An entity called MAC-CEE INC charged my Chase credit card $9.95 on Jun 16. Probably most people would not even notice such an insignificant charge. As I soon learned, that is exactly what this scammer is banking on.
I save all of my credit card receipts, and when my statement arrives I spend five minutes checking them off, verifying amounts of transactions and looking for accidental double-charges and such.
In July, I noticed a charge from a company that I did not recognize. What was MAC-CEE, in Staten Island, NY? I could not remember. Was it something I ordered online? Was it a phone card I bought? Was it a donation I made?
I nearly dismissed it. After all, it was nearly a month ago, and my memory is not that sharp. Maybe I lost the receipt. I figured because it was only 10 bucks it was hardly worth the time it would take to pursue the matter.
However my curiosity remained, and the next morning I called my card issuer about the mysterious charge. The only information related to MAC-CEE was that it was a "computer network information service." There was no phone number and no address associated with it.
I Googled the name and found numerous posts citing MAC-CEE as a bogus company generating fraudulent charges. Usacomplaints.com was prominent among the whistle blowers.
It only took me 5 minutes to contact Chase customer service, dispute the charge, and receive credit for the amount stolen by MAC-CEE. Unfortunately the representative could not offer any advice for further action, and I got the impression that the matter was finished as far as Chase was concerned.
Scammers like MAC-CEE probably have highly automated operations because they need to generate large numbers of these small transactions to make the scam pay off. I speculate that they keep track of each successful transaction so that they can "do business" with you again in the future.
This is why it is important to review your credit and bank statements, and contact your card issuer right away about any suspicious charges. You may feel you can brush off a one-time loss of $10, but if we do nothing these scammers will keep on stealing from us, a little bit at a time, over and over!
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