Home > Credit Cards > Credit Card Scam: It Happens All Too Often
Credit Card Scam: It Happens All Too Often |
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Credit card fraud happens every day. It is
amazingly easy to open a credit card in someone else's name. Think it can't
happen to you? All the information needed to open an account in your name is floating around on the internet right now! Before I relate my story, I urge you to pull your credit report if you haven't done so in the last 6 months. Don't hesitate to take help from credit card help service if required. In my case, I was lucky as I knew who had impersonated me, opening an account in my name without my knowledge. But it wasn't all luck; I acted promptly on the advice of a credit card help company as well. First of all, as I told you, I was lucky enough to know who did this to me-- my ex-husband. And I was lucky to have him plead guilty in court so I had court documents to prove it. You would think that would be enough to clear my name. Guess again! The credit card agencies told me it was a marital dispute and they didn't care if the NY State Supreme Court found him guilty. They said they have their own rules. That infuriated me. According to my credit card help counselor why should an out-of-state credit company offer credit to someone who resides in another state if they don't follow the rules of that state's court? Then they should only offer credit to residents in their own state! With the help of my credit card help company I sent each credit card company a letter with the court documents attached. I had to send them more than once because, it seems, they lose paperwork easily. I had to keep calling and hounding them day after day. If the person I reached couldn't help me, I'd ask to speak to someone who could (their supervisor). If anyone has never had to call a credit card company, be put on hold, be transferred around to every department and every person there, until finally someone that may possibly be intelligent enough to listen and realize that a supervisor needs to handle it answers-- You're lucky. It's a nightmare. They want their money and they don't care if you're innocent or not. I can't tell you how many hundreds of hours it has taken me. You need to be persistent and make sure that you document every single person you have talked to, the date, and what they are going to do for you. Keep following up. I won't kid you, it is a nightmare. When I visited the office of my credit card help company for the first time, I told them that my ex-husband forged my name to 13 credit card applications. The signature did not look anything like mine. Some of the information on the application was incorrect (my salary). Credit card companies never check the signature (such as requesting a copy of driver's license, etc.). Ironically, to request your credit report from Equifax, TransUnion, Experian/TR, you need to send in copies of your Social Security card, driver's license, and sometimes a utility bill to prove who you are! But not credit card companies. They're just happy someone mails back their preapproval application. Credit card companies, who mail you these preapproval offers constantly, never know who completes those applications. Have you ever received your neighbor's mail by mistake? It happens! Another scary thought, my credit card help company advised me to dispute my Equifax report and I sent in a lot of documents to prove my innocence and most of it was personal information-- such as social security number, account numbers, etc. In other words, things you don't want "lost". I mailed this information to Equifax and waited to hear from them. I finally called them two months later and asked them my status. They said they never received it. I know the address was correct and printed clearly. It scares me to think about what might have happened to my paperwork. It is also very difficult to contact these credit reporting agencies without getting a recording. It's frustrating because, if you mail them something, they claim they haven't received it. And you can't get in touch with them by telephone. I found that Equifax frequently changes their 1-800 fraud department phone numbers that is printed on the top of your credit report. They really have you over a barrel and yet your life depends on them having correct information on you. Anyway, hope this helped. If you're innocent, you have to stand up for your rights. If you can't do it on your own, credit card help companies are there to help you. Be persistent. Eventually, you'll get it cleared. It has taken me almost 2 years but progress has been made. What I have gone through (this is only part of it), has changed my life. |
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