f13.net

Situation: Boss used credit card. It has my name on it.

I found out when walking past the accountant's desk. I saw a bill on the claims folder. Dinner for $120.45, then I saw my name. Not my credit card number. Definitely not my signature! Definitely aint my dinner!   :ye_gods:
I never applied for it. I didn't remember getting it. He signed the bill with my last name. I never do that.
So...what are the implications ?

Your boss has too many business dinners and needs to spread them around among his employees for tax purposes?

He's engaging in identify theft and should be sent to jail (but won't be) for fraud. I.e. he's using SSNs and other personal information from the HR files to open financial accounts in the names of company employees for his own use.

I would contact a reputable credit reporting company and get a copy of your latest credit including accounts that have been opened in your name/SSN.

Edit: actually it's possible it's a "corporate" card under a corporate account rather than a real personal credit card in which case what he's done is intercepted the cards from being distributed to the real recipients and using them for himself, for some reason (maybe his boss has been watching his corporate spending). Again I would check your credit report and see if he's actually creating fraudulent financial accounts in your name/SSN.

Edit2: Where are those reimbursement checks going? It doesn't sound like you are receiving them. So is he cashing those checks at a bank account he opened in your name?

Apparently so. This is pretty fucked up cause he is my uncle. So the accountant told me she never noticed anything wrong with it.  :uhrr:

That you've got a credit problem that you don't know about.

Collect the evidence you need to protect yourself. Don't go and see him until you have that protection. Make sure your uncle doesn't go on any long holidays in the near future.

If he's paying it all back, he's being (at the very least) unethical. If he isn't, he's ripping you off.

Doing this tomorrow.

Another you can do is "freeze" your credit meaning that anytime somebody (including yourself) tries to apply for something that would potentially affect it you get notified first. This costs money (unless you are a senior citizen) and I've heard it can be a pain (having to freeze and unfreeze and then refreeze, etc.) but since he (and who knows who else) has your info now you are kind of boned forever and forever, or at least until he dies.

edit: your are?

Here's a primer on how to contact a credit agency in cases of identity theft. I don't know how good the advice is since I haven't tried it but it should give you a general idea what of the procedure is.

http://www.tulanemba.org/tulane-lost-my-social-security-number/

What a Cunt.

Uncle or no uncle, I'd beat the hell out of the cocksucker.

Family!  :awesome_for_real:

(http://www.clisham.com-a.googlepages.com/ac-jail.jpg)

Family doesn't matter when they're fucking with your personal credit and, these days, your future.   I'm with Gulp and I'd beat the hell out of him.  Then I'd file the legal/ civil papers and hope to have him jailed.

Your uncle is a thief.

Not much else to say about it.

Don't do anything if your in the Mafia, though.  Maybe move to New Zealand.  Dude.  He's your uncle.  Tell your aunt!

ha!

This is a big deal. Follow these steps exactly.

1) Go to "www.freecreditreport.com" and pull your credit history immediately.  You get 1 freebie a year.
2) Call each financial institution that you don't recognize as yours, tell them your are a victim in Identity theft and have them put an immediate freeze on your accounts.
3) File a police report. The Credit card companies will require you do this anyway. 
4) Be prepared to testify against your Uncle.   You can even pretend you didn't know it was him until the police figured it out.

In all seriousness, you want to move quickly on this since you already let one person know there is an issue and the guilty party may be alerted. 

Last thing you want is AmEx coming after you for fifty thousand dollars worth of hookers.

step 1:blackmail

step 2: there is no step two

step 3:Profit

What everyone else said. It's time to get the police in on this. I don't know if he is your uncle by marriage or blood but either way you might also need to warn some people so they don't get blindsided by this. I cannot overstate how big of a deal this is and how you cannot, under any circumstances, try to be a nice guy about this. This could ruin you for years if you don't stop it.

Don't use freecreditreport.com.  It is a pay site that will try to upsell you on credit monitoring and will bug the hell out of you if you refuse.  Go directly to the reporting agencies' web sites and you can get one free report from each of them per year directly.  You can stagger them so you get one every four months.

Is this entire operation family?

Do you trust your uncle?

Could it be a simple misunderstanding?

Is his credit good?

Would you feel comfortable talking to him about what happened?

Protecting your credit is the important thing here. Is it five or ten years those things stick around for?

I can't wait until tomorrow.  I have to know what his uncle says.  This is like Law and Order or something.  I have to know.

Putting fraud alerts out with each of the three credit bureaus can be tedious, but that's what I pay LifeLock for.  Anyone tries opening an account with my information and I get a phone call.  There was much less sweating when my wife had her wallet stolen in Chicago a couple weeks ago.

