|
And they succeeded for about 3 weeks. Long enough to rack up over $13,000 on one of my credit cards in purchases and cash advances. What's that old saying? Something like, "A Democrat is just a Republican who hasn't been mugged." Well I'm still a Democrat and this is not the first time I've been robbed, although it is the most severe.
I put my little pickup in the shop on Monday and then went to a rental car company to rent a set of wheels for the next day or two. I tried to use one of my credit cards to pay for the vehicle and the transaction was declined. I didn't understand that because I pay off the balance on that card every month and it had an $18,000 credit limit. The most I've charged in a month in the past year on that card was $600. So I paid with a different card and then went home and called the credit card company to see what the deal was. I was shocked to learn that there was a balance of about $13,000 on the card and they denied my car rental transaction because they suspected fraud. That $13,000 had been charged up in about the space of 3 weeks.
So, the credit card company closed the account and ate the $13,000 once they determined they were fraudulent charges. They referred me to a company that specializes in identity theft cases and they are working for me for free on the credit card company's dime. The only stipulation was that I have to agree to work with them if or when they pursue litigation. They didn't have a hard time getting me to agree to that. This company pulled my credit report and went over it with me. There was only one other possibly fraudulent occurrence on there. Someone had tried to open a home equity line of credit on my condo. I don't remember doing that and I have no reason to do that because I have no equity in my home (just bought it last year). Everything else on the credit report was okay. They also advised me to file a police report with the local police and I did that.
Another thing I've done is hired one of those identity theft deterrent companies to help protect my identity. They check my credit report every day and will immediately call me if they see suspicious activity and they will also call any time someone tries to open up a line of credit in my name to make sure it is me that's doing it. They have also told the credit reporting agencies that I'm a possible identity theft victim and have flagged my credit reports with a fraud alert. This will tell potential creditors to scrutinize any application in my name more closely.
I think that's everything I can do for now. If some of you have experience in this area I would greatly appreciate your advice.
|