Earlier this month, I received a series of unsolicited phone calls, asking to verify my name and address. Each phone number appeared to be a legitimate one on my Caller ID. When I answered, "Yes", the caller informed me that s/he was "verifying" my info for an upcoming "order." I replied that I hadn't ordered anything. The caller countered that I had indeed ordered some sort of idiet-pill/skin cream/etc. I protested. The caller insisted that I hold the phone and speak to a customer service rep. I declined, and hung up.
A few minutes later, I received another call from another company with the exact M.O. The caller explained that my credit card was going to be billed regularly for the "product" I'd ordered. When I asked, "Which credit card?" The caller gave me a set of numbers that didn't belong to me. So I hung up.
Two weeks later, four packages arrived. They all contained some sort of junk trial sizes of acai-berry pills or anti-aging creams. I threw them out. I certainly wasn't going to return the merchandise on my dime — especially since Nutra Lane insisted on their invoice that I call them for a "Return Merchandise Authorization" number. I just wanted to forget about them.
Except that when my husband got HIS credit card bill, we saw that he had been billed for four separate shipments of unauthorized, unwanted crap. The companies included Nutra Lane and AG Skincare, plus two unnamed companies. So we called the bank, canceled his card, and filed an affidavit.
Just this past Friday, one of the companies called again to inform me that I (my husband, really) was going to be billed for a bigger, more expensive shipment. I yelled that they were perpetuating fraud. The caller replied, "I can't cancel the order. You can talk to our customer service line if you'd like."
We are just baffled. My husband seldom uses this specific credit card. I've never used it; it's not mine to use. And we have different last names.
These companies somehow stole our household information — from our bank or by using spyware to attack our PC, I think — which is the only way I can explain this fraud. But I'm going to contact the Federal Trade Commission and file a complaint as well.
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