I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

I'm sorry if I should google this, but right now I'm in a panic. I just noticed at the ATM my checking balance is waaaay less than it should be.


I get on Chase online and see that someone has stolen a packet of my checks and for the last week has been forging checks and cashing them, to the tune of about $15,000.

Someone please tell me I didn't just lose $15,000.

As for the checks, they were kept in a droor in my office, and I have no idea how someone could have gotten them.


What the [censored] do i do OOT?

I'll be at the bank first thing tomorrow morning, but I doubt i can sleep thinking about someone stealng $15,000 from me this week.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

There may be a hotline you can call and immediately cancel your checks, and also freeze your bank account. You need to look up your bank's info on this right away.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Any big bank should have a 24-hour number you can call. Do it immediately.

The same thing happened to my parents, with Bank of America, and the bank tried to make them eat it. My parents were persistent and got all of their money recredited. Basically, (not legal advice) as long as you didn't leave signed blank checks around or give someone a stamp with your signature on it, you should be fine as far as getting the money back. Be persistent.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

While customer service will be open anything involving fraud the bank will almost certainly want to do in person. Not much you can do right now. Given the amount you may want to make your first stop the police station instead of the bank. It's not like where you notice a funny charge on your credit card and they give you back the $50 and send you a new card. This isn't identity fraud, this is felony theft.

Droor is a way better way to spell that word, as well.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

tx,

Yea i def calling hte police right now if Im you.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

My mom had her best friend steal money from her like this.

All the thief needs is the routing number, account number, and check number (which is on EVERY check) and they can steal your identity without even stealing your checks.

Her best friend stole something like $5,000 from her over the course of about 8 months before she caught on to it.

(They were using it to pay off their CC bill)

Her bank did end up refunding her, but didn't prosecute her friend because they said the amount of money wasn't worth it.

You need to change your account numbers first thing in the morning.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Tx,

Sorry to hear that, but a droor? Honestly.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

haha droor caught my aye as well!

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]

You need to change your account numbers first thing in the morning.

[/ QUOTE ]

Many/most banks don't let you do this, you have to open a new account and transfer your money. I think it's [censored] retarded in this day & age with all the identity theft, you should be able to change your numbers periodically. You should be able to change your SSN too or add some secret code or something.

Basically the whole US identity system is horribly [censored] and insecure at the moment.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Call Chase's online banking center now -- website says they have reps there 24/7:

1-877-CHASEPC
(1-877-242-7372)

Then also go to bank first thing in AM.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Red, this is plain ol' forgery, not "identity fraud." You should be able to get your money back. Call your bank asap and tell them to freeze your account, then go first thing tomorrow morning and cancel the account and open a new one. Make a claim for all the lost $$$ and DEFINITELY file a police report as well.

Good luck.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

I thought most banks will keep videos that they record for two weeks. This happened to someone I know in college and they looked when the checks were cashed, checked the tape, and caught the guy. Even if I am making that up I do know that the bank is definitely going to actively investigate such a large amount of money.

I'm guessing the whorish cleaning lady from the office cleaning service has $15,000 worth of new [censored] in her house at the moment. What a thieving skank.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

1) Notify bank freeze account
2) Call cops. Having a police report will will give you documentation for the bank
3) Go to the bank in person and talk to the branch manager. Be polite, but persistent about getting your money returned.
4) If you have any problems with your bank, talk to a lawyer. The bank is responsible for not cashing forged checks.

It's not hard to order blank checks on the Internet as long as you have an account number and bank routing number.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]

2) Call cops. Having a police report will will give you documentation for the bank

[/ QUOTE ]

Good advice. This is a very important step but many people don't realize they should do this.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

If you used Bank of America, you'd have your 15K back already. Hopefully Chase is similar.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]

As for the checks, they were kept in a droor in my office, and I have no idea how someone could have gotten them.


[/ QUOTE ]

I bet someone went in your office, opened the drawer, and took the checks.

Seriously though, that sucks, call the cops, then call the bank (or better yet go in to a branch) and ask to see the manager/etc. and it will likely be sorted out. Happened to a friend of mine a year or so ago, it took a while but she got her money back.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

As for the checks, they were kept in a droor in my office, and I have no idea how someone could have gotten them.


[/ QUOTE ]

I bet someone went in your office, opened the drawer, and took the checks.

Seriously though, that sucks, call the cops, then call the bank (or better yet go in to a branch) and ask to see the manager/etc. and it will likely be sorted out. Happened to a friend of mine a year or so ago, it took a while but she got her money back.

