Credit Card Scam?

• thavoice

  Does this sound like a scam?
  
  I noticed a charge, less than 20 bucks, on my credit card that said 'florida hosting'. I did not make the purchase and called the 800# associated with the charge.
  
  The first thing that the recording says on the call is this:
  **If you do not recognize the charge on your credit card, press one**.
  (personally, that sounds very suspicious right there)
  So i pressed one and it said to put last 6 digits of CC in. When ya do this it states **there are two transactions. on March first (the charge) and a March 7th (refund). The refund can take 4-5 days to reflect to your account**
  
  
  I called the CC company and they said they will refund it too.
  
  Could this be the scam......they charge people a small amount so people dont really recognize or care. If you call and follow the prompts they will automatically have the system refund your amount and say it happened the day before, with a preface it could take 3-5 days to show up on the CC, so it gives them time to refund the money.
  
  Seems fishy
• Con_Alma

  thavoice;704757 wrote:Does this sound like a scam?
  
  ...

  If you didn't authorize the transaction you were being scammed out of the amount.
  
  By disputing the transaction you have been made whole.
• THE4RINGZ

  

  I had a similar situation occur last year. There were two charges in the neighborhood of $40-60. I called my bank they told me to call the toll free number associated with the charges on my statement, I called and was refunded the money in a few days.
  
  I asked the Customer Service Rep what the charges were for, and all she could say was that they were a third party billing agency, and she knew nothing more than that. She also asked if I wanted to have my credit card number blocked by them, so that they would not be able to bill against it in the future. Of course, I said yes, and have had no problems since then.
  
  Good luck.
• gorocks99

  

  Have you googled the 800 number? What's the name of the company associated?
• thavoice

  gorocks99;704777 wrote:Have you googled the 800 number? What's the name of the company associated?

  Great fuckin idea!
  Here is what I got....the post by this person is almost exactly like mine.
  http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-299-3126
• dave

  Don't think I'd take any chances, ask for a new card/number
• O-Trap

  

  They wouldn't have had your account or card information, I wouldn't think, unless they got it from you inputting it somewhere. Scammers are sneaky, but they're not magic, so you had to have input your card info somewhere.
  
  It is possible that, upon buying something online, you do agree to something stated in an inconspicuous place on the screen that might not be included in the TOS/TOU.
  
  If it was a blatant scam, however, you probably would have seen a much bigger charge.
• thavoice

  Last time something was purchased online with the credit card.......wow.....over a year? I too thought about if it was scam to be a bigger charge, but if htey make it small then how many people would even notice it?
  
  Plus a search I did online had a few other poeple with teh same charge and issue I had.
• dave

  thavoice;704814 wrote:Last time something was purchased online with the credit card.......wow.....over a year? I too thought about if it was scam to be a bigger charge, but if htey make it small then how many people would even notice it?
  
  Plus a search I did online had a few other poeple with teh same charge and issue I had.

  
  Someone could have got your info from a restaurant or gas pump too. You will never know. What is your CC company doing to prevent it from happening again?
• thavoice

  True. I reported it but not sure what they are doing.
  
  What is your take that when I did a search of the phone number that is associated with it that others have had the exact same amount charged and such?
• dave

  That just means it definitely a scam and not some incorrect input of a card number or something you accidently signed up for.
  
  Chances are if it's happened multiple times it's overseas and they won't be caught. I doubt they try it again on you but I'd be scared they would sell your info to someone else, that's why I'd see about a new card. I also agree with your thinking that they make small charges because it is unlikely to be noticed, and that way a CC company won't come after them for such a small amount. Not worth the legal costs.
• O-Trap

  

  thavoice;704814 wrote:Last time something was purchased online with the credit card.......wow.....over a year? I too thought about if it was scam to be a bigger charge, but if htey make it small then how many people would even notice it?
  
  Plus a search I did online had a few other poeple with teh same charge and issue I had.

  The online search doesn't say all that much.
  
  In terms of the small amount, a true scammer will use a throw-away account opened with dummy info. They'll charge the amount, and they'll withdraw it from the account ASAP. Cash-in-hand is a lot harder to get back, even by the bank. Plus, if many such complaints come in, they'll have the FTC so far up their ass they'll be getting a prostate exam.
  
  I compare it, in a way, to a cell phone bill. When you first sign up for a cell line (at least at Verizon when I worked there), you pay for your monthly service in advance, plus the pro-rated portion of the month before that point. Thus, the first bill always looks higher than normal.
  
