Complaint Review: Direct Express - Dallas Texas

 I used to work for a call center taking customer service calls. These cards are not secure and are easily hacked. I strongly recommend that you have your benefits deposited into a bank account or prepaid debit card.

Thanks for your opinions....Apparently you are uneducated, ill-informed...and have possibly been the victim of id theft!   This Direct Express Account was set up for me with the proviso that it was secure.  We have learned that is not so.  The so-called supervisor that I spoke with deliberately stonewalled me and used a set of specious security questions that had no relevance to me and hung up on me.

Your premise that someone stole my id is false, only direct express had my info.  If my information was stolen by Direct Express employees that is not a stolen id, that is corruption within the system, which is exemplifed by the twenty fold increase in fraud of SSI funds over the previous year.   Id theft is not equivelant to a deliberate sale of account information to an associate in another state. 

SS verified to me, when I filed my report, that if someone had stolen my DL or Birth Certificate they could not have gotten to my SS#, which is not on record with anyone.  Are you a Direct Express executive or PR person? Thank you for your effort to give advice, in the arc of my career I have worked with FBI and other Federal Agencies in the fight against fraud and I would rather get my advice from professionals. Our opinions are not just ours, therefore you are in over your head.

That is the problem with a nationwide company.If someone know your information.They are you to someone on phone.

They know your SS#, date of birth, current address, phone number

Get a card tied to a fixed location 

Credit Unions are a good source of low or no fees.

If unable to have bank account try a Check Cashing store .(there will be fee)

They have branded cards that you have to show up

in person to replace card.

Direct Express is the card pushed by SS offices nationwide So you are just one of millions of customers

PS Call IRS if you file taxes tell them you are the victum of ID theft request an ID PIN mailed to you each year.

 I discovered that a phone call from a Colorado Springs phone number came in to them and a request was made for an emergency card to be mailed to an address in Miami, Fl.  You have had your ID stolen Rudolph.  That would be the only way they could have deactivated your card and sent a new card to someone that isn't you.  They obtained your ID in some fashion, and pretended to be you.  Once they have your ID, it's easy to pretend who you are, even if the person isn't you.

It is apparent to me that no due diligence on their part was undertaken to verify that it was me....because it was not me.  I have had the same phone # for decades and it is not a CO. Springs # nor do I live in Miami.  Not relevant to the situation.  As long as they were provided your primary form of identification (SSN# and other information), no other due diligence is required on their part.  Where the call comes from is irrelevant and where the replacement card is sent is irrelevant.  If they have your correct information, the bank thinks you are you.  No further due diligence is required.

I have gone to Social Security Office in my community, filed a report with them and the local police and had a conversation with the branch manager of Comerica Bank who issues the cards but claims no responsibility for what Direct Express does.  All of that is correct and good work on your part.  What you also need to do is file a police report indicating your ID has been stolen.  You need to contact SSI as well, and let them know as well.  That should stop the funds being sent to that ID thief.

In my opinion this is a recipe for fraud, theft, disaster! Not really.  It really is the most efficient way to handle it.  The problem isn't fraud in your situation.  It is your ID being stolen.  Once that's stolen, you've got a lot of problems.

I do no use my Direct Express card for online purchases, I do not bank online, I do not keep sensitive identity information on my cell phone or my laptop.  The problem is that someone probably got your information from hacking Direct Express, or someone there got your information and sold it.  BTW - not someone in a management role.  When you utilize an intermediary organization like this, instead of simply dealing with a bank, this sort of stuff happens.

 The level of theft is in the 100 millions of dollars as of last year!!!I believe that this internal graft is at the behest and guidance of Direct Express executives, I remind you of the case of Wells Fargo Bank executives commanding the rank and file to open false accounts to meet specious goals for bonuses for them. Nah, you're dealing with people who hacked the company or sold your information.  The information would be too easy to trace back to the executives, had they stolen the money.  Open your brain and think Rudolph!!  The Wells Fargo situation also has nothing to do with this, or your situation.  Please stop giving your opinion - not only is it unimportant, the fact is you could not be more wrong if you tried.

This wholesale theft of funds is being inflicted on vulnerable seniors who need those funds for basic necessities.  Really not relevant who it is affecting.  Theft is theft.

I will say this one more time:  You are a victim of identity theft.  You need to cancel your Direct Express account and not reopen another account with them ever again.  Deal directly with a bank you trust and have your money delivered there - if it isn't Comerica, then go elsewhere; even Wells Fargo would be better.  Don't depend on a government program like Direct Express to help you make your life easier.  Please tell us how much easier your life is now that your information has been stolen?  You will also need to check your credit report and see if someone has opened credit in your name.  If they have, then you need to close those accounts ASAP.