Community Chat

[patbz]

We received an unsolicited debit card from the State of Arizona several months ago. We knew something was very wrong with it , filed an online report and hung onto card. An investigator contacted us today and some of DHs personal info was compromised! TG we knew not to use card! Now we can destroy it! Be careful in these troubling times!

[alicedee]

Yikes....glad you were so cautious!  It can be a scary world sometimes.

[Sage04]

@patbz , I always thought that a Debit card could only be attached to a Bank Account. This is a new one. They know all the tricks. At least it came to your address. 

Years ago someone who worked at American Express in Fl, would order Cards in a person's name and have someone waiting at the address (as if they lived there). These cards were sent by Fedex next day delivery by 10am. They would sign the person's name, get the envelope and disappear. After doing this for at least 5 times, they were busted.

[MoJoV]

I received a debit card from Illinois State unemployment. The card was to be drawn on an account in which unemployment benefits were put in by the state. I did NOT apply for unemployment

Someone did using my name and SS#.  I couldn't reach the state unemployment office-- too busy with other fraud cases.  I called all the agencies I could to put alerts on my credit. Hoping on hope this is the end of it. Rotten scammers need jailing.

[Meowingkitty]

It was a popular fraud going on here in Arizona.  Supposedly from people filing bogus unemployment insurance claims. We got three of them all in different peoples names. Our address but names of nobody I've ever heard of. I just wrote fraud in big bold letters with return to sender on the envelope. The state did manage to capture lots of these people who committed the fraud. Make sure you put a fraud alert on your credit reports. 

[Meowingkitty]

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@Sage04 wrote:

@patbz , I always thought that a Debit card could only be attached to a Bank Account. This is a new one. They know all the tricks. At least it came to your address. 

Years ago someone who worked at American Express in Fl, would order Cards in a person's name and have someone waiting at the address (as if they lived there). These cards were sent by Fedex next day delivery by 10am. They would sign the person's name, get the envelope and disappear. After doing this for at least 5 times, they were busted.

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I worked for Amex many years ago and we would get the blank cards that someone stole several of them, had them imprinted with peoples names from upper management and had a spending spree. They were busted.

[ahoymate]

FYI...........the key word is ALMOST. These type of scams happen all the time, everyday to everyone.

[MildredM]

I am in AZ and also received a government debt card from the Office of Economic Security.  Knowing I did not apply for it was reported it to the fraud dept of the authentic gov't agency. Put the card (unused) aside but still haven't heard anything back. The local news reported on this maybe a month or 2 months ago that it was a know scam and to be careful. 

[NicksmomESQ]

   About 4 years ago we were notified by the IRS that someone tried to file an income tax return in our names using our SS #'s.They were trying to get a refund.

  Luckily it was flagged. That year we actually owed money, lol. Anyway, it was a mess. We had to file all sorts of forms, notify all the banks we do business with & place a security freeze on our credit files. The IRS now sends us a code every January that we use to file our Federal income taxes .

  No matter how careful you are, people are always looking for a way to separate you from your money.You have to always be on the alert.It's exhausting.

[patbz]

@NicksmomESQ :  It took a month or two for them to get back to me by phone ( but it was legit --I was very careful about what I disclosed to investigator) but I got a follow up e-mail from investigator.