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I did, and I noticed a small ($4.93) charge from a web site I didn't recognize. I did a Google search on it and came up with a lot of information on a criminal organization that has access somehow to credit card numbers and all the associated information needed to charge things wtih the account. The scam/fraud works like this:
1. The criminals set up web sites to recruit salespeople.
2. A salesperson is required to form a company (LLC), set up a web site (provided by the criminals), and set up a merchant account and bank account. They are promised $2000/month or a percentage of sales from the site. The sites sell different things, but all in small amounts.
3. The criminals then process "sales" through that web site using the credit card information. Since the amounts are small, most (80-85%) people don't even notice the charges. If the cards keep working, they keep charging about once a month. The salespeople do get paid based on the sales, but there are NEVER any legitimate sales, only sales using the credit card information obtained from who knows where. Could be insiders at the banks, credit reporting agencies, or Visa/MC/Discover/Amex themselves.
4. The money gets moved to the bank account, then wired overseas to the criminals in small amounts so as not to trigger any red flags.
Here is a link to a thread on DSLReports about the whole deal with a TON of information:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19620593-Ebook-websites-fraud-charges-DevbillDigitalAgePluto
Bottom line, keep an eye on your accounts. If you see a charge from a web site you don't recognize (there are literally hundreds, maybe thousands, or I'd list them here), do a Google search. If it's part of this fraud, call your bank and have them send you a new card.
Hope this saves someone some hassle and money,
TD |