I was a victim....
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From: South Jersey
I was a victim....
I got a phone call yesterday around 3pm, heres how it went..
Hello Mr. Brewdude?
Yes
This is Linda with Western Union
Hi Linda, how can I help you?
Did you just try to make a transaction useing Western Union?
Umm, NO
Oh, I didnt think so. It seemed like fraud to me so I blocked the transaction
Thank you Linda, but who? how? bla bla bla
So she goes on to tell me that someone just tried to charge almost $800 on my credit card and whom ever it was must know what they are doing. I asked why she said that and she told me because they have your name, address, credit card info and home phone number. Then she said, when they called, it looked like it came from my phone, but something ( I have no idea what ) tipped her off that is was an international call. Thank god she was on top of it and blocked the charge and called me as soon as it happened. I called my bank and found out that 2 other transactions were on my credit card from this past week that I had no idea about. My account was not charged for any of it and my card was cancelled. I just can't believe ( well , yes I can ) but what a bunch of scumbags. I would love to catch the guys and pull their fingernails out one by one with a pair of rusty pliers.
Luckily everything is fine now,thanks to Linda at Western Union and my bank but its just a hassle to have to get a new card and now be worried that some of the places I've used it may not have been as secure as they said they were. If this was not caught, I would've had about $900 charged to my credit card. IDIOTS....I hope all scumbags like this rot in H E L L !!!!
BREW
Hello Mr. Brewdude?
Yes
This is Linda with Western Union
Hi Linda, how can I help you?
Did you just try to make a transaction useing Western Union?
Umm, NO
Oh, I didnt think so. It seemed like fraud to me so I blocked the transaction
Thank you Linda, but who? how? bla bla bla
So she goes on to tell me that someone just tried to charge almost $800 on my credit card and whom ever it was must know what they are doing. I asked why she said that and she told me because they have your name, address, credit card info and home phone number. Then she said, when they called, it looked like it came from my phone, but something ( I have no idea what ) tipped her off that is was an international call. Thank god she was on top of it and blocked the charge and called me as soon as it happened. I called my bank and found out that 2 other transactions were on my credit card from this past week that I had no idea about. My account was not charged for any of it and my card was cancelled. I just can't believe ( well , yes I can ) but what a bunch of scumbags. I would love to catch the guys and pull their fingernails out one by one with a pair of rusty pliers.
Luckily everything is fine now,thanks to Linda at Western Union and my bank but its just a hassle to have to get a new card and now be worried that some of the places I've used it may not have been as secure as they said they were. If this was not caught, I would've had about $900 charged to my credit card. IDIOTS....I hope all scumbags like this rot in H E L L !!!!
BREW
Last edited by BREWDUDE; Aug 14, 2006 at 03:46 PM.
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From:
Has happened to me. It was Western Union as well. Someone sent $1100 to Indonesia. Western Union sucks. You are correct, most of the problem is the hassle of getting new account #'s & such. People suck...
KC-10 FE out...
KC-10 FE out...
Last edited by KC-10 FE; Aug 14, 2006 at 07:42 PM.
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 691
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From: Gulf Coast
Any security system is obsolete almost as soon as it hits the market. That goes for internet as well as everything else. Buy stuff online at your own risk. I still do financial transactions online but it is a risk I'm willing to take.
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Same here
I had it happen a couple weeks ago. My own stupid fault: I work in an airport and frequently use credit cards at airport eating establishments cause I'm too lazy to get cash. Somehow on my day off when I was at the New Jersey shore 70 miles away with the card in my wallet I managed to buy 455$ worth of stuff from an airport Brookstone store and 70$ worth of cell phone accessories from a Cellular One store. I hear it happens frequently in Philly International and probably in lots of other airports around the country. The cashier will copy the number off your receipt then go buy stuff with your credit card number from their buddies who work in other shops.
Alot of the people who work in the various shops know eachother and hang out. Even though they're never supposed to manually enter credit card numbers for any reason if the physical card is not there, they still do it on the sly when people they know from the other shops bring in just the number and expiration date on a piece of paper. Wasn't too stressed about it though because it was only my number and not my whole identity.
