Here’s a new one - not me…but my hip specialist (renowned surgeon) got his medical license scammed! I’ve been on temporary disability and he needed to submit an extension for me. He doesn’t use their online system but instead fills out the forms and mails them in (I’m not happy about that, but that’s a different story). It’s been 5 weeks without a check, and I’ve done the online contact for the disability office (2x), and hadn’t heard back. I call but the system says they’re overloaded call back. Today I realized there’s a brand new disability office less than 5 miles from me (old one was 35!) so I went over. Turns out I’m in a holding pattern because his license got compromised and numerous fraudulent claims were filed under it…I needed to jam back home and get my original SS card (thank goodness I have it!), print my W-2 from 2021, and print my “my Social Security” report from 2021, and bring a copy of my photo ID (drivers license) to prove I’m me and that the info in their system matches…luckily it’s only 5 miles, and that I had all that they needed at hand. PITA is an understatement!
I really hope he rethinks paper form vs online submission. He’s gonna get an earful from me when I see him in January!
I went through this last year. I didn’t know about the 3 credit cards they opened in my name, until I got the bills. But, the woman went into BOA and withdrew $5000.00. That should never have happened. This was in DC. I went into BOA the next day, froze that account, and opened a new one. The nightmare was moving all the automatic accounts. I had $500 of late fees from the electric company, etc. no matter how many times I called different companies, they were SLOW to shift.
I’m so sorry you are going thru identity fraud. It was a nightmare for months. I had local police and DC police involved.
3 out of the 4 of my kids all have had their debit cards compromised. That’s what they use when they are teens and in early college. 1)gas station 2)dunkin donuts downtown chicago 3) dont know where they got the card but scammers put routine small auto withdrawls on her card for 6 months that ended up $1K+ – to places like insurance companies - and she thought i set up her apartment and car insurance to come off her bank account.
the banks refunded the money in all cases. But still - i need to chat with them. my current college student has 2$ in his checking account; so no worries now about sucking that dry!
After younger S’ checking/debit account got compromised, I set up the account so I get a text any time a withdrawal or deposit is made. I am on the account since it was set up when they were young. But, they could set it up for themselves. That way they wouldn’t be surprised at any charges, or would know as soon as it happened.
I love, love, love that feature on all of my credit cards. I used to have mine compromised ALL the time. So did H. We actually left citibank after 20 years at their suggestion because it just kept getting compromised. Sometimes it was compromised before we even got the card in the mail. They have been better lately since I’ve added that feature.
My worst was someone charging $19,000 of scaffolding from some company in Canada. This was before online billing was really a thing. My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw that bill. And I am stiff a bit miffed that USAA didn’t decline that charge immediately. I am nowhere near Canada! And never do I ever charge that much to my card!
Sometimes I wonder if I should have high limits on our cards, but if you lower them, it affects your credit score. Then too, I wonder, “what if an emergency happened and I needed a large amount of money quickly?”
I haven’t changed ours. I like our really high credit score. When we want a loan, it’s easy to get one at a good rate. With fuel oil being so high lately we opted to compare prices this year instead of sticking with the same company we’d been with. We saved over a dollar per gallon on a fill up - but the new company wanted to run a credit check on us first. That dings the score slightly, but the hundreds of dollars in savings was worth it. They happily delivered the next day. I’m pretty sure the company wants to keep us as customers.
I do hope companies would see odd charges and check with us. Capital One does. I’m not sure about the others, including USAA. I’m guessing not with your experience.
i do like for sure how credit card companies often question purchases. Cant believe they didnt catch that 19K!! wow! thanks for the heads up too on notifications; i will look into that for my youngest who will go to college next year. the older ones - well they are on their own although i’m still on two of their accounts (24 & 21).
I said that exact thing…I also wonder how many might not think to physically go to a disability office to find out what’s going on (or are physically unable to!). I feel like his office needs to send out an e-mail or some communication sharing “if you’re receiving temporary disability…” He has an amazing online portal where I can review every conversation we’ve had, all my test results, medications, etc., why he is reticent to use the electronic portal the government offers to file documents is beyond me!
Someone I knew was purportedly trying to reach me through facebook and msn messenger. I haven’t seen her in about a decade. Last I heard she was in poor health. She was encouraging me to apply for “free money” through a community block grant.
The more the person messaged, the more suspicious it sounded. Today I confirmed with a mutual friend that this woman died a year or two ago. I guess someone is hijacking her identity.
Any thoughts on where I should report this fraudulent activity? I’m not used to getting messages from dead people’s accounts. Thanks for any guidance. Also is there sone place I ought to notify that these bad actors are trying to get fake block grant money?
Bummer. I’m glad ours is very proactive when it comes to scams of all sorts. It’s part of why I voted for our current AG to become our Governor (he won).
I ordered a new iPhone. It was shipped by FedEx due to arrive Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon about 4 I realized it hadn’t arrived so I checked the tracking. It said it was rerouted to a local FedEx store (not attempted to deliver but rerouted). When I got to the FedEx store they said someone picked it up at 1:30. The manager said she would call when she figured it out (but never did). When I filed a claim with FedEx they said since someone signed for it I would have to take file a claim with Apple. Luckily Apple was nice and is sending a new phone. I am not sure how they rerouted my order and supposedly you need ID with the destination address to pick up. But I read online that this has happened to other people.
It could be an inside job. We had packages dropped on our porch which we “sighed” for (no one was home). Someone could have “signed” for your package at the distribution warehouse. Although now some FedEx drivers ask for a DL and scan it instead of just asking the last name.
Yes I think it was an inside job. Somehow someone redirected the package to the FedEx store (not even the closest one to my house). It is one of those stores that makes copies etc… so it was super hectic. And then someone needed to pick it up without showing ID. Or maybe they make a fake ID too or maybe they work there or know someone who works there. Very distressing.
I went to one of Auntie’s banks yesterday after I had called to ask what the limits were on her debit card (I don’t know what provoked me to ask, but the daily limits were insanely high - $500 for ATM and $7500(!!) for purchases) - the online rep said I would need to do it in person. So off I went…it took almost an hour, several individuals, including their legal department…“no one asks for reduction” - but I finally got the limits reduced to reasonable amounts…for a 90 year old! We aren’t worried about her credit score, only that a thief can’t get their paws on a lot of $ or goods in one fell swoop!