Rejected for a credit card I didn’t apply for

[betterdays2011]

I just got a rejection letter from Citibank for a card I didn't apply for. Definitely in pay debt down not credit acquisition mode. 
any thoughts or advice is appreciated. 

[ChessChik47]

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@betterdays2011 wrote:

I just got a rejection letter from Citibank for a card I didn't apply for. Definitely in pay debt down not credit acquisition mode. 
any thoughts or advice is appreciated. 

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If I were you I'd contact Citibank.  Do you have any accounts with them?  How were you notified of the denial?  I'd also check whatever tools you're using to monitor your credit to see about any hard inquiries to your file.  You may have some identity theft issues occurring.  Good luck on resolving this.

[ChessChik47]

Just reread your post and saw you received a letter...no need to respond that that part of my post.

[Ilinferno]

Definitely check your accounts and reports as it sounds like there could be some attempted fraud. Looks like it would be a good idea to freeze your reports as well with each of the bureaus.

[SoCalGardener]

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@betterdays2011 wrote:

I just got a rejection letter from Citibank for a card I didn't apply for. Definitely in pay debt down not credit acquisition mode. 
any thoughts or advice is appreciated. 

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This smacks of fraud! You're lucky you caught it this way, rather than having multiple credit cards issued in your name--like I did a few years ago. Contact Citi immediately and tell them what happened. They'll probably transfer you right away to the fraud department. If you have accounts with them, you should get them reissued with new numbers--they'll probably suggest that, but if they don't be sure to ask. And definitely check your credit reports for recent inquiries.

If this isn't fraud.... I have no idea what happened!

[coldfusion]

Contact Citibank ASAP and advise them that you had not applied for credit.

Go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com and pull copies of your report from all 3 major CRAs.

Contact your local police and have them file a report that someone else applied for credit in your name.

Contact whichever CRA(s) that Citibank hard pulled and file disputes to have the hard pull(s) withdrawn on the basis that the application was fraudulent - this is why you need to contact the police and have them file a report.   They will notify the other CRAs; all 3 of them should place fraud alerts on your credit report.  

Having a fraud alert will trigger additional verification steps to be taken by lenders if (you or) someone else attempts to obtain credit in your name.

[NoMoreE46]

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@betterdays2011 wrote:

I just got a rejection letter from Citibank for a card I didn't apply for. Definitely in pay debt down not credit acquisition mode. 
any thoughts or advice is appreciated. 

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Hey there @betterdays2011 

99% sure it's an attempt of fraud.

Lock down your reports - let us know.

[HeavenOhio]

@betterdays2011, definitely contact Citi as it appears that someone has applied for credit in your name. I'd also consider locks or freezes on your reports.

Was there an inquiry associated with this application?

[Junejer]

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@betterdays2011 wrote:

I just got a rejection letter from Citibank for a card I didn't apply for. Definitely in pay debt down not credit acquisition mode. 
any thoughts or advice is appreciated. 

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Similar thing happened to me a few years ago. Got the letter in the mail saying congratulations on your new PayPal Visa. "EXCUSE ME?" HP on EQ that I never could get rid of, had to lock my credit reports for a period of time and canceled the card issuance.

Please put a lock on your reports and petition Citi to have the CRAs remove any inqs that happened as a result.

GL

[coldfusion]

Freezes are preferable to locks, partly because while a lock is a private agreement between yourself and the CRA credit freezes are a construct created by US federal law for which compliance is mandatory with penalties for failure to comply.

When fraud is involved and the crime has been reported to police as documented by the existence of a police report the CRAs will accept disputes filed with them directly by the victim requesting withdrawal of the relevant inquiry or inquiries.  In this case contacting Citi is as much about gathering details about what transpired as anything else.