Lawyer Advice?

[TheRef]

So I had $601 of fraudulent online charges to my bank account. I have the company working on trying to pin down the IP/name of the person(s) who used my information, and already working with the bank to refund my money.

My question to you, should I press charges and/or file suit against those who used my information if I'm able to identify him/her/them? Also, if I do press charges, what would they be? Let's assume that the people who used the information were not in MS but within the bounds of the U.S.

[Martianlander]

Fraud is a criminal act and criminal charges can be brought whether you press charges or not, however you may have to file a civil case to get your money back. The question then becomes will it cost you more than $601 to get it back. My inclination is to say press charges, but you do need to look at the money aspect. Hope this helped a little.

[TheRef]

Thanks, man. Exactly what I wanted.

[BoomBoom]

So I had $601 of fraudulent online charges to my bank account. I have the company working on trying to pin down the IP/name of the person(s) who used my information, and already working with the bank to refund my money.

My question to you, should I press charges and/or file suit against those who used my information if I'm able to identify him/her/them? Also, if I do press charges, what would they be? Let's assume that the people who used the information were not in MS but within the bounds of the U.S.

This happened to someone i know very recently. Credit card not bank account though. The cops said that the victim was not him, but was the bank/credit card issuer. so only they could file a report. they wouldn't even investigate, despite there being video. not worth their time apparently. was pretty ridiculous.

[starkvegasdawg]

If you can, nail their sorry ass as hard as you can. I have no patience for a thief.

[TheRef]

I caught it early enough that it never actually got charged. It was a pending transaction, then it was suddenly gone. So I must have gotten the process started before they could even do anything bad. So take this as advice, if you see it happening. Call the credit card and have it cancelled, call your bank/issuer, then contact the site/sites that it was charged to.

[Martianlander]

Great-glad you came out OK without too much trouble.

[starkvegasdawg]

I'd keep an eye on your credit score and stuff just in case he may have gotten enough info to open other cards in your name.

[Political Hack]

If you do it before the criminal case is done, it will be for the principle of it because it will cost you more in money and time than $600.

That said, this site has paid more in legal fees than it was worth financially just to protect the identity of our posters when some Ole Miss people subpoenaed the site. Cost us a lot of $, but it was worth it because the principle of it.

Just make sure criminal charges are filed. If you win the criminal case, the civil case may actually net you much more than $600 based on the time and effort you've spent cleaning it up. Lawyers capable of handling these cases are few and far between though.

[Dawgology]

So I had $601 of fraudulent online charges to my bank account. I have the company working on trying to pin down the IP/name of the person(s) who used my information, and already working with the bank to refund my money.

My question to you, should I press charges and/or file suit against those who used my information if I'm able to identify him/her/them? Also, if I do press charges, what would they be? Let's assume that the people who used the information were not in MS but within the bounds of the U.S.

Don't waste your time or money. In the end any money that you lose will be compensated by your bank or credit card company once you file a report with your local PD...unless you have a terrible bank/credit card company. There are A LOT of moving parts as any suit will come down to jurisdictional boundaries and whether or not the person is in the continental U.S. 99% of the time these folks are in Germany or the Middle East and NOTHING will come of it but you will pay A LOT for an attorney to pretend they are doing something. Trust me on this. Cool down...drink a beer...be glad you caught it. The stress and money you will save will be worth it. This happened to me...twice...the first time I didn't know and spent a lot of money. The second time I reported it and got my money back and that was it. I also closed my account with that bank after I got my money back.
Incidentally, over 5 MILLION debit and credit card numbers were stolen over the past five years from several restaurants in Florida and south Alabama and that's where a lot of this is originating. Hacked via some German hackers. Nazis....I hate Nazis... The FBI is supposedly investigating.