[/ QUOTE ]

After a few resourceful phone calls and a bit of work, I've learned that the person who cashed the checks works for a company that was contracted to do maintenance work on the building I have an office in. They're a very large company. Apparently he might have been a 'temp' worker for this firm. There were only two people who had keys to my office, myself and the head of maintenance for the building who was not an employee of the firm contracted for other maintenance issues. Apparently the thief got a key to my office and that's how he got the checks, but it gets worse. As with any office, there's going to be financial information all about. The thief went as far as to cover his tracks and not leave any signs of theft, and he stole something which had my signature on it because his forgery appears to have been practiced. He's compromised all of my financial information, and I'm now in the process of calling an insurmountable amount of people I do business with to inform them there's been a problem. The largest problem being that I am a broker, and it's not uncommon for me to issue twenty checks in a weeks time, and I've now had to jeopardize the financial security of people who count on my business to deliver payment in a fast manner, one of my strong suits in my particular field that adds substantial value to the service I perform.



The company that employed this guy has stepped up to the table to some extent, asking to see the checks, and assumingly will reimburse me for that amount shortly, but I'm not going to stop there. They pride themselves on having great employees and doing thorough background checks and being a company of high integrity, but one of their employees has single handedly wrecked my ability to do business at the time being, and jeopardized my personal finances beyond what I thought was possible. At first I thought perhaps someone had stolen a check from me and made copies, but this is worse because everything I have in terms of financial and personal information has been compromised by a thief who stole a very large sum of money from me in the past two weeks, and I'm afraid I'll be watching my back for years to come, and the burden this has created on myself and my business is unbelievable. I dont like how lawsuit happy America is, but unless this company wants to make ammends for the damages, I dont think I have any other choice but to hold them accountable in a court of law for the actions of one of their employees that has crippled my finances and given me the biggest [censored] headache and stressful situation I've dealt with in a long time. I literally didn't sleep last night thinking about having my financial livelihood destroyed by this piece of [censored].


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've told the representative from this company that they need to settle this situation now. My checking account is for all intents and purposes broke. If I dont hear something fair and reasonable from this company by tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to turn this over to our attorneys and let them argue this for me, I've got too many phone calls to make and too many precautions to put in place to argue with a multimillion dollar company about the gross and illegal neglegence of one of their employees who hasn't just stolen checks from me, but for all intents and purposes I have to assume that any information I had in my office has been compromised, and that means my entire financial identity not only as an individual, but also as a business owner.



Any suggestions greatly appreciated.



-Tex

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Dude, why are you going after the company? If they did all teh background checks they say they did, it's not their fault. Besides, if you want to get your money back ASAP, go to the bank. They're actually obliged to recredit your account. The maintenance company is probably just trying to keep up their reputation, and if you start making absurd threats about suing them, they'll probably stop being friendly.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Tx,

This isn't going to be a help, cuz I can't help you on this, but where/who was he writing checks to that they would be accepted? I guess some or a lot of places don't ask for photo ID to verify identity, but I am just clueless on the types of places where he could pass a forged check. Doesn't help you out to answer but I'm curious.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

The TxRedMan I used to know would find this guy and make a fist sandwich out of his face, with extra bloody ketchup. Can we still make this happen?

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

*Dude*, the company is responsible for their employees. Maybe you've never owned a business or been involved in any type of liability situation, but when you employee someone you are responsible for situations like this in particular where a representative of your company acting as an agent for your company commits a crime of theft against one of your customers tenants.

Why do you think big companies such as this one are nearly always bonded, licensed, and insured?

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Tx,

This isn't going to be a help, cuz I can't help you on this, but where/who was he writing checks to that they would be accepted? I guess some or a lot of places don't ask for photo ID to verify identity, but I am just clueless on the types of places where he could pass a forged check. Doesn't help you out to answer but I'm curious.

[/ QUOTE ]

He wrote the checks to himself, deposited them into his own account, and cashed the checks at his bank. The bizarre thing is that Chase never red flagged this fiasco. On average I write one check per month, and on their end it would have appeared that I wrote ten checks to the same person in the past two weeks for the balance of my checking account, including one check that bounced where he tried to cash a huge check. The guy has left a gigantic paper trail.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Sounds like a rocket scientist.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

sucks. hopefully they'll catch him though, criminals are dumb.

somehow my brother got his credit card number stolen, i forget, maybe online somehow. anyway one day he noticed some aol charges on there which made no sense, and it was like $250 worth. The guy was using the number to pay for an aol subscription, for his own house. aol told us they knew who it was and would take care of it etc etc but wouldn't give us his name and address which kinda pissed us off but w/e.

i'm sure the guy was a total moron, and will be easily caught, gl.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

I didn't read any other responses so forgive me if it's already been covered.

I lived in Az in the early mid 90's and a friend (umm turned out he wasn't) took my checkbook and wrote a bunch of checks. all I had to do was sign some affidavits of forgery and the bank put the money back in my account within days.

So it's on the bank to go after him.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
The largest problem being that I am a broker, and it's not uncommon for me to issue twenty checks in a weeks time, and I've now had to jeopardize the financial security of people who count on my business to deliver payment in a fast manner, one of my strong suits in my particular field that adds substantial value to the service I perform.


[/ QUOTE ]

Well, that sure complicates things. I think that the bloody face scenario is looking stronger now.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Who would want to pretend to be you?

