Please HELP - money stolen from my bank account

[Dave]

He needs to go to the cops because there's forgery, identity theft and fraud happening just to name a few. The cops will be able to get more information out of the bank than he will. Take the screen shot of the cancelled check to the police along with a canceled check and tell them your story.

Not contacting the police is a huge mistake.

 

[Shakey]

If he's not on the hook for any of it, I doubt they will do anything. Especially if it is in another state. They're not even using his checks or his name. The bank should return all the checks, and the merchant will have to collect the money. They can go to the police and report it if they want. Feel free to take it to the police though.

The main thing is to just get the account closed. There is no reason they can't close it even with pending transactions on it.

 

[Dave]

When this happened to me they kept it open for a time so that they could track where the guy was trying to use the checks. These guys sell the check images online so they might start popping up in other places. My checks (copied while going through the central mail hub in Chicago) showed up in California, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and a few other states. I ended up not paying anything but it did mess up my credit because it got reported to the credit companies. If I had a police report it would have been INFINITELY easier to get cleared up. Hell, that was 10 years ago and stuff still appears now and then on my credit reports!

 

[David]

It seems I finally got somebody competent on the phone. I called the claims department to add the transactions that have finished pending to my claim and also make sure they saw the scan of the check. The lady assured me I'd be getting all my money back, including the insufficient fund fees, and actually froze my account (the customer service lady at the physical bank gave me a look as if I had asked her to move a mountain and asked "How am I supposed to do that??" When I asked about freezing the account from any more of these popping up).

Still gonna be keeping an eye out for a new bank or credit union though. Unfortunately I can't afford any that will charge me any monthly fees.

 

[sixpackshaker]

I did a little retail, and I was handed a forged check. It was a real check but it was ran through a ink jet printer. I red flagged it, and the transaction went through anyway. My manager over rode my instincts. So some poor sap bought an expensive PC package and never got to use it.

 

[Shakey]

When this happened to me they kept it open for a time so that they could track where the guy was trying to use the checks.

I really don't see any need to do that, but I guess each bank is different. They still come in and try to hit your account even if it's closed. The bank keeps track of all that, leaving it open is just asking for trouble.

I guess opening a police report is probably a good idea. I'd still focus on getting everything squared away with the bank first.

Still gonna be keeping an eye out for a new bank or credit union though. Unfortunately I can't afford any that will charge me any monthly fees.

You can get a free checking account at just about any bank now. Go with a small bank or a credit union, you'll get a lot better customer service.

 

[Cajungal]

It seems I finally got somebody competent on the phone. I called the claims department to add the transactions that have finished pending to my claim and also make sure they saw the scan of the check. The lady assured me I'd be getting all my money back, including the insufficient fund fees, and actually froze my account (the customer service lady at the physical bank gave me a look as if I had asked her to move a mountain and asked "How am I supposed to do that??" When I asked about freezing the account from any more of these popping up).

Still gonna be keeping an eye out for a new bank or credit union though. Unfortunately I can't afford any that will charge me any monthly fees.

Are you a student? I don't pay any fees for my checking account at C1 because I'm a full time student.

 

[David]

I was getting great service with WaMu. It's a shame that Chase had to absorb them.

 

[Cajungal]

They had funny commercials, if I'm thinking of the right bank.

 

[rac3r_x]

It seems I finally got somebody competent on the phone. I called the claims department to add the transactions that have finished pending to my claim and also make sure they saw the scan of the check. The lady assured me I'd be getting all my money back, including the insufficient fund fees, and actually froze my account (the customer service lady at the physical bank gave me a look as if I had asked her to move a mountain and asked "How am I supposed to do that??" When I asked about freezing the account from any more of these popping up).

Still gonna be keeping an eye out for a new bank or credit union though. Unfortunately I can't afford any that will charge me any monthly fees.

Credit Unions generally just require you keep a minimum amount in your savings account, mine right now is $25 what is needed, everything else is free. Only drawback is they don't usually have many ATMs around town. I switched from Wells Fargo a few years ago after dealing with their bullshit and have not looked back since.

 

[papachronos]

https://www.checkingfinder.com/

Heard about this site on a financial talk radio show (yeah, that's how I roll). It found me a no-fee, interest-paying checking account with a local bank that I couldn't be happier with. Also, if you have any family members that were in the military, you might qualify to join USAA, which I would highly recommend for ANYONE who qualifies. Everything is done online, even check deposits.

 

[David]

Just looked at my online account, the fraud charges and all the fees have been refunded and I'm back to my original amount. Crises over, I guess.

...BUT FOR HOW LONG?

 

[Cajungal]

Just until I press the "Place Order" button on amazon for all this cool shit...

But really, I'm glad everything's back to normal!

 

[Chibibar]

Just looked at my online account, the fraud charges and all the fees have been refunded and I'm back to my original amount. Crises over, I guess.

...BUT FOR HOW LONG?

Yay!!!

 

[Dave]

Lucky bastard. Good for you!

 

[Hylian]

congrats