Identity Theft
“I’m sorry, Mr. Grayson, but this card has been declined. Would you prefer
another method of payment?”
“Excuse me? Uh, could you try running it through again?”
“I tried twice, it still comes up as unapproved, I’m sorry.”
Dick was picking up his dinner; twenty–three dollars of Chinese food and this
card had a five-figure limit. He’d paid the bill just last week, paid it in full
like he did every month. Taking some money out of his wallet, he handed them
over to the cashier, pocketing his change. He’d look into this as soon as he got
home. It was probably just some kind of minor screw up.
He called as soon as he finished his General Tso, fried rice and egg roll,
finally getting a hold of a person after fifteen minutes of punching in his card
number, his personal phone number and his mother’s maiden name. He then waited
on hold for another fifteen minutes while he was assured that his call was very
important to them. “MasterCard Customer Services, Marcia speaking, how may I
help you?”
“Yes, hello. I was hoping you could tell me why my card was declined this
evening.”
“Mr. Grayson? Let me check here…I’m afraid that you were declined because your
card had reached its limit.”
“The limit on that card is twelve thousand, five hundred dollars.”
“Yes, sir. Do you suspect a problem with your account?”
“Could you me read the last few charges?”
“Of course. On July first a charge was made to Romeo’s Hess Station for
thirty-three dollars. On July third a charge was made to Acme Markets for
seventy-five dollars—both of these last charges were in Bludhaven. July third a
charge was made to Northwest Airlines for three thousand, five hundred and
twenty-seven dollars for two airline tickets on Air France from Chicago to
Paris, business class. On July fifth a charge was made to Hermes in Paris for
two thousand twenty-five dollars. Also on July fifth, a charge was made to the
Paris Cartier for three thousand, one hundred and fifteen dollars. That same day
there was a charge to Rexall Drugs in Bludhaven for twenty-seven dollars. On
July seventh, a charge was made to the Ritz in Paris for four thousand, two
hundred and fifty-three dollars and seventy-one cents as well as a charge to
Modell’s Sporting Goods in Bludhaven for one hundred and six dollars. This
brought your total to thirteen thousand, fifty-three dollars and seventy-one
cents.”
“But I didn’t make most of those charges. I wasn’t in Paris then and no one was
authorized to use my card.”
“Do you have the card in your possession, and has it been in your possession
consistently? You didn’t lend it to anyone or misplace it, Mr. Grayson?”
“Yes, I do have it and no, I didn’t lose or misplace it.”
“Is there a duplicate card, sir?”
“No, I just have one copy.”
“Can you provide proof as to your whereabouts during the charges in question,
sir?”
“I was at work those days. I’m a police sergeant in the seventeenth precinct of
the Bludhaven Police Department which I can easily verify in writing.”
“We would need that verification, sir, I’m sure you understand. Would you like
to file a report of fraud against your account?”
“Yes, I would.”
“All right, Mr. Grayson. It looks like this activity is certainly at variance
with the charges in Bludhaven at the same time there were charges in Paris,
though you do have a record of large charges in foreign countries—I would think
that’s probably why no red flag was raised in this case. I will go ahead and
cancel your card and send you a new one with a different account number, which
you should receive in one business day. I will also request that a fraud report
be sent to you to be filled out and returned to us. If I may suggest, you should
also check any other credit cards you may hold, as well as your credit rating,
as you may be the victim of identity theft. You may want to make sure your bank
balances are what that should be, as well. Do you have any questions, Mr.
Grayson?”
“I’m only libel for fifty dollars, right?”
“That’s correct, sir, but I can waive that charge since you’ve been such a good
customer for so long. Is there anything else?”
“May I have a transaction number for this call in case there’s any further
problem with this account?”
“Of course, sir, the number is…”
Dick thanked the woman, the call ended. Identity theft—great. What a pain in the
ass. Well, he could handle this, after all, he wasn’t just a cop, he was
Nightwing and if that wasn’t enough, he was Dick Grayson, heir to Wayne
Enterprises and had access to those resources as well. This wasn’t that big a
deal.
* * *
“Hey, Sarge? There’s some guy looking for you—you got a minute?”
“Who is it, Joe?”
“Some guy, says he has business with you. Doesn’t look dangerous, here’s his
card.”