And if you make the mistake of signing up for their shield service just to get your free credit report, they will charge you for the service for months even after you cancel it. You can go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp (https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp) instead. That's the official site for that sort of thing.

Also, donkey punch your uncle.

Do try to find out if he's got a corporate card in your name, which is a type of business fraud, or he got a personal card in your namem which is regular old fraud.

On the former, I'm pretty sure you're not liable (the company is generally ultimately liable for those debts) and I don't think that card will show up on your reports.

If that's the case, I'd suggest contacting the better business bureau or a friendly lawyer with some business experience. He/she can probably tell you how illegal those actions are and what to do about it.

If it's a case of "He opened personal cards in your name, which you are liable for" they'll certainly show up on your credit report. Freeze your report, cancel the cards, and start screaming to the police.

No matter HOW he's doing it, the fact that he IS doing it shows there's a serious problem with his business or his finances. Either he's doing it to hide personal expenses as business expenses (and trust me, you do NOT want the IRS thinking you're helping) or he's trying to hide business expenses from creditors, the bank, investors, partners -- someone. One way or the other, he's using you to shield the true state of something and you really don't want to be involved.

Find out if it's a true corporate card or not, then protect yourself ASAP. Freeze your credit reports, cancel the cards if they're personal, contact the IRS, the police, lawyers -- nip this fucker quick.

Also start looking for a new job.

Really good advice.  Even if they're business accounts and you never see a bill, he has no right to mess with your name unless he's had your permission. 

never had a problem with that.  I suppose if you are not a smartie and sign up for stuff then ya.

I'm on my PDA so can't link it bit google "Don't fall for freecreditreport.com" for a good article that warned me away from using that place when I was checking my credit reports.

As for "not signing up" for stuff, they run that "free trial membership" scam where you HAVE to sign up and then affirmatively cancel(and even then they have charged people).  Avoid the hassle and just get the report from annualcreditreport.com.

Employees are liable for business credit cards if the company fails to pay.  A corporate card requires that the employee has good credit and therefore they do run a check of your SSN as well when the card is issued in your name.

Lots of folks confuse freecreditreport.com with annualcreditreport.com.  Make use of the latter, but not the former.  Equifax, Transpirian et all will try to upsell you anyway.  "$7.50 to find out your actual score instead of just this meaningless 'paid/ hasn't paid on time' stuff!" :awesome_for_real:

freecreditreport.com is owned by experian (one of the 3 credit bureaus), annualcreditreport.com is the site set up by the governement so listen to Haemish.  the reports should list every open account that you are associated with along with payment history and balances.


edit: some more info on the difference:


edit 2: uncle or not if he opened a credit card account under your name AND your credit report shows that you are liable for it then it is effecting your credit rating, I wouldn't even talk to him about it i'd cancel the card so he looked like a dork next time he tried to use it then I would have the talk with him which might end up with reporting his practices to the powers that be (starting with the credit card company that allowed this to happen). 

You can weave your way through freecreditreports stuff and get a free report out of them, but they do fill your box with spam forever after. Or that was my experience.

LifeLock looks nice, but pricey. Great name, if I remember Lifelock the technical name for the palmflower in Logan's Run.

I agree with everyone. Get a credit report and find out if its there. If it is, don't bother with him, pretend you don't know and go to the police to protect yourself. A friend of mine had a similar situation with a brother in law and the family business and once they started lifting up the rocks, they figured out he was looting her family's business dry for his coke habit.

I have to admit, I'm similarly intrigued about the outcome. Not surprising considering the number of detective and true crime shows on our dvr.

Also sounds like the accountant might be in on it and as stated previously it could just be him cooking the company books and not be directly related to your identity or credit.

Coke is evil shit.

(http://www.clisham.com-a.googlepages.com/squirrel_coca_cola.jpg)

I believe that if you never signed then you are not liable, since you are a victim of Fraud.

Thanks for that link.  This is one of those things that I know I should have been doing but never did.  It was painless and it's nice to see there's nothing on there that shouldn't be.  Although it doesn't fill me with great confidence in these credit report companies when TransUnion lists my previous job as 'Boaters Books & Music'.  I guess they thought I worked for some mutant offshoot of Borders that only sells nautical charts and sea shanty cds.

Yeah, that never seems to actually STOP the fuckers from shitting on your credit rating and hassling you with collectors.

Freeze your credit report, if that card shows up call them, tell them you NEVER authorized it, you don't know who the fuck did, you've never even SEEN that card. If you're lucky, the billing address won't be your home address, which will help.

