Identity Theft And BankAtlantic A New Case

I had a long, involved fraud case with BankAtlantic from February of this year. There were three posts (One, Two, Three) and I only refer to them for my less-frequent readers. I had decided to keep my money there because it was convenient, they noted my new account (and all closed accounts) that there were fraud restrictions and everything had to be checked with photo IDs. I heard no more about it and had put it behind me.

I need to point out that BankAtlantic has a unique typo in my address that nobody else has. The only place this typo occurs is INSIDE the BankAtlantic computer. Mail was always sent to an alternate address (which also, oddly, contains a unique typo in their computer). Nobody else on the planet has this uniquely incorrect address of mine. Everyone else has it correct.

I came home from work today and had a big fat envelope from BankAtlantic. At home. With the same uniquely misspelled address. (Insert Klaxon Here). I open it, and it contains a letter thanking me for opening a brand new savings account and lists the account number. Yeah, except I didn't open a new account.

I call them immediately. The lady is helpful and asks me a number of security questions because, of course, there are notes on the account. She also notes money has been transferred from my checking (real) account to the savings (fake) account. I ask her to close the account. She needs a supervisor. They both note that the account was opened over the phone with no sort of valid ID provided. They close the account and transfer the money back. They try to get the fraud department (aka Security Department) on the phone without luck as it's after 530pm. They also try to call the person who opened the account with no luck. They suggest I call Monday. I thank them and hang up.

I get in my car and drive to the local BankAtlantic branch. I see someone and explain what happened. I ask for a cashier's check for the sum in my account. I am told they need to get a supervisor to sign it. I say that's fine. She says she's not sure if one's available. I tell her to have one drive over from another branch and I'll wait. She's not sure if she can do that. I said I will gladly take cash. She tries to tell me there may not be enough cash, which I find laughable. I don't have that much money.

She then runs into the back of the bank to consult with the supervisor (I assume the same one who isn't available). She comes back and is on the phone trying to call the security department, the person who opened the account, and so forth.

I remind her that it's my money and I have politely requested it. They are legally obligated to give it to me as long as it's under $100,000 -- and I can assure you it was NOWHERE near that amount, though I wish it was. She stalls and tries to get me to keep my account open.

I tell her I won't leave without my money and they can lock me in if they'd like. Amazingly, I get my money and the account is closed along with many apologies from the supervisor (who I must be imagining since she's not available). I remind her that they've already broken the law by opening an account without following legal procedures -- and they've done it TWICE now. And they ought to find out which employee is the crook.

I go to another financial institution -- again I need an account in a bank that's open on weekends. But I do most of my financial dealings with a traditional bank. I open my account and return home.

I am going to make one last phone call to the BankAtlantic fraud department and relay this last story. There is a close to 100% chance it's an inside job at the bank. If you have an account here, you probably need to reconsider the wisdom of that.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

4-28-08: Update redacted 4-30-08 at the request of BankAtlantic Fraud Department.

Fraud Case Update Part Two

My money is back in my account as of this morning. YAY!

However, there's more. Because my old on-line banking account was locked out because of fraud, I had to go to the branch (my local branch) to reactivate it with the new account. Well guess what, kiddies? There was a new on-line account created so someone could monitor my account online.

To avoid revealing evidence, I'll skip the details. However, this got caught when they asked me my security question and we found the answers were all changed. Tomorrow, I will advise BankAtlantic of these new details. It gets curiouser and curiouser. The lady at BankAtlantic was kind enough to let me know they log IP addresses. That will be useful.

I've also never used phone banking. Honestly, I didn't even KNOW there was such a thing. However on 1 February 2008 there were two phone banking calls as well. Obviously not by me. Too many red flags with too much information to be anything but an inside job.

I'd really like to thank my friends who showed support, offered to lend me funds temporarily, took me out to eat, and all that sort of stuff in addition to the moral support. I won't update this story again until I get some real news, but this was of enough interest to share with all of you.