It was a plain, everyday business card. ‘Bludhaven Collections.’ A nondescript
gray man wearing a gray suit came in, sat at the empty chair in front of Dick’s
desk. “Richard Grayson?”
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“I’m here to either collect back payment from you or to repossess a…” he glanced
at a form in his hand, “A 2005 silver Mercedes Kompressor which you purchased
from Gotham Mercedes four months ago and haven’t made any payments on since you
drove it off the lot.” He looked at a file. “The down payment in the amount of
fifteen thousand dollars was made on American Express card, number
4582-9748-1009-2981, issued in your name five months ago. Do you have this card,
Mr. Grayson?”
“I don’t have an Amex card, I didn’t buy a Mercedes. You have the wrong person.”
“Richard Grayson of 1013 Parkthorne Avenue, #3A, Bludhaven? Social Security
number 535-432-1208?”
“Yes, but I didn’t buy that car.”
“You deny owning this vehicle? Have you any idea where the car is at the
moment?”
“Yes, I deny owning it and I have no idea where it is.”
“Do you have any reason to suspect that someone may have requested a card
fraudulently in your name?”
“Yes, I do. I suspect that I’ve been the victim of identity theft, which I’ve
reported to my credit card companies, my bank and I’ve filed formal fraud
complaints. I can show you the file, if you’d like.”
“If it’s no trouble.”
“You have identification on you, sir?” The man handed over his own credentials,
which seemed to be in good order. Getting up to go through a file cabinet behind
his desk, Dick handed the man the folder.
After a few minutes the man put the file on Dick’s desk. “Would it be possible
for me to have a copy of this? It may simplify things and help us to straighten
this out.”
Dick didn’t like having his personal information floating around so, “I’ve
arranged to have the legal department of Wayne Enterprises in Gotham handle this
matter for me so the best thing would be for you to contact them. I’ll call the
head of legal over there and tell her to expect you.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, why is Wayne involved in this?”
Damn. “Because Bruce Wayne is my adoptive father and I have access to his
resources.”
“I see.” The gray man gave Dick a sharp look. “How long have you had them
working to straighten this out?”
“About two months now. Why do you ask?”
“Because I’ve done some checking on my own and it looks like someone is still
using your identity. I’ll see Wayne’s legal people and I’d strongly suggest that
you find out what else is being done in your name, Sergeant Grayson.” The man
stood up, ready to leave. “Look, I know who you are and it wasn’t too hard to
find out you’re related to a very wealthy man. The information is available for
anyone who cares to look so you’re an obvious target of this kind of thing,
especially when you couple it with the fact that Bruce Wayne made a large effort
to keep you out of the public eye when you were a minor. You’re not that well
known to the public at large so not too many people know what you look like;
makes you vulnerable to this sort of thing.”
“You came around to my side pretty fast.” Dick knew all this and Bruce’s lawyers
were supposed to be on top of these things.
“I do my job. I checked you out before I came over here and I pretty much knew
what was going on; just wanted to make sure you were legit and not running a
scam. You have the right answers and paperwork.”
Dick nodded. “I’ll call over to Wayne for you, ask them to cooperate with you.”
“You believed me awfully fast, Mr. Grayson. I could be one of the bad guys
looking for more assets you have I can steal.”
“I do my homework as well and so I knew that Bludhaven Collections was after me
because of this. I knew who you were when you handed me your card.” Dick had
Oracle on this, as well as doing his own search. He didn’t want to just stop the
people stealing his stuff; he wanted to put them away. This might not be exactly
up Nightwing’s alley, but he’d make an exception to clear his credit and
reputation.
“I assume you’ve alerted the credit reporting agencies and cancelled your cards,
had your file red-flagged.”
“Of course, but it hasn’t completely stopped them.”
“Sergeant Grayson, I have a suggestion; make this a personal priority.”
* * *
“It’s beyond me how you could allow this to happen, have you any idea of the
ramifications if your information gets out or hits the Internet? Jesus.”
“C’mon, Bruce, cut me some slack here, will you? I’m dealing with it—I have your
best lawyers working on it, Barbara is doing what she can and I’m doing whatever
I can as well.”
Bruce was in full Batmode. “This should never have happened to begin with, for
the love of God. Have you any idea what could happen if anything was leaked to
the public?”
