New cc fraud alert

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pcrdude

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Jan 20, 2013
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I got my statement in the mail after the regular cc customer service line was closed. I will call Monday, and report what they do in this thread. When I called the "Lost and Stolen" number, the pre-recorded voice said ONLY lost and stolen card reports were allowed on that line.

Since it's a cc, I'm certain they will cancel and re-issue my card, and I won't be liable for the fraudulent charges. As a side note, I am a cash kinda guy, so I rarely use my cc for anything other than online purchases. And, other than Amazon, almost all of my charges are for vape stuff.

A quick Google search suggests that this is a 'test then make a big charge' type of scammer, and some indication it originated in Malta, but I don't know if anyone knows for sure.

Please check your statements.....
 

Rickajho

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I got my statement in the mail after the regular cc customer service line was closed. I will call Monday, and report what they do in this thread. When I called the "Lost and Stolen" number, the pre-recorded voice said ONLY lost and stolen card reports were allowed on that line.

Since it's a cc, I'm certain they will cancel and re-issue my card, and I won't be liable for the fraudulent charges. As a side note, I am a cash kinda guy, so I rarely use my cc for anything other than online purchases. And, other than Amazon, almost all of my charges are for vape stuff.

A quick Google search suggests that this is a 'test then make a big charge' type of scammer, and some indication it originated in Malta, but I don't know if anyone knows for sure.

Please check your statements.....

It's the same scam charge that has been reported about for months. That being said I'm really surprised your bank didn't catch it and it got all the way through to your CC statement. (Any bank worth it's salt is monitoring for those charges and canceling them seconds after they appear.) What's the issuing bank for that credit card?
 

AttyPops

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According to this (and many other) articles...this is a widespread scam. Cancel your card NOW. Don't wait. Use the stolen card line. Your number has been stolen even though you retain the physical card.

http://consumerist.com/2014/03/19/c...tatements-for-bls-weblearn-scam-transactions/
one writer recently shared his story about how the scam started as a questionable transaction for $12.96 and ended with his bank account being cleaned out. According to this unfortunate soul, the source of the original purchase was supposedly in Malta, but once the scammers realized that this credit card number was legitimate, someone in The Netherlands enjoyed themselves with his funds.

In the meantime....you can get cash from an ATM or whatnot, and get a prepaid card at your bank or Walmart or whatever to use for the time being.

I use pre-paid cards for e-cig stuff. I don't trust most of these small time cc processors anymore. The scammers are just too good, unfortunately.

:2c:
 

keonee

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Sometimes a small charge is made first to see if it goes thru un-noticed.....then comes the nightmare.....bigger charges.

A few years ago I had small charges to my card and the bank called me. I did not believe it was them and was told to call the 1-800 # on the back of the card and ask for the fraud department. I did and finally realized there were fraudulent charges on my bank card. Thanks to my bank they caught it immediately and closed/froze my account. The charges were taken off and I was issued a new card which came 10 days later.

Hope you get this resolved and Good Luck to You....pcrdude.
 

KODIAK (TM)

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Thanks to my bank they caught it immediately and closed/froze my account.
Yeah well, I'm still debating whether the banks have my best interests at heart (next to theirs of course).

Twice now I've stood in line at a check out only to have my card "denied". Embarrassing. Banks employ some weird fraud detection software using automatic algorithms if something fishy is detected. And these aren't strange places either... Walmart, Best Buy... all retailers I've used before.
 

KODIAK (TM)

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What would be the best pre-paid card to use? Sounds like a very prudent thing to do.
Nothing beats a good old Debit Card from your bank in my books. It requires a PIN and you can basically load it yourself by transferring money from one account to the next. If there are fees for using it, it's still usually cheaper than those extortion fees the prepaid cards want.

I have a kid off to University. I just set up a different account in my name and gave her the card. Very easy to manage and track.
 

Free6413

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Dec 29, 2013
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Pre paid cards are great to prevent this from happening. If you want to buy something online, just put the funds on the card and use it. Using your cc or (God forbid) your debit card opens up your whole life to the electronic scammers worldwide. Thanks for sharing and maybe you just saved numerous members from having to live a tragic experience!
 

NealBJr

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I exclusively use prepaid cards for overseas transactions. It's not that I don't trust the company I'm dealing with, It's that I don't trust the thousands of miles my transaction has to go through to get to the destination.

Now, the Only way I've been doing it now, is buying a prepaid visa at the local grocery store. however, those come it set amounts, like $25 or $50. I would like a prepaid card I can refill at the grocery store, or load up somewhere else, but all these require statements sent to the house, or whatever. I don't want any of my personal information linked to something I buy overseas. Does anyone know of a prepaid card you can reload and not link it to an address?
 

amoret

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I had this one two weeks ago. The bank said that it is probably done with random number generation. They were nice enough to special handle and overnight my new card since I'm in the middle of rebuying everything we lost inn a house fire. An advantage of online banking is that I sa it two hours after it posted.
 
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