Legal Eagle wanted.. How long do you have to file a I.D. thief ?C.C. fraud ? I got a $2,000 bill in my name ?

Question

I know who did this and have the merchants give me the needed info to pursue but the bill collectors are after me,is this a felony? The code is 530.5 unauthorized use of personal information to obtain credit goods ,services........

Answer 1

Switch to credit card(s) that notifies you of purchases over a certain limit (set by you).  I know discover card does offer that.

On good credit cards, you should not have to pay more than $50 for unauthorized charges or something to that effect.

Answer 2

Gather all your written information--no opinions or theories, just the facts you have, make copies for yourself, and call the police if the fraud occurred within the last seven years. That's the statute of limitations, I think. (I'm not a lawyer.) The police may take all the original evidence.

Contact the credit card company and give them a complete list of which transactions are fraudulent. Most will remove those charges if you sign their affadavit that the charges are not yours and that you will testify against the person who used your card. Usually they cancel the credit card and issue you a new one.

Be prepared for less than vigorous pursuit by the police. They have more important criminals to pursue, I guess. I had my second credit card fraud incident yesterday, and the police didn't seem to care any more than the Visa people, who are going to absorb the whole loss.