topic Re: Lying about Income in SmorgasBoard

Lying about Income

TheFate — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:11:09 GMT

I was going to make a large purchase on a diamond the other day and the salesman wanted to get me to apply for their retail card to qualify for the promo no interest then he insisted I exagerate a little on my income for the app. Honestly at that point I felt the deal went sour and decided to hold off. It made me realize with the score I told him I had was borderline approval.

I was just curious if anyone here has exagerated a bit on their income when app'ing?

Re: Lying about Income

gdale6 — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:16:08 GMT

@TheFate wrote:
I was going to make a large purchase on a diamond the other day and the salesman wanted to get me to apply for their retail card to qualify for the promo no interest then he insisted I exagerate a little on my income for the app. Honestly at that point I felt the deal went sour and decided to hold off. It made me realize with the score I told him I had was borderline approval.

I was just curious if anyone here has exagerated a bit on their income when app'ing?

Doing so would be fraud... Anyone suggesting such a thing would be guilty of conspiracy to defraud the issuing bank.

Re: Lying about Income

Stralem — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:17:18 GMT

Way back in the beginning of my credit journey, I fudged my income a bit. I didn't know better at the time.

But that particular card has long since been closed and nothing has ever come of it, but I know now that it could have been a different story.

Re: Lying about Income

heyarrnold — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:31:09 GMT

I am sure people do it all the time. But it's bad practice to do so. As an example, let's take a look at Amex. Sure you can lie to them, but if they ever FR you and you lied, they will close your accounts. No ifs or buts.

Also, Lexi will probably move this discussion elsewhere.

Re: Lying about Income

TheFate — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:24:47 GMT

@Gdale that's what I thought, But I wonder if a CC actually did a FR would they have you prosecuted or would they just drop you and put you on a black list

Re: Lying about Income

gdale6 — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:26:50 GMT

@TheFate wrote:
@Gdale that's what I thought, But I wonder if a CC actually did a FR would they have you prosecuted or would they just drop you and put you on a black list

If they found out and you didnt burn them it would most likely just be account closure and BL, if there was financial loss to them it could get ugly if they challenged it...

Re: Lying about Income

manyquestions — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 01:36:21 GMT

I would guess millions of people have done that for as long as there have been credit cards. Realistically I've never heard of anyone ever having any fallout from it other than maybe a card closure on an AMEX FR.

Re: Lying about Income

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 02:58:49 GMT

Let's be real here...people do it all of the time. I honestly don't see why one would lie now since most applications are ok with your HOUSEHOLD income.

Re: Lying about Income

TheFate — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 03:19:05 GMT

@Abundancejones So are you saying I could combine my Fianaces income with mine since we live together and if they found out they would be ok with it?

Re: Lying about Income

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 06:24:39 GMT

@TheFate wrote:
@Anonymous So are you saying I could combine my Fianaces income with mine since we live together and if they found out they would be ok with it?

Yep, as long as the application indicates that its ok, you should be fine. Just make sure you are exact with the numbers you put in based on the last tax return or pay check stubs . The application would usually say something like "If you are 21 and over, you can include wages and salary from others that you can reasonably acess to pay your bills with."

Re: Lying about Income

TheFate — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 06:58:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@TheFate wrote:
@Anonymous So are you saying I could combine my Fianaces income with mine since we live together and if they found out they would be ok with it?
Yep, as long as the application indicates that its ok, you should be fine. Just make sure you are exact with the numbers you put in based on the last tax return or pay check stubs . The application would usually say something like "If you are 21 and over, you can include wages and salary from others that you can reasonably acess to pay your bills with."

That's good to know, thank you

Re: Lying about Income

RushXTC — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 15:33:03 GMT

When I first got my Macy's card, I was working retail making about $18,000 a year only (Sad, I know), I accidently put $180,000 and when I noticed, I just left it there.... I got approved and the account is still open, However I've never been called about it or been contacted for that matter.

