BS: I've been robbed!

Subject: BS: I've been robbed!
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 08:18 AM

This is a new thing for me, to be a "vic" - someone I know took my checkbook and has written checks all over town, getting me over $700 overdrawn (aren't they supposed to check the signature at the bank before honoring a check? Aren't merchants supposed to check ID?)... anybody know a good fraud/larceny/forgery song?

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 08:46 AM

I take extra care with all transactions now as I had my identity stolen at one point. Someone had hacked into my computer, despite the Firewall and managed to watch my transactions on line...they then took over my E-mail, my Ebay account, rifled my bank account, used my credit card to buy items on the internet, etc............I felt so abused!
There will always be a chancer who will take advantage of an opportunity...all we can do is try to minimise the opportunity I suppose.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 08:51 AM

They stole my Bankers credit card,
They stole my E-mail too.
They took my online auction,
And took my money too.

Someone told me that I should,
Have taken much more care.
But where there's opportuntity,
There's someone who will dare.

Just be as careful as you can,
With all the things you own.
Cause there's a nasty dog out there,
Waiting to take your bone.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 09:01 AM

Stop payment on all the checks -- tell your bank your checkbook was taken and you very well may NOT have to pay for the stop payments. If the checks have already been presented this will also work.

File charges against the person who STOLE your checkbook. Besides theft, they're facing forgery charges -- and possibly identity theft, defrauding a merchant, and other charges (depends on your state). Do this whether or not you consider them a friend or even a relative -- they've proven that they are no friend of yours.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Sorcha
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 09:41 AM

What Rap said.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 09:46 AM

Yeah, I've reported her to the cops because the bank wouldn't let me say someone else wrote the checks else... that is what I feel bad about, her making me do this to her. Man.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Allan C.
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 09:50 AM

In addition to the above, this may also be considered grand theft (in Virginia a crime involving more than $200, when last I looked,) which puts it in a high enough bracket to guarantee jail time.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: alanabit
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 10:00 AM

It was a mean and spiteful thing to do. I hope there are not many countries which send people to prison over two hundred dollars though. It must cost the state that much to lock someone up for a day.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Sorcha
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 10:43 AM

The 'bank wouldn't let you'????? Demand to see the President!!! Call the FDIC, something!! And don't feel badly....she was the one who messed up, not you.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 10:50 AM

Actually, it makes sense that the bank not let me cry Forgery unless there is a police report about forgery, I hate to say... and on the good side, instead of being overdrawn by 700 or so, I should not be overdrawn at all, so it's like getting 700 dollars in free money if you want to look at it like that...

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 11:35 AM

"free money"????

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Rapparee
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 03:16 PM

When we were robbed we didn't feel abused or violated or anything like that.

We felt really, really pissed off.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: GUEST,Chief Chaos
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 03:22 PM

I don't understand the banks and merchants. Just try to get your hands on their money! Meanwhile someone can steal your checkbook and cash your account out to the name "Minnie Mouse" and they don't ask for ID or even bat an eyelash.

I had one bank refuse to cash a federal check because I didn't have an account there (which is illegal). Bunch of clowns!

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 03:46 PM

She wrote about $1000 worth of checks, 20 of which bounced, and which caused about 10 of mine to bounce - all told I am owed close to 2K, so I feel better anyway...

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 03 Nov 05 - 03:56 PM

I cannot speak for US law, but in the UK a cheque is only valid authority to debit your account if it is signed by you. A forgery is not signed by you. Different issues may be involved with a cheque guarantee card, but you do not mention one being taken as well. Also, a bank has a duty to its customers and I would suggest that the bank has been negligent in not detecting the forgeries. There are some problems about the Banking Acts in the UK - a bank may not be liable for wrongly paying a cheque that is "complete and regular on the face of it" (and "face" includes back). Here, I would say to sue the bank if all else failed. The "all else"! would be the bank's complaints system followed by a complaint to the banking ombudsman.

Also, assuming the thief is prosecuted, you could apply for a criminal compensation order against them.

Naturally you can sue the thief too - but she may not have any money.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: open mike
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 02:25 AM

in another thread i saw recently there are the numbers to contact
the credit bureau reporting companies...i am not sure how,
but there must be a way to repair your credit thru them..
i think the thread was about identity theft...

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: kendall
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 12:34 PM

You are going to prosecute, right?

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: SINSULL
Date: 04 Nov 05 - 01:09 PM

Banks carry insurance for this sort of thing. A friend of mine had over $20,000 stolen from her homeowner's loan account when a cleaning lady took two checks from the back of her checkbook drug dealer cash them.
File a report with the police. The bank will then have to sort it out since since it is not your signature on the checks. They do not check signatures on any checks anymore - go figure.

Of course, now you have bounced checks and check fees and a damaged credit rating.

Sorry.
M.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 01:32 PM

Update: I got all my money back from one bank, including the about $100 they tried not to give me back (oh, so sorry, we didn't count the number of bounced check fees correctly, yeah, right) - but meanwhile, she apparently got into my money market account too, which has been closed for so long the bank doesn't even exist any more and I am still trying to figure out how many checks she wrote on THAT account. The cops say they won't help, they have enough to go on with the one local bank, apparently forging 30 checks is committing 60 felonies, one each for the forgery and one each for handing the forged check to a merchant. And the money market people, who are still here but don't deal with the same bank any more, are being completely useless, apparently they have no system in place for this type of fraud, if I'd known that I might have written some of those checks myself since apparently you can get completely away with it... and I've been going around to all the merchants I know of, with my little affidavits of forgery, and they are all going after her instead of me, OK so far, but some of them have checks from the other account too, so I'm afraid she may have written as many of those as she did that I do know about. I'm rambling, I know, sorry. But this really has nothing to do with the making cars smell bad question, I don't want revenge on her, she is a desperate mother and I know that. She didn't do it to be spiteful or mean, she just had a way of getting something accomplished which I assume was get a whole bunch of cash - she did get her car fixed but also wrote tons of checks for $5 of groceries and $25 cash back, at all the grocery stores all over town and within about a 20-mile radius. And the local bank has written me a letter about what a good little check writer I am in real life and how all the merchants that I'd already made good on (when I thought I had bounced checks, before I knew that it was because of her getting checks paid) should give me back my bounced check charges.
On an interesting side note, I found out that in French bad checks don't bounce - they are made of wood, not rubber. Very interesting, I thought.
But I still want a good forgery song... she done wrote all my checks, sent my credit all to heck, darling she just sorta, stomped on my aorta type of song. Anybody?

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Donuel
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 01:45 PM

Good for you.
Whoever did it could be facing 5-10.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: GUEST,maryrrf
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 01:46 PM

Mrrzy, this is terrible. Aside from the hassle and some financial loss (although hopefully you should be able to get most of it back) it appears that this was someone you knew, and perhaps trusted? That must be rough.

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Mrrzy
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 05:27 PM

Yeah, had known for a long time so I know how hard up she is, and everybody seems to think I should be mad but I just feel really bad for her... maybe it's the antidepressants and mood stabilizers, but if so, they work!

Subject: RE: BS: I've been robbed!
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 17 Nov 05 - 06:15 PM

I used to be a millionaire but most of it was taken by unscrupulous thieves.