# Credit Card in a Stranger's Name came to our address



## regatta333 (Nov 10, 2012)

I don't understand what someone's motivation would be to provide a false address.  It was a Univision-branded card in the name of a complete stranger.
I called the credit card company to notify them and destroyed the card, but it makes me uneasy that someone would use our address.

Has this every happened to anyone before?


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## DeniseM (Nov 10, 2012)

Your identity may have been stolen - you need to do more than just cancel the card.  

One thing you can do is put a lock on your accounts with the credit bureaus so that no cards can be opened in your name without your consent.  You can also see if any other cards have been taken out in your name or address.

I would contact my bank for advice - see if your bank has a number you can call over the weekend.

You need to act quickly - these things can escalate into a major disaster.  I know - I once had my identity stolen and it culminated in warrant out for MY arrest!


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## regatta333 (Nov 10, 2012)

DeniseM said:


> Your identity may have been stolen - you need to do more than just cancel the card.
> 
> One thing you can do is put a lock on your accounts with the credit bureaus so that no cards can be opened in your name without your consent.  You can also see if any other cards have been taken out in your name or address.
> 
> I would contact my bank for advice.



They did not use our name, just the address.  I'm not sure how this could compromise our identity, but by the same token, am not sure why anyone would use a false address.


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## Weimaraner (Nov 10, 2012)

We received someone else's card and had same concern. Turned to be a new neighbor moving in the subdivision who had same house number but slightly different street name. Hopefully just a mixup in your case. But definitely worth investigating.


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## DeniseM (Nov 10, 2012)

regatta333 said:


> They did not use our name, just the address.  I'm not sure how this could compromise our identity, but by the same token, am not sure why anyone would use a false address.



Because a scammer may have intercepted a credit card application intended for you, and used your address and social security number.

You cannot afford to assume that it was just a simple error - you need to contact your bank, and the credit bureaus to protect yourself.  Better safe than sorry.

Here is an article from the FTC with all the steps you need to take to protect yourself:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt07.shtm


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## Talent312 (Nov 10, 2012)

You can call the fraud-hotline of any of the major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian & TransUnion) and they'll put a credit-lock on all three for 90 days. If anyone, including you, seeks a credit approval, you'll be contacted personally to confirm its you.

Its the same thing that those "Lifelock" people do for a fee.

I've done it twice:
-- Once, I left a list of my online ID's + passwords where a stranger might have seen them.
-- Another time, my DW's wallet was lifted outside Buckingham Palace.
It may be unnecessary, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
.
.


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## JudyH (Nov 10, 2012)

In the past few weeks, we have received credit card preapprovals for DH's deceased father (6 years).  Within the past year, his mother died also, and we forwarded all mail to our home.  So the deceased father's letter came here, in his name, with our address.


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## bogey21 (Nov 10, 2012)

regatta333 said:


> Has this every happened to anyone before?



Same thing happened to me about a year ago.  I unsuccessfully searched the Internet for  someone in the area with that name.  Was unsuccessful so I cut up the card and trashed it.  No ramifications.

George


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## DeniseM (Nov 10, 2012)

bogey21 said:


> Same thing happened to me about a year ago.  I unsuccessfully searched the Internet for  someone in the area with that name.  Was unsuccessful so I cut up the card and trashed it.  No ramifications.
> 
> George



Cutting up the card does not close the account...


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## Talent312 (Nov 10, 2012)

If someone applied for the card using a false address (your address), they will run the account up to its credit limit and then default.  Guess who'll then get collection letters and annoying phone calls?

In the beginning, you may patiently explain to the debt collectors that you are not the person who's name is on the card, but that will get old quickly and soon, you will be using caller ID to screen them.

You can try to nip this in the bud by contacting the card issuer to say that their card-holder committed a fraud or gave them a bad address. And protect yourself by placing a fraud-alert with the credit-reporting agencies.


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## Pat H (Nov 10, 2012)

The OP is not in any danger of identity theft. Denise, why would you say that that a crook has his SS #? There is no evidence that anything related to the OP has been compromised. Maybe whoever entered the credit card app made a mistake or maybe a fraudster used a wrong address. The credit check should have shown a red flag for the address. If you get any other mail for the same person, mark it "not at this address" and give it back to the mail person.


