While making a legitimate $2.92 payment to a video club I belong to, I noticed an unauthorized charge from "PH Hoodia Midvale UT" in the amount of $99.41 pending against my account. I've never heard of PH Hoodia, never ordered or received anything from them, nor have I ever signed up for any product subscription they or someone like them might be offering. I can only assume my info was "cyberjacked" when the video club charge was being sent to my account at the same time, or someone else grabbed the info during my online shopping spree over Christmas.
I've since canceled the card in question but I fear the damage has already been done. Since the fraudulent charge is "pending", I'm currently unable to access the funds which have been placed "on hold" to cover the transaction, and there is nothing the debit card people can do, supposedly, until the actual charge goes through.By then this whole affair will have cost me an overdraft fee from my bank and leave a huge hole in my checking account for having to cover the legitimate charges going through against the now closed account.
To top it all off, when/if the charge is actually made, my dispute against it might end up denied by being classified as a "subscription service that I signed up for", which I never did. Needless to say, I'm feeling quite helpless and extremely angry right now. I trusted my information to be secure when I do business online, or at the very least receive some support from my debit card carrier in such an event, but so far that's not been the case.
Welcome to the real world of online banking and internet scams!
Disillusioned
somewhere in cyberland, Michigan
U.S.A.
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