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Monday, 11 September 2006
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Id Theft Accounts - Illinois Consumers
From: http://www.bbbonline.org/idtheft/stories.asp
Article #1:
"On May 8th, I received a letter from (a credit card company) in which they said my... account had been closed as of May 4, the same day the letter was dated. They said it was due to negative information on a... credit report. I received no notification from them prior to their decision. The negative information appeared, because I have been a victim of identity theft, and this was clearly noted on my report as of April 7. I learned about the problem just the week before that. A formal dispute was filed with (the credit reporting agency) on April 18. (The credit card company) said I had only 30 days from the date of their letter to send an updated report and clear everything up, even though the dispute process generally takes longer than this, and that only after the credit report has been received. When (the credit reporting agency) sent me a new report, all the accounts I disputed had been deleted, but another one has appeared that is also identity theft. We are now working through that case. Police reports have been filed on this account and on one other we discovered earlier. I explained all this to (the credit card company) - with whom I've had an account for 11 years, with no late payments" (This story posted online on 01/25/05)
Article #2:
"I am the victim of identity theft and I would like to send this complaint to the BBB regarding First Premier Bank. A couple of months ago a criminal opened a credit card under my name, SSN and birth date at (a bank) and used the card illegally. I found out that this happened, because I received a letter from (a gasoline credit card issuer) that this criminal was also trying to do the same. I received my credit reports and immediately called (the bank) to have the account closed. I also sent a letter requesting that I get written verification from (the bank) that the account was closed. My reason for this complaint is that I have never received verification from (the bank) and it has been over 3 months. I have made numerous telephone calls and was promised not only verification but a fraud affidavit. On one call to (the bank), I was talking with a 'supervisor' who insisted on having my (social security number). I told her that I was the victim of identity fraud and she told me that she could not even tell me if the account was closed unless I gave that number. The other credit card companies that the criminal opened accounts with were very helpful to me." (This story posted online on 09/27/04)
Article #3:
"A major retail store places an unstaffed kiosk in its store where customers can apply for and receive in-store credit instantly and automatically; someone did this in my name at a store in (Illinois) last December and racked up $850 in debt, which I only discovered last week when a collection agency tracked me down. I am filing a police report and have reported this to all 3 credit bureaus, but the ease and simplicity with which the credit was approved is just appalling. Consumers do not have to provide ID, as the kiosk is not staffed, and the information they supply is not verified. I do not know what interest rate is applied, but I can only imagine it is phenomenally high, as this practice would obviously make the scheme profitable for (the retail store). When I called the store on July 25th, I was told that no one in the store could give me any information about the kiosk. I then called (the retail store's) credit card agency... and spoke with a representative... who assured me that they would clear this debt from my record, but who also admitted that there are huge problems with the kiosks." (This story posted online on 03/29/04)