The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Credit Cards - Possible Fraud?
Ferdy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
My best friend moved in with her boyfriend over summer. Now, this guy has some issues, he is essentially a good person but can be very secretive, moody and we both feel he is hiding a lot from her and everyone in general. He is in his early to mid twenties and works for a hotel chain. My best friend is 21, studying for a PhD, incredibly independent and as such feels it is important to keep some space between them – ie. She has insisted they have separate rooms in the house (and they both pay rent to reflect this); they have separate bank accounts and she keeps refusing to marry him (he keeps asking).
Now, all this is fine and can be coped with. What has caused my friend to ring me in a panic tonight was the fact that a few days ago, two letters came through the door, one addressed to her and one to him. She opened hers, saw it was from American Express, and contained a PIN for a credit card in her name.
Her initial reaction was “…!!!†as she has made it quite clear to a lot of people she doesn’t want to get involved in credit cards, as she doesn’t need to at this point in her life. When she confronted her boyfriend, he said he had set them both up for a joint account. She asked him to cancel it, and he didn’t really say anything. (This is typical of him).
A few days later the card arrived. She had the PIN on a shelf in her room, and left the card in the kitchen while she went to university. When she returned, she went to find the card and the PIN to destroy them both, but they had both disappeared. She has not yet asked her boyfriend where they are…but since they are the only people living in the house…
Also, he has bought a new guitar and several new hard drives…
What strikes me as weird is that he didn’t even say anything like “Oh, I thought we could have a joint credit card, is that okay with you?†and the other fact that if he could have got to the letter first…would he have told her? Would he have just intercepted both the card and PIN, and spent money in their joint names, possibly giving her a bad credit rating, without her knowledge?
She can be a little paranoid, therefore she is worried that by constantly asking her to marry him, and wanting to share a room etc he is trying to attach himself to her or trying to get to her money somehow…is this likely to be the case?
Her other concern is that he has to pay child support…she is worried that somehow he would be able to take the money out of her finances, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t possible, so I assured her this…
I am kind of thinking this is identity fraud. Did her signature need to be on anything to affirm the fact that it’s a joint account? And can she cancel this herself? I don’t really know a lot about credit cards, I’d ask my mum, but it’s a bit late to ring, and I know my friend won’t sleep tonight unless she’s reassured.
Sorry for the extensive text people, and thanks for any help you might have in advance.
Now, all this is fine and can be coped with. What has caused my friend to ring me in a panic tonight was the fact that a few days ago, two letters came through the door, one addressed to her and one to him. She opened hers, saw it was from American Express, and contained a PIN for a credit card in her name.
Her initial reaction was “…!!!†as she has made it quite clear to a lot of people she doesn’t want to get involved in credit cards, as she doesn’t need to at this point in her life. When she confronted her boyfriend, he said he had set them both up for a joint account. She asked him to cancel it, and he didn’t really say anything. (This is typical of him).
A few days later the card arrived. She had the PIN on a shelf in her room, and left the card in the kitchen while she went to university. When she returned, she went to find the card and the PIN to destroy them both, but they had both disappeared. She has not yet asked her boyfriend where they are…but since they are the only people living in the house…
Also, he has bought a new guitar and several new hard drives…
What strikes me as weird is that he didn’t even say anything like “Oh, I thought we could have a joint credit card, is that okay with you?†and the other fact that if he could have got to the letter first…would he have told her? Would he have just intercepted both the card and PIN, and spent money in their joint names, possibly giving her a bad credit rating, without her knowledge?
She can be a little paranoid, therefore she is worried that by constantly asking her to marry him, and wanting to share a room etc he is trying to attach himself to her or trying to get to her money somehow…is this likely to be the case?
Her other concern is that he has to pay child support…she is worried that somehow he would be able to take the money out of her finances, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t possible, so I assured her this…
I am kind of thinking this is identity fraud. Did her signature need to be on anything to affirm the fact that it’s a joint account? And can she cancel this herself? I don’t really know a lot about credit cards, I’d ask my mum, but it’s a bit late to ring, and I know my friend won’t sleep tonight unless she’s reassured.
Sorry for the extensive text people, and thanks for any help you might have in advance.
Ferdy on
0
Posts
As it's in her name she shouldn't have too much trouble cancelling everything, but that's as far as my knowledge of the issue goes.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
On the question of credit, the best thing she can do at this point is demand the card from him, and/or search the place until she finds it. Once she has it in her hands, she should call the number on the back of the credit card - those lines should be staffed 24/7. Once she gets somebody on the phone, she should ask them the following questions:
1. Is this card currently active?
[If not, skip to the end]
2. How was it activated without my express consent?
[If asshole boyfriend has access to shit like her social security number, she needs to deal with that right fucking now]
3. Is there another name associated with this account?
[Did asshole actually get a joint credit card, or did he just put her name on it?]
4. I want to be removed from this account immediately. I did not request to be added to it, I did not provide any authorization, and I will not be held responsible for any charges incurred by [Asshole].
5. Please do not (re)activate this card under any circumstances. I did not apply for a credit card, and I have reason to suspect that I have been a victim of identity fraud.
After doing that, she should sit down and have a long chat with her boyfriend. And if he won't talk, she should move the fuck out, because absolutely nothing in your post speaks well of him at all.
I think the credit card is a joint one, but it definitely has her name on it either way. Seems from what has been said that it shouldn’t be too hard for her to cancel it, and thanks for the question list Kate, I shall definitely pass that on.
Um…social security number, for Britons, is that like a National Insurance number? If so, I don’t think so, I would imagine she keeps that on her at all times...from what she said to me he would have been able to provide her name, address and date of birth. She also suspects he might have done it online, therefore not needing a signature?
