Fraudulent charge to my debit card

I was looking over my bank account online today to see how much money I dont have and noticed a charge of 14.98 and the description just said "hosting fee" and gave this number 888-561-6996 WA.

So I googled that number and turns out its some scam artist in washington state and they charge a ton of people that same amount and hope no one notices.

the link for people complaining about this number
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-561-6996

So I called my bank and reported the fradulent charge and canceld my debit card. They will refund my money and pursue the charge.
Uggg! Im really irritated right no. That these worthless fucks try and scam people out of their money! I wish I could find them and take them out in a empty field

But I guess I'll be adding identity theft protection back onto my account. I had it for over a year and never really needed it but now that this happend I will be glad to pay for their service

 

That sucks.

I'd be curious how they got your card info in the first place.

 

I used my debit card on the internet once and later checked my balance and a charge for ~$12 was on there to a magazine subscription and a charge was on there for ~$600 for a canoe both I had not ordered. The bank was somewhat unconcerened and I had to go after the canoe charge. Luckily the canoe had not shipped so I stopped shippment. The sporting goods store would not give me info on the person who requested the canoe, said I had to have the police do it.

I have never used the debit card for anything except ATM whitdrawals since

Turns out there are different laws regarding Debit cards. The banks have less libility than they do with a credit card.

Be carefull who gets your Debit number.

 

x3

on that site someone said they just punch in random numbers untill they get one that works

I guess I should use a credit card for online purchases

 

I can't say this enough:

DO NOT USE DEBIT CARDS.

EVER.

Don't even own them - just decline them at the bank when you open a checking account.

They're the easiest way to have your identity stolen. What's worse, the card is linked to all the funds in your checking account, so anyone with the card info can clean the whole thing out - and that cash money is gone. If you have a nice bank, they'll refund you. Most won't.

Consumer fraud protection with CREDIT CARDS is much much better. The credit card company assumes liability for fraudulent charges - all of them - and you have 60 days to report fraudulent charges. Most debit cards have a grace period for fraud of less than a week, though policies vary by bank.

It is MUCH safer to use a credit card and simply pay the balance in full each month so that you pay no interested. Offers much more protection to you as a consumer.

 

good info jandrews. Ill look at getting a CC that has cash back. that way I can still use plastic but get some moniez back for using their card

 

You might need the canoe if you find yourself up shit creek

 

Same here, no problems so far.

 

Read the fine print. CC benefits aren't always great - some offer really good miles or rewards but have yearly fees, monthly fees, or other tricks attached to them for these benefits.

The best route is usually to go through a credit union and get a CC with the lowest fixed rate you can. My daily spending CC is a VISA I got through my credit union with a 9.9% fixed rate. I never carry a balance, so the interest rate is immaterial, but the important factor is that it doesn't have any sneaky fee schedules. Of course, no rewards either. But the real reward is that it's as least-evil as a CC can get.

 

never EVER use your debit card on the internet. credit card or nothing. a debit card is linked DIRECTLY TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. if someone wanted to they could clean you out. but if they get your credit card number then its the credit card companies problem. sure its still a pain in the ass for you to deal with, but at least your checking account isn't empty

 

I had somthing like this same charge coming out of my account when I was deployed, I called them up furious and they gave me a line about travel dicounts. After making the girl on the phone (receptionist) cry because they knew she was scamming a deployed soldier, I was given to a guy that said he ran the show and I told him I would be showing up at their office in springfield extrememly upset in 4 months when I get back. the next week all the money was credited back to my account.

 

But I would have to be "without a padel" because I sure ain't sticking my hand in

 

Dude i'm going through some similar shit...just from a different direction! Whatta PITA!!!

 

Yea, Ive used mine for the last 8 years with no problems untill now.

 

I fell to a paypal scam before and lost my whole account. They said it was all spent in Romania.. I was like I have never been out of the states let alone Romania. Suck though it took like a week to get 1k back.

 

Use a visa wal-mart moneycard for ALL ONLINE transactions. Only load the money that you will use.

Then if you have paypal, you can set this "wal-mart" card for back-up funding on paypal.