The truth is, the credit card and retail industries do not care. It would take investments of money and time to really crack down on credit card fraud, and they risk pissing off customers by making it more cumbersome and inconvenient to do credit card transactions. Whatever they loose to fraudulent charges, they just write it off and then pass the costs onto the consumer. So even though they perpetuate the problem they don't really deal with any of the consequences and it doesn't hurt their profits.
It's pretty much the same with identity theft. It's easier to put the burden on the consumer to straighten it out than to prevent it from happening in the first place. Just be thankful it was only CC fraud and not identity theft. They're pretty accomodating when it comes to just credit card issues and it's something that's easily taken care of with a few phone calls. When your whole ID is stolen you are assumed to be a deadbeat until you spend a ton of money and time proving otherwise.
Alot of the people who work in the various shops know eachother and hang out. Even though they're never supposed to manually enter credit card numbers for any reason if the physical card is not there, they still do it on the sly when people they know from the other shops bring in just the number and expiration date on a piece of paper. Wasn't too stressed about it though because it was only my number and not my whole identity.
The truth is, the credit card and retail industries do not care. It would take investments of money and time to really crack down on credit card fraud, and they risk pissing off customers by making it more cumbersome and inconvenient to do credit card transactions. Whatever they loose to fraudulent charges, they just write it off and then pass the costs onto the consumer. So even though they perpetuate the problem they don't really deal with any of the consequences and it doesn't hurt their profits.
It's pretty much the same with identity theft. It's easier to put the burden on the consumer to straighten it out than to prevent it from happening in the first place. Just be thankful it was only CC fraud and not identity theft. They're pretty accomodating when it comes to just credit card issues and it's something that's easily taken care of with a few phone calls. When your whole ID is stolen you are assumed to be a deadbeat until you spend a ton of money and time proving otherwise.
Last edited by eharri3; Aug 14, 2006 at 07:17 PM.
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Every other month I get a new CC number. After every trip out of town, I get a new CC number. Before I ever make any big purchase or travel, I call the CC company and tell them. After any purchase online, I get a new CC number.
If you EVER have a dispute for any reason, immediately get a new CC number. I ordered a truck cap 4 weeks before a hunting trip some years ago. I specifically told the guy I did NOT want to purchase the cap unless it could be delivered and installed on my truck before my western hunting trip. He called the manufacturer, Century, and talked to THE GUY. A delivery date was promised (6 days before my departure). I purchased the cap.
The cap was delivered while I was on my second day of hunting and it's a 2 day drive, what does that tell you? It was a bit LATE.
I phoned the guy and told him I wanted a refund, that we agreed that I was making the purchase on my condition of delivery. He said, "and that didn't fall on deaf ears. However, the only way you'll get your money back is if the manufacturer takes it back. Don't you still need it?" I told him no, it wasn't going to be a permanent thing, and now it boiled down to the prinicple of the deal.
I had to dispute the charge. My CC company advised I get a new number because most merchants, if they go through this, will just turn around and recharge your card since they still have the record. Then the dispute begins all over again.
He tried to screw me out of $1299 bucks. The story is much longer and quite entertaining according to my friends but I won't go into detail. He had the cap for 3 years on his lot because it wouldn't sell. I later found out he'd been reported to the BBB every year for 8 years for similar crap.
If you EVER have a dispute for any reason, immediately get a new CC number. I ordered a truck cap 4 weeks before a hunting trip some years ago. I specifically told the guy I did NOT want to purchase the cap unless it could be delivered and installed on my truck before my western hunting trip. He called the manufacturer, Century, and talked to THE GUY. A delivery date was promised (6 days before my departure). I purchased the cap.
The cap was delivered while I was on my second day of hunting and it's a 2 day drive, what does that tell you? It was a bit LATE.
I phoned the guy and told him I wanted a refund, that we agreed that I was making the purchase on my condition of delivery. He said, "and that didn't fall on deaf ears. However, the only way you'll get your money back is if the manufacturer takes it back. Don't you still need it?" I told him no, it wasn't going to be a permanent thing, and now it boiled down to the prinicple of the deal.
I had to dispute the charge. My CC company advised I get a new number because most merchants, if they go through this, will just turn around and recharge your card since they still have the record. Then the dispute begins all over again.
