How is this a scam?
January 5, 2016 9:02 AM Subscribe
I received a major credit card that I didn't apply for. WTF?
I am positive I did not apply for this card. No way, no where, no how. It's one of the "big 3." I am not about getting more credit; in fact, working on quite the opposite.
It arrived recently, despite the street address being incorrect. This made me even more certain of weirdness because I would have never gotten my own address wrong.
I called the card company and alerted them, destroyed the card, etc. A fraud case was opened.
My questions:
- How did this happen?
- What did the culprit hope to gain, and how would they know they had gained it?
- Was the address error on purpose? If so, how might it be part of the scam?
- If they had sufficient info to apply for a credit card in my name, what are the most critical things I need to worry about? (What DO they have, exactly?)
- What if I had cluelessly said, "oh, cool, free unexpected credit card!" and started using it... what (if anything) might have furthered the culprit's nefarious plan? How could they even eventually be aware of the resulting CC number?
Yes, the holidays brought a big rush of spending both online and in stores. It's possible there were evildoers out there grabbing my info and planning to do evil with it.
Just still quite boggled about this particular manifestation of credit fraud and not sure I am paying the right amount of attention to the right aspects of the situation to protect myself now and in the future.
I am positive I did not apply for this card. No way, no where, no how. It's one of the "big 3." I am not about getting more credit; in fact, working on quite the opposite.
It arrived recently, despite the street address being incorrect. This made me even more certain of weirdness because I would have never gotten my own address wrong.
I called the card company and alerted them, destroyed the card, etc. A fraud case was opened.
My questions:
- How did this happen?
- What did the culprit hope to gain, and how would they know they had gained it?
- Was the address error on purpose? If so, how might it be part of the scam?
- If they had sufficient info to apply for a credit card in my name, what are the most critical things I need to worry about? (What DO they have, exactly?)
- What if I had cluelessly said, "oh, cool, free unexpected credit card!" and started using it... what (if anything) might have furthered the culprit's nefarious plan? How could they even eventually be aware of the resulting CC number?
Yes, the holidays brought a big rush of spending both online and in stores. It's possible there were evildoers out there grabbing my info and planning to do evil with it.
Just still quite boggled about this particular manifestation of credit fraud and not sure I am paying the right amount of attention to the right aspects of the situation to protect myself now and in the future.
Response by poster: To clarify, I have never had any flavor of this particular card, and no other company offers it.
No old address issues- I've lived here for over 10 years. The house number was off by one digit- but everything else was correct.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:09 AM on January 5, 2016
No old address issues- I've lived here for over 10 years. The house number was off by one digit- but everything else was correct.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:09 AM on January 5, 2016
I'm not sure why you'd assume this was a scam. Your credit history is probably such that that some algorithm figured it's a paltry sum for the CC company to send you a card on the off chance that you'd pay for their postage many, many times over were you to activate and start using it. I suspect your name was sold on by another creditor (because they are generally scummy bastards who do this sort of thing), and someone who transcribed or OCR'd the list goofed one of the numbers. I suppose the decision to open a fraud case could be a smokescreen but would warrant it far, far more likely that the left hand simply doesn't know what the right hand is doing, especially as it's a big card company.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 9:11 AM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 9:11 AM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Not to be alarmist, but you might consider checking up on your credit scores to make sure no other credit cards have been activated. I was a victim of identity theft and only caught it because one of the credit cards got delivered to my correct address. I spent a few days making phone calls and speaking with fraud departments of CC companies to iron it all out.
posted by Fleebnork at 9:20 AM on January 5, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by Fleebnork at 9:20 AM on January 5, 2016 [12 favorites]
UH. No credit card company is going to open a new credit line for you without you asking. Physical card updates are normal but not at all the same.
My guess: it wasn't mistakenly addressed, it was misaddressed by design. The person who ordered your new card would have intercepted it at the incorrect address, leaving you unaware that charges were being made in your name. Check your credit reports.
posted by danny the boy at 9:22 AM on January 5, 2016 [26 favorites]
My guess: it wasn't mistakenly addressed, it was misaddressed by design. The person who ordered your new card would have intercepted it at the incorrect address, leaving you unaware that charges were being made in your name. Check your credit reports.
posted by danny the boy at 9:22 AM on January 5, 2016 [26 favorites]
I would wager that this is an Amex card, because OP said it's one of the Big 3 (sorry, Discover, but I take that to mean Visa, MC, and Amex), and the days of the card coming from Visa or Mastercard themselves, rather than an issuing bank are long gone. Amex, though, is Amex.
So, would Amex send OP a card out of the blue?
If you don't want the card, close the card by calling the number on the back. Get something in writing that the account is closed, find out what you can (good luck) in how it was opened (you can ask for a copy of your signed agreement, for example). Be sure to dispute any charges on the card.
After you have what you need in writing, put the card through the shredder and call it a day.
If this is a scam, my guess would be that someone stole your identity for the purposes of creating and spending in this account, and the scammer goofed, triggering a card replacement or failing to intercept your mail, and issued you a replacement card.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:38 AM on January 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
So, would Amex send OP a card out of the blue?
If you don't want the card, close the card by calling the number on the back. Get something in writing that the account is closed, find out what you can (good luck) in how it was opened (you can ask for a copy of your signed agreement, for example). Be sure to dispute any charges on the card.
After you have what you need in writing, put the card through the shredder and call it a day.
