Consumer complaint received 2018-02-16
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: TX
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Card opened as result of identity theft or fraud

Complaint:
A couple of weeks ago I began getting barraged with phonecalls from the Capital One collections center. It was difficult for me to get back in touch with them because I am currently overseas. Once I finally did a few days ago, it came to light that there was a Capital One credit card, now delinquent, opened fraudulently in my name this past XX/XX/2017. I am not in any way a current customer of Capital One, and have no connection whatsoever to any of their products. I worked with their representative on the phone, only to discover that this card was able to be opened in my name DESPITE the fact that the address information on public record file for me on my credit report was NOT matched, and somehow, what's more, the fraudulent address that thieves used was then added to my credit report, now in connection to me. Now I found myself with not only a maxed out and delinquent credit card in my name, a hard inquiry ding from CapOne from XXXX when it was opened, but also a completely false address on my credit report, added there by Capital One as a result of this criminally approved application. Since then I have spent many, many hours filing all the paperwork and disputes with all the credit agencies and federal entities necessary, costing me hundreds and hundreds of dollars in phone charges since I am still overseas and having to make all of the calls while in international roaming. 

What is most alarming to myself, and everyone, is how this credit card was able to be opened with Capital One. The thieves used a fake address while claiming to be me, an address which was not a match! And that address, thanks to this negligence on CapitalOne 's part, was even then added permanently to my credit report, as a valid current address for me. 

How in the world were these thieves allowed to **add** a fraudulent, non-existent address, to MY records, and then successfully get a credit card from it? An address I have never lived at or heard of, in a town I have never even been to -- XXXX, Florida?? It was explained to me that the fraudulent credit card application was strangely approved **even though** the correct personal information given was NOT a match, and the thieves just simply gave a brand new, fake address in order to get approval. Not only did giving that fake address somehow get them approval ( instead of having to match my correct address ), but now I am the one who has to clean up this mess and fight to get that address removed from my records, in addition to cleaning up my credit score and the  damage done. We know they used my name, a fake email address ( I was told the email address given for the application was XXXX and I have also filed a claim with XXXX letting them know what this user is doing ), and then they simply gave a fake mailing address which was in no way officially and validly connected to my name and SS #. 

The negligence shown by CapitalOne in so flippantly and easily approving a credit card for someone who did not have or provide the right information, and then inserting the WRONG information on to my personal records, is abhorrent. I am shocked and will take all steps necessary to make sure that Capital One is held fully responsible for such loose and irresponsible security policies. Although I am not a Capital One customer, their lazy and permissive policies made it possible for me to be taken advantage of, allowing my name and financial reputation to be stolen, abused. At no point during the thieves ' application process was any amount of the correct due diligence completed, CapOne never did a single thing to ensure the security and safety of consumers ( whether we are their customers or not ) by having a decently stringent application process in place, for if they had, this would not have happened.

I am awaiting news and updates from CapOne specialists on the status of my case and getting this account closed. I will then spend hundreds of additional dollars in international telephone call fees calling each of the credit agencies a second time, since I was informed that the step of the address removal can only be done manually, once again by me, once Capital One has removed the account from my report. So I had to spend time and money calling and alerting them all now of the fraudulent card the first time, and will then have to call them back a second time, each, from XXXX. 

These institutions can not be allowed to get away with such negligent application processes, which allow innocent people to be so easily taken advantage of, and which leave the victims with the chore of hours and hours of work to clean it up, and in my case, hundreds of dollars of expenses.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief