... Like most of you, I get boat-loads of junk mail from the USPS daily. But times are different, these days I pay all my bills with authorized auto-pay, so I defer "reading" snail-mail for days sometimes.

... So today, I'm flipping through the usual stack of advertisement and crap and notice what looks to be an envelop with a legitimate credit-card billing format. Open her up, and I'll be damn! It is a legitimate credit card bill!

... A bill with all my statistical info. Notice that I was past due on a $78 balance. WTF? I don't even have a card by through this company in my wallet. Promptly call the 1-800 number provided to find out what's up.  Proceed to grill "Saaheed" on how I got this card if I never authorized it. Asked for his name and to be put directly in touch with their fraud department - Now! No real answer except a company I was looking at for a mortgage refinance over a year ago "gave" it to me - I never even authorized its use!

... Didn't recognized the envelopes in the past, so they always got shredded with the rest of the junk mail. "Saaheed" finally divulges that although I had never made charges on the card, finance fees had accrued on the annual user fee - I'm livid by now.

... After my obviously elevated angst and protest, he said the company would cancel the "debt" and the card (Oh how sweet of them). I reminded him that I'd be checking TRW and Equifax to make certain he did. He became even more apologetic after that.

... Dayum, stay vigilant folks - Vultures are a Circling!

A guy I used to work with was part of a class-action suit against a company that did that. He and his wife just paid it because it was "official-looking".

Quoted: A guy I used to work with was part of a class-action suit against a company that did that. He and his wife just paid it because it was "official-looking".

just another scam

Quoted: Quoted: A guy I used to work with was part of a class-action suit against a company that did that. He and his wife just paid it because it was "official-looking". just another scam

... One that could cost an innocent and unsuspecting person his credit rating if not careful!

Happened to me too.  CC companies are unscrupulous.

I got an offer in the mail for a credit card.  Sometimes I just like to read the fine print.  For this particular card, which would give you a $500 credit line, there were upfront annual fees, application fees, credit fees...  You name it.  All said and done, the fees were $422, leaving you with an open line of $78.  The fees were not totaled up anywhere, I had to read it a couple of times to find them all.

They aren't quite as bad, but I almost got duped by a womens' magazine subscription like that.  It was made to look like an invoice from a current subscription, but it was really trolling for new subscribers.

I use this service to help me keep tabs on this kind of nonsense.

https://www.freecreditprofile.com/

But you guys are right, the vultures are circling and getting more bold each day.

- CD

someday long after I'm dead, they will make it a crime punishable by DEATH to commit CC fraud/identity theft

Quoted: I got an offer in the mail for a credit card.  Sometimes I just like to read the fine print.  For this particular card, which would give you a $500 credit line, there were upfront annual fees, application fees, credit fees...  You name it.  All said and done, the fees were $422, leaving you with an open line of $78.  The fees were not totaled up anywhere, I had to read it a couple of times to find them all.

That is ridiculous.

It happened to me too. Discover just sent me a card out of the blue. Fuckers.