[vkou]

Someone getting a credit card from Wells Fargo under my name has nothing to do with me.

All it is is fraud. Someone defrauded a credit issuer. That they opened an account in my name has nothing to do with it - they could just as well had defrauded the bank by claiming to be John Doe. Will the bank blame me for them leaving the barn door open, and the milk out, too?

[falcolas]

If they can.

See "Verified by Visa", where if used you (the CC holder) are liable for fraud that occurs within that transaction.

[TheCoelacanth]

That is if someone uses a credit card account that you opened without your permission.

What the parent comment is describing is if they open a completely new credit card account under your name.

You are only liable in the first scenario if you used Verified by Visa and someone got your Verified by Visa credentials and used them.

In the second scenario you are not liable under any circumstances, because the fraudster created the Verified by Visa account, not you, so you never had the credentials for the account.