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Fraudulent credit card

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tunseeker1
Regular Contributor

Re: Fraudulent credit card

I have been a victim of identity theft in the past. It was also a familiar person who was getting accounts in my name.

The way I handled it was to FA the CRA which really doesn't do anything if the people have all of your information. It is just like you getting credit for yourself with a FA on your account.

I called the companies and requested the information for the accounts. I then disputed all the negative information and changed the account info on the good accounts so I was the only one who could access them. The cards on the account were then flagged if they were used to call the company and keep the card.

I did it this way because if I wasn't in control of the account then the person who opened it could just reopen the accounts. The accounts in bad standing when disputed were closed and if anyone tried to open/reopen with those companies they were denied.
Message 11 of 13
MattH
Senior Contributor

Re: Fraudulent credit card


@Anonymous wrote:
My youngest brother (21) recently pulled his CR and discovered a Chase cc that is not his. He "doesn't like talking to people" so he went online to check the status of this card. He learned that the card is in his full name, with his SS#, and two addresses where he does not live. One is for an uncle in another state, and one is our parents'. The phone # listed with this account is a very old number of our great-grandmother (dead for about 9 yrs now). The account was opened in '03 when he was sixteen.

He said it looks like there has been little activity with no balance but it is still open. We are pretty sure we know who did it, another sibling who has serious issues and goes on trial for theft (unrelated to this) in two weeks.

I told him to call Chase and immediately close the account and tell them it is fraud.

What should he do now? He really doesn't want to deal with this but I'm worried it could turn into something really bad.




At an absolute bare minimum within the next ten days your brother should have spoken with (1) somebody at the credit card company, (2) somebody at each CRA, (3) your local police, (4) a lawyer who is familiar with such matters, possibly paid by you but retained on behalf of your brother and nobody else (so this lawyer must not have any business relationship with any lawyer working for other relatives). The lawyer's time may cost a few hundred bucks, but at this stage in your brother's life that amount of money is peanuts compared to the possible cost if this matter is not fully and completely resolved. The lawyer will be a critical person for your brother because unlike everybody else involved the lawyer will be legally and professionally required to act in the best interests of his client -- your brother -- and not in the interest of anybody else. In this situation, your brother cannot trust any relative to have only his interests in mind because there will be conflict of interest to at least some degree. If another sibling indeed did this then you cannot and should not attempt to protect that sibling at the expense of an innocent brother whose life could be wrecked by this, and the best way to ensure that somebody will take care of your innocent brother is by getting the innocent brother his own personal lawyer.

It sounds like your innocent brother himself may feel some conflict of interest, which is only natural because if the main suspect is another sibling there will be some desire to protect that sibling. This is why it is critical that your brother have his own lawyer who can advise him of the consequences for his own life of trying to protect the other sibling.

Message Edited by MattH on 05-12-2008 05:00 AM
TU 791 02/11/2013, EQ 800 1/29/2011 , EX Plus FAKO 812, EX Vantage Score 955 3/19/2010 wife's EQ 9/23/2009 803
EX always was my highest when we could pull all three
Always remember: big print giveth, small print taketh away
If you dunno what tanstaafl means you must Google it
Message 12 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Fraudulent credit card

Thanks everybody for all the responses and great advice. I will talk to my brother ASAP about taking the necessary steps.

Liars and thieves suck!
Message 13 of 13
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