Bank won't act on identity theft
Somebody out there may be using your Social
Security number. Bank of America says that's OK as long as they pay their
bills.
Margaret Harrison, a young wife and mother living in San Diego, first noticed the problem four years ago when she applied for unemployment.
“They asked if I worked on a horse ranch in eastern Washington, and I said no,” laughs Harrison. “[I’m] not quite the rancher type.”
She investigated and found out a laborer named Pablo has been using her Social Security number. And while Margaret pays for credit monitoring, she says the Equifax credit reporting bureau never noticed the problem until she told the agency. Now Equifax has put a fraud alert on her account. And then there’s this: Last month, the Bank of America sent her a new debit card bearing her name and Pablo’s picture!
Margaret says the Bank of America claims it can’t take any action against Pablo because he pays his bills on time — that her case is in what they call “a reactive state.”
“Because currently it’s not negatively impacting my credit, so I have no legal recourse for any action,” says Harrison.
Uh, is this what a bank calls Customer Service?
Posted: Tue - February 7, 2006 at 09:47 AM