He tried to screw me out of $1299 bucks. The story is much longer and quite entertaining according to my friends but I won't go into detail. He had the cap for 3 years on his lot because it wouldn't sell. I later found out he'd been reported to the BBB every year for 8 years for similar crap.
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From: Lost some where in the middle of the Ozark Mountains!
Sorry to hear that brew, glad they caught it soon.
X's 2 and I also have two checking accounts at two banks and only use my debit cards. One is for bills, one is for misc. If anything happens to the Misc then it's a pain and aggrevating but not devestating till I can get the money back (if I do) or replaced. If anyting happens to the bill account, then I still have the misc to fall back on and limp through. Like anything else in life, don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Originally Posted by 1depd
Any security system is obsolete almost as soon as it hits the market. That goes for internet as well as everything else. Buy stuff online at your own risk. I still do financial transactions online but it is a risk I'm willing to take.
X's 2 and I also have two checking accounts at two banks and only use my debit cards. One is for bills, one is for misc. If anything happens to the Misc then it's a pain and aggrevating but not devestating till I can get the money back (if I do) or replaced. If anyting happens to the bill account, then I still have the misc to fall back on and limp through. Like anything else in life, don't put all your eggs in one basket.
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 873
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From: Somewhere in the EU
I have had false charges to a credit card only once. Was caught right away and the CC company (American Express . . . I love them!!!) called me and took care of everything for me. New account established and new card arrived the next day via FedEx. Those kids at AMEX rock.
But the biggest thing to happen was many years ago when my cell phone got cloned. It was "Air-Touch" (which used to be Pac-Bell, before they merged, and were then bought out by some company, which then went public as some other company, which then merged once again with three or four European companies) . . . .
. . . anyway, I get a cell phone bill one month for over 2500 dollars. You should have seen the detailed report. Lots of phone calls to Armenia, lots of them occurring simultaneously. You'd think they'd catch on to something like that. Loved the customer service too . . . when I called to complain she asks, "Are you sure you didn't make these calls? Maybe someone in your family did." (The remainder of this story is censored as this is a G rated site). Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) it got cleared up . . . only to have my new number cloned once again the very next month . . . again all calls to Armenia (about 1700 dollars worth this time). I changed carriers after that.
But the biggest thing to happen was many years ago when my cell phone got cloned. It was "Air-Touch" (which used to be Pac-Bell, before they merged, and were then bought out by some company, which then went public as some other company, which then merged once again with three or four European companies) . . . .
. . . anyway, I get a cell phone bill one month for over 2500 dollars. You should have seen the detailed report. Lots of phone calls to Armenia, lots of them occurring simultaneously. You'd think they'd catch on to something like that. Loved the customer service too . . . when I called to complain she asks, "Are you sure you didn't make these calls? Maybe someone in your family did." (The remainder of this story is censored as this is a G rated site). Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) it got cleared up . . . only to have my new number cloned once again the very next month . . . again all calls to Armenia (about 1700 dollars worth this time). I changed carriers after that.
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I had something similiar happen to me last week. I got an email from somebody named Steve. He had a foreign last name, so I don't remember it. Anywho, he went on to say that he appreciates "the fact" that I put a generous amount of money into his paypal account. I don't even have a paypal account.
And he also says, he would like his $177 dollars that I supposedly took from his account.
WTF mates?
Then I get this email from ebay stating that my ebay account has been temporarily disabled and is being inspected by the authorities because of a bad transaction???? I don't even shop on ebay! I don't shop online period!
I registered on ebay last year to ask a guy about a banjo that I wanted to buy my lil bro. It was kind of cheap, so I didn't buy it. I found one at a local music shop. I'm not even going to ask them what's going on because its freakin retarded. !@#$% scammers and theives!
And he also says, he would like his $177 dollars that I supposedly took from his account. WTF mates? Then I get this email from ebay stating that my ebay account has been temporarily disabled and is being inspected by the authorities because of a bad transaction???? I don't even shop on ebay! I don't shop online period!
I registered on ebay last year to ask a guy about a banjo that I wanted to buy my lil bro. It was kind of cheap, so I didn't buy it. I found one at a local music shop. I'm not even going to ask them what's going on because its freakin retarded. !@#$% scammers and theives!