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## bogey21 (Nov 10, 2012)

Talent312 said:


> If someone applied for the card using a false address (your address), they will run the account up to its credit limit and then default.  Guess who'll then get collection letters and annoying phone calls?
> .



All I know is that it has been over a year since I received and cut up the card and nothing has happened yet, no collection letters and no phone calls.  Sometimes I think we get too reved up over this stuff.

George


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## DeniseM (Nov 10, 2012)

Pat H said:


> The OP is not in any danger of identity theft.



A credit card company issued a credit card that they didn't request to their address - that is a huge red flag.  Ignoring it is exactly what a scammer wants you to do.  There is no down side to following up and making sure you are protected - there is a major down-side to ignoring it.


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## Pat H (Nov 11, 2012)

DeniseM said:


> A credit card company issued a credit card that they didn't request to their address - that is a huge red flag.  Ignoring it is exactly what a scammer wants you to do.  There is no down side to following up and making sure you are protected - there is a major down-side to ignoring it.



Liks I said before there is nothing that connects the OP to the scammer. You can pick any address to use. If it was in the OP 's name then I would be worried.


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## Cheryl20772 (Nov 11, 2012)

regatta333 said:


> I don't understand what someone's motivation would be to provide a false address.  It was a Univision-branded card in the name of a complete stranger.
> I called the credit card company to notify them and destroyed the card, but it makes me uneasy that someone would use our address.
> 
> Has this ever happened to anyone before?


Do you have any possible enemies?  There's a sick revenge where they sign you up for magazine subscriptions, get you on many catalog lists.  All they have to do is put your name/address on all the tear out applications in magazines.  They can make your life miserable like that...hope that's not what this is the beginning of.  Probably not that or they would have used your name as well as address.


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## Talent312 (Nov 11, 2012)

Of course, it may be an innocent mistake, or that nothing will come of it.
Heck, folks constantly mix places, roads, lanes & terraces in my neighborhood.

OTOH, it doesn't cost anything to be pro-active, instead of waiting to see.

.


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## Chrisky (Nov 11, 2012)

Denise is absolutely correct in her advise.  You have to advise everyone involved that this is not your application or your name.  This should not only be done over the phone but with an actual letter, keep the copies.  If it's a cc attached to  a bank, advise the bank of this, and keep all records of the correspondence and phone calls and names of people spoken to.  This could definitely turn into identity theft very quickly.


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## bogey21 (Nov 11, 2012)

Chrisky said:


> Denise is absolutely correct in her advise.  You have to advise everyone involved that this is not your application or your name.  This should not only be done over the phone but with an actual letter, keep the copies.  If it's a cc attached to  a bank, advise the bank of this, and keep all records of the correspondence and phone calls and names of people spoken to.  This could definitely turn into identity theft very quickly.



Over reaction!  I probably made a mistake just cutting up and trashing the Card I received however it has been over a year and nothing has happened.  If it were to happen to me again, I would mark on the envelope "Not at this address.  Return to sender" and drop it in the mailbox.  No way I am going to jump through a lot of hoops in circumstances like this.  Now if my name was on it.......

George


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## csxjohn (Nov 11, 2012)

Talent312 said:


> If someone applied for the card using a false address (your address), they will run the account up to its credit limit and then default.  Guess who'll then get collection letters and annoying phone calls?
> 
> In the beginning, you may patiently explain to the debt collectors that you are not the person who's name is on the card, but that will get old quickly and soon, you will be using caller ID to screen them.
> 
> You can try to nip this in the bud by contacting the card issuer to say that their card-holder committed a fraud or gave them a bad address. And protect yourself by placing a fraud-alert with the credit-reporting agencies.



How exactly will "they" run the card up?

When I get a new set of cards in the mail I have to call from the phone linked to my account to activate the cards.

Until I get the cards in the mail there is no communication from the card company, either by phone or email telling us the new account number.

Until I call, the cards are just pieces of plastic.

This is current information, we just activated new cards Friday.  Discover closed our account earlier in the week when they suspected fraudulent activity on our card in Fla and Texas.  We did vaca in Fla, in Sept so no telling how someone got access to our card number but someone did.

