WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) — A Walnut Creek woman says Chase bank allowed dozens of people to be added as authorized users to her credit card without her knowledge or approval. Thirty-five credit cards in other people’s names showed up in her mail. Frustrated by the bank’s response, she called 7 On Your Side.
“Marsha Rose, Chantella Brown, Towana Rogers, Shawn Jones,” Jodi Hayes read off 35 names added as authorized users to her Marriott Bonvoy Chase credit card.
They’re not friends or family. All are names Hayes has never heard before.
As authorized users, she says they had the power to charge up to $19,000 on her card or get $950 cash back, leaving Hayes on the hook.
“I know I have good credit, but I’ve never seen anything like this ever,” said Hayes.
Hayes and her husband were on a cruise in August when she got an “informed delivery” email from the U.S. Postal Service with what appeared to be dozens of credit cards headed her way.
“This fiasco ruined the end of our vacation,” said Hayes.
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She says she got in touch with Chase from the cruise ship.
“They were just very basic – oh okay yeah. Maybe it’s some computer glitch. We’ll stop it,” she continued.
Hayes says Chase also put her in touch with the fraud department, which she says called her back when she returned home.
“With no explanation just we’ll take care of it, we’ll send you a new card, a new number,” said Hayes.
A response that was less than satisfactory to her.
“I wanted them to send an email did you authorize all these people to be on your credit card and I wanted them to say, we’ll investigate it,” said Hayes.
In an emailed statement to 7 On Your Side Investigates, a Chase spokesperson wrote, “We monitor customer accounts for suspicious activity and promptly contact them if something unusual is detected. In this instance, our vigilant customer alerted us first. We closed the unauthorized cards, issued a new account and card, and apologized for the inconvenience caused during her vacation.”
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We put Hayes in touch with the United States Postal Inspection Service.
“My immediate reaction is that sounds like an identity fraud scheme,” said Matthew Norfleet, U.S. Postal Inspector
Norfleet says using the mail for any kind of fraud scheme is a crime which carries up to 20 years. He says the perpetrator could be overseas or right here in Contra Costa County.
“Search warrants, surveillance, grand jury subpoenas, those are all tools that we use to investigate fraud schemes big and small,” said Norfleet.
The scheme didn’t end with the Chase cards.
“Capital One, Discover, City Bank,” read Hayes.
“I got from every bank an application,” she continued.
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All denied.
“Not enough credit history,” said Hayes.
But the names on the applications were now sounding more familiar.
“All of these names are the same as some of the people on the credit cards they sent. A lot of repeated names. Brittany Jackson like four times,” said Hayes.
“Once somebody’s figured out a fraud scheme they are going to do it as many times as they can,” said Norfleet.
It’s not clear if the fraudsters were planning to steal Hayes’ mail, but in addition to informed consent, she also happens to have a lock box on her mailbox and while no mailbox is perfectly secure, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says Hayes did a lot of things correctly.
In addition to a lock box on your mailbox and “informed delivery” which lets you know what mail is headed your way, the U.S. Postal Service also recommends having your mail held at the post office when you’ll be traveling. Hayes also froze her credit for the time being.
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