Consumer complaint received 2024-07-08
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY (GA)

I am a victim of romance fraud. In XXXX an ex-boyfriend of mine, XXXX XXXX, asked if I could help him build his business credit. He told me he would use me as a guarantor for a few cards and would make one or two charges then pay the cards off to help build up his credit. I foolishly agreed and gave him my personal details ( ssn, address, DOB, email/pw ). With my knowledge he opened 3 cards ( XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX ). WITHOUT my knowledge he also opened Amex, XXXX and several other cards. He then ran up over {$60000.00} in charges across the cards. He also without my knowledge added me as a registered agent to his business. When I found out what he had done I confronted him. I removed him from all the cards and forced him to start making payments on the cards. He would send me some of the money and I would go on the website and post the payments. In XXXX he stopped sending any money, and stopped making all payments. This was done after another woman was able to get a judgement against him for {$30000.00} that he frauded her out of by cashing a check in her name. 

I filed a police report about the incident on XX/XX/XXXX with the city of XXXX. They were unable to open an investigation because they said the cards and incident occurred when I lived in XXXX, Ny, so all they could do was forward the details to the XXXX, and advised that it would be up to NY to start a case. I flew back to NY to file a police report there but they were unwilling and said this would need to be a civil matter. 

I reached out to both XXXX and Amex in XXXX when this first occurred, and was in touch with them yearly since that date. I have since opened XXXX fraud cases with Amex ( XX/XX/XXXX and again in XX/XX/XXXX ), and XXXX with XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX ). All of which were ruled against me. The banks basically told me that in order to have won a fraud case for these cards I would have needed to call them when it first occurred, and not after making payments. I have contacted the FBI to report the identity theft, as well as having my credit frozen in XXXX so he could not continue to use my information. 

I am aware of XXXX other women that XXXX has also frauded, as well as his daughter, who he also frauded in the same manner in which he did me - opening XXXX credit cards using her information. 

I provided XXXX and Amex the police report, as well as the information regarding the report I left with the FBI and neither institution is willing to help me. They basically told me that because I made payments towards the debt I was assuming the liability. They have both reported the delinquent accounts to the credit Bureuas, bringing my credit from XXXX to the upper XXXX. Neither XXXX nor Amex is willing to help or listen. They call my family members regularly asking for me and saying they are attempting to collect a debt - a debt that I have repeatedly told them is not mine! 

I reached out to all 3 reporting credit bureaus and none of them are willing to remove the negative accounts from my credit report.