CC companies used to send out cards unrequested to try to get people to use them.  This could be the case with the OP.  Perhaps the name on the card used to live at that address.  Just one possible explanation.


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## nightnurse613 (Nov 11, 2012)

I agree with Bogey21, at the very least, write Return to Sender with a notation that no person by that name lives here for the past bazillion years.....


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## Chrisky (Nov 11, 2012)

It would be useful if Regatta , the original poster, came back on and told us exactly what the credit card company told them when they called.


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## DeniseM (Nov 11, 2012)

This might be a harmless mistake, or it might be the first tip that someone has stolen your identity.  

If it's a harmless mistake and you ignore it, then you will be fine.  

If it's identity theft and you ignore it, it will only escalate.  The safest thing to do is to respond as if it is identity theft and protect yourself.

One way this could be identity theft is if someone intercepted a credit card offer in the OP's mail, applied for it in the OP's name, and applied for a 2nd card in their own name, as a 2nd person on the Acct., at the same address.  They may have intended to steal both cards from the mail when they came, but only got the one in the OP's name, and missed the card in their name.  That's just one scenario.

The OP closed the Acct., so that Acct. is safe, but she doesn't know if someone has used her ID for other nefarious activities, unless she follows up on it.


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## csxjohn (Nov 11, 2012)

I always thought identity thieves took your name and personal information and used it illegally.

I don't see how a CC in someone else's name sent to your address could hurt your identity or credit.

I love to be proved wrong so if I'm missing something, someone fill me in.


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## DeniseM (Nov 11, 2012)

csxjohn said:


> I always thought identity thieves took your name and personal information and used it illegally.
> 
> I don't see how a CC in someone else's name sent to your address could hurt your identity or credit.
> 
> I love to be proved wrong so if I'm missing something, someone fill me in.



Please see the example I posted above.


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## regatta333 (Nov 11, 2012)

Chrisky said:


> It would be useful if Regatta , the original poster, came back on and told us exactly what the credit card company told them when they called.



My thanks to all who responded.  The credit card company did not seem to think that we would be at risk in any way.  They did close the account and noted that an incorrect address had been used.  They said that when they open an account they do a SS# check, but have no real way of checking address. I did also ask them to alert their fraud department.  I am going to follow up with them tomorrow to see what more, if anything, they have learned or if they have followed up at all, beyond cancelling the card.

Any of the other "error" scenarios are really not possible.  We are in a small development of 17 homes and are one of the original owners.  We also know all of our neighbors and none of them have this name.  Possibility of mail interception is also very small since I mostly work from home and get the mail when it arrives which is typically later in the day (3-4:00 timeframe).
We shred all of our credit card application offers, so no one could have gotten it from the trash.  I plan to call one of our credit card providers to see if they have dealt with anything similar in the past.  I will report back with any news and thanks again for the responses.

Maybe overkill, but in the past year, three of our credit cards have been compromised and had to be reissued, so now I err on the side of caution.


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## Chrisky (Nov 11, 2012)

Thanks Regatta for getting back  to us.  Please keep everyone informed.  Something is definitely going on with your credit cards.  You definitely need to be extra vigilant.


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## csxjohn (Nov 11, 2012)

regatta333 said:


> My thanks to all who responded.  The credit card company did not seem to think that we would be at risk in any way.  They did close the account and noted that an incorrect address had been used.  They said that when they open an account they do a SS# check, but have no real way of checking address. I did also ask them to alert their fraud department.  I am going to follow up with them tomorrow to see what more, if anything, they have learned or if they have followed up at all, beyond cancelling the card.
> 
> Any of the other "error" scenarios are really not possible.  We are in a small development of 17 homes and are one of the original owners.  We also know all of our neighbors and none of them have this name.  Possibility of mail interception is also very small since I mostly work from home and get the mail when it arrives which is typically later in the day (3-4:00 timeframe).
> We shred all of our credit card application offers, so no one could have gotten it from the trash.  I plan to call one of our credit card providers to see if they have dealt with anything similar in the past.  I will report back with any news and thanks again for the responses.
> ...



