It was bad, then good, then bad, then good?

big2bird

big2bird

Charter Member, Founder Bird-Run, Cruise-In Bird-R
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
5,719
Location
Anaheim, Ca.
Okay. It's just a story, but maybe you'll find it interesting.
On Dec 23rd, I dropped my wallet outside a donut shop, and figured out what happened at my next stop across the street. No more than 3 minutes later, I parked the car and ran back. GONE. License, CC, ATM, State License,yada yada, and $430 cash. DAMMIT. The Donut shop told me no one had turned one in. SO, off to the bank, get new cards, Police Report filled, Notified the Credit Cos (TRW, Equifax) of a fraud alert, and made a DMV appointment.:crap:
Skip to Jan 3rd or so. My wife picks up Chinese take out, and tells the gal about my wallet. (Just small talk) The gal asks her name, goes in the back, and comes out with my wallet, CASH and all. Someone turned it in, and they kept it intact.:yahoo:
My faith in humanity restored, I give the Chinese place $100 for their honesty, and life is good again.
THE NEXT WEEK, Home Depot calls MY cell asking about my WIFES credit card application. HUH???? They checked her out, and saw MY fraud alert, and called us on it. Now, I DON'T give my cell out for forms, and SHE hasn't applied for CC's in 10 years or more. SO, we tell them it's BOGUS. So, we both send for our credit reports. MINE says I'm in IRAQ, and married to LINDA?
I'll deal with that later. HER'S, says she has 8 CC's with various balances/limits of $17,000 each with a Las Vegas, Nev address.
Now all of these start on or about Dec 10th, TWO WEEKS before I lost my wallet..
Had I NOT lost my wallet, there would be NO FRAUD ALERT, and this WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN FOUND. :bonkers:Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
I don't know the moral to the story either, just find the irony that losing my wallet was the only way this would have been found untill maybe too late.
Now SHE has filled a Fraud alert, a police report, Notified the FTC, and is now sending out letters to EVERYONE involved. Shesh.:tth:
 
Things are crazy these days. A couple months ago my son asked me for some $$$ for gas to drive to hockey practice. I go on to my online Wells Fargo acct and notice the accounts look wierd to me. Turns out the night before someone had done a bunch of transters and cash advance requests on credit and home equity accts. If I hadn't seen this they were about to transfer the $$$ out with a fresh PayPayl account that someone had set up on a virtually inactive savings account we had. Holy smokes - one day later and they would have skated with 40K of my $$ (or borrowed $$$). They had somehow infiltrated our Wells Fargo online banking and we are very careful with this stuff. Scary times!!! Took weeks to get it all fixed too.
 
Hey guys, thanks for paying off my house........:pprrtt::harhar::shocking:










































IL'l pay you back when DB pays Red.....OK???



:trumpet:


seriously, some years ago, I got hit for 200 bux, by leaving my ATM card in the machine, some guy looking and so since then they have changed machines to the type that DONT EVER EAT the card, swipe it like a normal card reader in the store, then it never leaves my hand.....the very LAST thing the machine would do before that was to return the card, as I walked away with whatever was done....not even a prompt....talk about stupid engineering design, that was ONE.....

:drink:
 
Couple of years ago, I was in New York state just before Christmas- got a call from my bank asking about a couple of $1800 transactions- each one with Western Union sending money to someplace. the transactions were done in (of all places) St. Louis. I haven't been in St Louis since 2002. Needless to say, I told them that and they stopped both. I filed all the paperwork with the bank- I still don't know if Western Union got hosed or someone else did- they never did get any money from me.

Even when I go out of the country- I use my CC and the bank is calling, unless I call them before I go and tell them I'm out. Usually it's 30 minutes between the time I use the card and I get a call.
 
