Random Act of Kindness

[Maitre]

snip
and a photocopy (on one page) of the check I wrote (obscuring my account number, but showing the memo of 'Pay to the account of Person's Name, ####-####-####-####'),
snip

First thought: when you decided to do this, you might have considered getting a money order, instead of a personal check.

Good intentions of helping someone out, but be on the look-out if you get another bill next month. You may have been the victim of fraud.

I myself recently got a call from a bank asking me if I had applied for a credit card. It seems that someone in Brooklyn had decided I needed more available credit, and that they were just the person to make that happen. In order to act on this decision, they applied to a well known financial institution for a credit card in my name, using my social security number, and their address (though I'm fairly certain that the address they used was not exactly theirs). Bear in mind, I do not know anyone who currently lives, or ever lived in Brooklyn, nor have I ever been to Brooklyn, though I did drive past it at one point.

Seems like this scheme could be used slightly differently and end up similar to the situation to the one you describe. If someone applied for a card with fake info except they used your real address, you might be stuck holding the bills.

Sorry to be thinking the worst, but that's the way I've been feeling since trying to deal with the credit bureaus and figure out how somebody in Brooklyn starting making decisions with my info.

edit: grammar and typos