Identity Theft and Dealing With the Bank
Posted January 27, 2012
When you have your identity stolen the identity thief can get access to your bank account in different ways. The most common way is to steal your debit card. In addition, whenever you pay for anything with a check you are basically handing over your routing information and account number. Identity thieves have found it is easy to find check printing software so with this and a copy of your check they can have a good time. No matter how your identity got stolen you suddenly find out that your bank account is empty but it should not be.
While we might think of it as identity theft the bank may call it unauthorized withdrawal, account fraud, or true-name fraud. Whatever you want to call it, your money is still gone. Once you realize that your identity has been stolen you need to report it to your back immediately because if you wait you may find yourself out of luck getting the money back. Here are the Electronic Funds Transfer Act guidelines as to how banks are resolve any disputes with your debit/ATM cards.
- Your loss will be limited to fifty dollars if you report it within 2 business days.
- Your loss will be limited to five hundred dollars if you report it within sixty days.
- You will probably be out the money and any overdraft fees that have occurred if you report it past sixty days.
When you call your bank about the identity theft they will want to know your name and account number, how much the error is, why you think there is an error, and the date of the error and they will need this information with in ten days in writing.
If your checking account has been active for more than thirty days your bank will do an investigation and get back in touch within ten days. The bank can take up to forty-five days if they do need more time. In the meantime the bank will credit the funds back into your checking account while they are doing their investigation.
If your account is less than thirty days old, point-of-sale disputes, or about foreign transactions they can take up to twenty days to apply the temporary credit to your account and up to ninety days to finish the investigation.
After the investigation is finished and the bank does not support your claim they will let you know in writing and take the credits back from your account.
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