"On Dec 23rd, I dropped my wallet outside a donut shop,...." big2bird

I just knew the punch line would have something to do with the police.
 
big2bird said:
Okay. It's just a story, but maybe you'll find it interesting.
On Dec 23rd, I dropped my wallet outside a donut shop, and figured out what happened at my next stop across the street. No more than 3 minutes later, I parked the car and ran back. GONE. License, CC, ATM, State License,yada yada, and $430 cash. DAMMIT. The Donut shop told me no one had turned one in. SO, off to the bank, get new cards, Police Report filled, Notified the Credit Cos (TRW, Equifax) of a fraud alert, and made a DMV appointment.:crap:
Skip to Jan 3rd or so. My wife picks up Chinese take out, and tells the gal about my wallet. (Just small talk) The gal asks her name, goes in the back, and comes out with my wallet, CASH and all. Someone turned it in, and they kept it intact.:yahoo:
My faith in humanity restored, I give the Chinese place $100 for their honesty, and life is good again.
THE NEXT WEEK, Home Depot calls MY cell asking about my WIFES credit card application. HUH???? They checked her out, and saw MY fraud alert, and called us on it. Now, I DON'T give my cell out for forms, and SHE hasn't applied for CC's in 10 years or more. SO, we tell them it's BOGUS. So, we both send for our credit reports. MINE says I'm in IRAQ, and married to LINDA?
I'll deal with that later. HER'S, says she has 8 CC's with various balances/limits of $17,000 each with a Las Vegas, Nev address.
Now all of these start on or about Dec 10th, TWO WEEKS before I lost my wallet..
Had I NOT lost my wallet, there would be NO FRAUD ALERT, and this WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN FOUND. :bonkers:Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
I don't know the moral to the story either, just find the irony that losing my wallet was the only way this would have been found untill maybe too late.
Now SHE has filled a Fraud alert, a police report, Notified the FTC, and is now sending out letters to EVERYONE involved. Shesh.:tth:
Click to expand...

OK """SUPERMAN"", You have been exposed, Hum leading a double life and you thought you would never be caught? will your name BE on the "TEN MOST WANTED"? Would the real ""Jeff Ponze please stand up""
 
Last edited:
big2bird said:
Okay. It's just a story, but maybe you'll find it interesting.
On Dec 23rd, I dropped my wallet outside a donut shop, and figured out what happened at my next stop across the street. No more than 3 minutes later, I parked the car and ran back. GONE. License, CC, ATM, State License,yada yada, and $430 cash. DAMMIT. The Donut shop told me no one had turned one in. SO, off to the bank, get new cards, Police Report filled, Notified the Credit Cos (TRW, Equifax) of a fraud alert, and made a DMV appointment.:crap:
Skip to Jan 3rd or so. My wife picks up Chinese take out, and tells the gal about my wallet. (Just small talk) The gal asks her name, goes in the back, and comes out with my wallet, CASH and all. Someone turned it in, and they kept it intact.:yahoo:
My faith in humanity restored, I give the Chinese place $100 for their honesty, and life is good again.
THE NEXT WEEK, Home Depot calls MY cell asking about my WIFES credit card application. HUH???? They checked her out, and saw MY fraud alert, and called us on it. Now, I DON'T give my cell out for forms, and SHE hasn't applied for CC's in 10 years or more. SO, we tell them it's BOGUS. So, we both send for our credit reports. MINE says I'm in IRAQ, and married to LINDA?
I'll deal with that later. HER'S, says she has 8 CC's with various balances/limits of $17,000 each with a Las Vegas, Nev address.
Now all of these start on or about Dec 10th, TWO WEEKS before I lost my wallet..
Had I NOT lost my wallet, there would be NO FRAUD ALERT, and this WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN FOUND. :bonkers:Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
I don't know the moral to the story either, just find the irony that losing my wallet was the only way this would have been found untill maybe too late.
Now SHE has filled a Fraud alert, a police report, Notified the FTC, and is now sending out letters to EVERYONE involved. Shesh.:tth:
Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear that everything worked out, in a way sort of.:bounce:
 
