15 Year Old Son Fraud

Wobblyjelly80

Hi. I need help please. I got a call from a catalogue about someone applying for catalogue credit in my dead mother in laws name. They were passing it to the fraud team. I have since found out it was my 15 year old son. He was just doing it to see if it would work. What can I do here as I dont want him getting into trouble with the police or anything?

Robin9

It may well be out of your hands.   

retiredbanker1

Come clean - did he manage to actually order anything?

Wobblyjelly80

retiredbanker1 - yes he managed to order a PS5 and accessories

born_again

Wobblyjelly80 said:

Hi. I need help please. I got a call from a catalogue about someone applying for catalogue credit in my dead mother in laws name. They were passing it to the fraud team. I have since found out it was my 15 year old son. He was just doing it to see if it would work. What can I do here as I dont want him getting into trouble with the police or anything?

Odds on they will not involve police, unless they find out who was doing it.

I suggest a strong word with son & warn him of the possible effect that it could have on his future life as far as finances go.
CIFAS fraud marker meaning no banks would touch him.

MeteredOut

Wobblyjelly80 said:

retiredbanker1 - yes he managed to order a PS5 and accessories

So a little bit more than "seeing if it would work".

Do you have a way to contact the fraud team it was being passed to, to see if you can find a way to resolve it without them escalating it?

Wobblyjelly80

retiredbanker1 said:

Come clean - did he manage to actually order anything?

Yes he managed to order a PS5 and accessories. 1 item was delivered today but the rest havent been delivered. I am in the process of sending the received item back and they have tried to put a stop on the other items being delivered

swingaloo

Just seeing if it would work? If it were my son I would be scrutinising everything he has on his phone or laptop. Thats a deliberate action to order a PS5. Where was he going to tell you it came from if you had not had the call from the catalogue?

400ixl

Was he doing it under the influence of someone else and they were expecting to get the proceeds? If so, now they are not going to get them you need to make sure there are no repercussions for him there.

Not a good situation and best of luck getting it resolved both with the catalogue company and your son.

itsthelittlethings

If he has an aptitude for this kind of stuff I'd be tempted to see if he likes coding as IT is a good career. Obviously don't link the two as you don't want him to think he's getting a reward whatever you do!

eskbanker

itsthelittlethings said:

If he has an aptitude for this kind of stuff I'd be tempted to see if he likes coding as IT is a good career. Obviously don't link the two as you don't want him to think he's getting a reward whatever you do!

If he has an aptitude for this kind of stuff (i.e. fraud) I'd be tempted to let matters take their course and if that ultimately involves the police then so be it - if he hasn't learned the difference between right and wrong yet (and was happy to profit from the death of his grandmother) then it might be the last chance to nip things in the bud before escalation into more serious crime....