I Have Been a Victim of Credit Card Fraud, Did They Steal My Identity? Three Steps to Get Back on Track

I Have Been a Victim of Credit Card Fraud, Did They Steal My Identity?

3 Free Steps to Get Back on Track

             As a former national fraud investigator who located and closed millions of dollars in cases. This is a question I have received from friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and family members.  I’m going to tell you about the secrets the credit fraudsters use and how you can keep your identity safe.

I’ve been a victim of credit fraud. What should I do and what do the thieves know about me?

 The first thing I tell people is to calm down and stop worrying.  I know it is scary when you get a call from the bank that your card has been compromised or you see some charges that aren’t yours. 99% of the time, the people who used your card number do not know who you are.  They have a 16 digit account number that belongs to the bank and that is it. The other 1% of the time, they typed in a random social security number at a store to open something called a “Rapid Credit”.  In either case, you aren’t on the hook for any of the charges.

How did they get my information?

             Take a deep breath here………….  The thieves don’t have your information. Plastic credit cards with magnetic stripes were invented in 1979.  Those cards are easily compromised.  The system is antiquated and needs to be changed.  The Walkman was also invented in 1979 and I’ll bet you can’t find anyone using one of those anymore. The most likely way that credit card thieves get a credit card number is from a computer program.  This computer program generates credit card numbers and is aptly called a “Credit Card Generator”.   The thieves encode these card numbers onto blank credit cards and go to stores trying to use them.  Most of them don’t work, but enough do to keep them in business.  A few years ago, I found a fraud ring in California that racked up almost $1 Million in fraud charges using this method.

A credit card was opened with my information, but I did not open it.

       The vast majority of fraud credit accounts are opened at retailers (Home Depot, Lowes, Macys, etc).  

Here is how those credit accounts are opened.

1.  A customer enters a nine digit social security number into a key pad.
2.  The system either approves or declines the credit account
• There is no verification of the customer information compared to the social security number.

Most of the fraudulent accounts I saw were created because:

•        The customer hit a wrong digit when opening up the account (it was usually one digit off from the real customer).
•     The sales associate typed in a bunch of random social security numbers in order to boost their stats and had no intention of using the accounts. (Yes this is not right and those employers are quickly fired).

In any of these cases above, you can call the bank that issued the card and tell them the charges were not yours and the account is fraudulent.  They deal with this all the time.  They will send you paperwork and you send it back to them.

Three FREE Steps to Protect Your Identity

1.       You can receive 3 FREE credit reports a year -Make sure to spread them out throughout the year.  Look for any accounts you didn’t open and contact the bank.

2.       Set up a fraud alert here for free - Receive a message if someone tries to use your information to open a credit card account.

3.       Stop receiving credit card offers in the mail – This is one possible way that a thief can open up an account in your name.

Just remember, in the majority of cases.  Your identity is safe and the fraudsters don’t know who you are.  Also, the banks are on the hook for the money due to their antiquated technology.

-          Michael London

FraudViz Investigator