Then contact the cops. Act very surprised when it turns out your boss is behind it.

Also, find a new job.

Well, the accountant already knows he knows so he doesn't want to call the police, FBI, HR, his boss' boss, etc. and tell a fib.  He should still tell his aunt, though.  And find that nice new job.  Of course, if he gets his uncle fired he might not be invited to Christmas dinner at Granny's house.

 :grin: :grin: :grin:

Yeah - while you're not liable and it will eventually get cleared up it's a MAJOR time-sink and PITA. The system - while improving - is not designed to make life easier for you. Shit like this is always a pain.

Can't really blame the accountant, she's only been with the company for 2 months while the regular one is on maternity leave. I asked her to check if there's any more billing under my name claimed by my uncle, but so far she said this is the only one. Taking medical leave off work today. Need time to settle this shit.

Err, can I suggest a change of your avatar?

A staff accountant isn't going to notice that kind of thing, typically. They aren't trained auditors, they have no CPA, and they aren't being paid to notice possible fraud. They are paid to make entries into the GL based on documented information or management estimations. There are several things you should do in this situation.

1 - Gather evidence of the bills in your name, and any documents that indicate who created the accounts. Try to nail down how much money has been spent on those accounts

2 - Check your credit reports to make sure you can challenge anything.

3 - Notify upper level management of the issue. If your boss is the owner of the company, notify legal counsel. They will give you a direction to follow.

For all the talk of legal action, rk might actually like his uncle. Which is why I'll suggest that when he's got the evidence you need to protect himself, he goes and sees his uncle, stands there while he cuts up the card and calls the bank to close it right there and then or face fraud charges.

And then goes and finds another job. You won't be able to trust him again, so you won't be able to work with him. Or he might get pissed and give you jobs designed to make you quit anyway.

hm went to a credit report company, gave them my ID & passport number ,showed up nothing on local bank accounts. (i'm not in USA btw)
I'm not sure where to go now. My options seem to walk into his office and ask him about it tomorrow. Or police.

THe company did warn me that the bank may not have submitted the information to them if the card is very recently created.

Ask to see a cancelled reimbursement check made out to you and get the bank information from there.

Normally this means he hasn't used your home address and as a result the credit agencies won't have recognised the credit card applicant as you, just as another person with the same name. He might have applied with the office address for example (which is common for corporate cards even if the employee is jointly liable).

I'd chat with the boss about it and then if he doesn't shut it down immeadiately, let the credit card originator know. You aren't remotely liable for anything right now (not that this will necessarily stop the cc company trying it on) but if you know the card is being used in your name and don't do anything, you start to enter grey areas.

"On February 27, 2008, our archive services vendor notified us that they could not account for one of several boxes of data back-up tapes that they were transporting for us to an off-site storage facility. After investigation of this event, we have been unable to locate the missing box..."

So the good news is I get 2 years of free credit monitoring.

Shit kinda blew up today at work. well one sided explosion. He called me to the office. Apparently, my performance has not been up to 'his expectations'. I did my work. My paperwork and admin stuff, I said. He said that's not what he's referring to, I lack teamwork. Apparently, I'm not proactive in helping others out when they're busy and shit. He said I browse the web too much and stuff. Despite me getting the job done, he also remarked I look 'lethargic' most of the time.

So in short, he wanted me to improve. I was down there just looking at him hard. Then he brought up the point: 'I helped you out, you know'

'I took you in when there were no positions in the company available...When you couldn't land that job, I matched that job offers' pay. And now I'm just asking you to help me back in cutting cost by putting in more effort at work'

I thought hard on what to say, it's quite true he helped me out and stuff when I ran out of college funds, but to keep nagging on the 'help' part when it's an employer-employee relationship (not uncle-nephew shit) annoys me so I went straight: 'Well, I don't look at it from 'helping each other out'. It's an employee-employer relationship isn't it? You pay me, I work for you.'

Boom.

His eyes went wide. 'If you really think that way, then don't come to work anymore on Monday' (But I wanted your money, dumbfuck!)
Like one those weird gangster movie he started raising his voice and intimidate me. 'I helped you a lot, and this is what you tell me? Get out of here if you think that way!'

So I said 'I guess, I should leave if I can't justify the money paid for my services' then paused before recalling what made me felt like he's a total dickwad. Time to fire away the big one:  'Why do you have a credit card under my name though?'

Boom.
'So you DON'T WANT TO HELP ME ANYMORE EH? FINE!' he dialled his wife, who's the manager on another division of the company for a meeting. And told me to follow him to another office. Probably to make sure nobody else heard the ruckus. I grabbed my mobile phone on my table before going out with him. I turned on the voice recorder. It's on, bitch.  *to be continued*

Hopefully not THE Family, or else rk isn't coming back.

