Things You'll Need:
- Location of the police department in the area where you live.
- A computer with internet access.
- Driver's License or Photo ID.
- Patience and Tenacity.
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Step 1
If you log into your credit union or bank account and see fraud has occured, immediately change your password, call the credit union or bank and make a physical appearance onsite.
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Step 2
Review your account with an onsite representative to explain the fraud. The representative will have you fill out a dispute form for each fraudulent transaction that has occurred. Once you fill out these forms, request photocopies of each form.
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Step 3
Remove all of your remaining money from the account, both savings and checking and request that your accounts be frozen. Move your money to a safe location, either to a brand new account or take your business to a different credit union or bank.
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Step 4
Require that the representative compose an email stating what has happened and have them send the email to you. This will give you electronic tracking and you will be able to correspond both over the phone and through emails.
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Step 5
Request the phone number of the information technology department, usually referred to as eBanking department. Do not leave until the representative contacts the eBanking department via phone and tells them what has happened. Once the representative has eBanking on the phone, ask for eBanking managers phone number and email address. Now, have the representative send another email to eBanking stating what has happened and have them copy your email address. This will give you email access to the eBanking manager. This is who you are really after, the eBanking Manager. Read on, see why.
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Step 6
Now it's time to take a proactive role. You need to phone the eBanking manager and Call him/her and request a list of Internet Protocol Addresses (IP Addresses). You will tell the eBanking manager the dates, times, and amounts of when the fraud occurred. The manager should not reject your request, if they do, demand that you be given that list of IP Addresses. Also, make sure the list contains the Date and Time, and find out what time zone.
For example:
Date CST Time IP ADDRESS
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9/14/2006 2:11:10 AM 64.193.8.57
9/15/2006 10:04:36 AM 71.103.231.14
9/21/2006 1:04:08 PM 89.190.224.102
9/25/2006 3:41:47 AM 75.9.60.119
Of these IP addresses, 75.9.60.119 was the IP address at the time that the fraud occurred on, say, your account. -
Step 7
Now that you have the suspect IP Address, use your computer and navigate to the following site using your browser.
http://visualroute.visualware.com
copy or type the IP Address into the textbox and click on "start trace". Once the trace has completed, expand the "Node Name" column and look at the last row in the table. The Node Name is the location of the internet service provider. You need to locate their phone number and address and call them immediately. If you cannot determine this information from the last row in the table, then download an evaluation copy of VisualRoute for your operating system and install it on your computer. Do another search of the fraudulent IP Address using the installed software. -
Step 8
When the trial software is installed, do another search using the fraudulent IP Address.
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Step 9
Now, goto the bottom of the screen and hover your mouse over the entry in the bottom row of the "Node Name" column and click on the link. This will show a WHO Is lookup for the link and provide address information. Now, you're getting somewhere.
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Step 10
Once you have the name, address, phone of the internet service provider where the fraud originated, you call them immediately. The person you are looking for is someone who can scan the log files and tell you the zip code of the person who committed the fraud. The Internet Service Provider cannot give you specific details, such as name, address, etc. All they can give you is the zip code, but that's pretty good information because you'll be giving all the information you collected thus far to your credit union or bank, and to the detective who will eventually be assigned to your case.
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Step 11
Ok, next thing to do is ask the internet service provider to email you their procedures for requesting a subpoena to have their log files turned over to the authorities. Once the email arrives, immediately forward it to the contact at the credit union or bank. In other words, you are basically doing alot of the leg work that the credit union and bank would have to do, except you are making it happen RIGHT NOW instead of weeks from now.
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Step 12
Ok, so, now that you have done alot of your own detective work. You need to compile all of this information into a packet and make three photocopies. One for yourself, one for the credit union or bank, and one for the detective.
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Step 13
Call the police department and tell them what happened. They will have an officer meet with you and you will explain what happened. Give the officer the information packet because that will be passed onto the detective. Request a CASE# from the police officer. Many times, the police officer cannot give you once at the time you are meeting with them, but they should contact you shortly and provide a CASE# for you. You tell the Police officer that the credit union or bank cannot procede with their internal investigation without a CASE#. Once you get a CASE# contact the credit union or bank and give them the CASE# as well as the information packet. Many times, you can do most of this using email.
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Step 14
So, why go to all this trouble? Well, if you don't you probably won't see your money returned to your pocket for over a month. If you are proactive about it, you can most likely get your money returned to you within a week.
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Step 15
Once you get your money back, go out for a nice dinner and drinks. Celebrate and treat yourself to something nice because you just went to battle and won your money back.
