A fraud applicaton
can be defined as any credit card account that you did not authorize.
A fraudster obtains your social security number and that's about
all it takes to open an account in your name. The fraudster
then uses your social security number in an attempt to obtain
credit in your good name. Often the fraudster is successful.
Even when the application is denied, the address and name can
be sold to a different card company that will actually solicite
a pre-approved application to the fraudster!
The worst thing about a fraudulent application
is that you don't know about it's existence until it's too late.
Usually, the true cardholder does not find out until the account
has been turned over to a collection agency.
Often the fraudulent application contains a combination of both
true and falsified information. If the credit card was sent
to your actual billing address, then there is a good chance
that a household member or nearby neighbor intercepted a pre-approved
application that a company sent to your address. If the address
on the account is a place you do not recognize, contact the
police and the credit reporting agency.
