that's all they can prove.

If lender allows bank statements, same logic would apply, they would expect to see a joint account.

Same goes for "I think I'll get bonus, so I'll include that, too"

While this is unfortunate for those whose accounts are getting restricted, I'd expect to see this from more and more lenders in the future, so whatever is on the application needs to be in synch with reality.

Some of our limits are higher than what one would pay for a car. No one doesn't blinks an eye when we are asked to provide proof of income on a loan with collateral which is by far safer from lender's perspective, but we seem puzzled by similar request on unsecured credit.

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 03:46:30 GMT

I recently had the same thing , where they requested a copy of my 4056-C and I also submitted bank statements for the last 3 months and received an email today, stating their investigation was complete and I could start using the card again.

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

K-in-Boston — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 04:39:39 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
If one is claiming household income on the application, the idea is that finances are comingled enough to file joint return.

While there is a variety of reasons why people may opt to file separately, that also means one may need to use only their income if that's all they can prove.
If lender allows bank statements, same logic would apply, they would expect to see a joint account.

Same goes for "I think I'll get bonus, so I'll include that, too"

While this is unfortunate for those whose accounts are getting restricted, I'd expect to see this from more and more lenders in the future, so whatever is on the application needs to be in synch with reality.

Some of our limits are higher than what one would pay for a car. No one doesn't blinks an eye when we are asked to provide proof of income on a loan with collateral which is by far safer from lender's perspective, but we seem puzzled by similar request on unsecured credit.

You should save this post as a macro!

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

Remedios — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 05:37:17 GMT

I'm not saving "no one doesn't blink.."

I cannot unsee it now

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:55:22 GMT

Sitting here with my measly $500 limit so I probably don't need to worry about a financial review lol.

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

Anonymous — Fri, 28 May 2021 14:24:28 GMT

Discover card (Morgan Stanley) may be in Violation of FEDERAL LAW.

Look up 12 CFR1002.6(c):

§ 1002.5(c)(2)(i)

(a) General rules —

Official interpretation of 5(a) General rules.

(1) Requests for information. Except as provided in paragraphs (b) through (d) of this section, a creditor may request any information in connection with a credit transaction. This paragraph does not limit or abrogate any Federal or state law regarding privacy, privileged information, credit reporting limitations, or similar restrictions on obtainable information.

Official interpretation of Paragraph 5(a)(1).

(2) Required collection of information. Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) through (d) of this section, a creditor shall request information for monitoring purposes as required by § 1002.13 for credit secured by the applicant's dwelling. In addition, a creditor may obtain information required by a regulation, order, or agreement issued by, or entered into with, a court or an enforcement agency (including the Attorney General of the United States or a similar state official) to monitor or enforce compliance with the Act, this part, or other Federal or state statutes or regulations.

Official interpretation of Paragraph 5(a)(2).

(3) Special-purpose credit. A creditor may obtain information that is otherwise restricted to determine eligibility for a special purpose credit program, as provided in §§ 1002.8(b), (c), and (d).

(4) Other permissible collection of information. Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this section, a creditor may collect information under the following circumstances provided that the creditor collects the information in compliance with appendix B to 12 CFR part 1003:

Official interpretation of Paragraph 5(a)(4).

(i) A creditor that is a financial institution under 12 CFR 1003.2(g) may collect information regarding the ethnicity, race, and sex of an applicant for a closed-end mortgage loan that is an excluded transaction under 12 CFR 1003.3(c)(11) if it submits HMDA data concerning such closed-end mortgage loans and applications or if it submitted HMDA data concerning closed-end mortgage loans for any of the preceding five calendar years;

(ii) A creditor that is a financial institution under 12 CFR 1003.2(g) may collect information regarding the ethnicity, race, and sex of an applicant for an open-end line of credit that is an excluded transaction under 12 CFR 1003.3(c)(12) if it submits HMDA data concerning such open-end lines of credit and applications or if it submitted HMDA data concerning open-end lines of credit for any of the preceding five calendar years;

(iii) A creditor that submitted HMDA data for any of the preceding five calendar years but is not currently a financial institution under 12 CFR 1003.2(g) may collect information regarding the ethnicity, race, and sex of an applicant for a loan that would otherwise be a covered loan under 12 CFR 1003.2(e) if not excluded by 12 CFR 1003.3(c)(11) or (12);

(iv) A creditor that exceeded an applicable loan volume threshold in the first year of the two-year threshold period provided in 12 CFR 1003.2(g), 1003.3(c)(11), or 1003.3(c)(12) may, in the second year, collect information regarding the ethnicity, race, and sex of an applicant for a loan that would otherwise be a covered loan under 12 CFR 1003.2(e) if the loan were not excluded by 12 CFR 1003.3(c)(11) or (12);

(v) A creditor that is a financial institution under 12 CFR 1003.2(g), or that submitted HMDA data for any of the preceding five calendar years but is not currently a financial institution under 12 CFR 1003.2(g), may collect information regarding the ethnicity, race, and sex of an applicant for a loan that would otherwise be a covered loan under 12 CFR 1003.2(e) if the loan were not excluded by 12 CFR 1003.3(c)(10).

(vi) A creditor that is collecting information regarding the ethnicity, race, and sex of an applicant or first co-applicant may collect information regarding the ethnicity, race, and sex of a second or additional co-applicant for a covered loan under 12 CFR 1003.2(e) or for a second or additional co-applicant for a loan described in paragraphs (a)(4)(i) through (v) of this section.

(b) Limitation on information about race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. A creditor shall not inquire about the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of an applicant or any other person in connection with a credit transaction, except as provided in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section.

(1) Self-test. A creditor may inquire about the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of an applicant or any other person in connection with a credit transaction for the purpose of conducting a self-test that meets the requirements of § 1002.15. A creditor that makes such an inquiry shall disclose orally or in writing, at the time the information is requested, that:

(i) The applicant will not be required to provide the information;

(ii) The creditor is requesting the information to monitor its compliance with the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act;

(iii) Federal law prohibits the creditor from discriminating on the basis of this information, or on the basis of an applicant's decision not to furnish the information; and

(iv) If applicable, certain information will be collected based on visual observation or surname if not provided by the applicant or other person.

(2) Sex. An applicant may be requested to designate a title on an application form (such as Ms., Miss, Mr., or Mrs.) if the form discloses that the designation of a title is optional. An application form shall otherwise use only terms that are neutral as to sex.

(c) Information about a spouse or former spouse —

(1) General rule. Except as permitted in this paragraph, a creditor may not request any information concerning the spouse or former spouse of an applicant.

(2) Permissible inquiries. A creditor may request any information concerning an applicant's spouse (or former spouse under paragraph (c)(2)(v) of this section) that may be requested about the applicant if:

(i) The spouse will be permitted to use the account;

(ii) The spouse will be contractually liable on the account;

(iii) The applicant is relying on the spouse's income as a basis for repayment of the credit requested;

(iv) The applicant resides in a community property state or is relying on property located in such a state as a basis for repayment of the credit requested; or

(v) The applicant is relying on alimony, child support, or separate maintenance payments from a spouse or former spouse as a basis for repayment of the credit requested.

Re: Discover Security Freeze?

Remedios — Fri, 28 May 2021 14:42:03 GMT