EDIT: I'd also try to find out (before or after being marched out by security) if the accountant asked rk's uncle about that card. If she did, then he might be looking for an excuse to character assassinate rk in the office to deflect attention away from himself.

I know. It kinda hurt. But I can't help but feel wronged on this. I told him, the moment i made mistakes in the company you start raising your voice and making threats of firing me. Why are you abusing me?

That's when he went boom and asked me 'How dare you call that ABUSE? I'm just trying to get you to buck-up and improve your performance'
'You DARE tell me once again, contest that i am being abusive, you can don't come to work for me on monday'
I paused and realized i was missing the word 'verbal' in front of abuse, but knowing this dude, he probably didn't think much and hung on that word like it really hurt his feelings. Truth is, he used vulgarities a couple of times, shouted in my face. giving me 'i'm gonna punch yer face' look. I tried to keep calm, but I guess in the heat of shit I just muttered 'credit card' and 'abuse'.

So I thought of it and told him 'Well you're intimidating me now.' that's the correct word right? I mean, he's basically giving me 'bend over or gtfo' option right?

'Intimidate huh? Well That's IT! You don't have to come to work for me on Monday. OK. I don't give a crap anymore. Cancel your work permit on Monday.'
'Cancel my credit card'
'Yeah fine. Get out. Get out'
Hm. Fine. But why is my phone ringing right after I left office? Oh he brought my dad into this, gee whiz, Thanks uncle! Fucking shit. My old man tried to tell me to cool down and stuff. Bullshit. I wasn't the one exploding, I wasn't making threats. Then my mom called me too. I told her to stfu and don't tell me to go to church to cool things off. This is pretty stupid. It's EMPLOYEE vs EMPLOYER. Not fucking Uncle vs nephew.

Then his wife called me over. And told me just stay. "he wanted you to stay. Just try to work a little harder, on mean time try to find another company, we won't stop you. We're sorry for applying for the credit card behind your back. We should've told you.'   Yeah too bad really, I don't hate her.

The timing on his suddenly deciding you aren't working hard enough seems awfully convenient. Is it possible that the accountant guy told him you knew about the credit card?

This part, did you record it?

Wrongful termination, possibly even covered by your country's whistle blower laws, feel free go to town on the company with the local authorities.

Seriously.  Now is not the time to try to get friendly with the family; it's your life, not theirs.  The job was a lost cause as soon as he took out a credit card under your name, and 'wrongful termination' isn't anything compared to identity theft.  I'm hoping you already have plans to meet with a lawyer, or possibly the police, on Monday.

Why didn't you threaten him back with calling the police and reporting his fraud to the credit card company?  If the shithead fired you and you have this leverage the very least you should do is fuck him over right back as much as you can.

As soon as you confronted him it wasn't going to end well.  People who are 100% in the wrong never, never feel bad or break down admitting they made a mistake.  They get angry, immediately, and will blame everything else on earth before ever acknowledging it was their fault.

Sounds like she's in on the Fraud as well.  I'd go to the police.

You know there are also lawyers who specialize in wrongful dismissal.  Depending on how rich this company is they would love a case like this.

Check the recording laws in your state and get your aunt/uncle on tape admitting to stealing your identity and getting a credit card.  Also, who says they stopped there?  They might have a mortgage out in your name and the only way you will find out is if you call the police and get them investigated.

lol i got that on tape. This is the best part:
"Well, why didn't you tell me you need a credit card under my name?"
"LOOK, last time you went to me asking for help to pay your college I never went: 'holy shit steve ur dad didn't tell me anything about this.' I HELPED you"

I think he's totally lost his logic there lol. I tried to keep cool and somewhat succeeded in doing so, but when mom and dad just told me to calm down I can't help but tell them to shut it. I won't pursue a case, I'll just actively search for a new job from now on. No point staying and getting this bullshit.

And my mom cried. Fuck. Fuck that bastard for bringing my parents into this shit.

Dude, it's hard but stop worrying about it being family.  Did you tell your parents about the credit card? 

Your uncle is playing the family angle and trying to intimidate you using every possible bit of weight that has.  It's crap and I hopw you're not feeling like you want to cave right now and just say "OK, whatever."   If your parents can't understand then that's horrible.  But fucking-a, man, this is your financial future and your life he's fucking with and now he's trying to really put the screws to you.

