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Invalid SSN On New Account
by Mary Beth Guard
Question: We have a new account that was just opened and we're not quite sure what to do. We opened the account and ran a check through a credit reporting agency. The employee who ran the consumer report did not notice that on the report it showed SS NBR: INVALID NUMBER-NOT ISSUED YET. Everything else, of course, said no records. This customer also applied for a check card. That is when we caught this, as we run a credit report before issuing a check card. The employee called the customer and explained all to him, and asked him to verify the number, which he did and it was the same as we had. We told him that number had not been issued yet. He said "Really". He is self-employed. I have a feeling he may have just made up the SS#. He opened the account with $1,000.00 cash and has not touched any of the money yet. It is a non-interest bearing account. Any ideas for how to handle this?
Answer: This is a situation where you will probably want to close the account immediately and notify the customer. It's wise to give the customer a ten-day advance notice of the closing. Choose your words very carefully. You could say something like "This account is being closed because of inaccurate/incomplete information furnished to us by you in the account opening process." Cut a check for the amount of the balance in the account and send it to him. Make arrangements with him to cover any outstanding checks he may already have written.
You should also consider filing a SAR. Although he only deposited $1,000, he could have used a fraudulently established checking account to commit fraud that could have amounted to a much higher amount.
The original version appeared in the January/February 2002 edition of the Oklahoma Bankers Association Compliance Informer.
First published on BankersOnline.com 5/27/02
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