Help me find the scam...

[Jeff]

Allright here's the deal...

This morning I go to check the balance on my checking account (online), and see that a $985.95 check card purchase was made yesterday.

After i picked my jaw up off the floor and called the bank, I found out it was an online purchase made to some online company called "Bare Essentials."

OK so cards are cancelled, the bank voided the transaction, my checking account is suspended at this time, so I didn't loose any money over this.

Here's where it gets weird. I called the company, to try to get a delivery address to see where this stuff was going to file the appropriate police report. Apparently, all this stuff was getting shipped to my house. A bunch of $65.00 Dolce & Gabbana T-shirts, pajamas, and panty hose.

So where is the scam in this? Do UPS guys steal credit card info and have the stuff shipped to the correct address but never deliver it?

Anyone ever hear of anything like this going on recently?

 

[Tranplanner]

have you checked with your wife yet?

 

[PlannerGirl]

I think i saw a repot to that effect a couple years ago-if i recall right it was USPS folks running it but yes the stuff never went to where it was addressed-

scary
glad you cought it

 

[Chet]

have you checked with your wife yet?

Or have you checked with your house boy? Maybe he took a break from cleaning the pool and wanted to surprise you.

 

[Downtown]

If it was UPS-ed, wouldn't there have to be a signed receipt?

 

[PlannerGirl]

so whoopie they forge it

but yes check with the wife

 

[donk]

Could also depend on what your mail box is like. If they mailman leaves the package between the doors, and the thieves know you are away from home all day, pretty easy thing to do OR it could be a charge with no service scam, where the company says they shipped to an address then don't deliver any goods and pocket the money.


As for how they got your CC #, that is another question.

 

[Jeff]

No, my wife never ordered the stuff. She was the first person I called.

I don't know if it was the company's doing. Because their phone number came up on the bank statement, it was too easy to get in contact with them.

Because of the dollar amount, I'm guessing that someone was trying to pull a fast one once. Beginning of the month, bank statement doesn't come for another couple of weeks. If I wasn't in the habit of checking my account every day online, it could've went unnotcied for weeks, and at that point the bad guys long gone.

I just hope it was a UPS or FedEx type scheme as opposed to someone staking out my house waiting for the stuff to get delivered.

We have dog walkers that come to our house during the week to let the dog out, I really trust them, and this is their business and only source of income. I really doubt that they had anything to do with it, but I can't help but wonder.

 

[PlannerGirl]

dude good luck and DO call the cops there may be some ring or some such they are looking into (oh think GIS to find a pattern!)

that sorta stuff scares the hell out of me-thus i watch my accounts very close and shred the hell out of all recipts, bills etc
i pay everything directly out of my bank account via autodraft etc-write so few checks that my bank actualy calls to verify big ones~!! *i was thirlled*

i dont use creditcards-though my debit card is a tempting little bit of plastic.

hugs
d

 

[Jeff]

Well I just spoke with the FBI, and filed a fraud report. I doubt it will go anywhere though, since I really didn't loose any money and in the relative scheme of fraud $985 isn't much.

 

[Downtown]

Such a good thing that you were paying attention. The last time our bank sent us new checks, they accidentally put the savings account number on the checks, not the checking account number and normally I checked my account every week or two, just to make sure everything was ok. Well, we ended up bouncing 9 checks, including our very first mortgage payment. once the bank had realized what they'd done, they were very accommodating to fix it, but still. grrrrr. now i'm paranoid to the point that i check my account every other day or so, and my credit card as well.

 

[Chet]

A few years ago I came back from Vegas. I had put about $1200 on the American Express, and was shocked to find over $10,000 in charges - all mail order catalog stuff - on the account. I still had the charge plate, but someone lifted the #'s from a statement or receipt somewhere. AmEx was cool and wrote it all off, but they wouldn't tell me if they caught the fools.

 

[Jen]

Winona's the ringleader!

Sure, blame the UPS guy,

I would look at a possible hack into your online security at home. Do you shop online?

 

[Jeff]

Re: Winona's the ringleader!

Sure, blame the UPS guy,

I would look at a possible hack into your online security at home. Do you shop online?

Shop online all the time. But if you're gonna steal my credit card info why have it sent to my house? That's what is weird about the whole thing.