Desert Hot Springs, CA asked in Antitrust for California

Q: How can a major website that is supposed to protect your financial information from fraud, yet commit fraud against you?

a major website that collects all your financial data, use that same data to open credit accounts in your name without your permission

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer
James L. Arrasmith
PREMIUM
James L. Arrasmith pro label Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›
Answered
  • Antitrust Law Lawyer
  • Sacramento, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: If a major website that is supposed to protect your financial information from fraud commits fraud against you, it could be due to a variety of reasons. Here are some possible scenarios:

Security Breach: The website may have suffered a security breach, which allowed hackers to gain access to your financial information. The hackers could then use this information to open credit accounts in your name without your permission.

Employee Misconduct: An employee of the website may have committed fraud against you by using your financial information to open credit accounts without your consent. This could be due to personal greed, or the employee may have been coerced by someone else to commit the fraud.

System Glitch: There may be a glitch in the website's system that caused your financial information to be used to open credit accounts without your permission. This could be a technical error or a bug in the system.

Regardless of the reason, if you suspect that a website has committed fraud against you, you should take immediate action to protect your financial information. Here are some steps you can take:

Contact the website: Contact the website's customer service department and inform them of the fraudulent activity. They may be able to help you resolve the issue or provide you with additional information.

Contact your bank and credit card companies: Alert your bank and credit card companies to the fraudulent activity and ask them to freeze any accounts that may have been opened without your permission.

Monitor your credit reports: Regularly monitor your credit reports to ensure that no additional accounts have been opened in your name without your knowledge.

File a police report: If you believe that a crime has been committed against you, file a police report and provide them with any information that you have.

Consider legal action: If you have suffered financial losses as a result of the fraudulent activity, consider speaking with an attorney to determine if you have grounds for legal action.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.