As far fetched as Denise's scenario is, it is possible.  I don't see such elaborate planning and then failing to intercept the CC with the thief's name on it.

However, if someone was going to do this I think the mail would be intercepted way before it gets to your house.

Pleas let us know what else you find out.


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## ace2000 (Nov 12, 2012)

regatta333 said:


> They said that when they open an account they do a SS# check, but have no real way of checking address. I did also ask them to alert their fraud department. I am going to follow up with them tomorrow to see what more, if anything, they have learned or if they have followed up at all, beyond cancelling the card.


 
One of the questions I'd be asking is - was the account opened with your SSN?  I have to admit that at first I thought Denise's post was an overreaction, but after she laid it out with the example, I could see the possibility.  

If it was not your SSN, then I'd move on and not worry about it.


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## Don (Nov 12, 2012)

It sounds to me like they applied for the card when they made a high dollar purchase at a store and gave a wrong address so they wouldn't have to pay for it.  Stores now can get a card number issued on the spot so the purchase can be completed.  How he got around the provided ID part I don't know.

I did this at Best buy just this past week and had to provide my driver's license and also input my SSN twice.


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## regatta333 (Nov 12, 2012)

I called the credit card company again.  They said that the person applied for the card online.  They are going to contact him about the use of a wrong address and get back to me.  They said my SSN had not been compromised,
since they had done a SSN verification on him.


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## csxjohn (Nov 12, 2012)

regatta333 said:


> I called the credit card company again.  They said that the person applied for the card online.  They are going to contact him about the use of a wrong address and get back to me.  They said my SSN had not been compromised,
> since they had done a SSN verification on him.



Out of curiosity, did the card come with instructions to call to get it verified as happens with my cc accounts?


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## regatta333 (Nov 12, 2012)

csxjohn said:


> Out of curiosity, did the card come with instructions to call to get it verified as happens with my cc accounts?



Yes, it did.


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## ace2000 (Nov 12, 2012)

To the OP, thank you for sharing your episode with us, as well as the other feedback from their customer service.  Definitely food for thought.


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## csxjohn (Nov 12, 2012)

csxjohn said:


> Out of curiosity, did the card come with instructions to call to get it verified as happens with my cc accounts?





regatta333 said:


> Yes, it did.



That should relieve any fears of anybody running up the card or sticking you with a cc bill.

It's still strange that the person would not use their own address, unless as was suggested earlier, someone was offered something if they opened an account and didn't really want the account.

Still a strange way to do it.

Thanks for keeping us updated.


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## Ken555 (Nov 12, 2012)

Last night I saw Skyfall (great movie!) and one of the previews was for Identity Thief, which takes a somewhat humorous approach on what to do with those criminals... Some of you might enjoy the trailer.


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## susieq (Nov 12, 2012)

ace2000 said:


> To the OP, thank you for sharing your episode with us, as well as the other feedback from their customer service.  Definitely food for thought.




I agree ~ thanks for posting this ~ and the follow through. To everyone that posted, some really good points were made, and a lot to think about.  What a whacky world we live in!!


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## AKE (Nov 12, 2012)

Maybe the address was an honest mistake? (i.e. data entry issue etc which happens all the time as it is humans who PRINT (or try to) on the application forms and it is low-paid data entry clerks who have to read the print on the application and input the info into the computer).  There is no obligation on the receiver to do anything whatsoever expect put it in the mail box with an annotation "RETURN TO SENDER... INCORRECT ADDRESS" (and I don't know if this is even required until some law or other). I think that there is way too much over-reacting on this.


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## DeniseM (Nov 12, 2012)

See the posts above - a data entry clerk didn't put the info. in - the info. was input online by who ever applied for a credit card - very unlikely to be an accident.

Scammers hope that their victims won't do anything until they actually get a nice chunk of money out of them - ignoring the warning signs is exactly what a scammer wants you to do.


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## regatta333 (Nov 30, 2012)

*Another Card arrived yesterday*

A different-branded Mastercard prepaid card arrived in the same stranger's name.  When I called Mastercard, they had already flagged it as fraud, probably because of my prior call.  Probably won't go anyway, but today I filed an online police report.  We'll see what happens.


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