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  1. #1
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    Mar 2016
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    4

    Unhappy Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: FL

    Im a college student and my roommate is a close friend of 5+ years. He has had a history of identity theft, once recently after having lost his card for the nth time. These past couple of days he noticed a lot of unknown charges on his account for an online food ordering service. This is a service that weve both used in the past, but as money became tighter, i used it less and less.

    As these charges appeared, his initial reaction was to accuse me, but not tell me this until today when i asked. Apparently I am being accused of stealing his card and using to order food, which i am well aware that i am not doing this, so you can see why this is an issue. My roommate has filed for fraud at his bank again, and supposedly is dropping my name to be investigated. I, unaware of what the situation even is asked, and learned that someone is using his card to buy food. So this immediately prompted me to show him my order history on the delivery site, only to find that i hadnt ordered food in a while. This made things a bit more complicated, so i decided id check this out myself.

    I called the support number for the site, and with their number recognition, they were able to pull up my account, again showing that there were no transactions. Not satified though, i called again, same deal, they pulled up my account, but this time they informed me that there was another account registered to my number. I asked for more information and realized that this was an account that i hadnt used in months and it was full of transactions that i never made. When i asked for the payment method, they told me it was a credit card, so i asked for the last 4 digits only to have them tell me that they cannot disclose this (they also dont appear on their receipts). I immediately called my roommate and told him what the situation was and that there was more going on.

    Since I was unable to confirm the card number, i had to manually check all the purchases on the delivery site to the ones on his bank statement, and see that they in fact matched. The delivery company was unable to help further, and when i checked my email for order confirmations, there were none o be found. Ive known my roommate for years and we have ben best friends this whole time.

    Here is the kicker though, all of the purchases made with his card were apparently delivered to our address since my account was linked to them. My phone number was also listed along with my email, yet i never received confirmations that these orders were placed. And after looking at the times that some of the orders were placed, i was either with my roommate in our room, or away from my apartment in class or at dinner at my fraternity, which is at the same time everyday.

    Im really scared that something or someone else is involved and im being used as a scapegoat, and the fact that the account is under my name, the address is the one where i currently reside, and its my roommate's card that is being used is really scaring me. We never lock our door, nor do i have a lock on my computer, and his wallet sits on his desk a lot of the time.

    So my question is, what am i looking at? Could i potentially get in trouble for this? Im truly scared because im pretty sure this is a felony, but i didnt do anything. He is a very close friend, and his accusations really hurt. I cant afford a lawyer or anything like that, and i dont know who else to turn to other than the "alibis" that i do have for a lot of the purchases made at certain times.

  2. #2
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    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    Your story is that somebody managed to get your roommate's credit card number and then, using your name, ordered food from a delivery service you use, to be delivered to your address, but that you were unaware of the orders and had nothing to do with their being placed.... And for many, but not all, of the orders, you are stating that you were home when the delivery occurred?

    If it's just you and your roommate living in the apartment, it's pretty much a given that the orders were placed by either you or your roommate.

  3. #3
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    Mar 2016
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    4

    Default Re: Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
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    Your story is that somebody managed to get your roommate's credit card number and then, using your name, ordered food from a delivery service you use, to be delivered to your address, but that you were unaware of the orders and had nothing to do with their being placed.... And for many, but not all, of the orders, you are stating that you were home when the delivery occurred?

    If it's just you and your roommate living in the apartment, it's pretty much a given that the orders were placed by either you or your roommate.
    Its not that simple. Its not an "apartment" but a dorm, so our door is always open. we've gone through a lot of the charges and most of them i was either with him, or in class. Im not saying that i was home when the deliveries were made, im saying the opposite. Im just really scared of the police in general and i feel like with this much pointing at me, despite not even knowing about the account being used, that im going to get in some sort of legal trouble. These seem like some pretty major accusations and although my roommate has taken time to listen to me and realize that the charges were not mine, i dont know how the police or whomever is even dealing with this will see it.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    So now your story is that you were never home when food was delivered? That you were always somewhere else or with your roommate?

    Whose stupid idea is it to never lock the door of your dorm room? That aside, sorry, the story that somebody is repeatedly sneaking into your dorm room to use your roommate's credit card to buy food using your computer and account with a service that you use -- a secondary account that even you forgot that you had -- ordered in your name for delivery to your room, and managing to intercept all of the deliveries without ever being caught or even detected, is even more far-fetched than what you previously suggested. And all of this just happens to coincide with a period in time when you were using the service less than usual with your own credit card, because you were short of money?

    When you asked the company why you never received confirmation texts or emails for purchases on your secondary account, despite its being registered with your email address and phone number, what did they tell you?

  5. #5
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    Mar 2016
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    4

    Default Re: Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    My story is the same as its always been. Someone got his card information, had either access to my computer or my laptop, and now has those credentials. The card, as well as the account are both under investigation, but it all points to me and its really bad because now im caught in the middle of something that i didnt have a part in.

    The reason our room is never locked is because he lost his key early in the year so we figured it would be fine if it just remained open.

    I understand it sounds very complicated, but that is our situation right now until we figure out what is going on. I know for a fact that neither one of us ordered the food, but the fact that they used my account to do so reflects really poorly upon myself, despite the fact that there is no way i could have even made some of those purchases.

    When i called the company, they claimed that they were not authorized to give me the last 4 digits of the card to even verify it. And then when i questioned why there were no email/phone confirmations, they said that they shouldve been sent, but my records dont show them. They did tell me that they would send the "case" to their investigation department, but ive received no word from them since.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
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    312

    Default Re: Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    First of all; I'm assuming you're using the University's WiFi. I would make sure you have a proper firewall up.

    Second: Is your friend dumb enough that he 'saved' his credit info on the order site, so he didn't have to enter his credit card each time he placed an order? Even better question; is he stupid enough to save his LOGIN information on his browser, so he doesn't need to enter that in everytime he places an order?

    If you truly believe you're being investigated, you should be putting as much effort into proving you DIDN'T place and accept these orders. As stupid of a situation as this is.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
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    4

    Default Re: Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    I think someone had to have taken the card manually and either photographed or somehow recorded the information while his wallet was in the room and he was i=either showering or we were asleep. Thats the unsettling part of all of this.

    The browser and delivery site were likely my error since i dont have a password lock, and after doing research, ive learned that Google Chrome saves your passwords in a very accessible menu, so if someone else also knew about this, then that would solve this. I really dont know who or why they would do this though.

    This all seems staged at this point.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    California
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    Default Re: Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    Given that this is not the crime of the century, appears to involve some rather low dollar values, and the police have not yet been involved, I strongly suspect that the police are not going to show up with search and arrest warrants and you are not likely to be clapped in irons. If there is no clear proof of who embezzled the card or the account, the police will write a report, put it into a file, and tell the victim to cancel his card and take the case number to the credit card company. It is very possible that he will be made whole by his credit card company.

    Your roommate needs to take care of his stuff better and you need to make him a copy of your key. Keeping your dorm room open is STOOPID. I'm surprised you have not lost computers and other stuff!

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Accused by a Roommate of Using His Credit Card

    Quote Quoting Pringle
    View Post
    Second: Is your friend dumb enough that he 'saved' his credit info on the order site, so he didn't have to enter his credit card each time he placed an order?
    The orders were placed through the OP's account, not the friend's. Whether or not 'whoever' used the account saved the friend's credit card number into the account is something the OP might be able to determine.

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