Fuck me, being the suspicious guy I am, I'm completely willing to bet that the accountant said something to him, innocently, and that's where his little lecture to you came from. He was trying to get you to back-down by making you think you were doing shitty, and therefore shouldn't rattle the cage.  I'd ask them if they'd happened to mention anything to him.

You have to, at the very least, notify the credit card company.  If you know that fraud is taking place and don't report it you are going to get in trouble.

This is why working for relatives (and, sometimes, friends) sucks. It's never quite an employer to employee relationship.

It sucks though, I hope you get back on track and can leave this behind you soon.

The last time everybody started crying over something I did, I just moved to another country.  A few years later I came around for a visit and everyone was happy to see me.  It really works!

Oh no, no no no no fucking way no. As soon as she admitted that, they are BOTH liable for credit card fraud. It's got nothing to do with family or employee-employer, it's CRIMINAL vs. VICTIM. That's horseshit. They are trying to use family to rob you fucking blind. Fuck that shit. Nail his monkey ass to the wall.

Haemish is kind of right.  If he can do all that to you, who knows what he can do?  If he decides to run up that credit card and not pay or even pay late, it would be such a big crazy mess even if though you can prove fraud and every thing else.  I mean, think years of annoyance.  Luckily, they don't sound clever enough to be really good criminals but, still, what a pain in the arse for you.  And this made your mother cry.  You really have to make him pay for that!

Your uncle is a criminal and he's scared. That's it. He's relying on your relationship with your family to keep you from opening your mouth to any authorities, because the moment you do, he's screwed. This was not an honest mistake that can be shaken off with a ho-hum attitude. You don't accidently take out credit cards in other people's names. This was a pre-planned, thought-out crime, probably for tax avoidance purposes of the business, and he got wind that you found out about it. So, he went offensive and called you into his office hoping to get into a confrontation that would lead to you leaving the company. The reality is that nothing was wrong with your work. He is trying to play you like a fiddle. That's why he brought your parents into this. He wants to get them on his side early so that it's everybody else against you, and that you will feel that you're wrong and should just let it die.

Here's why you shouldn't let it die:

1 - People that commit fraud don't stop until they are caught. They rationalize everything so that it seems like they are owed the money they are taking, or the property they are stealing, or the good name of somebody else they are dragging down. If you let this go unchallenged, some other poor shmuck is going to be you uncle's next victim. This is not an isolated incident, and I would bet any forensic accountant would find more if a case ever came up. Don't do it just for your own respect, do it for the other victims as well.

2 - It's obvious this was a collaborative scheme. Your aunt is in the same company and knew about this. The checks and internal controls of this company are in the shitter. It's my guess as a CPA that there is more beneath the surface here than you know about. People that break the rules in business often break them in many areas. There is a very real chance that your uncle is shady in his business dealings as well, and you need to stand up to bring that to light. The company's records need to be checked, and your case would get that started.

3 - You were wrongfully terminated. They are screwing with your income because they committed a crime. There is nothing right about letting them steal your identity and your job from you. You can't respect yourself in the long run if your reaction to people wronging and stealing from you is to walk away.

4 - Your uncle ran a smear campaign against you with your own parents. The man has no morals. He has to be stopped.

I implore you to do what is right here and seek legal counsel. We need more people to stand up for what is right in American business and not tolerate petty tyrants who believe they are above the rules. Large or small, those kind of businesses and people ruin our trust and our economy, and you have the power to put a stop to one such criminal.

If it was a corporate card in your name, and your uncle and aunt are not the top dogs in the company, they are defrauding THEIR employers. If that is the case, you need to make a call on whoever is in charge of the money at the company, and bring someone with you on the off chance that they are ALL in on it.

And I can guarantee (as others have stated) that if they are doing this to you, they are likely engaging in other fraudulent activities.

People who embezzle will do as much as they can until they get caught.

Bit of hyperbole in this thread.

No need to buy into the hysterics being spouted here. Just go to the proper authorities and lay your position out. Notify a lawyer about wrongful dismissal and the like. And look for another job.

Don't mess the whole thing up in family drama. It will just complicate things and make people think they can use you. Make your position clear and then sort out the relationship stuff later.

hm i don't think i wanna get into police stuff here. just get him cancel and get this family shit away. I really have nothing more to say to my family. If they still insist on me to stay in his company and don't want to support my decision, then i guess i'll just ignore them.

Worst decision ever.  You are actually doing him more harm this way; read all the above posts.  He has done this before, he has a problem, its going to get worse.  A lot worse.  His reaction is classic guilt driven; in addition you know what is going on behind the scenes.  This WILL bite you in the ass.  You need to at least make a report. 

