Credit card fraud (a rant)

[erictheobscure]

I haven't been posting or logging on much lately because I've been out of town for a month. When I got home from a long, fifteen-hour drive last night, I noticed that FedEx had tried to deliver a letter to me. Odd, since I hadn't been expecting anything. I called and discovered that the letter was from Merelle Worldwide, LLC. A quick internet search revealed that it's some sort of credit card scam operation. I thought nothing of it, until I checked my mail today and had a Priority Package from Platinum Acquisitions. A get-rich-quick scheme that they claimed I had ordered; the letter said they'd charge me after a free thirty-day trial.

I was slightly unnerved so I called my credit card companies and put alerts out. And then I checked all my recent activity and discovered a bunch of weird charges on one of my cards. They were small--forty bucks here, twenty there. But when I called, I got the full extent of the damage: they'd just booked a $2,800 flight on Lufthansa, and another $900 flight somewhere else. (I know none of you guys are the culprits since cigars weren't among the unauthorized charges!)

My bank took care of that stuff really quickly, and I won't be responsible. But now I'm terrified that somebody has my social security number and is getting credit cards in my name that I won't even know about until my credit's down the toilet. Argh.

[DriftyGypsy]

Originally Posted by erictheobscure

I haven't been posting or logging on much lately because I've been out of town for a month. When I got home from a long, fifteen-hour drive last night, I noticed that FedEx had tried to deliver a letter to me. Odd, since I hadn't been expecting anything. I called and discovered that the letter was from Merelle Worldwide, LLC. A quick internet search revealed that it's some sort of credit card scam operation. I thought nothing of it, until I checked my mail today and had a Priority Package from Platinum Acquisitions. A get-rich-quick scheme that they claimed I had ordered; the letter said they'd charge me after a free thirty-day trial.

I was slightly unnerved so I called my credit card companies and put alerts out. And then I checked all my recent activity and discovered a bunch of weird charges on one of my cards. They were small--forty bucks here, twenty there. But when I called, I got the full extent of the damage: they'd just booked a $2,800 flight on Lufthansa, and another $900 flight somewhere else. (I know none of you guys are the culprits since cigars weren't among the unauthorized charges!)

My bank took care of that stuff really quickly, and I won't be responsible. But now I'm terrified that somebody has my social security number and is getting credit cards in my name that I won't even know about until my credit's down the toilet. Argh.

Get a Credit Report... you can find out any activity.

[Zoomschwortz]

Might be a good time to sign up for Life Lock.

[oldforge]

Originally Posted by erictheobscure

My bank took care of that stuff really quickly, and I won't be responsible. But now I'm terrified that somebody has my social security number and is getting credit cards in my name that I won't even know about until my credit's down the toilet. A.

One thing you should do is report the incident to the local police as possible identity theft. The reason to do this is so there is a police report with a date and an incident description that you will be able to send to the credit agencies if needed.

(They won't do anything, of course, but that is not why you are doing it.)

[justinwb]

Originally Posted by Zoomschwortz

Might be a good time to sign up for Life Lock.

Might not be, they got class actioned recently

[SteveDMatt]

Sorry about the misforture Eric.

First, goto annualcreditreport.com

Everybody is able to get their report for free once a year. Check your activity and make sure you recognize every account.

I personally wouldn't sign up for Lifelock. There was an article recently that stated the CEO's credit ("yes, that's my real SS#") has been comprimised and over 20 people in his home state have applied for a fake driver's licenses in his name. So much for his claims. If I can find the article, I will attach it.

Here it is.

Here's some more interesting reading.

[erictheobscure]

Originally Posted by DriftyGypsy

Get a Credit Report... you can find out any activity.

Yeah, I did that. No bad news for now.


[QUOTE=SteveDMatt;1733944]Sorry about the misforture Eric.

I personally wouldn't sign up for Lifelock. There was an article recently that stated the CEO's credit ("yes, that's my real SS#") has been comprimised and over 20 people in his home state have applied for a fake driver's licenses in his name. So much for his claims. If I can find the article, I will attach it.

Here it is.

That's pretty hilarious.

[alley00p]

Originally Posted by SteveDMatt

Sorry about the misforture Eric.

First, goto annualcreditreport.com

Everybody is able to get their report for free once a year. Check your activity and make sure you recognize every account.

<snip>

I agree with Steve; the nice thing about the site above is you get a credit report free from each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies once a year by FTC mandate. And sometimes (I found this out the hard way) what isn't tracked by one reporting agency is by one of the others!

I wish you well with your quest!

Alley00p