  Even though there is no fraud or suspicious activity taking place, you wouldn't believe the number of complaints and accusations thrown around at Verizon because of it. They are mostly attributed to a complete misunderstanding of the billing of the first month+. As such, I rarely read much into complaint boards or Ripoff Report or any site like that. They don't tell nearly as much as people think they do.
  
  In terms of it being a year or more, it's not impossible for it to have been an annual charge. That would actually make a LOT of sense for something having to do with hosting, as many of those bill annually.
  
  If anything, I think it just seems like poor and unorganized business practices.
  

  thavoice;704826 wrote:True. I reported it but not sure what they are doing.
  
  What is your take that when I did a search of the phone number that is associated with it that others have had the exact same amount charged and such?

  The fact that it's the exact same amount actually lends further to the fact that it was not a scam.
  
  Scammers with high-volume/low-amount transactions tend to go on a percentage basis. Here's why:
  
  If you have a couple hundred bucks or more in an account, a miscellaneous charge of $12.75 might fly under the radar.
  
  If, however, you have an account that only has $50 in it, that charge becomes VERY noticeable.
  
  The fact that it's the same amount means it's probably some obscure hosting service, which costs the same no matter who signs up.
  
  For what it's worth, this company's business ethics and scruples don't seem to be very good, so I'm not saying it's clean. It sounds shady. Just not scammy.
• thavoice

  O-Trap;704852 wrote:The online search doesn't say all that much.
  
  In terms of the small amount, a true scammer will use a throw-away account opened with dummy info. They'll charge the amount, and they'll withdraw it from the account ASAP. Cash-in-hand is a lot harder to get back, even by the bank. Plus, if many such complaints come in, they'll have the FTC so far up their ass they'll be getting a prostate exam.
  
  I compare it, in a way, to a cell phone bill. When you first sign up for a cell line (at least at Verizon when I worked there), you pay for your monthly service in advance, plus the pro-rated portion of the month before that point. Thus, the first bill always looks higher than normal.
  
  Even though there is no fraud or suspicious activity taking place, you wouldn't believe the number of complaints and accusations thrown around at Verizon because of it. They are mostly attributed to a complete misunderstanding of the billing of the first month+. As such, I rarely read much into complaint boards or Ripoff Report or any site like that. They don't tell nearly as much as people think they do.
  
  In terms of it being a year or more, it's not impossible for it to have been an annual charge. That would actually make a LOT of sense for something having to do with hosting, as many of those bill annually.
  
  If anything, I think it just seems like poor and unorganized business practices.
  
  
  
  The fact that it's the exact same amount actually lends further to the fact that it was not a scam.
  
  Scammers with high-volume/low-amount transactions tend to go on a percentage basis. Here's why:
  
  If you have a couple hundred bucks or more in an account, a miscellaneous charge of $12.75 might fly under the radar.
  
  If, however, you have an account that only has $50 in it, that charge becomes VERY noticeable.
  
  The fact that it's the same amount means it's probably some obscure hosting service, which costs the same no matter who signs up.
  
  For what it's worth, this company's business ethics and scruples don't seem to be very good, so I'm not saying it's clean. It sounds shady. Just not scammy.

  
  Makes sense. Just seems odd that the first thing you hear when ya call the number is 'if you do not recognize this charge please press one'. If you press 2 you hold for a few minutes and it dumps you into a voicemail system.
  
  Each instance that I have read online, and there has been 6-7 so far, goes through the same thing. Charge the same amount, and ya call the number and they say it has been refunded although it will take 4-5 days. Yes, it does take a few days to see the refund but my instance, and in the instances online, all say that the company says the recording also mntions it was credited the day BEFORE the call in was made. Just sems like if they receive a call they automatically refund it and say it was for a day prior to the call to inquire.
• O-Trap

  

  dave;704848 wrote:That just means it definitely a scam and not some incorrect input of a card number or something you accidently signed up for.

  Actually, this is not at all true.
  
  If a hosting package costs $12.75 a year, it doesn't matter who purchases it. If many people are having issues, the hosting package is likely legitimate, but the marketing of the service was likely unscrupulously cryptic.
  

  dave;704848 wrote:Chances are if it's happened multiple times it's overseas and they won't be caught.

  Believe it or not, there is a LOT of this kind of thing that goes in right here in the good ol' US of A. The multiplicity of it really doesn't distinguish.
  

  dave;704848 wrote:I doubt they try it again on you but I'd be scared they would sell your info to someone else, that's why I'd see about a new card. I also agree with your thinking that they make small charges because it is unlikely to be noticed, and that way a CC company won't come after them for such a small amount. Not worth the legal costs.

