Over the last two years, a close family member has taken out five cards in my name without my knowledge. They get the mail, and kept the balances down to around two grand until the last few months, when they ran the balance up to fifteen grand. I found out when I got a letter notifying me that my personal card had the limit dropped, so my credit rating is in the toilet already and is not a problem. I can't very well file fraud charges on this person, so what should I do next? The card companies want me to contact their family fraud departments, but I don't know what that might leave me open to. All the cards are cancelled, and I get around 30 calls a day, all of which I ignore because it is just people demanding payments. Everything bought on these cards was disposable or given as gifts, so returning any of it is impossible. Should I just wait for the card companies to make a settlement offer, try to negotiate with them, or something else? Any good advice, other than shooting the person responsible, would be appreciated. And no jokes please, I am ready to shoot myself anyhow.
