Diana and John Stewart of Largo examine their credit card statements. It can take days of work to clean up credit fraud.
LARGO – An elderly couple warned others about fraud after they were themselves victimized by thieves who ran up a $20,049 bill on their credit card.
John and Diana Stewart, who live in an upscale mobile home park and work as school crossing guards, said thieves somehow got their credit card number while they were vacationing in Michigan. The culprits charged electronics, gasoline, eyeglasses and even received cash at a casino.
“It is scary that you can become a victim without realizing it,” Diana Stewart said. “It made us feel so vulnerable.”
Stewart is a retired bank teller who once worked in a bank’s credit department. Her husband is a retired Ford Motor Co. mechanical engineer.
The problems began while the couple were visiting their daughters in Michigan. A July 14 letter to their Florida address regarding suspicious charges caught up with them. Somehow their credit card number fell into the wrong hands and the culprits went on a spending spree.
The thieves made illegal purchases totaling $1,854 at Best Buy. Another $2,013.98 was charged at Circuit City. About $890 worth of eyeglasses were charged at Lenscrafters.
“We hadn’t used that particular credit card in about two years,” Mrs. Stewart said. “I don’t know how anyone could have gotten the number.”
Her husband surmises that a credit card company employee could have rifled the number and those of other people from so-called secured files. The numbers are usually sold to other thieves who then make illicit purchases.
“We are careful never to give out important information such as Social Security numbers,” John Stewart said.
His wife spent hours on the phone with banks and credit agencies to clear up the mess. The credit card company was very helpful in helping the Stewarts overcome the obstacles.
“It’s still not over,” Stewart said. “The matter is still being investigated and there is still work to be done.”
The Stewarts urge people to be careful with their credit cards and to never provide important personal information to stores unless it is absolutely necessary.
“Some stores actually want your Social Security number to cash a check,” John Stewart said. “I will not give it to them.”
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America because it is reasonably easy to gather information from potential victims. It’s a multimillion-dollar problem and can take up to 160 hours of work to resolve once an identity is stolen. Data can be gleaned from mailings discovered in garbage cans and through unsavory financial institution employees.
A look at the Internet reveals hundreds of Web sites that sell protection from credit card fraud. But the Federal Trade Commission tells how you can protect yourself for free. That information is available at www.ftc.gov.
“Use only a few credit cards and keep them in a safe place,” John Stewart said.
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