Fraud Case Update

This is an update to my previous post. I can't reveal much more yet due to an ongoing investigation and the fact I don't want to compromise it. This will take quite awhile so don't expect much more than what you read here for months.

Happily, I should have my money back within 48 hours. I didn't even have to ask, which made me happy. I will keep my account at BankAtlantic based on their actions.

The case is being investigated by both the FBI and US Secret Service as well as the Broward County Sheriff's office. I will be fully cooperating. I will not release any further information at this time. Draw whatever conclusions you feel appropriate based on these statements.

Eric Defrauded. Police Called. People Arrested.

First, I want to assure you I will gladly and fully cooperate in any investigation and gladly testify and cooperate in any way. I want the people who did this to stay in jail for a very, very long time.

Here’s what transpired so far. This is edited to remove details from an ongoing investigation.

On the morning of 2-7-08 I received a call at work from Marvin at the Bank Atlantic in Lauderhill, Florida. He asks if I’ve written checks to Renee Johnson and Eldora Golden. I tell him no. He asks me again if I’m absolutely sure because I had also written one yesterday. I tell him I didn’t write one yesterday either. He says he’ll call the police and call me back.

Around noon I speak to Marvin because I hadn’t heard back. He said they were arrested by Detective Charles Smith. I leave a message but don’t hear back. Marvin also tells me to call the Metro-Dade Police (where I live) which I also do. I leave work early because I am too upset to concentrate. They come to my home around 330 or so. The detective asks for my Lauderhill case number which we don’t have. He calls Detective Smith but gets no answer. Then he’s directed to the BSO who finally tells him it was actually processed by Detective Alexis. The Miami Detective (Werente) asks me to call Detective Alexis and get some information while he does some paperwork. I then put Detective Alexis on the phone with the Metro Detective. They talk while I sit and try not to panic any worse.

Both Detetives Alexis and Werente we very nice considering I was pretty shaken and in an especially cranky mood over this. I’m glad everyone was patient with me.

At this point all the paperwork still shows one check because the bank informed me and Detective Werente when he called from my house that only the one check was cashed. However when I get to the bank, their computer shows three checks are cashed effectively wiping out most of the account. Eventually I hope to recover this, though the banks says it will take up to 30 days.

I had originally suspected Maid Brigade’s cleaning crew because someone obviously got a hold of a paper check. I don’t use paper checks and I’ve only written a few in six months and half were to Maid Brigade. Most of my banking is done using on-line checks.

I had the fax copies of the checks used to defraud. My original checks were Smithsonian Space Logo checks and are small. These checks are completely different colour, shape, and size.

Now, here’s the kicker. The fake checks are encoded with my HOME address. My PO BOX address is on my real checks. None of my financial data is sent to my home address with the SOLE exception of Bank Atlantic and the IRS. I don’t give anyone my home address. Even my utility and credit card bills go to my PO BOX address. I think we can rule the IRS out as a feasible suspect. That leaves a Bank Employee with access to my data. That also explains the signatures and the fact someone got checks printed with the right check numbers, MICR encoding, and such.

Further when Detective Werente and I called in the afternoon trying to get information from the bank for his paperwork, they also said an ATM card was issued on the account. That requires a social security number because they're debit cards. That information can only come from the bank. It certainly rules out the maid service. I still have my original checks with these numbers in my possession.

Upon returning home I checked my other financial accounts (credit cards, credit reports at the three major credit bureaus, and so forth). There were no unusual transactions or information on any of them. This doesn’t appear to be identity theft. It does appear to be criminal fraud in cahoots with someone at the bank with access to my information.

Renee Johnson is a minor and will be released into the custody of her parents. Eldora Golden is an adult and is being held on Grand Theft charges. On Saturday morning I will go to the Lauderhill PD and swear additional complaints and agree to press felony charges.

I am sure this isn’t done, but this is accurate up to now.