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Dude, why are you going after the company? If they did all teh background checks they say they did, it's not their fault.

[/ QUOTE ]

respondeat superior, pal. You couldn't be wronger if you had an electrified wronging machine.

Redman, shoot me a PM if you want to discuss legal stuff.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

I don't mean to be a nit, but I hope that you have a good explanation for your clients that you didn't lock those checks in a safe or something if your business is so much affected if something happens to them. I'd talk about this aspect of your own liablity with my lawyers as well, if I were you. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/2...mgmuslecd4.jpg

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
1) Notify bank freeze account
2) Call cops. Having a police report will will give you documentation for the bank
3) Go to the bank in person and talk to the branch manager. Be polite, but persistent about getting your money returned.
4) If you have any problems with your bank, talk to a lawyer. The bank is responsible for not cashing forged checks.

It's not hard to order blank checks on the Internet as long as you have an account number and bank routing number.

[/ QUOTE ]

all this plus put a fraud alert in with all 3 credit bureaus

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'd talk about this aspect of your own liablity with my lawyers as well, if I were you. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Without having any sort of legal training, it doesn't seem to me that your liability for stolen property changes because you didn't store your property in a safe. I mean, theft is theft, right? Its not like OP left the checks in a public space, its private regardless of whether its locked or not.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd talk about this aspect of your own liablity with my lawyers as well, if I were you. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Without having any sort of legal training, it doesn't seem to me that your liability for stolen property changes because you didn't store your property in a safe. I mean, theft is theft, right? Its not like OP left the checks in a public space, its private regardless of whether its locked or not.

[/ QUOTE ]

Possible negligence claim, but I doubt it.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd talk about this aspect of your own liablity with my lawyers as well, if I were you. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Without having any sort of legal training, it doesn't seem to me that your liability for stolen property changes because you didn't store your property in a safe. I mean, theft is theft, right? Its not like OP left the checks in a public space, its private regardless of whether its locked or not.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have only very little knowledge in American law. He knew that his office is cleaned by a company. So he has to take some measures to ensure confidentiality, I suppose. I can't really imagine that there is an action and we don't know the details. But it could certainly kill his reputation if there was a suit filed claiming that Tex doesn't take care of his client's confidential data enough. So I wouldn't mind discussing this through with a professional to know where I stand and how likely it is that there will be a suit.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Tx,

This isn't going to be a help, cuz I can't help you on this, but where/who was he writing checks to that they would be accepted? I guess some or a lot of places don't ask for photo ID to verify identity, but I am just clueless on the types of places where he could pass a forged check. Doesn't help you out to answer but I'm curious.

[/ QUOTE ]

He wrote the checks to himself, deposited them into his own account, and cashed the checks at his bank. The bizarre thing is that Chase never red flagged this fiasco. On average I write one check per month, and on their end it would have appeared that I wrote ten checks to the same person in the past two weeks for the balance of my checking account, including one check that bounced where he tried to cash a huge check. The guy has left a gigantic paper trail.

[/ QUOTE ]
Wow, heh, I didn't think it would be something that stupid. I thought the guy would be more sophisticated, something like scaring up a fake ID, memorizing your signature, then kiting checks to department stores and stuff. What a total dumb ass. But then I forgot that most criminals are.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Good luck with this

Two random comments:
1) props to someone who has that much moolah in their checking account

2) Why were blank checks left in such a relatively unsecure location, one where you wouldn't notice their disappearance right away?

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
I have only very little knowledge in American law. He knew that his office is cleaned by a company. So he has to take some measures to ensure confidentiality, I suppose.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
There were only two people who had keys to my office, myself and the head of maintenance for the building who was not an employee of the firm contracted for other maintenance issues. Apparently the thief got a key to my office and that's how he got the checks

[/ QUOTE ]

Had the thief broken into TRM's safe would people be saying the same thing?

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

Honestly do you really need $15K in your checking account?

I hope you get your money back but it is a good idea to keep your large sums of money in a savings accounts so that there is no way to withdraw it without a pin number and just use online banking to transfer money to your checking as you need it.

For example I try to not keep more than $1,000 in my checking.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Honestly do you really need $15K in your checking account?

I hope you get your money back but it is a good idea to keep your large sums of money in a savings accounts so that there is no way to withdraw it without a pin number and just use online banking to transfer money to your checking as you need it.

For example I try to not keep more than $1,000 in my checking.

[/ QUOTE ]

In the real world, a lot of people need to write checks for a lot more than $1000, even when they aren't running their own business.

Re: I need some help ASAP, identity fraud.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Honestly do you really need $15K in your checking account?

I hope you get your money back but it is a good idea to keep your large sums of money in a savings accounts so that there is no way to withdraw it without a pin number and just use online banking to transfer money to your checking as you need it.

For example I try to not keep more than $1,000 in my checking.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL poor people. Keeping $15k in a checking account isn't that unusual.