Possible fraud - so worried

DVardysShadow

rachel4331 wrote: »

I'm new to this site and maybe if I'm on the wrong forum, someone can direct me!

To cut a very long story short, a few years ago I found out I had a step sister and about 4 years ago, she came to live with me and my hubby for a while. She is now 38. I knew she was using our address for credit etc and at the time, I was fine with this, plus me and my hubby thought it would be a permanent arrangement, which we were happy about and she was paying board.

Anyway, in August, there was a huge family row and my step sister up and left and I haven't heard from her since. (It has happened before too, about 18 months ago but she came back and we reconcilled.) Now things have come to light and it seems she has left a huge trail of debt. Blinded by family loyalities, I did allow her initally to use my bank cards to pay for things on the internet (she gave me the cash in return.) and didn't think anything of it whilst she was setting herself up credit wise. Please think of me as you will but I really didn't see anything wrong with this.

Letters have been coming in for my step sister since she left and I have been writing a note on them, and posting them back in the post, unopened. I have advised too any telephone calls we have been getting. Anyway, one letter came today all official looking and I opened it. It was from Simply Be for £147.00. The same company has been calling our landline and threatening both me and dh with the police.

Anyway, I called them today (not really the right thing to do,) and they put me through to their Fraud Dept. They believe I am acting as my step sister as the account has many similarities, including the password (it seems we have both used our fathers surname.) and bank card (which I allowed her to use in the early days.) They also claim my step sister is not real as there is no one with that dob existing (!!!!!!?) I have accounts with them which I have never had a problem with and they have closed them too today. They are also reporting the whole thing to the police and are sending me a letter detailing their next move.

I am absolutely gutted, distraught and very, very worried. Whatever next. My hubby is going to go mental and I don't want to get family involved at this stage. I have no forwarding contacting details for her and my father hasn't heard off my step sister either.

What can I do, I just feel like paying it off but I fear the worst is yet to come.

Please, I need some advice or maybe other internet sites which may be of help. thanx for getting this far. I really can't cope with this at the moment and just don't know what to do next. Is it worth me getting in touch with the police?

I think we will save this one.

Rachel, if you had not edited the other thread to remove the story about your OH, I would not have concluded either way. I think the other thread is entirely relevant and anyone who is going to help you needs to know about the other issue. If you are genuine it makes the problem much more serious.

As it is, I can think of a few reasons why this might have happened twice which leave you innocent. Now you are sulking about people judging you and deleting your posts, I am more inclined to be suspicious.

Pernicious

DVardysShadow wrote: »

As it is, I can think of a few reasons why this might have happened twice which leave you innocent. Now you are sulking about people judging you and deleting your posts, I am more inclined to be suspicious.

Quoted for truth...something is seriously fishy here! Really hope I'm wrong though...

rachel4331

Obviously you guys do not know me and can come to your own conclusions or suspisions. Personally I don't really care, I have more on my plate than some forum that I came to for advice. I have a young family and people that know me, know that there is nothing "fishy" about me. I defo came to the wrong place for some advice. More fool me for thinking otherwise.

I will go now, not post on here anymore and look on other forums for advice where I won't be judged and treated in such a way I have never been treated on a forum before. I am more upset now that I was earlier today after coming off the phone to Simply Be and am contemplating suicide as a way out of this mess so thanx for making me sink even lower than I already feel.

I certainly won't recommend this site to anyone, but for the genuine ones on here, I wish you all the best and sincerely thank you for taking the time to reply to my post of today and giving some good advice.

I would appreciate it now for people not to post on this post and comment either by pm or between yourselves by some other means.

Some of you are so shallow you obviously do not see the hurt you can cause people.

Pernicious

rachel4331 wrote: »

Obviously you guys do not know me and can come to your own conclusions or suspisions. Personally I don't really care, I have more on my plate than some forum that I came to for advice. I have a young family and people that know me, know that there is nothing "fishy" about me. I defo came to the wrong place for some advice. More fool me for thinking otherwise.