In view to their messy relationship: she is waiting it out for a little bit longer (until the contract for the house ends, I think) and then moving out if he hasn’t changed for the better by then. Sadly, she says she has started getting used to him talking to her like dirt, and in my experience people don’t often change that much. I worry about her every day and just want to get her out of there. Wish I didn’t live so far away.
I have no idea if your National Insurance Number is anything like that <<
Yeah, this.
She did not authorize him to put her on a joint account and she didn't authorize him to charge anything using her card and PIN so it's definitely falling under theft, fraud, etc and she needs to call and let the company know this asap.
If it's American Express I can imagine their customer service will be at least above average.
Credit card companies will pull this kind of stuff on you every chance they get because they know 9 times out of 10 they will win either by brute force or by making you not want to deal with it anymore and pay them off "just to get it over with".
Frankly, your friend needs to call all the credit bureaus, notify them that her identity may have been compromised and that she will not be requesting any credit for the next 6 months. Then she needs to call AMEX and any other companies whose credit cards/letters she finds around the place or on that loser boyfriend of hers and shut them down ASAP. If they ask why, she should tell them that it was fraud. Because that's what he is doing.
Using someone else's name and character for your own line of credit is not a morally ambiguous situation. It is basically theft and a violation of your rights. This is akin to someone using your vote to cast their own ballot.
Furthermore, this shows a blatant disrespect and abrogation of her own feelings, rights, and openly expressed choices. Why the hell is she still with this guy?
1. Might not be illegal. If its not a joint just an account he has where she is allowed to use it. I don't think he did anything legally wrong.
2. Its still sneaky but he probably just another way of him saying they should be a couple. But if they separated he could claim that the purchases made with her card (different number) she should be accountable for.
3. She made a big mistake leaving it and the pin number on the table, it would be illegal for him to open the letters, but since she did, hr can use those now that he has them. If its his account not a joint. he might not be doing anything illegal till he claims those purchases where hers. But by that point its to late as its his word against hers.
She needs to get the card back destroy it and call the company and have her name removed from the account. If its a joint then what he did is illegal and at minimum she needs to figure out what she can legal do (even if its not calling the police) to protect her credit.
In the US its illegal even if mail is addressed to a minor for it to be opened by anybody but the person it was sent to. Its actually more legal to take mail shred it, burn it, and throw the ashes into someones face, then it is to open it.
For what it's worth, I really doubt a credit card company could make this stick in the UK if you took it to the regulators.
In regards to the OP, some useful info here, specifically "How do I find out which banks have cards issued in my name?" and "What can I do if my identity has been stolen?".
At the very least, get your friend to call Amex and ask them who you need to speak to about ID theft, there will probably be a dedicated number for it. Make sure they do it now. The longer these things go on the more difficult they are to sort out.
So it's possible that he applied for an Amex card and then got a second card in her name at the same time, which would be pretty much legal and put her in no threat if I'm right.
However, to get approved for an Amex in the first place, you need to have a fairly healthy income to begin with - about £35,000 at the time that I applied for the basic blue card IIRC. So if the boyfriend has shitty finances, i suppose it's possible that he applied for the Amex card in her name first - effectively stealing her identity - and then getting a second card on the account in his name.
Either way, I'd advise your friend to call Amex and get confirmation on the situation - she thinks her identity may have been stolen, is the account in her name, how does she go about cancelling the account and/or the card with her name on it - and get the fuck rid of the boyfriend because even if what he did was perfectly legal it's still weird and stupid and untrustworthy and not something some one does in a normal, healthy relationship.
I wouldn't be able to sleep at all either with that nutter around. You don't sign someone up for a credit card like that, whether he is trying to get to her money or not. He sounds like a real nit-wit. There is some good advice above. Call the companies ASAP, I would also say that she should move outta there. They have a child together, and she wants a seperate room? Does she really want that guy helping to raise the kid? It doesn't sound like she wants to be in a relationship with him. I think there are bigger issues at hand that she can deal with after she reports him for fraud.
Sorry I didn't make this clearer in the OP, but the child is from a previous relationship he had, and doesn't live with my best friend and her boyfriend. So her concern was primarily if he was taking money from her to pay for the monthly(?) child support to the child's mother.
I didn't expect this level of help at all - thank you. I have linked her to this thread, so she can read for herself and carry out the suggestions.
Your friend should be OK about the card and any purchases made on it - unless she has applied for a credit card in her name, and signed to confirm that, the card is in his name, and as long as they are not married, she is not responsible for any of his debts. If he has forged her signature on any documents, that's fraud, and he could be prosecuted for it. She needs to contact the credit card company immediately, by phone, take the name of who she spoke to, and follow it up by email and letter (I'm a belts and braces kind of person!) confirming she did not open the account, does not want a card, has not activated (you have to do this before you can use a new credit or debit card) or used the card, and wishes them to remove her off the account, as of now.
If she was ever daft enough to marry him, she would become jointly liable for all his debts, and her income would be taken into account by the Child Support Agency when they decide what his child support payments should be. She needs to get out of this relationship, he sounds untrustworthy. I'm assuming she's tied into a rental agreement for the academic year, but it doesn't sound like its a good idea her staying there - she could always try to find someone else to take over the tenancy if the tenancy is in her name/ joint names. If its not in her name, she can just walk away, she wouldn't be financially responsible. (we have tenancy agreements separately with all of Lewie's housemates, they are individually and jointly tenants of ours, so if they wanted to move out before the end of the academic year we could legally charge them rent til the end of June - we wouldn't, but they'd have to find someone else to take over their room). Does she have friends locally who she could move in with? I know its difficult part way through the year, or maybe she could move into Halls - a pain, I know, but she'd be free of him.
xxx
For paintings in progress, check out canvas and paints
"The power of the weirdness compels me."