I was looking over my online banking statement and noticed a charge for $4.93 from a "Brenda & Associates" in Ventura, FL. Seeing as I live in Missouri, and do not make online purchases, and have not been to Flordia in over 12 years, I was suspicious. I typed the company name in Google, and it pulled up multiple fraud alerts on this site. I called my bank and found out that they are seeing a lot of complaints about the same charge.
They are an "online gaming company" that some how hacked into a "major department store data base" (which one the bank would not say). They got access to ATM (debit card) numbers, and are running the $4.93 charge as a "feeler". Once the charge clears your account, they begin using (or sell) your debit card number for online purchases, until they empty your bank account.
Luckily, I caught the charge before it cleared. The bank is reversing the charge, and closed out that debit card number, issuing a new card with a new number. Any charges that try to come through on that account number will now be traced, in an attempt to catch the creeps doing this.
If the same thing happens to you, call your bank ASAP.
0 comments