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Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Word of warning to my friends on the Forum
Date:	5/23/2012 8:18:03 AM

Well, several years ago I was the victim of identity fraud and it took me long time (years) to get it totally resolved. As a result, I purchased Lifelock for my wife and I. Well, I have now been subjected to another form of fraud that is even scarier. Last week I was on-line and noticed a bank branch withdrawal from my checking account for $2,500. I immediately texted my wife and asked if she did it and of course the answer was no. She was actually standing in line at our bank (Wells Fargo) getting Euro's for my daughter's trip to Rome. So she told them what was going on. I then looked at my savings account and there were two other bank branch withdrawals for another $5,500 totaling $8,000. What apparently happened was some thief came into a Wells Fargo branch in New Jersey, filled out a withdrawal slip with my name and account number and got the money. They also apparently had my driver's license number which boggles my mind. I never write checks from that account with my DL number on it but even if I did how does someone withdraw that much money from the same branch on the same day do so without photo ID? I have not gotten a complete explanation from the bank as yet but something tells me this might be an inside job. The guy at our bank that took care of it said heads would roll for this one. The bank immediately froze the accounts and opened new ones and transferred the money. I will now have to go through a 1-month process to get the funds back (file criminal charges, sign away my life that I didn't take the money. etc).. What is strange is the signature they used wasn't even close to mine. So much for that line of defense. So here is my word of warning, make sure you check your account balances every day for unusual activity. Had I not noticed it the day after the withdrawals they could have wiped out our accounts. Also, I now know that there is one form of identity theft that Lifelock cannot stop. If I do find out where they got my account information and DL number I will let you know but I doubt I will ever get that information. Of course this is Obama's fault as this kind of crime is obviously a result of desperation caused by a lack of a job.......OK, I am kidding about the last part. This is no one's fault but the dirtbag criminals that stole the money. But I thought I would try the liberal reflexive reaction to crime from the Bush years by blaming it on TOTUS. :-)

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Word of warning to my friends on the Forum
Date:	5/23/2012 9:16:55 AM

Thanks for the heads-up and sorry for what you will have to go through as a result. I am especially aware since someone has hijacked my AOL email account a couple times in the not too distant past. Always came during or immediately after a hotel stay, so all should be careful when using public wifi services.

Another thing to look out for is very small transactions on credit cards. I was at the Rome Airport Hilton one night and at about 3:30 AM got a call from the American Express Fraud Unit wanting to know if I had a $0.99 charge to iTunes. I had not, and we agreed to cancel my card. Apparently one way thieves test a card number is to try to place a very small charge against it, and if it goes through then they go for the big bucks. I was in a pickle because later that day we were motoring to La Spezia, getting on an Italian Navy vessel, and transiting to Taranto...and weren't going to get a hotel until we got there. So I had no place to have them deliver a replacement card. As it turns out AmEx has two offices in Rome and by 10:00 AM that same day I had a replacement card. That's a kudo to AmEx for sure.

With regard to Euros, we have found the best way to get them is to use a debit card at one of the ATMs at "Bancomats" that are on just about every street corner in Rome and very prevalent throughout the country. Has your daughter been to Rome before? One could spend two or three weeks there and still not see everything. It is a fantastic place to get the maximum return on one's travel dollars. Hope she enjoys her stay. My younger son and his new bride are there right now on their honeynmoon.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Word of warning to my friends on the Forum
Date:	5/23/2012 10:14:37 AM

Freeze all 3 credit reports so no one can apply for credit.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Word of warning to my friends on the Forum
Date:	5/23/2012 10:24:26 AM

GF, I don't think they will let you do that anymore but I will check. We had a freeze on our accounts for several years through Lifelock and then the credit reporting agencies filed a lawsuit that forced all the holds to be removed. It was creating a lot of work for the credit reporting agencies so they resisted. We still have Lifelock and so far no issues but I am watching everything carefully.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	You're lucky...
Date:	5/23/2012 1:19:04 PM

... I am so poor that somebody broke into my house recently. They felt sorry for as soon as they got in and left me a DVD player...lol.

Name:	John boy -	Reply
Subject:	Word of warning to my friends on the Forum
Date:	5/23/2012 2:45:41 PM

Mr Hodja is correct on the 99 cent charge. Someone charged one to my account then 3 more in a couple of days then the amount went to 24.99 once then up to 3 times a day. I was on vacation and didn't carry my laptop so I had not checked my account for a few days. A word of warning check your account EVERY day because there are a lot of scammers out there.

Name:	Summer Lover -	Reply
Subject:	You're lucky...
Date:	5/23/2012 4:11:12 PM

I need to get that back from you, just leave it on your pier and I will by by Saturday to pick it up.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Experian Freeze
Date:	5/23/2012 9:11:10 PM

http://www.experian.com/consumer/security_freeze.html

Name:	water_watcher -	Reply
Subject:	Word of warning to my friends on the Forum
Date:	5/23/2012 9:45:49 PM

Wow. Sorry that happened to you. As you know, the bank will refund the money. You are fortunate that you caught it so quickly. I now make it a habit to look at my accounts every morning over a cup of coffee. It only takes a few minutes and it is one of the benefits of on line banking.

Several years ago ... about 10-12, we had a box of checks (remember those) stolen from the mail. Somone made a fake DL and was writing checks at stores all over. None were just cashed. All purchases were under $1,000. This went on for probably 3 weeks until checks started to bounce. This was back went I traveled internationally a lot and the bank branch knew me and I had overdraft approval on the account, so they kept clearing them. They finally left me a voice mail when the overdraft balance reached almost $20K and said we wanted to check with you since the overdraft amount was getting high and we have not seen you do this before. While I got the money back, what a hassle with calls and affidavit's I had to sign and had to send a letter and a copy of the police report to each credit agency. After that I removed overdraft approval on my account.

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