chevy69 said:
Things are crazy these days. A couple months ago my son asked me for some $$$ for gas to drive to hockey practice. I go on to my online Wells Fargo acct and notice the accounts look wierd to me. Turns out the night before someone had done a bunch of transters and cash advance requests on credit and home equity accts. If I hadn't seen this they were about to transfer the $$$ out with a fresh PayPayl account that someone had set up on a virtually inactive savings account we had. Holy smokes - one day later and they would have skated with 40K of my $$ (or borrowed $$$). They had somehow infiltrated our Wells Fargo online banking and we are very careful with this stuff. Scary times!!! Took weeks to get it all fixed too.
Click to expand...

That really is strange. I think all major banks and mutual fund companies are now set up so that while you are on their site any keystrokes from your computer are encrypted.
 
Jeff,

I remember sending you an email that day. You said you were having a bad day, but it sounds like you have had a bad month. Hopefully things will get better.
 
It's a mess to clean this stuff from your credit report... it could have been a lot worse....

My CC company called me once to verify charges... the guy asked "well, Sir... I assume you did not authorize this $12000 charge from Macy's ??"

NO...... :crap::amazed::amazed::crap:
 
The Donut Shop. Is that a new gay bar in OC? :stirpot:
Sorry about that, I'm feeling a little onery today.
Glad things will be OK.
Started about 12/10?
That's just a few days after the last fun run. I wonder if the info was stolen from anyplace we got gas or food? Might be a good idea for all of us on that trip to check our credit history.
Oh, by the way, thanks for serving in Iraq!
I got a call a few years ago from a bank in San Antonio to ask about my new account. We had a card stolen in the mail a few years before, and I was well aware of CC card fraud, so I told the guy that I changed my mind and to please close the account send me the balance. He wouldn't do it. So, we agreed that it was a fraudulant account, and I asked him to call the police. He wouldn't do it. Said I had to call their district attorney. Said he would put a hold on the account, and the next time someone came in they would give them the money. What a turd. Only worried that THEY might get stuck.
I did try to call their district attorney, but gave up after twice spending many minutes on hold.
 
SmokinBBC said:
bobs77vet said:
i'm glad you did not lose any money.
Click to expand...

I double that...it is also a friggin PITA to replace credit cards, Id's, etc.


Jeff, one question.....why didn't the Chinese place try to contact you earlier? Did they have your wallet for 11 days?
Click to expand...

Good question. I just don't know why they didn't call me/turn it in. Our home number is unlisted.
They did have it the whole time.
 
Beagle 1 said:
Started about 12/10?
That's just a few days after the last fun run. I wonder if the info was stolen from anyplace we got gas or food? Might be a good idea for all of us on that trip to check our credit history.
Click to expand...

I brought that up. Teri didn't go, and my report, save a few glitches, is fine.
The bogus addy is in L.V. We are still trying to figure it out. Meanwhile, she is fit to be tied.
 
Bird, I tell you a bit of inside of the CCard industry from some 16? years ago, I bought some bogus investment books/course, and managed to return the material at the guys' next pass through town, with a witness, even though they did not want to accept it....I was VERY loud about it in that motel lobby at conference room entrance....anyway.....it got into a pissing contest about refunds....so I went the CC company route through my bank, they screwed around for some time, finally sent me a internal memo form.....I think it was because at that time I had some minor clout with the bank I was at....love to have THAT back again.....but anyway they sent me a internal memo form with the name of some woman that administered the BUSINESS accounts for Visa/Mcard/whatever......so V/MC deal with sales people who handle the disputes and process applications to accept the cards for businesses....sign up dealers.....so upon calling this woman, I got almost immediate credit to my account by simply threatening her with being named in a suit, not the business but HER for handling a crook and under fraud statutes....

but that was then but it's a possible tip that IF you can find out that V/MC card account rep to that folks....THAT is the person who gets action and you can name them in any suit.....worked for ME....

but to get that information you need a friend at your bank....

best of luck....