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From: South Jersey
It's friggen crazy A long time ago ( 12 years or so ) I had my calling card account number stolen. I was in the military, overseas, so the calling card was the way to go. I came home on leave for Christmas. THe next moht I got my bill and had all kinds of phone calls to Turkey and Saudi Arabia. All the same day, all within a few hours of each other. I think it was just about $500 worth of charges. Luckily AT&T realized it was a scam and didnt charge me for the calls...
I hate hackers and scammers...Kill them all!!!!!!
BREW
I hate hackers and scammers...Kill them all!!!!!!
BREW
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From: Lost some where in the middle of the Ozark Mountains!
Originally Posted by Peacemaker
I had something similiar happen to me last week. I got an email from somebody named Steve. He had a foreign last name, so I don't remember it. Anywho, he went on to say that he appreciates "the fact" that I put a generous amount of money into his paypal account. I don't even have a paypal account. And he also says, he would like his $177 dollars that I supposedly took from his account. WTF mates?
Then I get this email from ebay stating that my ebay account has been temporarily disabled and is being inspected by the authorities because of a bad transaction???? I don't even shop on ebay! I don't shop online period!
I registered on ebay last year to ask a guy about a banjo that I wanted to buy my lil bro. It was kind of cheap, so I didn't buy it. I found one at a local music shop. I'm not even going to ask them what's going on because its freakin retarded. !@#$% scammers and theives!
And he also says, he would like his $177 dollars that I supposedly took from his account. WTF mates? Then I get this email from ebay stating that my ebay account has been temporarily disabled and is being inspected by the authorities because of a bad transaction???? I don't even shop on ebay! I don't shop online period!
I registered on ebay last year to ask a guy about a banjo that I wanted to buy my lil bro. It was kind of cheap, so I didn't buy it. I found one at a local music shop. I'm not even going to ask them what's going on because its freakin retarded. !@#$% scammers and theives!
Just becasue you didn't make any transactions, doesn't mean that somebody didn't use your info to do so in your name. Do not follow links in an e-mail, go to the site yourself, there is place to report fraudulent email. Send it to them and ask.
Best case scenario is it's all bogus and this transaction never took place, they might just be fishing trying to get you to click on a link in thier email and input your account info on thier fake site to steal it from you.
Worst case scenario somebody set up an account for you and has been stealing money, cheating people in your name. Which if you dont report it immediatly you could be held liable for.
I'd hate for you to have to pay court cost and attorney fee's, miss days from work for court, etc. to clear your name for something you didn;t do just becasue you thought it was to stupid to take 5 mins and report it.
JMO, gamble if you want, but I wouldn't. The risk is not worth the squeeze if you know what I mean.
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Originally Posted by PSS-Mag
Ummm, contact Ebay/paypal.
Just becasue you didn't make any transactions, doesn't mean that somebody didn't use your info to do so in your name. Do not follow links in an e-mail, go to the site yourself, there is place to report fraudulent email. Send it to them and ask.
Best case scenario is it's all bogus and this transaction never took place, they might just be fishing trying to get you to click on a link in thier email and input your account info on thier fake site to steal it from you.
Worst case scenario somebody set up an account for you and has been stealing money, cheating people in your name. Which if you dont report it immediatly you could be held liable for.
I'd hate for you to have to pay court cost and attorney fee's, miss days from work for court, etc. to clear your name for something you didn;t do just becasue you thought it was to stupid to take 5 mins and report it.
JMO, gamble if you want, but I wouldn't. The risk is not worth the squeeze if you know what I mean.
Just becasue you didn't make any transactions, doesn't mean that somebody didn't use your info to do so in your name. Do not follow links in an e-mail, go to the site yourself, there is place to report fraudulent email. Send it to them and ask.
Best case scenario is it's all bogus and this transaction never took place, they might just be fishing trying to get you to click on a link in thier email and input your account info on thier fake site to steal it from you.
Worst case scenario somebody set up an account for you and has been stealing money, cheating people in your name. Which if you dont report it immediatly you could be held liable for.
I'd hate for you to have to pay court cost and attorney fee's, miss days from work for court, etc. to clear your name for something you didn;t do just becasue you thought it was to stupid to take 5 mins and report it.
JMO, gamble if you want, but I wouldn't. The risk is not worth the squeeze if you know what I mean.