Dick rolled his eyes. “No, what?” Of course he knew. “Lighten up, will you? Dick
Grayson was compromised, not Nightwing. And you know I’m careful to keep any
‘bat’ expenses separate from my personal life. It’ll be okay.”
“I damn well hope you’re right.”
* * *
“Grayson? Come with me please. Now, if you don’t mind.”
Dick looked up to see the Lieutenant a few feet away, looking even more serious
than usual. With no choice, and having no idea what this was about, he followed
into the Captain’s office where the Bludhaven Police Commissioner was waiting
there along with two men Dick recognized as aides to the Mayor. Naturally, the
Captain was there as well, looking like he’d just had a new one chewed for him
by these gentlemen. He assumed that he was next.
“Sergeant Grayson? Perhaps you’d be so good as to explain this?”
Dick took the file from the Commissioner’s hand, leafing through it and going
slightly pale as he did so. Late last night there had been a bust of an arms
dealer over in Thrawn Park. A huge gun bust with everything from Saturday Night
Specials to semis to bazookas, for God’s sake. Hundreds and hundreds of weapons
along with the munitions to fill their chambers. Enough ordinance to start a
small war.
“Your name was on the shipping labels we found on a large number of the cases,
along with credit card receipts also in your name.” The Captain—a model of
police corruption—stared at him, this was the only way the man could keep his
job; by busting one of Bludhaven’s own and prove that they were making progress
cleaning up the cesspool which comprised the BPD. Dick would be sent up the
proverbial river and then business could go on as usual.
“None of this is mine—I swear. I had nothing to do with any of this.”
“Of course you didn’t, son.” The commissioner was playing good cop. “We know
you’ve made a pretty fair rep for yourself while you’ve been here on the force,
just the kind of young man we need working for us. Maybe you could explain this
to us.”
The only explanation; “My identity was stolen, along with my credit cards and
all my personal information. I have lawyers working on it—you can call to verify
that. I swear none of this has anything to do with me.”
“Now, we believe you, son, you know we support our own, but I’m going to need
some proof once the press gets a hold of this. You think you could find anything
we can use to help you? You know all we want to do is help you clear you name,
don’t you? Let you get back to work as soon as possible.”
Crap. “Get back to work, sir?”
“Well, you know we have to let people know we take these things seriously,
Sergeant. You don’t think things are going to be business as usual for you till
this mess is cleaned up, right?”
The Mayor’s aides stepped in. “Naturally the Mayor will issue a statement of
support, but with you connection to Bruce Wayne it won’t look good if he gets
too close to something like this—you understand, don’tcha Grayson? Someone wit
Wayne’s money could easily be behind something like this and we have to make
sure everyone’s nose is clean. It’s just commons sense.”
Dick got it; they really didn’t have to draw a picture, thanks. “So I’m relieved
of duty. Okay. With or without pay?”
“C’mon, Grayson—you don’t really expect anyone to think you actually need the
five hundred bucks a week, do you? We’ll be in touch and in the meantime, keep
your nose clean.”
“You’re dismissed. Oh, and the Lieutenant will escort you out to your
motorcycle.”
* * *
“Jesus, Bruce—get your damn lawyers to straighten this mess out, will you?
F’Chrissake, you own MasterCard; call them, will you?”
* * *
A few weeks later Dick was just getting home from a double shift at BPD. He was
exhausted, whipped and all he wanted was a hot shower and few hours of sleep
before Nightwing started patrol.
“Just a short moment of y’r time, if ye not be mindin’, then, Mr. Grayson.”
“What’s up, Clance?”
She was holding a letter or some kind, official looking and looked pretty
annoyed. “Y’r rent check. It’s bounced like a ball, thank you very much.”
He just gave her a look. Crap. He knew he had enough money to cover the rent. He
had way more than enough and so it looked like… “I’ll take care of it, Clancy. I
promise—you’ll have new one in the morning. A cashier’s check or a money order,
okay?”
“See that you do, then and no lolly gagging about it—bein the owner cuts no
slack wi’ the likes of me, boyo.”
Hell’s bells. He turned the key in his door, went straight to his computer and
pulled up his on-line banking. Yeah. Great. Empty. Both checking and savings.
Zero balances in both of them. Screw this.
