Fraudulent Credit Card Purchase

call the seller and ask them. it isn't yours and it isn't ours to give you permission to keep.

I tried to return it. Since I don't have the email used when it was purchased they would not process the return.

IMHO yours now. You've already tried to return it, and you didn't order it in the first place. I see this a lot like if you had a regular order and a store shipped you multiples on accident or shipped you something else. You don't have any liability to be "out" to return the item, but if the store wants it back, that's within their rights however it's TOTALLY on them to get it back.

As for CC fraud, if you haven't been hit before you probably don't realize how rampant it is. I've had maybe 5 or 6 new CC's in my lifetime because of fraud. But it's worse than that.

I work in a relatively small community so a lot of people born/raised here (not me) have seen each other. A coworker's wife had a credit card stolen out of her purse - not the whole purse or even wallet, just the CC (smart on the thief's behalf as most people wouldn't notice a single card stolen but would notice an entire purse). Thief then goes on a shopping spree in town, which included a $150 or so spent at a seafood place. Just so happens my coworker used to work there and sometimes helps the owner out during peak times (this was right before New Years') and was actually working during the theft.

Anyway, he catches wind of the theft, can see the charge at the seafood place, does some investigating of his own, gets the CC receipt, time stamp and footage of the woman and her car/plate (clear as day). He then happens to be talking to another coworker who happened to know the thief, gave him her name, etc.

So my coworker goes to the police with all of this, they were able to verify that she's the person he thought she was (name checked out with car and plates, address, etc), but they don't do anything with it. Apparently fraud is so rampant that CC's basically don't care unless you REALLY abuse it.

So the thief is galavanting around town, boasting of her purchases on FB (of course not telling anyone they're fraudulent) and the police know.

BTW, none of this is free. It's assimilated as part of the costs of doing business for the CC, which is passed onto the consumer.

Can I just keep the item?

So my coworker goes to the police with all of this, they were able to verify that she's the person he thought she was (name checked out with car and plates, address, etc), but they don't do anything with it. Apparently fraud is so rampant that CC's basically don't care unless you REALLY abuse it.

The police told me there was nothing they could/would do other than give me a copy of the report.

You're a victim of identity theft and whether or not you can keep a stolen item is your main focus right now? Okay.

You're a victim of identity theft and whether or not you can keep a stolen item is your main focus right now? Okay.

Credit frozen with all 3 credit bureaus, fraud alerts posted to all 3 credit bureaus, police report filed, fraud claim filed with the FTC, fraud claim with the CC company that opened the card, signed up for credit alerts with all 3 credit bureaus along with a few other steps.

So yeah, at this time I'd like to know what to do with the un-returnable item from a legal aspect. The police don't want it, the credit card company doesn't want it and the vendor it was purchased from won't accept the return. Seems a shame to just throw a >$2,000 item in the trash. So yes, I asked if I should/could just keep it. I certainly wouldn't consider selling it.

But thank you for your extremely valuable input.

IMHO yours now. You've already tried to return it, and you didn't order it in the first place. I see this a lot like if you had a regular order and a store shipped you multiples on accident or shipped you something else. You don't have any liability to be "out" to return the item, but if the store wants it back, that's within their rights however it's TOTALLY on them to get it back.

As for CC fraud, if you haven't been hit before you probably don't realize how rampant it is. I've had maybe 5 or 6 new CC's in my lifetime because of fraud. But it's worse than that.

I work in a relatively small community so a lot of people born/raised here (not me) have seen each other. A coworker's wife had a credit card stolen out of her purse - not the whole purse or even wallet, just the CC (smart on the thief's behalf as most people wouldn't notice a single card stolen but would notice an entire purse). Thief then goes on a shopping spree in town, which included a $150 or so spent at a seafood place. Just so happens my coworker used to work there and sometimes helps the owner out during peak times (this was right before New Years') and was actually working during the theft.

Anyway, he catches wind of the theft, can see the charge at the seafood place, does some investigating of his own, gets the CC receipt, time stamp and footage of the woman and her car/plate (clear as day). He then happens to be talking to another coworker who happened to know the thief, gave him her name, etc.

So my coworker goes to the police with all of this, they were able to verify that she's the person he thought she was (name checked out with car and plates, address, etc), but they don't do anything with it. Apparently fraud is so rampant that CC's basically don't care unless you REALLY abuse it.

So the thief is galavanting around town, boasting of her purchases on FB (of course not telling anyone they're fraudulent) and the police know.

BTW, none of this is free. It's assimilated as part of the costs of doing business for the CC, which is passed onto the consumer.

Years ago my dad was on a business trip. He used his company American Express card to reserve the room. A couple of months later, he got a bill for a bunch of telephone calls. He never used the Amex for phone calls, only hotel, rental car, or airfare. It had a list of phone numbers called, duration, etc. We did some sleuthing and figured it out was a hotel employee calling a bunch of their family (this was back before cell phones were standard). We presented everything to Amex and they didn't even blink an eye. The hotel didn't do anything either.

So fraud occurs all the time, yet it costs the company more to prosecute, so they don't bother.

I spoke to a representative at the FTC today. According to them there is no legal obligation to return the item. As a few others that replied have mentioned it falls under the cost of fraud to the credit card companies.

I also made one last attempt to return it to the vendor. The card it was purchased on has been canceled so no go, the 15 day return window has long been exceeded and they again asked for the email address it was purchased under which I do not have. They also mentioned they legally could not take it back if they could not issue a refund. Which in this case they can't.