I will go now, not post on here anymore and look on other forums for advice where I won't be judged and treated in such a way I have never been treated on a forum before. I am more upset now that I was earlier today after coming off the phone to Simply Be and am contemplating suicide as a way out of this mess so thanx for making me sink even lower than I already feel.

I certainly won't recommend this site to anyone, but for the genuine ones on here, I wish you all the best and sincerely thank you for taking the time to reply to my post of today and giving some good advice.

I would appreciate it now for people not to post on this post and comment either by pm or between yourselves by some other means.

Some of you are so shallow you obviously do not see the hurt you can cause people.

If you are genuine then I am truly sorry but what I have highlighted in bold there....seriously?! That again just smacks of a guilt trip to me. If you have young children like you say you do then how can you possibly think of leaving them in such a selfish way? Who is going to take care of them eh? Or is this just a ploy to make us feel bad & offer you real advice to get you out of the mess you created for yourself?

Life is hard but there is no point giving up like that, & is downright selfish if you have kids...take the advice of other posters if you are genuine, & come back here & tell us how you are getting on - don't get hung up on what a few strangers percieve your posts to be like, especially if you know we are wrong...

Frogletina

rachel4331 wrote: »

I'm new to this site and maybe if I'm on the wrong forum, someone can direct me!

To cut a very long story short, a few years ago I found out I had a step sister and about 4 years ago, she came to live with me and my hubby for a while. She is now 38. I knew she was using our address for credit etc and at the time, I was fine with this, plus me and my hubby thought it would be a permanent arrangement, which we were happy about and she was paying board.

Anyway, in August, there was a huge family row and my step sister up and left and I haven't heard from her since. (It has happened before too, about 18 months ago but she came back and we reconcilled.) Now things have come to light and it seems she has left a huge trail of debt. Blinded by family loyalities, I did allow her initally to use my bank cards to pay for things on the internet (she gave me the cash in return.) and didn't think anything of it whilst she was setting herself up credit wise. Please think of me as you will but I really didn't see anything wrong with this.

Letters have been coming in for my step sister since she left and I have been writing a note on them, and posting them back in the post, unopened. I have advised too any telephone calls we have been getting. Anyway, one letter came today all official looking and I opened it. It was from Simply Be for £147.00. The same company has been calling our landline and threatening both me and dh with the police.

Anyway, I called them today (not really the right thing to do,) and they put me through to their Fraud Dept. They believe I am acting as my step sister as the account has many similarities, including the password (it seems we have both used our fathers surname.) and bank card (which I allowed her to use in the early days.) They also claim my step sister is not real as there is no one with that dob existing (!!!!!!?) I have accounts with them which I have never had a problem with and they have closed them too today. They are also reporting the whole thing to the police and are sending me a letter detailing their next move.

I am absolutely gutted, distraught and very, very worried. Whatever next. My hubby is going to go mental and I don't want to get family involved at this stage. I have no forwarding contacting details for her and my father hasn't heard off my step sister either.

What can I do, I just feel like paying it off but I fear the worst is yet to come.

Please, I need some advice or maybe other internet sites which may be of help. thanx for getting this far. I really can't cope with this at the moment and just don't know what to do next. Is it worth me getting in touch with the police?

Can you explain what you mean when you say your father hasn't heard off your step sister? Do you mean he has not heard from her since she has moved on? Or that he had never heard of her existence.

You also said in a subsequent post 'As for my step-sister, I am beginning to question the same, was she really who she says she was.'

In the 4 years since she has been living with you, I am assuming he must have met her? Cannot he comfirm that she is who she says she is? Also, as someone else has said, if you share the same biological father then she is a half sister. Or is he your step father. Not that it makes any difference with identifying her I would have thought

HiTo

Way to many Columbo's here

annibee

I read a novel very similar to this once.....dont worry they all lived happily ever after and the fake step sister paid everything back.

Hopefully yours will have a similar ending.