Crooks On The Prowl

[68 Ford Stepside]

If you use credit cards it would be advisable for you to check your account daily. I checked my account today & found a $39.95 charge from a company called SUPPORTMELTD.COM. I will be at the bank Monday morning to stop payment on this false charge. If I was a crook, I really think I could come up with a more realistic name for a company.

[basketcase0302]

Last time this year I ran...to South Florida as fast as I could to escape the cold here, (I mean to visit my Son for Christmas).
Being some 900 miles away from my bank account / not having a smartphone / trusting soul that I am using my bank card for four days knowing what my balance was / blessed that I am...
Got home to find out some clown had successfully charged a "Coach" brand, (top of the line) handbag to my card!
Took two weeks to get all the funds returned to my account / several emails / police report / two trips to my bank.
And I still receive offers and sale ads from "coach" in the mail!
In this order if internet fraud happens to you...

1) Call or visit your bank or go online and find out as much info on the transaction on the folks who committed the crime. I actually got the address and phone number of the clown that committed the fraud on me via the tracking number via the delivery information. It was a guy that had the $300 purse shipped to his work place at a strip mall-real...real smart duh!

2) Then report this information to the IC3, (federal government) department:
http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
You'll be issued a complaint number, (and the ability of being able to print the complaint-while there on IC3 site) very important!

3) Call or visit your local police department with your IC3 complaint number, (I had to file a report in person) each department might have a different policy on reporting) I'd call beforehand and verify the procedure from them to save time. Your police department should issue you a report or investigation number documenting the complaint, also very important. Mine here had a two day waiting period before i could get a hard copy of the report.

4) Take both the IC3 complaint number, (which is like adding icing to a cake on a fraud report to a bank) and your copy or complaint number of your police report back to your bank-and then file the fraud report with them. Most big banks are under regulation to return any fraud money in a certain amount of time. It took mine two weeks and then every penny was returned, (including the overdraft fees).

Last I heard about my case was that the local police in jersey were on their way to visit a certain individual at a strip mall.

Hope it helps!

[crazyhorse]

Mr Stepside, Mr Basket, thank ya'll for posting this.
I hope it never happens to any of us.

Mr Basket I have "saved" this information, but hope I never need it.

[basketcase0302]

Your quite welcome. I honestly thought it could never happen to me. Found out the hard way as the guy that took my money waited for a long holiday weekend where folks might be out of town, (Christmas in my situation) and not be able to check bank balance. Hard for me to believe folks this smart can't get a decent job?

[crazyhorse]

Well I just wanted to bump this up since it is important for all of us.

We have to stay on our toes to keep up with the crooks.

[NM5K]

Looking on the web, that address has been used in other scams. Possibly from the UK.
I've been skimmed once so far. It was local, and I'm almost sure I got skimmed at a store
I went to. And it might well have been a crooked cashier at a Wal-Mart I had gone to before
this happened. I remember she swiped my card twice, and used a different reader the 2nd
time, claiming that the first reader didn't read it. Can't prove it, but when I thought back
on all my previous purchases, that one seemed one of the most likely. So you gotta watch
these store clerks and such like a hawk these days. Anyway, they sklmmed my card and then
used it up north of town for four purchases totally about $355. After those, the bank or VISA
got suspicious because they didn't match my usual activity, and sent me an e-mail saying they
had shut down the card, and I'd have to call them. I could see where all the purchases were
from the statement online, and I called that counties sheriff dept that night and filed a report.
I got a new card, and I think it took about three days for the bank to reimburse my account.
I just got a new "chipped" card the other day.. Maybe that will help with some of this stuff.

[sargentrs]

Had an interesting experience in June, and one that gave me that warm fuzzy, using my Citibank CC. Went on vacation to FL and when we got down there, went to the local Walmart to buy supplies. Checked out, spending $100ish, and on my way out to the car my phone rang. It was Citibank wanting to know if I was in FL using my card and verifying that I was the cardholder and did use it at Walmart. Made me feel good that they were on point with my CC account. Also, on most credit cards, you can have a text/email sent to your phone on every use or above a set dollar limit. I check my bank account online at least 3 times/wk and credit cards 2-3 times a month.

[NM5K]

I have mine set up to send me an email for any purchase over $1, and also get a statement once a day
telling the balance, and what all deposits or withdrawals. The reason I have it set for only $1 is many of
these crooks will test an account with a low amount like $1, and if it seems to end up live, they come
back later and go to town. So I want to see everything. And I check my actual account fairly often just
to make sure the email reports jive with the banks records.