If this is a scam, my guess would be that someone stole your identity for the purposes of creating and spending in this account, and the scammer goofed, triggering a card replacement or failing to intercept your mail, and issued you a replacement card.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:38 AM on January 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
As to how it could have happened, someone might have intercepted an application that came in your mail and changed some details. Even if you tear those things up, tape them back together, and change the address, apparently credit card companies will still process them and give you a credit card.
posted by something something at 9:38 AM on January 5, 2016
posted by something something at 9:38 AM on January 5, 2016
Is the typoed address that of a real neighbor? Neighbors tend to have lots of access to personal info via trash/mailboxes.
posted by tchemgrrl at 9:41 AM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by tchemgrrl at 9:41 AM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
Someone fraudulently applied for a Paypal credit card in my name, using my correct address and phone number. I checked the balance right away without activating the account; about $2,000 had been charged on it already. When I called the fraud division of the card issuer, I asked how to keep it from happening again, and the agent said that even if you're careful about keeping personal and financial information private, you can't fully prevent it. She wouldn't go into detail, but said that there are major crime rings that commit this sort of fraud on a large scale -- they're not just opportunistic individuals who steal your info during a purchase or by rooting around in your recycle bin.
posted by wryly at 9:42 AM on January 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by wryly at 9:42 AM on January 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Do you have any store branded charge cards?
One of them may be switching from in-house credit to one of the major card companies, and your information got jumbled up while processing the transfer.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 9:46 AM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
One of them may be switching from in-house credit to one of the major card companies, and your information got jumbled up while processing the transfer.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 9:46 AM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: To be safe, assume this is fraud. Check your credit for other fraudulent activity. Put in a fraud alert with one of the credit bureaus (who will then ensure it is activated with the other two.) This will prevent any person or organization (yes, there are ID theft rings) from obtaining credit in your name without further verification from you.
I would assume your personal information including SSN was compromised (this could be from a CC application in the mail or more likely one of the other ways ID thieves buy and sell and hack info on the internet.) I would guess (but you'll probably never know) that the address mistake was intentional, meant to allow the person/organization to intercept the card or to contact the card issuer to change the address or something. You could drive yourself crazy thinking about who it might be (a neighbor? shady postman? someone in the employ of the CC company? a high-tech ID theft ring?) but you'll probably never find out. It is so widespread these days, most people I know have dealt with some form of this. Not sure there is any amount of paying attention that could have prevented this, unless you're giving out your info to strangers and shady organizations, or tossing documents with your personal info on them, so don't feel too bad. These people's methods are sophisticated.
When my ID was compromised I also had to make a report to my local police precinct who actually did pursue it, or said they did.
posted by kapers at 10:17 AM on January 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
I would assume your personal information including SSN was compromised (this could be from a CC application in the mail or more likely one of the other ways ID thieves buy and sell and hack info on the internet.) I would guess (but you'll probably never know) that the address mistake was intentional, meant to allow the person/organization to intercept the card or to contact the card issuer to change the address or something. You could drive yourself crazy thinking about who it might be (a neighbor? shady postman? someone in the employ of the CC company? a high-tech ID theft ring?) but you'll probably never find out. It is so widespread these days, most people I know have dealt with some form of this. Not sure there is any amount of paying attention that could have prevented this, unless you're giving out your info to strangers and shady organizations, or tossing documents with your personal info on them, so don't feel too bad. These people's methods are sophisticated.
When my ID was compromised I also had to make a report to my local police precinct who actually did pursue it, or said they did.
posted by kapers at 10:17 AM on January 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
Fraudsters do not need the physical card to use the account. I would for sure assume fraud and for sure be vigilant about checking credit, potentially even having the bureaus freeze my credit. As others have mentioned, it's much more likely that this is part of a mass fraud scam vs someone hoping to root through your trash or intercept mail.
posted by marmago at 1:19 PM on January 5, 2016
posted by marmago at 1:19 PM on January 5, 2016
In addition to checking your free annual credit report (https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action) I'd suggest initiating a credit freeze on all three of the major reporting agencies. It typically costs $10 in most states, and in some it's free if you are already a victim of identity fraud.
Once your reports are frozen, no one can open any kind of account that would trigger a check of your credit. This includes credit cards, of course, but also lots of other things, like renting an apartment, buying a car (or even trying to take one on a test drive) and other stuff like that. If you anticipate that someone legitimate will want to check your credit, you have to pay another fee, typically $5, to unfreeze it for a specific inquirer. Have a look at the web page I mentioned above for links to more info on freezing and unfreezing your credit reports. You can do it online with a credit card (heh) in just few minutes.
posted by qurlyjoe at 5:52 PM on January 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Once your reports are frozen, no one can open any kind of account that would trigger a check of your credit. This includes credit cards, of course, but also lots of other things, like renting an apartment, buying a car (or even trying to take one on a test drive) and other stuff like that. If you anticipate that someone legitimate will want to check your credit, you have to pay another fee, typically $5, to unfreeze it for a specific inquirer. Have a look at the web page I mentioned above for links to more info on freezing and unfreezing your credit reports. You can do it online with a credit card (heh) in just few minutes.
posted by qurlyjoe at 5:52 PM on January 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
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Was the address it delivered to an old address of yours and did you have an old credit card that was attached to that address? If so, the most likely cause in my mind is that the credit card was converted to a different type due to the credit card no longer being offered or due to the credit card expiring. This has happened at various times in my history (I deliberately keep more credit than I use) and I will randomly get new credit cards. Most of the time, they are the same credit card with a new expiration date. Every once in a while, they change completely if the credit card I have is no longer offered; rather than cancelling the credit card, they will simply send me a new one in some different credit card branding. Sometimes, even the credit card issuer changes, or a Visa might change to a Mastercard.
posted by saeculorum at 9:06 AM on January 5, 2016