Money stolen from friend's bank acct

[pb4uski]

Regarding casualty loss, my understanding is that you can only deduct the portion above 10% of your MAGI. So he may not even be able to deduct any, or perhaps just a small amount. OK gotta get on my flight now . .

And as I read your OP his unreimbursed loss will probably be ~$30k (85% of $35k). So if your friend's AGI is $300k then he is out of luck, but if his AGI is $200k he'll get a $10k deduction. Better than nothing.

 

[Rustward]

Thanks Walt, that is what I would expect. What bugs me is that Amazon allow any Tom or Dick to create an account and use Harry's credit card to buy stuff, without seeking Harry's permission.

When one creates an account at Amazon, does Amazon verify that Tom is Tom, and Dick is Dick? I don't know how they could. They do verify the email address, but one can create any email address they wish.

When I look back at my own card usage, in person or online, a very large majority of the time that I have used a card, I never had to show any proof that I am indeed the card holder.

It does seem that some retailers do require that the ship to name matches the name on the card, but how hard is that to fake. If I order from Amazon using John Q Public's card and have the order shipped to John Q Public at Rusty's address, who is going to catch that?

 

[Alan]

When one creates an account at Amazon, does Amazon verify that Tom is Tom, and Dick is Dick? I don't know how they could. They do verify the email address, but one can create any email address they wish.

When I look back at my own card usage, in person or online, a very large majority of the time that I have used a card, I never had to show any proof that I am indeed the card holder.

It does seem that some retailers do require that the ship to name matches the name on the card, but how hard is that to fake. If I order from Amazon using John Q Public's card and have the order shipped to John Q Public at Rusty's address, who is going to catch that?

Amazon certainly allows you to set up multiple shipping addresses that are not your billing address. What they obviously don't do is check that the card you enter has a billing address that matches the card. Even gas stations around here ask you to enter the zipcode for the card you are using.

Since that event happened I now scratch off the 3 digit identification code on the back of my card which is what on-line retailers use to verify that you are in physical possession of the card. That way if someone takes my card away for a payment and copies the details then they won't be able to copy those 3 digits. Even when a card is skimmed the 3-digit is not copied and has to be copied manually.

I wish all on-line retailers would sign up to the "Verified by VISA" system and use the password you set up one time for your card. (Many retailers in the UK do this)

Skimming is the theft of credit card information used in an otherwise legitimate transaction. The thief can procure a victim's credit card number using basic methods such as photocopying receipts or more advanced methods such as using a small electronic device (skimmer) to swipe and store hundreds of victims’ credit card numbers. Common scenarios for skimming are restaurants or bars where the skimmer has possession of the victim's credit card out of their immediate view.[9] The thief may also use a small keypad to unobtrusively transcribe the 3 or 4 digit Card Security Code, which is not present on the magnetic strip.

 

[kramer]

And as I read your OP his unreimbursed loss will probably be ~$30k (85% of $35k). So if your friend's AGI is $300k then he is out of luck, but if his AGI is $200k he'll get a $10k deduction. Better than nothing.

Yes, that about sums it up.

 

[Sarpy]

....
It does seem that some retailers do require that the ship to name matches the name on the card, but how hard is that to fake. If I order from Amazon using John Q Public's card and have the order shipped to John Q Public at Rusty's address, who is going to catch that?

Few months back, got DH a GoPro as a gift and had it shipped to my Sister's address to keep it a surprise. GoPro called to confirm I was really the one who ordered it. So good for them.

 

[2B]

About a year ago I had a flurry of fraudulent credit card charges on two different cards. I have carried three different credit card accounts for years. One is absolutely isolated from physical use. It is only for on line charges. The other two are used based on whatever points I'm trying to maximize. There was a bad charge on one of these accounts for a small dollar amount in Italy. Chase called an sent me a new card and cancelled the old account. My other card had a bad charge and I had to call Chase again and they sent a new card for the new account. Within a month of getting the first replacement card, another bad charge showed up! I hadn't even made the first payment yet. I have no idea how the accounts were being identified. I had only used the card a few times.

I typically check my accounts several times per week except when traveling. I won't access my accounts without a secure internet connection. I don't consider a hotel wifi to be secure. So far, I've avoided getting a security token just to avoid the hassle of dealing with this when not traveling. At least I've got 60 days to report a problem and I don't travel that long.

 

[Badger]

Both of our credit cards post to our email when ever a charge is made so we can keep track of the charges. They are never used when we travel. I have a separate bank account with a debit card for that. It is only used during that time and the bank is notified of the travel dates. Money is put into the account just prior to the trip and is removed (except for a minimal amount to keep the account open) when we return.

We have also notified all three credit agencies to freeze the ability to open any credit accounts or cards. Since we have no need for buying on credit there is no need for us to establish further accounts.

I don't know of anything else that can be done to safeguard ourselves from someone accessing our money or ID. If there is anything else I would like to know about it.

Cheers!