  The problem with assuming this is a "small" charge is that "small" is relative. Again, if a charge seems small to you, it will still likely be noticeable to someone else.
  
  Scammers go by percentages. Makes them harder to catch, unfortunately.
  
  If I were you, OP, I'd contact the bank again and ask to be put into contact with the account owner. Dig a little bit and see if you can come up with a company name. If you can, try to find a location. If you can, contact their state attorney general (if US-based). Contact the FTC regardless. If it's a registered company, based in the US, any selling of your financial info would be, I woud assume, grounds for potential criminal charges, or at least serious civil damages.
• O-Trap

  

  thavoice;704862 wrote:Makes sense. Just seems odd that the first thing you hear when ya call the number is 'if you do not recognize this charge please press one'. If you press 2 you hold for a few minutes and it dumps you into a voicemail system.

  Probably means that their refund rate is high. No surprise, given the circumstances.
  

  thavoice;704862 wrote:Each instance that I have read online, and there has been 6-7 so far, goes through the same thing. Charge the same amount, and ya call the number and they say it has been refunded although it will take 4-5 days. Yes, it does take a few days to see the refund but my instance, and in the instances online, all say that the company says the recording also mntions it was credited the day BEFORE the call in was made. Just sems like if they receive a call they automatically refund it and say it was for a day prior to the call to inquire.

  They probably do that to stay in business. If a refund is processed the day before the request, it makes the company look much more pro-active in fixing financial errors.
  
  It's pretty obvious that, regardless of the quality of the service, the marketing practices are shady as hell.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Con_Alma;704775 wrote:If you didn't authorize the transaction you were being scammed out of the amount.
  
  By disputing the transaction you have been made whole.

  
  is that what happened?
• dave

  O-Trap;704852 wrote:
  The fact that it's the exact same amount actually lends further to the fact that it was not a scam.
  
  Scammers with high-volume/low-amount transactions tend to go on a percentage basis. Here's why:
  
  If you have a couple hundred bucks or more in an account, a miscellaneous charge of $12.75 might fly under the radar.
  
  If, however, you have an account that only has $50 in it, that charge becomes VERY noticeable.
  
  The fact that it's the same amount means it's probably some obscure hosting service, which costs the same no matter who signs up.
  
  For what it's worth, this company's business ethics and scruples don't seem to be very good, so I'm not saying it's clean. It sounds shady. Just not scammy.

  
  this is a credit card, not bank account/debit card.
• Con_Alma

  DeyDurkie5;704876 wrote:is that what happened?

  
  I think so.
  
  My post was answering the question he asked.
• O-Trap

  

  dave;704878 wrote:this is a credit card, not bank account/debit card.

  
  Available limit will be the metric, in that case, but the principle doesn't change.
  
  Either way, it doesn't make it more likely to be a scam. It most likely means that it's a product or service with a fixed cost. If 80 people buy the same cleaning service, it's going to cost all 80 people the same amount. That's the idea.
• I Wear Pants

  O-Trap seems to know a lot about scamming people...
• thavoice

  When ya call the number they do not introduce themselves on the recording of any sort of company. Its almost like....ok, you called in, you caught us, here is your money back, and then go on to the next person.
  
  Of the other people I have found with this complaint they have all been in the last couple weeks.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Con_Alma;704879 wrote:I think so.
  
  My post was answering the question he asked.

  
  oh it was? I didn't know
• Con_Alma

  DeyDurkie5;704943 wrote:oh it was? I didn't know

  
  I didn't think you knew.
• O-Trap

  

  I Wear Pants;704916 wrote:O-Trap seems to know a lot about scamming people...

  You have to if you work in affiliate marketing. Online, scamming becomes 10x easier.
  
  My job at my last place of employment was to find these kinds of people who would unscrupulously sell our software. It was a difficult job, as they always try to hid themselves, but you get good at finding the crooks if you're in it awhile.
  

  thavoice;704922 wrote:When ya call the number they do not introduce themselves on the recording of any sort of company. Its almost like....ok, you called in, you caught us, here is your money back, and then go on to the next person.
  
  Of the other people I have found with this complaint they have all been in the last couple weeks.

  Actually, a lot of companies have automated numbers like that who don't address themselves. Reason is, a lot of companies actually contract out all the phone support. The cheaper the service, the less customization.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Con_Alma;704946 wrote:I didn't think you knew.

  
  i know now though, thanks to you and your vast knowledge