I would fuck him in his ass harder than his wife has ever fucked him before. I would fuck him so hard he'd have dickholes where his eyes used to be. DON'T BE A FUCKING PUSSY.

If this was a personal card and not a corporate one you'll still need to check your credit to see if he's done any damage to it. You also still need to find out if he opened a bank account in your name.

I've got to try to cut everything on the credit side now, but right now the family's a mess. Asian values and shit are making things complicated. What kind of boss calls an employee's parents for poor work behavior? I won't press charges since my dad told me to go easy on his younger brother, but the way they sympathized with him makes me sick. 'He stepped the line, but you didn't have to react this way' was my mom's pacifist approach. 'Maybe I should call him and tell him not to shout so much.' Wow mom. That's like telling him to stop fuckin' intimidating me. Brilliant.  :oh_i_see:

Right now I'm just gonna find a new job. Cut family ties for a while and start fresh. It's not worth worrying over and taking this to the police may take this too far. Family and work just don't mix. Fuck the family. No more help me help you.

Worst decision ever.   I do look forward to a future post, though.    Have any sisters?

Fuck the family indeed. And dude, take your uncle to town. Seriously.

One thing; we obviously care about you for some strange reason.  If you do nothing you will get fucked.  This is one of those rare times you should get galvanized by the intardwebs and actually do something. 


As someone who has been fucked, take my advice, and take the time to read through each post while sober.  You will save yourself from heartache if you follow the advice above.

You don't have to press changes, but you do have to ensure you are properly covered should the situation get/turn out to be worse that it is now. Make sure you are safe and not liable for anything, and once you have done that then do whatever you feel is best regarding the family situation.

I'm with HaemishM on this. On a sidenote and not to derail the topic completely, I have a friend who comes from Armenia and has high respect for his parents, although being 24 years old. His mom is a psycho and his brother is a homosexual plastic surgeon addict. His mom takes half of his paycheck to cover the brothers plastic surgeon expenses, his mother took his 360, PS3, all the games and sold them, his mother took his brand new laptop and sold it. Why ? Cause she is a fucking nutcase. What does he do ? Nothing. And this stuff has been going on for a couple of years now.

As much hatred and fuel can run through a mans veins at times like these and picking up a hatchet seems like pretty fucking good idea, the best thing you can do is rip them apart, legally. Go with it the courtway or this will hurt you bigtime in the future and you will end up as the victim in your family. Psychology and mentality is clearly against you in this case, don't give up. They are wrong and ABUSING you, you are right. Go legal.

:uhrr:

This. Even if all you do is call the police and have them document what was going on, at least you'd have a third party that would have all this easily accessible if it ever went any further and you actually WANTED to press charges.

I'm telling you. The police are your friends here.

The law is on your side. This uncle is a CRIMINAL. You are a victim. Even if he isn't arrested, fired or skullfucked, you absolutely have got to make sure you find out all the financial shit he has gotten you into. Maybe it's alarmist, but one asshole with a credit card in your name can absolutely fuck you for a decade or more. You want a house? No. You want a new car? No. You want a spiffy new job? In some cases, you might actually be disqualified for that because your credit is fucked.

This is not just a little thing. The family part just makes it worse, but if your dad has been bailing his little brother out for years to keep his ass out of jail, IT WON'T STOP NOW. Trust me, I have family (luckily not immediate) that would steal the copper piping out of my house for a buck if I left them too long in my house. People like this don't change. The best you can do is 1) disconnect yourself from their lives and 2) make sure their asses are locked up and kept away from other people's money.

Calling the police is too far. Contacting a qualified non-ambulance-chaser lawyer is the way to go. You ask them for legal advice. They may not want to charge them with anything, but you at least ask for their professional opinion. They can also help protect you in case your uncle decides to put the screws to you much later down the road.

What about future jobs you want to get? What about your references? You need to have documentation to prove you did what was necessary in this situation. Having a lawyer will also go a long way to protecting you against any identity theft issues. Just ask a lawyer what you should do instead of a bunch of internet folks or your family. The latter groups won't give you a realistic solution. Don't just assume everything is ok until you ask.

Family thieves are the worst types. They steal from their kin SPECIFICALLY because they know they will get leniency. They not only steal what is rightfully yours, but bank on your family ties to allow them to get away with it. It's manipulation and con artistry at it's worst.

My view is that a person who steals from their family no longer considers them as such simply because a person who valued that bond would not steal from them. In short, he should be treated like a common, bum, deadbeat crook. Why? Because that is what he is. No amount of relation will change it. I know, I've had this happen to me in the past over a death in the family.