He got his personal address book, checked a number and dialed. It was answered
on the third ring. “Mr. Buckram? This is Richard Grayson calling. I apologize
for bothering you at home, however I want you to be aware that…”
Twenty minutes later he was called back, assured that his deposits were insured
and that—of course the bank would make sure that his balances were restored
immediately into secure accounts. They would have someone do it right now and
file the paper work with the Banking Commission as well. Nothing to worry about.
They’d file the police reports for fraud and begin tracking the routing numbers
and transfer records at once. Dick thanked him, hung up then slumped back on the
couch, his head tilted back, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Well, there were some advantages in keeping over twenty million dollars in a
bank and being Bruce Wayne’s son. You got very good service and access to the
president of the bank’s home number.
He knew that he’d be able to clear this up sooner or later but in the meantime
it was a pain in the ass. Sure, he had the resources to resolve messes a lot
faster than most people—the entire legal department over at Wayne, the files and
contacts and information at BPD and, last but not least, Oracle. Between them
he’d be in the clear in a few weeks or months. He knew this.
What he didn’t know was how this happened. Hell, he was as careful and password
protected and security aware as anyone on the planet. What about Joe Average?
What were the stats? Something like three or four years, ruined credit and God
knew how much money and aggravation to get your identity cleared and back to
normal.
Who needed that? Who had the time or patience to deal with it? And what choice
did you have? We live in an electronic age when information is a commodity to be
traded like stocks or something.
Well…just crap.
Meanwhile he was on paid leave from the department and so had the time to get
this mess dealt with. Lucky duck that he was.
His rent check bounced? His rent check? He owned the damn building—in
fact he even saw the humor in this but, well, cripes.
Things continued like this for another two months before Dick
finally—finally!—got the call from Bruce’s lawyers along with a follow up
letter. The case had been cleared up, his credit was restored with all three
credit agencies and he even received a letter of apology from MasterCard with
assurance that his account was cleared and a special flag was now on anything
involving anything he did as a safety. This would remain in effect for a year
with a possibility of extension, if needed.
He was placed back on the active duty list and his name was removed from any
suspicion regarding the arms merchant and bust, much to the annoyance of his
higher-ups. Though, this being Bludhaven, the suspicion remained and he caught
any number of looks and smirks in the precinct house for months afterwards.
Clancy continued to believe he was a semi-deadbeat, despite his owning the
building and assumed he used that as an excuse to not pay rent.
Bruce continued his believe that this was caused by Dick’s carelessness and made
on going remarks about his lapse.
Oracle sent him the following via e-mail, highlighted in red and Italics:
1. The next time you order checks have only your
initials (instead of first name) and last name put
on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will
not know if you sign your checks with just your
initials or your first name, but your bank will know
how you sign your checks.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards.
Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED".
3. When you are writing checks to pay on your
credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete
account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put
the last four numbers. The credit card company knows
the rest of the number, and anyone who might be
handling your check as it passes through all the
check processing channels won't have access to it.
4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead
of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that
instead of your home address. If you do not have a
PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS#
printed on your checks. You can add it if it is
necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can
get it.
5. Place the contents of your wallet on a
photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license,
credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your
wallet and all of the account numbers and phone
numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a
safe place. Carry a photocopy of your passport
when you travel either here or abroad.
6. These are the numbers you always need to
have contact info about if your wallet, etc., has been stolen:
1.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):
1-800-269-0271
2.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
3.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
4.) Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289 *
It turned out that a dishonest federal employee had illegally copied his
driver’s license while he was applying for a new passport. He’d used his license
as part of his ID, along with his old passport and his birth certificate. They’d
all been Xeroxed and then the copies had been copied again. Here was an entire
syndicate selling identities gained this way. One piece of information was used
to unlock another—the driver’s license accessed his social security number. The
social security number unlocked his bank accounts when combined with his
mother’s maiden name which was found during a google search. It was a series of
dominoes and once they started to fall there was little that could be done until
it started to play out with false charges and bad credit.
It was a simple crime, in the scheme of things.
Rather than being arrested and persecuted, the federal employee was fired and
disappeared.
Over three hundred people were caught in this small-scale operation over six
months.
He continued to feel like both an idiot and a victim for several years.
Bruce never completely forgave Dick for his lapse in having his identity stolen,
nor for tying up his legal department on resolving the problem.
The identity thief was never caught.
*Most of this very good information was found in an old e-mail from Char.
4/7/08
D
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