HELD UPWITHOUTAGUN
“Identity monitoring services are too little, too late...Freezing credit TVSǻPIWMWEJEVQSVI IǺIGXMZI[E]XSFPSGO identity theft.” Nevertheless, the call center gave me a piece of slightly useful information, although they had closed their investigation. The bank that had cashed the check in question – Wells Fargo – had accepted liability for it. Since I had her on the phone, I asked the call center woman one final question: “Why are subpoenas required for the police to investigate?” “Standard procedure,” she replied. Even more frustrating was that the subpoena for bank records filed by my local police department was initially denied by my county state’s attorney office. The detective was trying to find out why at the time of publication. Still, I was disturbed by the repeated warnings from my security software. I switched over to a private browser and started researching secure e-mail services. In the meantime, I continue to work with my local police department and trust that my banker can resolve the issue with the one fake check (I was told it would be corrected). And I continue to be vigilant as I explore advanced cybersecurity measures. But it’s tough to stay ahead of the crooks these days.
have experienced a data breach, they alert consumers to an exploit after the fact – an alert once an account has already been opened, or once a fraudster has already prompted a credit check. Freezing credit profiles is a far more effective way to block identity theft.” Just when I thought I had resolved the check fraud matter, my bank threw me a curveball: It withdrew money from my account without explanation for one of the bogus checks. I was flabbergasted. I had spent hours opening and closing accounts, upgrading security levels, changing passwords, checking all of my credit reports, signing legal paperwork saying I was a fraud victim and keeping in touch with my local banker. I was on the road when he left me this message: “For some reason, we debited your account for one of the [bogus] checks. That’s not right and I’m looking into it. In the meantime, here’s the number for our claims department.” When I called the claims department, which was a call center based in the Philippines, they told me to talk to my local banker. They wouldn’t call him directly since “we can only take incoming calls.” John F. Wasik is an award-winning author/journalist who has written 18 books and spoken all across North America from the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street to Seattle investment clubs. His latest book, Winning in the Robotic Workplace , explores how you can KVS[ERHTVSWTIVMRXLIEKISJ&VXMǻGMEP Intelligence.
Originally published by RealClearInvestigations.
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January 2020
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