Walk away if you wish but make sure your are legally covered. Once you are gone he will still have all your personal data. He can do this again any time he wants until you act on it.

This seems sensible to me.

If I were you, I'd probably make sure the card is cancelled, stay put in the short term, and look for another job.

I'd only start thinking about suing people if I thought there was a significant risk of me being landed with a large bill or being accused of involvement in something illegal. But as Paelos said, taking advice from a lawyer rather than from random guys on the intarweb wouldn't hurt.

If you think your uncle may be defrauding on a larger scale, you could always have a quiet word with your uncle's boss once you've found alternate employment, and let them know that you don't want make an enormous fuss, but this is what is going on, and why you are leaving. If the company's higher management want to investigate, they'll have all the records they need to do so, if they don't - then it is not likely much will come of it anyway.

But it's not. It is not, AT ALL.  This is what he was hoping for by calling his parents.  His dad said "go easy on my baby brother" so there was some manipulation there about how "your son's being mean to me, big bro"    Not to mention, as someone else said, he still has his information.  What's to say he wouldn't just do it again and work harder at keeping it hidden?

 At the VERY least, RK, you need a lawyer.  I still say the police should be involved, because your aunt and uncle BLOTH are defrauding the company and fucking with your future.  You're young and might not see it that way now, but you'll regret it in 5-10 years if your credit is fucked and you can't do anything.

I don't know what country you are in rk, but call a fraud protection service and lay it out to them. Do what they tell you to do. Cover yourself from that angle. This might see your uncle get hit with a fraud investigation - how badly you want to avoid that can cause problems down the line (because if he did it once, he might still have the materials to do it again).

Family screws it all up. While we here in our comfy chairs can say, "FUCK YOUR FAMILY! SKULL FUCK YOUR UNCLE!", you've got to live with them.

Definitely change jobs. Ask your uncle for a reference, thank him for his 'help' and never look back. If he wants to bitch about providing the reference, talk to your aunt who at least sounds more conciliatory about it. Depending on what work you are doing, a reference can be vital for getting another job, or just a help. If you've got another boss, ask them for that reference.

If your parents ask why, tell them your uncle violated your trust by stealing from you, then firing you. You are just protecting yourself against it happening again (at least with family members).

I can understand not wanting to hurt your family.  Being older and having seen families do some really shitty things I think it's bad to avoid it for what it might cost in the future, but I'll go with that as an understanding in my internet advice column.

Get a lawyer and follow their advice at a minimum.  Credit fraud can screw you over for decades.  Protecting your family is noble, but you absolutely have to protect yourself.  If you walk away completely, you have a high likelyhood of being fucked forever.  If your uncle is willing to take a card out in your name to commit willing fraud, and his wife knows, how much can you take their word they will cancel it?  Protect yourself.

While it doesn't seem like you will, filing a police report will provide some evidence for credit agencies and others in the future should this turn into a real problem.  You can choose not to press charges, but at least there would be some documentation for further protection.  A lawyer can help you figure out how to protect yourself without getting into a legal battle.  This doesn't have to be an either/or situation involving jail/courts/what-have-you, so please keep that in mind.

"Go See a Lawyer, You Fucking Tool."

Your uncle is screwing you, don't let him get away with it. If you just walk away, you're enabling him. Think of his next poor bastard of an employee.

Try and get into your worthless Uncle's mind.  You stole your nephew's identity to take out a credit card in his name, you think he "owes" you that.  Now you're angry because he found out and dared to question you.  The stupid nephew then quietly shuffles off without any repercussions.  Now you know you can walk all over the nephew and may as well take out more credit cards or put illegal stuff in his name etc.  You're also angry at him so you want to hurt him and will go ahead and do it.

Fuck your uncle.

This is the only advice you need to follow. Seriously. Getting a layer does not mean you are going to sue them. It means getting informed on various options, including defensive ones.

As someone who had an aunt steal several million dollars from a family business over 15 years, lawyer up. They know the right questions to ask. Watch your ass first, anyone elses after that. Trust me, everyone else is doing the same.

However if you do want to pull some family strings, you should tell your parents that they should support you over the uncle.

I just thought I'd join the "See a lawyer or a fraud mob or something" queue.  One thing thats worrying me, IANAL and all, but if you walk away knowing that he has committed fraud, and don't do anything about it, I'd be worried that when he gets into serious trouble over this (and one day he will), he could drag you in as "Aiding and abetting" him - simply because you knew he was doing wrong and didn't do anything about it.  So I'm not saying Fuck your uncle, coz I agree hes family and all, but at the very least cover your own arse.  You do NOT want to be spending time in the big house for abetting fraud.