:quote::amazed:
 
Restaurants largely, and places that get your card out of eyesight are the biggest culprits.
There is an underground, waitresses/waiters etc sell your cc numbers for a few extra bucks, then new cards are made.

Wife had a stolen card replaced, new number, new card was only ever used once at a restaurant and within 3 days there was over 20 grand worth of charges in Chicago and New York.
No liability to her, no hassle, another new card sent out immediately.

Sadly, it's all in the figures now, we all pay for it.


Standing in line at Best Buy, woman checking out has a computer, stereo setup etc in basket, cashier gives her the card back says it won't verify.
Woman quickly just walks out of store, leaving everything, without a fuss.
My wife, the yacker, asks the cashier what that was all about.
Cashier said the card came up stolen when swiped.
Wife, having been a victim, at least four times, blows a rod.
Cashier says they are instructed to not get involved. They won't even go to the trouble of seeing if anybody is interested in looking at the video tape. Cops won't do anything anyway.

Guy peacefully robs a Burger King, gets less than 50 bucks, cops spend big bucks chasing him down for weeks.

It's all scewed up. :confused:
 
Teri hasn't had a CC in 10 years. They are using her name, spelled wrong, a bogus addy, her last four SS digits, and my cell phone #.
I don't even know how these places could approve them with all the red flags.:bullshit:
 
01, I could go into the past business 'dealings' here in Florida with car related business 'partners' and the long stordid story is not nice.....

suffice to say, the fraud departments don't care, the legal system is effectively on the side of the crooks.....especially here in Florida.....

contracts in this state are not worth the paper they are printed on, judges get paid off under the table, even in BK court and they are FEDERAL.....I have the proof, but it dont matter.....

:clobbered::banned:
 
Cherry said:
big2bird said:
Okay. It's just a story, but maybe you'll find it interesting.
On Dec 23rd, I dropped my wallet outside a donut shop, and figured out what happened at my next stop across the street. No more than 3 minutes later, I parked the car and ran back. GONE. License, CC, ATM, State License,yada yada, and $430 cash. DAMMIT. The Donut shop told me no one had turned one in. SO, off to the bank, get new cards, Police Report filled, Notified the Credit Cos (TRW, Equifax) of a fraud alert, and made a DMV appointment.:crap:
Skip to Jan 3rd or so. My wife picks up Chinese take out, and tells the gal about my wallet. (Just small talk) The gal asks her name, goes in the back, and comes out with my wallet, CASH and all. Someone turned it in, and they kept it intact.:yahoo:
My faith in humanity restored, I give the Chinese place $100 for their honesty, and life is good again.
THE NEXT WEEK, Home Depot calls MY cell asking about my WIFES credit card application. HUH???? They checked her out, and saw MY fraud alert, and called us on it. Now, I DON'T give my cell out for forms, and SHE hasn't applied for CC's in 10 years or more. SO, we tell them it's BOGUS. So, we both send for our credit reports. MINE says I'm in IRAQ, and married to LINDA?
I'll deal with that later. HER'S, says she has 8 CC's with various balances/limits of $17,000 each with a Las Vegas, Nev address.
Now all of these start on or about Dec 10th, TWO WEEKS before I lost my wallet..
Had I NOT lost my wallet, there would be NO FRAUD ALERT, and this WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN FOUND. :bonkers:Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
I don't know the moral to the story either, just find the irony that losing my wallet was the only way this would have been found untill maybe too late.
Now SHE has filled a Fraud alert, a police report, Notified the FTC, and is now sending out letters to EVERYONE involved. Shesh.:tth:
Click to expand...

OK """SUPERMAN"", You have been exposed, Hum leading a double life and you thought you would never be caught? will your name BE on the "TEN MOST WANTED"? Would the real ""Jeff Ponze please stand up""
Click to expand...

<<<<<Stands Up
 
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