I moved out of my old apartment about 2 months ago and updated my address everywhere i could think of, but apparently I missed one credit card. Yesterday I got a text alert for a gas station charge that was 100% not me. I checked the app and there were like 6 charges in two days, mostly small-ish (gas, fast food, a pharmacy) plus one bigger one for around $420 at a big box store. I called the card issuer right away, told them I didn’t have the card, and they shut it down and are mailing a new one. The rep said they’ll open disputes, but they also said something about “we may need additional documentation” and it made my stomach drop. Then it hit me: the card must have been delivered to my old place and whoever lives there now just… used it. I feel so stupid because I assumed forwarding would catch stuff, but i guess it didn’t. I never got any mail from the bank, no email, nothing, just the fraud alerts after it started getting used.
Now I’m trying to figure out what the actual smart next steps are so this doesn’t turn into a bigger mess. Do I file a police report even if I don’t know the person’s name? Do i go to my old apartment complex and ask the office if they’ll tell me who is in that unit now, or is that a bad idea and they won’t even talk to me. I already changed my online password and turned on 2FA, but I’m worried they could’ve gotten more of my mail before i noticed. The bank rep suggested a credit freeze “if i’m concerned” which sounds like a yes, but i’ve never done that before and i’m not sure if there’s a specific order to do things. I’m in the US. I’m also worried about my credit report, like if the disputes take time and the balance sits there, does it hurt me even if it’s fraud. I’m not trying to go on a revenge mission, i just want my account clean and to make sure nobody can open anything else in my name. If anyone has been through this, what did you do first that actually helped, and what would you NOT do again.
Credit card got mailed to my old address and the new tenant used it, what do I do next?
byu/ArwenLocket inpersonalfinance
Posted by ArwenLocket
9 Comments
File the police report 100%, even without knowing who did it – the bank will likely want that report number for the disputes anyway. Don’t bother with the apartment complex, they’re not gonna give you tenant info and it’ll just waste your time
Do the credit freeze immediately, it’s free and takes like 10 minutes online with each bureau. The disputed charges won’t hurt your credit while they’re being investigated, that’s not how it works
What they did was criminal.
They opened mail that was not addressed to them. They activated a credit card with someone else’s name on it. They put charges on that card. Those are Felony-Level crimes.
You *ABSOLUTELY* need to **go to the police and file a report** on the stolen card *with the information you know*. You are NOT responsible to investigate and determine *WHO* stole the credit card; only the fact it happened. It could have been the postman (unlikely) or the new tenant, or someone the new tenant had as a guest – that is on the Police to figure out (or not). Once there is a police report – the Credit Card Company’s fraud division will be able to work with the police on the case, if they care enough to do so during the dispute.
You just need to have documentation you reported it to the appropriate authorities so that the authorities can look into it.
**DO NOT go to the apartment complex** and investigate this on your own. You are not the Police. You are not a Private Investigator – and frankly – for *YOU* it doesn’t matter who stole the card as long as it is not someone who is actively in your life; which someone at your old address is not.
You can freeze your credit with the 3 bureaus; that would not prevent someone from opening your mail and activating a card; but could prevent them from creating a new card if they have more of your information.
You can activate 2 factor authentication on each of your cards and active accounts – that WOULD prevent what happened from happening again.
The only time you *DO NOT* file a police report is when you already know who did it, they are a relative, and you are actively protecting them (at your own expense) – to have them learn with something less life-altering than a criminal record. Even then – it is generally advisable to file a police report anyway. (*I see every couple weeks in AITA or here someone that someone’s parent ruined their credit by opening & charging a bunch of money to credit cards in their name, and they’re wondering how to get out of the hole &/or if they’re the AH for cutting the parent off*)
Every card I’ve gotten in the mail for the past 20 years I’ve had to call and answer some questions to activate it. How did they do that?
Besides what others have said regarding the police report – are you sure that it was actually mailed to the old address? Did the card issuer say that?
I might be more worried your information was leaked somewhere, rather than the person in your old apartment having access to it, and that the would happen again. I would be asking the card company for a new card number as well.
Something similar happened to me in college. Opened a credit card because I wanted a free hat (oh to be young and dumb). Never used, moved off campus. 2 yrs later CC company sent mail to old campus PO box and person charged $150 of internet porn to my account. I only found out when payment was 120 days delinquent. Took a moment to recall what credit card they were talking about and was able to get the charges dropped. The delinquency did impact my credit score but once the credit card company resolved the charge due to fraud I had to write to the three credit bureaus and explain the situation. It also got cleared up. I never filed a police report, never really thought about it.
About couple years after that I get a letter from the FTC about a class action lawsuit against the porn company for illegally charging credit cards. I got a settlement of $250!
It will be a lot of hoops to jump through but it is important to take care of all of the nonsense. I’m sorry this happened to you. Best of luck.
File a police report. That person committed fraud or theft, depending on what state you’re in, and they should be held accountable.
File a police report immediately with the address of your old apartment, the cops can get tenant info from the complex if needed. Don’t go there yourself, let law enforcement handle it and forward the report to your card issuer for the fraud disputes.
How would they be able to activate your card? That makes no sense.