 

[travelover]

..........I could be persuaded just to dump them all on a lawless island and let them do to each other what they want to ............

I think that Australia is already taken.

 

[Mulligan]

I think that Australia is already taken.

Ya, that was it's history wasn't it if I am not mistaken. There are some empty islands between Puerto Rico and USVI. They better learn how to fish fast though based on my overhead view of them.


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[tuixiu]

I check mint (almost) every day, it takes 2 minutes to view the recent transactions across all accounts.

 

[Meadbh]

I check my accounts daily online, unless I am traveling, in which case I check them whenever I have access to a secure network. It's far easier to keep track of recent transactions, avoid a negative balance, and spot any anomalies. As tiuxiu said, it just takes a few minutes. No matter how busy I was, I have always been the CEO of Me, Inc., and consider this just good practice.

 

[inquisitive]

Any update on what happened in this case? The real question is how the individual got access to the bank account in the first place. How would he physically show up in a bank and convince the bank that he is the holder of the account?

 

[kramer]

Thanks for asking and I had meant to update this thread. They figured out who the individual stealing the money was, got a warrant, a detective drove 4 hours and knocked on the door and arrested him. Apparently, the FBI also got involved because the total amount was $50K. My friend said his amount was almost $40K. The payments had stopped a couple of months prior but he never moved from the place where he was living.

Anyway, at first they only reimbursed my friend for the amount taken since the second to last monthly statement, which was only a fraction of the total money stolen. BUT the individual involved was a former employee of the bank!! Apparently, that was how he got the information. Right after all this arrest and discovery, my friend got all his money refunded.

The time from my friend's discovery of the missing funds to this guy's arrest and my friend's money refund (which happened almost immediately after) was about 11 weeks.

 

[ReadySkiDaddy]

I get email alerts for just about every type of email alert that my bank offers. Gas station purchase, purchase over $10, card not present,etc.

I also have a credit card spending limit of $500.

 

[utrecht]

The FBI didn't get involved because the amount was $50K. They got involved because its a Federal offense to steal money from a bank, whether its an old fashioned robbery, wire fraud or any other means of theft from a bank.

 

[audreyh1]

That's great that the FBI got involved and tracked it down. They are supposed to, of course, but it's still good to know they were successful.

 

[Lsbcal]

Because of this thread I went into my Chase account. There is an alert setting which I had previous not set: "a payee has been added to my online bill pay profile".

 

[audreyh1]

Because of this thread I went into my Chase account. There is an alert setting which I had previous not set: "a payee has been added to my online bill pay profile".

A payee can't be added to my bank checking account bill pay without a code being sent to my cellphone and entered on-line to complete the process. And then I still get an email alerting me to the details of a new payee being added.

 

[kramer]

The FBI didn't get involved because the amount was $50K. They got involved because its a Federal offense to steal money from a bank, whether its an old fashioned robbery, wire fraud or any other means of theft from a bank.

My friend was told it was because of the $50K that the FBI got involved.

Presumably, the reason is that small-time identity theft, one of the most common crimes in the USA, would otherwise overwhelm the FBI.

 

[BellBarbara]

Great news! I pushed DH to put security on everything. He used to work on technology side of FIDO and somehow thinks it won't happen. So I told him about this story, and he put everything together.

 

[utrecht]

My friend was told it was because of the $50K that the FBI got involved.

Presumably, the reason is that small-time identity theft, one of the most common crimes in the USA, would otherwise overwhelm the FBI.

I don't know who told your friend that, but I am a police detective (retiring next Friday) that has worked numerous joint investigations with the FBI. Trust me when I tell you that the FBI doesn't care about theft of $50,000. They normally have a threshold of $250,000-$500,000 or more before they get involved in anything from theft to fraud to counterfeiting. The reason is exactly what you stated. They have relatively small amount of manpower compared to local law enforcement agencies and they would be overwhelmed if they investigated smaller cases. $50,000 is a lot to have stolen from you but not compared to cases the FBI works. Having said that, theft from a financial institution gives the FBI automatic jurisdiction no matter the amount.

 

[teejayevans]

I don't know who told your friend that, but I am a police detective (retiring next Friday) that has worked numerous joint investigations with the FBI. Trust me when I tell you that the FBI doesn't care about theft of $50,000. They normally have a threshold of $250,000-$500,000 or more before they get involved in anything from theft to fraud to counterfeiting. The reason is exactly what you stated. They have relatively small amount of manpower compared to local law enforcement agencies and they would be overwhelmed if they investigated smaller cases. $50,000 is a lot to have stolen from you but not compared to cases the FBI works. Having said that, theft from a financial institution gives the FBI automatic jurisdiction no matter the amount.

I assume the threshold is Total amount, so if a number of accounts where involved at $50k per, they would get involved, after all, each is a separate count, yes?



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[kramer]

Utrecht's explanation makes sense to me, plus he has the experience, and my victim friend was probably not privy to all the details. I could ask my friend about it but he hates to even think about this whole episode, so I will only ask if it happens to come up.