Credit card fraud (having your identity stolen?)
SouthCrackalack
3,853 Posts
So my mom received a credit card statement today and the envelope was already opened. I told her she needed to call them immediately and cancel the card. She calls them and they try to talk her into just keeping the card and set a password for it (to be used when using the card in the future). That sounded ridiculous to me, so I told her to cancel that shit anyway. Before she could even tell them to cancel it, sure enough the guy asked if she had tried to use it on the 18th (saturday) for $478 (luckily, it was denied). She told the guy it wasn't her. The customer rep said someone named "Roger Rose" tried to use it on EmpireStyles.net (a clothing website in Berlin). Now she's really worried who has her info and what's going on that she isn't aware of. Where does one go when this shit happens...where is the starting point? Obviously, i'd like to nip this in the bud, but I know quick shit like this can spread. Any pointers on what to do now?
Comments
If they just have her credit card statement, probably not much. They have her name address and acct # which isn't enough to open new accounts elsewhere.
On top of that, credit card fraud laws dictate she can be liable for no more than $50 as long as she reports it as soon as she knows there has been a fraudulent charge. Most credit card companies waive the $50 anyway. An aside, that's why those "we'll watch your credit for you" programs are f*cking garbage.
If she doesn't want to worry about it she could close the account. The only negative for her is it could ding her credit report (a little) if she's had the account open for a long time and doesn't have any other long term accounts (part of your credit score is how long your accounts have been open / length of credit history). Of course I'm guessing if you're not 2 then she's probably old enough to have other accounts, mortgages, etc.
I think the password thing is f*cking retarded.
Hope that helped.