Stainless Steel mesh wick purchase WARNING!

[Wimpy]

Hi all, I posted this in the newbie forum this morning (to get enough posts) so that I could WARN each of you about purchasing ss mesh from pnjresources (dotcom) located in the USA:

I wanted to build a DIY atomizer using wire and stainless steel mesh for wicking. I went on a Google hunt for ss mesh and found pnjresources (dotcom) website online, supposedly in Beloit, WI. Though, the website registration shows it is registered in Alabama. (?)

I ordered stainless steel mesh 400 from pnjresources (dotcom) website at 12:21 AM on 3/28/12. At 1:53 PM on the SAME DAY, I received notice from my bank that my account was overdrawn. It took less than 13 hours.

Pnjresources (dotcom) uses Mal's E-commerce as its "secure" online credit card processor. The website is mals-e (dotcom). I investigated to find that they are located in the UK. ALL of the fraudulent charges on my card were from the UK. Coincidence? NO. It is confirmed.

Warn everyone NOT to order from PnJResources (dotcom) or ANY website that processes payments through Mals-e (dotcom). I do not normally use my personal card online for anything, NOR have I ever been in the UK. One charge was to run my credit report from an agency in the UK (huh?).

PLEASE spread the word. You could help someone else avoid the nightmare I am going through.

Thanks!
Wimpy

 

[markfm]

It may well not have anything to do with mals-e. mals-e is a shopping cart software vendor. There is a very widely reported story out today that one of the credit card processors, Global Payments, appears to have had a major breach.

While it is possible that mals-e has a problem, it may well be part of the credit card processor breach, not mals-e's error. If a given vendor uses Global Payments as their credit card processor it doesn't matter whose intermediate shopping cart software is being used -- the card processor is upstream from the shopping cart software, and the shopping cart software will send the CC info to whoever it is that a vendor has their CC merchant account set up with.

 

[Wimpy]

Thanks markfm. You are correct that mals-e doesn't process the cards. There is a huge list of merchants that their shopping cart software works with. I was just wanting to warn others against the known entities from my own misfortune so that they could avoid the same.

 

[notsmoking]

I heard on the news that Mastercard and Visa ran into a massive security breach. Its not the site it is the people that broke the security to the card services.
But I sure do want to thank you for wanting to protect us all.

 

[Big Screen D]

Made me look. Ordered some wire from pnj on the 25th. No weirdness on my account.

 

[iamtopher34]

I have placed orders at a handfull of websites over the past few weeks and when i checked my account last night i was way overdrawn thanks to someone spending a few hundred bucks on itunes

 

[Big Screen D]

That is the very reason I don't like debit cards. If it's compromised, you have to get your own money back. With a CC, once alerted , it's the bank's problem.

These Debit and Credit Card processors need to get a handle on this quick. Online sellers have to be livid.

 

[Vaptor]

For online purchases one should use debit cards and only put money in that account that the item costs. No one can withdraw what you don't have there.

 

[Big Screen D]

Made me look. Ordered some wire from pnj on the 25th. No weirdness on my account.

Well I did join the hacked card club. Bank took care off the fraudulent charges, and replaced my card. I had the bank issue me a second card that I just received today and this one will be dedicated to online purchases only.

 

[flatout]

I have placed orders at a handfull of websites over the past few weeks and when i checked my account last night i was way overdrawn thanks to someone spending a few hundred bucks on itunes

This happens to TONS of parents... do you let the youngins play with you iPhone/iPad? A lot of kids games on iOS are free or 99 cents but they have tons of in game purchases that can be made... it's a total scam and aimed at people who don't know better (in this case kids).

 

[supertrunker]

That's very good advice Vaptor, and it applies equally to all internet purchases. I have a dedicated debit card for just that reason and urge others to do the same. because that alternative is the limit of your account + overdraft!!