Fraudulent card charge today...

[BrokenLung]

Wow racehorse that is crazy! Just today I heard of another member having their card being used fraudulently. It has been tracked back to the alice in vapeland's website. I hope places start to crack down on this stuff, it seems like everywhere is having issues! Off to check my card now.

 

[kscoggins]

I got a call today too... Someone tried to use my card at a dating site. Fortunately it was flagged and rejected. I don't use that card much, but I did use it at ECX back in January.

 

[Heavyrocker]

Use Hyperwallet,no need too use your credit cards.

 

[tA71ana]

What is in order is a suitable, reliable and safe competitor to Paypal...one that can be utilized globally (like PP) and isn't just utilized here and there (like Dwolla) and doesn't need to have banking attached. the one thing I do like about Paypal is they are between the processor and your card (or bank account). The merchant doesn't see it and I could be wrong but I don't think the processor does either.
I think the only way they might be able to get CC numbers is to hack Paypal and i don't know how successful they have been doing that.
In other words, it would be nice to have a Paypal - type setup without all of the attendant other issues that tend to crop up with Paypal.

 

[Demiurgous]

I'd love to see some of these shops taking Google Wallet.

But I've admittedly sold my soul to Google.

 

[tA71ana]

I've heard about Google Wallet....I am going to look into it...if it's got a PP-type setup and it doesn't cost that much for the merchants, they might want to make it an option.
I'm sure Google wouldn't be as ignorant about ecigs as Paypal is....they're in this to make money, lol

 

[Demiurgous]

I'm sure Google wouldn't be as ignorant about ecigs as Paypal is....they're in this to make money, lol

Right now they're in it for expansion. They could lose money on setting up the infrastructure and expanding Wallet advertising for a few years and not care. They make far more revenue elsewhere.

 

[Racehorse]

I talked to my bank today. I got this CC precisely to just use on the internet.

As it turns out, my bank has such great fraud protection (and the company they use to monitor that called me on the same day the first charge showed up, one for an escort service, and one for a dating site-----that they said it doesn't really matter since people get breached even using their card in a gasoline pump or even a grocery store.

Since they protect me from any fraudulent charges, they said just order up another card and only keep x amount of $ in that account. (which I was already doing)

I really don't want to get a re-loadable since it costs $2.99 every single time I want to load it. That increases any purchase I make by $2.99 and that is really not something I want to pay for.

BrokenLung, it's NOT tied to any vendor. There are SO MANY vendors involved that it appears that one or more CC Processor is getting hacked.


This is all pretty common though. In this day and age, EVERYBODY should be checking their banking accounts every 3 days anyway. I have always done that.

None of these showed up on my end though so I could not *see* them. They were charges that were "authorized" but never appeared on my account because the $$ never got taken out. So obviously the fraud protection company that my bank uses is doing a good job.

 

[Dansauls]

I had a charge today from $68.67 for a dating website (Match.com). I called and reported the activity they canceled my card and will issue a new one.

 

[vernhall]

I use ecigexpress and have never had a problem... More often than not, in my experience, the 'hacking' is happening at the CC site, not the vendor's... But that's just my opinion...

 

[BlueSnake]

I had fraudulent activity last night on my debit card and the bank called this morning. I do not think it had anything to do with ecigs. I think it's the world we live in today.

If you follow the news every major bank has been hacked along with a lot of our major corporations. The state I live in, SC, had a major hack attack on their tax system which included all taxpayers in the state. This also seems to be the most recent strategy of terrorist organizations and some countries. The USA is truly hated in many parts of the world.

All I can say if you are doing any business online with anyone with regards to plastic or account numbers you must be vigilant in watching your accounts. I only see it getting much worse before or if it gets better.

 

[Chiwen]

As I posted in another thread..

This happened to me today. The card I used was only used with one vendor, definitely one of the more reputable vendors. I know it stemmed from this order because the card is a student refund from college. It had no money on it, so it went unused for 2 months. I got a refund on Friday, bought McDonald's for breakfast (self swiped) and ordered ecig stuff on Saturday. Sunday the fraud took place, I found out this morning and I'm trying to hash it out with my bank. What a headache.

There were 4 fraudulent charges, totaling almost $300 bucks. $95.00 at deposit photos, 79 at studio press, 70 for bikini bottom shape up ebook or video (I called and I got refunded for this one) and 20 at bigfishgaming, a gaming website that also refunded me. The other 2 I'm still waiting for a response on. Trying to take care of it myself because the bank is so slow, but might have to charge back through the bank on the first 2. None of the purchases were for physical merchandise. I tracked down the merchants the money was spent on by looking at my statement and using Google.


All of this fraud and credit card stealing happening surrounding ecig vendors is getting really bad really fast. After AVE and others I have to ask.. What vendors are safe at this point and which is the next target for theft.

I decided to not name the vendor I purchased publicly, I don't want to cause their business harm. That being said, if you want to know privately feel free to pm me and I will let you know.

