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This evening, when my grandmother finally got home from a long day at her daughter's, she checked the mail to find a letter from JC Penny. This immediately struck her as odd, as it has been almost 15 years since she has shopped at a JC Penny. She opened the envelope to discover a bill, in her husband's name, for $4,108. She was upset partly because of the enormous sum, and partly because my grandfather passed away three months ago today.
The charges originated in Mississippi, and were primarily at Wal-Marts and fast food places. Since they were dated between 6/13 and 6/24 (when the identity thief hit the credit limit), we're pretty sure my grandfather is not the one responsible for this buying spree.
So my question to you, the community, is how should she proceed? It's such an unfortunate thing to happen to anyone, nevermind a grieving widow who is now forced to prove that her husband has been deceased since April 16th. She's got enough paperwork as it is, what with working out new beneficiaries, straightening out her auto insurance, getting a headstone made and the like.
Upon receiving this bill, she was reminded of 2 letters she received about a month ago from JC Penny which she initially passed off as pathetic attempts to bait a widow into signing up for a new credit card. One of the Letters, from the 18th, said something to the effect of "Thanks for starting your CC application, you'll hear from us within 30 days about it." The other said, essentially, "There appears to be some possibly fraudulent activity on your card, let us know if it is." After receiving the second she called her local CC centers and asked, to which they said there were no new charges. I believe at the point she was unaware of the new card which I assume the ID thief opened, which made it difficult to check that card's activity.
Tonight she contacted the fraud dept. of the JC Penny MasterCard. They advised her to file a report at her local police station, call all three credit agencies, and a friend told us to also call the SS dept. I am coming here mainly for advice. I have heard too many horror stories to let something like that happen to my grandmother.
What should she do? And more importantly, what of that can I do for her?
The charges originated in Mississippi, and were primarily at Wal-Marts and fast food places. Since they were dated between 6/13 and 6/24 (when the identity thief hit the credit limit), we're pretty sure my grandfather is not the one responsible for this buying spree.
So my question to you, the community, is how should she proceed? It's such an unfortunate thing to happen to anyone, nevermind a grieving widow who is now forced to prove that her husband has been deceased since April 16th. She's got enough paperwork as it is, what with working out new beneficiaries, straightening out her auto insurance, getting a headstone made and the like.
Upon receiving this bill, she was reminded of 2 letters she received about a month ago from JC Penny which she initially passed off as pathetic attempts to bait a widow into signing up for a new credit card. One of the Letters, from the 18th, said something to the effect of "Thanks for starting your CC application, you'll hear from us within 30 days about it." The other said, essentially, "There appears to be some possibly fraudulent activity on your card, let us know if it is." After receiving the second she called her local CC centers and asked, to which they said there were no new charges. I believe at the point she was unaware of the new card which I assume the ID thief opened, which made it difficult to check that card's activity.
Tonight she contacted the fraud dept. of the JC Penny MasterCard. They advised her to file a report at her local police station, call all three credit agencies, and a friend told us to also call the SS dept. I am coming here mainly for advice. I have heard too many horror stories to let something like that happen to my grandmother.
What should she do? And more importantly, what of that can I do for her?
