Identity theft and Discover Card

I wish I had more information. From the article, it appears that this
is a simple case of identity theft. The only argument Discover could
have, as far as I can tell, is that these people gave permission to
use their card or otherwise didn't take reasonable caution to protect
against the theft.

I wish I had more information. Because without it, I have no idea if
Discover has a good point or not.

And I suspect that most of us don't have enough information.

Which brings me to this letter. While I applaud Robert for standing
up for a stranger, I wish he's have said more about why HE feels that
Discover has done wrong. What information does he have?

Because my read of the Oregonian article doesn't make me think that
Discover is absolutely wrong. It raises a doubt, of course. But I'd
want to know more before I'd send a letter like this (and make it
public).

This all said, I SUSPECT that Discover is relying on a loophole. But
that's just my suspecting, and not having any actual information.

I've had a Discover card for ages, and this story really puzzles me.
Whenever we charge any significant amount, they cut off the card until
we call them and review the charges with them. They follow up on this
with a letter. Now that I think about it, Visa and MasterCard do the
same thing.

Did these people NEVER check their own mail?

My Mother-in-Law has done extensive research on fraud committed
against the elderly and it's sickening what people do. She's written
at least one award winning story and spent countless hours pouring
over letters written by family members of the elderly who lost
everything. Fortunately in this case the couple is most likely going
to be able to move on and is pretty lucky that they only have the debt
from Discover remaining. I certainly don't believe it's right that
Discover continues to hold this debt over their heads though. In
their own way, Discover seems to be taking advantage of an elderly
couple as well, who may not have been thinking as clearly or as keenly
as some of us younger people. It seems to me that instead of taking
the hit themselves, they are trying to "pass the buck" on to the
elderly couple that were taken themselves. As long as the couple was
not found guilty of anything I don't believe they should have to pay
this debt. I think the letter writer is dead on. Why take out a card
that won't take responsibility for fraud when there are so many others
that will these days?

If anybody is interested here is a link to the story.
I'm on the fence on this one. While I don't agree with Discover not
honoring their agreement the bilked parties allowed themselves to get
played like a fiddle.
Throw the guy in jail and have him make restitution.
Bill R.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/11692
6351026560.xml&coll=7&thispage=2

Good letter. Yes it does seem strange that Discover is not
"forgiving" the debt.

In the article here is the reference to the Discover Card:

"Thanks to the efforts of Mark Fullbright at Identity Theft 911,
Harper and Sukimoto said, most of the Waddells' creditors have
forgiven the fraudulent charges. The exception is Discover Card, which
is still demanding the couple repay $23,000 in charges on that credit
card."

Yet on Discover's web site they say:

"Your Discover Card automatically protects you with our $0 Fraud
Liability Guarantee."

"Our $0 fraud liability guarantee policy ensures you will not be held
responsible for unauthorized charges on your Discover Card."


So much for their promises.