Tuesday, July 19, 2011
ID Thief Accumulates Thousands In Five Points Woman’s Name
A Five Points woman was recently made aware that someone had fraudulently opened a credit card account in her name, then racked up thousands in purchases.
The victim, age 55, reported the matter Monday through the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department. She told deputies she was made aware of the crime in mid-June when she was contacted by Chase Master Card regarding a card that had been issued in her name. At that point the company informed her charges in excess of $7,000 had been made.
She told deputies that an application offer for the card must have been stolen from her mailbox. Although she had a Toys ‘R’ Us Chase Master Card approximately four years before, she said the account had long since been closed.
The victim said that the company had mailed paperwork for her to fill out in an attempt to straighten out the matter. On July 15, however, she received another troubling call.
The second call was from a representative of U.S. Airlines regarding tickets for a trip to California. He indicated that two tickets totaling $764 had been charged in her name using the fraudulent Master Card.
He requested that she file a police report regarding the crime so that she might not be held responsible for the bill.
The matter currently remains under investigation.