Sent from my SCH-R530M using Tapatalk 2

 

[Demiurgous]

So much for getting extra tanks and cartos...

It does seem to me it's more of a processor than specific companies. But dang, I'll pay more to support the local guys at this point.

Good luck to you all.

 

[MikeA5]

It's happened to me 3 times in a little over 2 years. It started when I started vaping and purchasing vaping supplies on line here in the USA. I've contacted a few of the vendors and mentioned I suspected the CC processors they were using is where the fraud was originating but they have not done anything about it. I'd like to keep supporting USA vendors but they don't seem to care. So I've started buying ecig supplies overseas using Paypal and I've not had a problem yet. When the USA vendors realize they are loosing a lot of business (money) that's when they'll do something about the CC fraud that has been happening but until that happens I'll continue to buy overseas using Paypal.

 

[grandmato5]

Add me to the list of those that have had their credit card hacked Its the first time ever for me, but thanks to these post I caught it quickly this evening. I've been watching my acct daily for the past two weeks because of all the credit card thief being reported here recently. I called my bank as soon as I saw the pending charge from J2 Fax Services and after some questions the girl called the company where it had been used and put us on a 3 way call. The $10 charge has been reversed, my old cc number closed and a new card is on its way to me. I was impressed by the way my bank handled the situation.

I'm old fashioned and don't use my cc often, preferring to pay with cash when ever possible. I had one paypal purchase in the past 6 weeks. Previous to the past 6 weeks but since February I had one newspaper subscription payment(made over the phone not via the internet), and purchases from Ecigexpress, Wizzard labs, Backwoodsbrew, and SuperT Manufacturing and Rocky Mountain Vapes.

I will continue to support all the ecig vendors I listed IF I feel they are taking the current rash of cc fraud seriously. I've listed the ecig companies NOT because I think they are personally to blame as the cc processor has my info NOT the vendors themselves, but there is a disturbing trend and the more we can compare notes the better off we are IMO. Yes, I know that credit card thief has been a problem for a long time and is getting worse everywhere BUT I've been around ECF a long time now and this recent rash of credit card fraud is being experienced by far too many people to consider it simply the luck of the draw and sweep it under the rug saying it happens everywhere.

 

[gordong11]

Vendors do not steal cc info. Bad employees or hackers do. It's hard to blame a vendor, they do want your business after-all. Unfortunately, the underpaid people working for them can be a problem and it's easy to see a scumbag getting hired every now and then. Stick with large vendors, vendors that accept paypal, and small vendors you can trust. Don't be afraid to ask a vendr how their cards get processed, and how information is stored, before placing an order.

 

[Racehorse]

The USA is truly hated in many parts of the world.

No bearing at all on this. Let's face it, you can't hack credit cards in places like......Haiti. There's no money.
The fraud rate in any of the more developed countries, US, Germany, etc. gonna be about the same.
Thieves go where there's money, that is the name of the game.

All I can say if you are doing any business online with anyone with regards to plastic or account numbers you must be vigilant in watching your accounts.

Or deal with a bank that has hired an *excellent* fraud protection squad. Mine called me within a few hours of the hack.

Almost every charge did NOT show up on my end..........the requests were put thru but never actually "hit" my bank account, so looking at my account online, I see *nothing* suspicious. The fraud company monitors the charges as they are made......it doesn't actually hit your bank account for up to 1-3 days after the "request" is made.

So, no actual charges were deducted yet from my account....they had not cleared yet. The fraud squad catches them way BEFORE they hit your actual account.

 

[MikeA5]

Many here have mentioned using Prepaid Debit Card to make on line purchases to help protect themselves from CC fraud. Although I've have had fraud occur on my CC 3 times in the last 2 years, I haven't lost a cent because of it. If you do decide on using a debit card here is a link to 5 pitfalls to watch out for when using certain types of debit cards: 5 Prepaid Debit Card Pitfalls To Avoid | Bankrate.com

 

[KatyLoo]

Many here have mentioned using Prepaid Debit Card to make on line purchases to help protect themselves from CC fraud. Although I've have had fraud occur on my CC 3 times in the last 2 years, I haven't lost a cent because of it. If you do decide on using a debit card here is a link to 5 pitfalls to watch out for when using certain types of debit cards: 5 Prepaid Debit Card Pitfalls To Avoid | Bankrate.com

Thanks for this link, answered all of my questions. I have also never lost a cent due to credit card fraud. This includes having to replace my card twice in the last few weeks due to e-cig related purchases, as well as some other unrelated incidents that happened years ago.

When it happens, there is some inconvenience involved and there's that yucky feeling you get because you feel victimized, but so far that's been the worst of it. Fortunately I'm not too far from a couple of B&M vape shops, so until this settles down I plan to make a lot fewer online purchases and stay with my current credit card.

 

[MikeA5]

KatyLoo, I guess going to local B&M ecig may help but they could be using the same CC processors than those vendors use online. If I were to go the B&M route I'd pay cash just to be safe.