Meh, it shouldn't be a family shit. But he kept bringing up all his 'help' vs 'my help'. I thank you all for your advice but right now I think I should just keep a level head and make sure I'm covered. Make sure the law is on my side, and plan for a future job change. I admit I just fired that 'Hey my name on credit card' out of frustration cause it's not the first time he took me for a one-on-one talk that didn't sound like Employee-Employer but more like an Uncle threatening his nephew on work performance. Hence I brought the word '(verbal) abuse' in front of him. Then he just went bonkers. Right then I felt like I had nothing to lose and fired away the 'credit card' question. Family drama in the office ensued. I just want him to stop threatening me so I told him to quit intimidating me, but it just made shit worse.

Meh. Family.  :oh_i_see: I'm still working at the moment. Wouldn't talk to each other and shit. Oh well. Back to work.

Glad to see he won!

rk47, you are making a huge mistake. Everybody I know who let the family member just get away with this sort of shit has lived to regret it. Every last one.

You are at the edge of a precipice. If you do not act, it will cost you.


Mind-bogglingly untrue. It is worth worrying over and taking it to the police or at least talking to a qualified lawyer about this is the minimum amount of ass-covering that this situation necessitates.  I'm sorry if I'm hitting you with Lecturing Post #3958364 but ...

Please to post after he does some sideways shit to make it look like you were stealing from the company and/or some other shady shit and gets you in trouble with the law. I look forward to with much eagernicity.

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but IMHO the #1 reason to get the law involved in this would be to cover your ass if the CC was used for illegal purposes. You do not want the FBI knocking on your door with a warrant for subscribing to some 'questionable' website or something similar. No, this is not  :tinfoil: stuff

Yes.  Please to be give update regularly on the collapse of your life.

(http://www.clisham.com-a.googlepages.com/sal-innsmouth.jpg)

Agreed.

It'll be super epic when he explains to your parents that's why you blew up and caused all the problems over the last few days as you're carted off to jail.

You don't have to believe some schmucks in the Internet anything. But there is family loyalty, and there is being stupid and waiting to be screwed over.

Don't trust our word, ask your lawyer.

Either grow some balls and take care of it properly or just kill yourself now and get it over faster.


If you continue to take the softcock way out, you will be fucked. I get the feeling you actually know this, but you're sticking your head in the sand and hoping for the best instead of even covering your own arse.

Hey rk, can I have your SS#, please?

Geez, you guys.   :ye_gods:

Ya, seriously, let the brother sort it out on his own. Half of you are acting like he owes -you- something.

Hell he said he's going to get some legal advice to cover himself, the fact that he doesn't want to actively damage his family relationships further than they already are hardly constitutes grounds for telling him his uncle's going to rape him while he sleeps. As long as he makes sure he's covered legally it's up to him whether he wants to put the screws on his uncle, possibly stop someone else getting ripped off by him and also possibly alienate his family for the next decade or so.

Family dramas are a pain and I can understand not wanting to drag you parents through all the emotional bullshit that would result in taking him to court, get yourself covered and move on RK.

I can fully understand not wanting to really blow up family relations. Just make sure you go to a lawyer and get some real world advice from somebody who knows the legal end of it. Make sure you cover your behind and can prove it so that 10 years down the road you don't find out that you can't get a loan for a car or a house because your credit is trashed.

So how exactly would one get a lawyer for this kind of thing? I imagine you would need someone with some sort of financial specialty? How would you find one? I can't imagine looking in the phone book would be the best place to start.

He hasn't made it clear he's going to a lawyer for advice.  If he is, that's all I ask.  We're not pushing him to hurt his family relationship, it's because we're seriously concerned having seen some really shitty things happen with identity theft by family.  We can be absolute douches when having fun, but in serious matters we look after our own.  We don't want him making that mistake.

(On a personal level, I've been in that position of choosing between protecting myself and risking my family.  Different subject, just as serious.  It's not an easy choice, but things with the family can be patched up.  [And if they can't it's my opinion they're not worth it.]  Screwing yourself never goes away, and leads to very, very bad places.)

Great thread, will read again.  When's the TV movie due?

Already been done, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367279/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367279/)

I concur with Lantyssa (amongst others) on the two points above.

I'm not suggesting he sues, but you report shit like this to the proper authorities. Immediately. And you look for a new job. What's to say this won't happen again in his name?  :roll:

In the end, it's his own life he's willing to let his uncle flush (or not).

Just one thing to add.

You are liable for all charges for any Credit Card unless you are willing to prosecute.  When I used to deal with these fraud cases, most were committed by a relative and most folks didn't prosecute.