Ranting again. Sorry. This weekend I received a credit card statement (for a card I haven’t used in months) with unauthorized charges to Blockbuster.com and Rhapsody.com. Some dirtbag (either foreign or domestic) somehow got my credit card number and placed some online orders. What’s interesting is that if you Google Blockbuster.com with the words “credit card fraud,” all kinds of complaints come up. This is a very common problem, it seems. Makes me wonder if Rhapsody might be a new market for thieves. And, despite what these companies say, this is a CRIME.
As soon as I opened the envelope and saw the charges, I called my credit card company to formally dispute the charges and also to cancel the account number before any other charges rang up. I’d heard that small-ish purchases like this are done to “test” account numbers, then thieves go ahead with larger ones. Something like that happened to my sister last year. The first few charges were small and to odd charities, then thieves tried to buy plane tickets and hotel rooms in London. When I asked the credit card company person about this, I got a really funny, cagey answer. Basically, she said she knew nothing about the such practices. Yeah, sure. This is your industry, your job … no?
BUT, she did ask me a whole bunch of questions aimed at blaming me for the problem. My answer to all of them was NO.
I’ll still have to send back a notarized affidavit (when it arrives) to fully dispute the charges. Lovely.
By phone, I also went ahead and ordered a copy of my credit report from all 3 credit agencies, and I established a fraud alert with all 3 of them so that if anyone tries to open any new accounts using my info, I’ll be notified, etc.
Monday morning, I also filed a police report. I doubt anything will come of it, but unless everyone reports such thefts, as a society, we’ll never know how big a problem this is.
Via email, I alerted by Blockbuster and Rhapsody of the theft, including telling them that I’d already contacted my credit card company, was disputing the charges, etc. And, let’s just say their replies were interesting. Both used a form letter with very careful language, which tells me 2 things:
- This happens enough that they have a form letter for it and don’t even bother reading individual complaints for any important details.
- They aren’t willing to admit anything bad happened.
The Blockbuster reply said … “I apologize if you have been signed up for an online plan without your knowledge. If your personal information has been used without your consent, or you believe to be a victim of identity theft in which your credit card was used to create a Blockbuster Online account, we suggest contacting your financial institution immediately. You may also want to discuss the situation with your local law enforcement agency. I have cancelled your account to avoid further activity. Your financial institution should be able to resolve the concern appropriately, preventing future charges. Let us know if you have further concerns.”
Notice the use of “if” and “you believe,” like they don’t personally believe what I’m saying.
The Rhapsody reply said … “I understand that you are concerned that someone misused your credit card on our web site. I regret for the inconvenience caused to you … If you believe that an order was placed fraudulently on our site …”
It finishes much in the same way as the other one, where responsibility for recovering my money falls to me and my credit card company, as if Rhapsody has no role in reversing the charges.
I think the part I find most infuriating is the use of the word “misused.” Not that my credit card was illegally used or that it was stolen. It was “misused.”
Here’s the thing. You would not talk to a rape victim about *if* she felt or believed her body had been “misused.” You would not talk about a stolen car as “misused.”
It’s like they don’t want to admit a CRIME was committed.
Pisses me off.
What’s funny is that the Rhapsody support guy in India (my email wasn’t enough, I had to call), gave me the name and email address linked to the use of my credit card number. There’s a VERY GOOD CHANCE that it’s also fraudulent. Otherwise, I would post it here to let the world know this person is total @#$%*@#$%.
But, what does that prove? Rhapsody accepted an order from someone with a completely different name. That name clearly did not match the name on the credit account. Don’t companies check such things? Seriously!
So, while I needed to vent, I also want to warn all of you. This appears to be a VERY COMMON THING. Keep an eye out.
P.S. I got a really pushy, really rude call yesterday from some man with a heavy accent claiming to be from one of my creditors and demanding *I* confirm my identity. Excuse me? You called me. Who the heck are you? Maybe the 2 things are related. Maybe not. If not, this guy has terrible timing. Needless to say he got a piece of my mind. Jerk!
credit card holders should be monitoring their account transactions to see if there are suspicious purchases using your credit card. It’s one way to track down if you are a victim of credit card fraud.
Hi,
There are several reasons to receive a credit card, except that you immediately receive the opportunity to buy goods without cash money. For example, credit history. If your credit history is not built yet, you will be rejected in the house mortgage or auto loan. More than that, it will be even difficult for you to receive a single payday loan. However, if you have a credit card and do not have any penalties with it, you will not be rejected.
Electric Driveway Gate
I’m sorry to hear that Caroline. It’s such a pain. My county’s sheriff’s office did assign an investigator, and last I heard she was getting a search warrant to gain access to the email account and related info for the name and email address used in the Rhapsody purchase. She told me that online companies have 30 days to comply (or not… I guess) with such warrants. I haven’t heard anything, so I’m assuming they were not cooperative, or it was a dead-end.
I had a similar experience with Blockbuster.com. Someone opened a Blockbuster.com account with my check card and I noticed on my online banking that a charge of $10.76 was made. I called Blockbuster.com and they asked me for my card number and expiration date, then asked me for my name and address. They told me that was not the name and address on the account. However, they were acknowledging that the credit card must actually belong to me because they immediately cancelled the account. I asked for the name or at least city where the person who set up the fraudulent account and they would not give it to me. My bank had to reverse the charge, Blockbuster would not. Interesting to me that they will just take your work and cancel the account but won’t give you any other information or reverse the fraudulent charge. These crimes are not taken seriously and there is virtually no accountability! I will make a police report as well. Thanks for posting your blog – as you said, this problem with Blockbuster.com is common and lots of blogs pop up if you search for this.