<p>I have proof in hand that adult d’s ex bf has ordered something using pay pal and used her name and his home address and has had it delivered to his own home. He does not have her permission and she has never lived at that address. Mutual friend saw shipping box and label in trash and took picture of it. Don’t know what else he has done.He is unethical to the point of having his license at yet another address so he can go to college half price. Checked credit report but she does not “have one” as she has no history. Of course, we are concerned with what else the little rat has been up to.</p>
<p>Hmm. At the very least she should change all of her passwords for all online accounts. Did he charge the item to her paypal account? If so you could file a police report and get a restraining order. I wouldn’t go after his license/college issue…it might just add fuel to the fire. Sounds like a guy you want to stay away from and someone who you want to make sure stays away from you.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding, ebeeee. She has never opened a pay pal account. She also has changed all her passwords recently. Threw in the license thing just to prove what a “great guy” he is. Only concern is with any potential liability on her part. She is trying desperately to keep this person out of her life and is very upset w/ this. “Why can’t he just leave me alone” and “what benefit could he poossibly get from this” are her two biggest questions.
I really don’t know what to do.
YH: No credit cards but does have a debit card/pin which I will have her change immediately and check w/ bank. I will have her email pay pal and ask.</p>
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Thus we can conclude that she has no cash/credit feeding the imposter account? I understand you are upset but it sounds as if your daughter has no
missing monies and the problem becomes has he taken her identity for anything else. How familiar are you with PP and how it works? That is how I read this.</p>
<p>Call the police immediately. He has, at the very least, misappropriated her identity. He has also potentially committed fraud by seeking credit under a name not his own. There’s a reason that he used your d’s name and not his own, and you don’t know what that is. You also don’t know what else he’s been doing in your daughter’s name.</p>
<p>Identity theft is a huge issue now. Don’t let this grow until it really does affect your daughter.</p>
<p>The police will also tell you if you should get an attorney to look into this (it’s probably not a bad idea anyway).</p>
<p>I’m not minimizing anything here. My general rule is: always follow Chedva’s advice. </p>
<p>But to help calm down WHILE you follow her advice, is it possible that the boy bought something from E-bay on his own PayPal account and had it delivered?</p>
<p>For E-bay, or perhaps any other site like Amazon, you write down a shipping address (up to 6 of them). You can write your own name, your ex-s name, or President Bush’s name on the top of your address, and it doesn’t impinge on the payment transaction; it’s a mailing issue only. The Paypal function is entirely separate from the mailing of the object after it’s purchased. </p>
<p>I hope that’s all this is. Just trying to help you stay calm while you investigate fully.</p>
<p>EDIT: Again, asking Chedva: is it illegal or mail fraud to do what is allowed by e-bay or other bookbuying sites, to just smear someone’s name over your own address and then have an item delivered? It does falsely establish residency…hm…</p>
<p>Yes absolutely even though she is out no money I stand by my advice. Go to the police, file a report and file a restraining order. Likely they will go talk to him and let him know to knock it off. That might be enough to scare him into behaving better.</p>
<p>I think that I would tread out on this thin ice very, very carefully. Not knowing the state, or the laws, is there any chance that this could badly harm the mutual friend who looked in the garbage, and took a picture? Is there any chance of a trespassing or privacy invasion accusation here? It seems as if the young man might have even stronger accusations of his own, since someone is looking in his trash, and taking photographs of it. </p>
<p>I am also not sure it is illegal to use a different name to order something via the mail, especially if it is prepaid. Maybe it is, I don’t know. I know it’s illegal to steal identity but there is a difference between stealing identity and saying “my name is Jane Smith”. And, then you have to consider, did he use “her” name, or, just “that” name? And, if he needs permission to use a name that is not his, is he required to secure permission from all of the persons by the name Jane Smith? </p>
<p>I’m sure this is an annoying situation, but I am not sure there is much of an issue for law enforcement at this point - but again, I don’t know the law.</p>
