Bank Calling Back About Credit Card Fraud, Months After the Fraud

[Boucher83]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: New Jersey

If a credit card was used fraudulently (the physical card itself) to the tune of say $5,000 (at several different stores over the period of several days), the card holder was called by the bank about suspicious activity, card was canceled. The standard fraud forms were sent to the card holder, who signed them, and returned them.

Now several months later the bank calls back up about the fraud. If they now want a police report, does mean they are going to actively investigate or is it merely a formality? If they are going to go get the video from the cameras does this usually mean the store (let's say big chain stores like Walmart, target, or best buy) security people believe they can catch the suspect based on the images from the tape(s)?

Will the local police departments likely bother to investigate and/or arrest/prosecute?

Looking for the best legal assessment of this situation based on these given facts.

Thanks a lot.
Thanks.

[lwpat]

In other words you used the card and then reported it as stolen to get out of paying?

[Boucher83]

The person appearing on any possible security tapes would not be the card holder. Card holder in this scenario was not in the store using card.

Hope that is enough detail where someone can help me out w/ my questions.

Thanks.

[mmmagique]

I'm curious as to why the card holder didn't file police reports right away?
Surely he/she would want the person responsible to be held accountable?
Right?

[Mr. Knowitall]

The two most obvious scenarios:

1. They want to catch and prosecute the person who used the card - the odds are high that the person using the card is somebody known to the cardholder;

2. They believe the card holder was a participant in the fraud, and hope to collect evidence establishing that the card holder was a participant.

Those two possibilities aren't mutually exclusive.

[cyjeff]

There is also the possiblity that the fraudulent user of the card did something really stupid like have something delivered back to the home of the card holder.

In any case, Yes, they are within their rights to ask for a copy of the police report.

[souperdave]

As one who is on the retailing investigator end of things then I have to venture that....

The institution is very interested in prosecuting upon what they now perceive as resolvable issues, the victimized retailers will be very cooperative in the investigation 'cause, after all, they were victimized too!

If an affadavit of fraud was "perjured" then that is a seperate, and quite serious, offense.

Yes, the local po-po will most likely be very interested in aiding and abetting the successful prosecution. BTW, in most states each and every fraudulent use constitutes its own felony charge.....sometimes things are agregated as a common course of criminal conduct so it becomes a 'lump-sum' deal....all depends on the circumstances.