Scams- Lessons learned too late- EQUIFAX
 

So the "Have you been scammed" thread reminded me to warn the group of a credit card scam and the value of Equifax.

I am a partner in a small business. The business has its offices in a large commercial building. The business pays all of its accounts out of it's operating account and does not use a line of credit or credit card.

Recently, the partnership decided to acquire and use a company credit card for the convenience of paying some expenses. An application was made to the bank that we do business with, and it was declined due to the fact that our business had recently defaulted on a credit card and the account had been closed (WTF ?)

So it turns out, that another person in the building had stolen our mail with a credit card offer, activated the card but changed the billing and notification address. This happened 5 years ago and over that period he would make charges on the account and then pay them off. He apparently stopped making payments about one year ago and the card went into collections and was canceled. We never knew about it because the statements and all correspondences went to a different address. Fortunately it was not a large amount, around 2K, but it disrupted our business as we could not acquire credit until the bank resolved it.

So now I'm an Equifax believer. I subscribe to most of their services (ID theft monitoring and protection, and to monitor my credit score). With this service you can regularly check the balances of all of your mortgages, revolving, and credit card accounts and make sure the balances are (about) right and no new ones show up.

It's simple to set up- they all ready know every debt you have down the last penny, your payment history, etc.

Unfortunatley there are some real a$$ holes out there.

Wow, that sucks!

At the house, I have a shredder and either tear up offers into little pieces or shred stuff like the balance transfer checks. Of course, none of that matters if the mail is diverted before you get it.

You got the address of where the bills were sent to right?

Prosecute.

rjp

I hate credit card offers.

A few years ago I bought a fixer-upper house, and was not supposed to recieve any mail there. Saw the mailman one day put something in the box. Went to retrieve it, and here was a pre-approved credit card application, with my name on it, congratulating me on purchasing my new home. I suppose they scour county records of real estate transactions, and figure a new home owner wants new window coverings, furniture, yada yada.

Worst part is the ability to change the name or address before sending it back.

If I hadn't seen the mailman that day, who knows how long it would have sat in an unlocked mailbox, waiting to be taken.

Ever since then, first thing I do if I buy a fixer is to remove the mailbox. I don't put it up again until the house is sold.

I don't know if this applies to businesses but individuals can contact each of the three credit agencies and block any accts from being opened without a 10 digit code that you make up. You can also request not to get any of these offers (kind of like the Do Not Call Registry). Most states require you get this for free some are a small fee.

I highly suggest this.

We recently got "checks" from a card we have. Cindy called, asked that they send no more of these. She was assured they wouldn't. I guess time will tell.

The bank that issued the card was/is PISSSSED, and once we demonstrated to them what was going on, they picked it up from there as Bank Fraud- with all the resources to investigate, prosecute, and castrate available to BOA. They know who did it and where they live, and I have no doubt they will get their money back (and then some).

P.S. We notified the building management of the problem since we were concerned that other businesses in the building had been similarly targeted. Turns out he was recently evicted from the building.

Those checks are the main reason I bought a shredder.

Yes, it's my understanding that you can request that they stop sending the checks. I'm not sure why we haven't.

The bank that issued the card should have been held liable for your time and distress.

As far as your part in this as the consumer: you did nothing, and knew nothing.
That bank might as well have been on the street handing out blank checks to the homeless in your name.

These situations are nothing new.
Banks and businesses have been allowed to float around personal information in the public hemesphere without safeguards, and allow transactions with few checks of identity or even the subject's consent.
Heck, some places don't even require a signature or PIN on purchases under a certain amount.
Pure fraud.

If I need anything from a bank I will contact them, the risk of identity theft through mail is at an all time high. I opt out of all these offers...

Recommend checking into these:

Avoiding Credit Card Fraud

Optoutprescreen.com - What is Optoutprescreen.com and is it Legit?

www.optoutprescreen.com

Have had clients using this for years...

I subscribe to Experian and for a small monthly fee you can see who has looked at your credit account etc.
I was thinking about cancelling it, not so sure now, thanks!