<p>The privacy of trash issue is an easy one. As hazmat intimated, once you’ve put something into the trash, you’ve legally “abandoned” it, and anyone can do anything they want with it. Trespassing shouldn’t be too much of an issue, even if the trash were on private property, since I doubt that the neighbor was on the property for the sole purpose of snooping. If the neighbor saw it while on the property for some other legitimate purpose, there’s no trespass. Taking photographs of something that has been abandoned should not alter the analysis.</p>
<p>p3t, I’m not sure about the mail fraud issue and whether what the ex did is actually illegal under the Federal statutes covering the US Mail. The whole mail fraud area is very complex. But the police should have a better handle on the legality of what he did. (I’ve never been a criminal lawyer.) </p>
<p>It may not be fraud against the company if the ex listed the correct payor, and just the incorrect addressee. But it could still be mail fraud, and it still could be misappropriation of identity. I still have to ask, though - why would he pay for it himself, put a different addressee and have it delivered to his own address with her name on it? The situation begs for investigation and the police may be willing to do that investigation. There may be nothing nefarious going on, but then again - let the police get to the bottom of it (if they’re willing). If the police won’t, then get an attorney to do the investigation. </p>
<p>At the very least, if something untoward is happening, you’ve set up a paper trail showing that your daughter was in no way a willing participant in whatever it was. (Remember Judge Judy’s all too common question, “Did you go to the police? Well, why not?”)</p>
<p>And if nothing untoward is happening, you haven’t lost anything, have you?</p>
<p>I seriously doubt that the police or Paypal would pay any attention to this story as told. I also believe you GROSSLY overestimate the effectiveness of Paypal fraud department. Even in slam dunk cases of fraud, Paypal only concern is to attempt to revert charges. If the fraudster has moved on (depleted his account), your claim will be summarily closed. The reality is that they do NOT really care one way or another. Paypal is a wonderful tool, but they have never been known for a great customer service. And, fwiw, I have had an account with paypal from the day they started. </p>
<p>While an attorney would be happy to separate any fool from his or her money, what kind of remedies will he be pursuing? What were the actual damages? Pursuing the paypal “fraud” will get you nowhere. </p>
<p>This said, if there are **other **issues related to this soured relationship, caution should be exercised.</p>
<p>The first thing I would do is gather the facts. I would begin by contacting all credit bureaus and seeing if there has been any activity. If so, find out what the activity is. I would also ask the credit bureau not to issue instant credit without first contacting your daughter at home. This free service allows your daughter to prevent credit from being obtained without her knowledge. I am not an attorney, but this is how I would proceed. Good Luck resolving this issue.</p>
<p>I can think of several reasons to use someone else’s name:</p>
<p>1) Wants to maintain fiction about his driver’s license/college situation.</p>
<p>2) Wants to take shipment of something that is illegal or for which he wants plausible deniability of having obtained. Also, I don’t know: what about equipment/materials typically used to make Crystal meth or something like that, something which may not be illegal but which might raise flags.</p>
<p>3) Has somehow committed identity theft/fraud.</p>
<p>4) Is just weird.</p>
<p>None of these are reasons that would make you feel secure, obviously. Keep monitoring your daughter’s data. One thing I really hate about the credit bureaus is that they don’t allow one to put a freeze or report as stolen social security numbers/accounts for people who don’t already have credit. As a result, my infant daughter’s social security card which was stolen when our house was robbed 4 months ago will probably be used for all sorts of badness before she’s even 5. You’re in the same boat possibly.</p>
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<p>But according to what they told me, if they don’t have a credit report for her to-date, they won’t do this. Has she already established some credit?</p>
<p>Our Dept. of Public Works once suggested looking into residents’ trash to see how much they were recycling (or not). The ensuing uproar about invasion of privacy led to the jettisoning of that plan. I’d be careful about suggesting that it’s okay to poke about in other people’s trash. If it were in full view of passersby, it would be okay, I think, to take a picture.</p>
<p>The shipping box was in his bedroom and the friend had been invited into the home. While in the ex’s bedroom he noticed the box and took the picture.</p>
<p>marite, I’m not saying people might not be angry about such a plan. I’m just saying that it’s not illegal, and while it might feel like an invasion of privacy, legally, it’s not. In this case, an individual doing so, without the power of the state behind him/her, would most likely face no liability for anything.</p>