Re: Lying about Income

Carrie_in_Pa — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 15:42:19 GMT

LO recently let me include some money that i didn't think was actually income because it never touches my hands. I was surprised but you can sometimes include when other people pay certain things for you. I do a lot of babysitting for my mom (she's a foster parent) and she doesn't actually pay me. She pays for all of my clearances because they are required and she pays my cell phone bill. She also purchases a lot of stuff for my kids that way ALL of the kids are treated equally. He let me include some of that as income in the form of gifts. It was enough to push my income up a bit.

Re: Lying about Income

Stralem — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 23:59:55 GMT

@RushXTC wrote:
When I first got my Macy's card, I was working retail making about $18,000 a year only (Sad, I know), I accidently put $180,000 and when I noticed, I just left it there....

Who underwrites that card? I'm thinking someone from the likes of Chase or Bank of Amerrrka would have at least raised an eyebrow.

...

Haha, who am I kidding. They let the stupid computer do its own thing and step in only whenever it determines 2 + 2 = chair and **bleep**s itself.

Re: Lying about Income

grinlikechelsea — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 01:24:45 GMT

As it was said earlier, deliberately lying on a credit card application constitutes as bank fraud under Title 18 U.S. Code Section 1014. The penalty for doing so is up to 30 years incarceration or a $1 million fine per instance. One guy from Rochester, NY was caught after he filed for bankruptcy and he faced 90 years in prison, though that is an extreme case.

I'm sure plenty of people do it because they are unaware of the consequences and they know that banks rarely investigate as long as the account holder pays the bills on time. But if someone drastically altered their income and burned a bank, it certainly wouldn't be pretty. I only report what I can document if the bank asked for proof, so I don't include anything that hasn't materialized yet, even if my pay is slated to increase.

Re: Lying about Income

Blodreina — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 12:49:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Let's be real here...people do it all of the time. I honestly don't see why one would lie now since most applications are ok with your HOUSEHOLD income.

@Stralem wrote:
@RushXTC wrote:
When I first got my Macy's card, I was working retail making about $18,000 a year only (Sad, I know), I accidently put $180,000 and when I noticed, I just left it there....
Who underwrites that card? I'm thinking someone from the likes of Chase or Bank of Amerrrka would have at least raised an eyebrow.

...

Haha, who am I kidding. They let the stupid computer do its own thing and step in only whenever it determines 2 + 2 = chair and **bleep**s itself.

I lol'ed.

Re: Lying about Income

bdhu2001 — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 19:08:32 GMT

I don't think they consider everything that isn't precise, lying. I make $86546, but I say $87K. My house payment 843, but I say $850. I have other household income, because I never count my husbands income. But I don't think they blink an eye. The only time, I'm exact, is when I'm applying for mortgage loans; but for cars and cards, I round up.

Re: Lying about Income

Carrie_in_Pa — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 19:54:26 GMT

This got me thinking and now i am wondering if i was honest with my last app spree. I went by the total household income from our tax returns. That would have been the income for 2013. If i calculated our household income now it would be a lot less. Jeepers, just did the math and we are making half of what we did last year.

Should i have done current income and figured it out or was i fine to use last years reported income>?

Re: Lying about Income

grinlikechelsea — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 20:40:07 GMT

@Carrie_in_Pa wrote:
This got me thinking and now i am wondering if i was honest with my last app spree. I went by the total household income from our tax returns. That would have been the income for 2013. If i calculated our household income now it would be a lot less. Jeepers, just did the math and we are making half of what we did last year.

Should i have done current income and figured it out or was i fine to use last years reported income>?

Since you have the tax returns to back up what you put in the application, you're okay with that number.

Re: Lying about Income

Carrie_in_Pa — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 21:02:54 GMT

@grinlikechelsea wrote:
@Carrie_in_Pa wrote:
This got me thinking and now i am wondering if i was honest with my last app spree. I went by the total household income from our tax returns. That would have been the income for 2013. If i calculated our household income now it would be a lot less. Jeepers, just did the math and we are making half of what we did last year.

Should i have done current income and figured it out or was i fine to use last years reported income>?
Since you have the tax returns to back up what you put in the application, you're okay with that number.

Thanks! I thought so but sometimes i overthink things and then i end up turned around lol