Watch out for bogus ITunes charges

[CJones]

Just did a random check on pending transaction on my bank account. I had a $1.00 charge from: APL*ITUNES 866-712-7753 CA

I have never used ITunes, so this was a red flag to me. I did a Google search and apparently this is a known fraud scheme.

I just called to cancel the card attached to this account. Watch your credit/debit cards for this one, especially if you actually use ITunes, this one might slide under the radar.

 

[jesse]

Interesting. No way I'd notice that. I have random charges like that all the time from my iPhone. You buy something on the App Store and then that'll show up several days later.

 

[CJones]

Interesting. No way I'd notice that. I have random charges like that all the time from my iPhone. You buy something on the App Store and then that'll show up several days later.

That's what I figured would happen to a lot of people. My first reaction was "Huh, Rachel must have bought something on ITunes." I said off-hand to her "What did you buy on ITunes?" She said "Nothing." I looked again and the charge was attached to my debit card.

 

[mikea]

There's a reason that I got 4 new cards unsolicited. Several big, yet unnamed, merchants and clearing houses had security breaches.

What got me is one that said, "Your account will be closed if you don't activate this new card immediately." Ok, then. Sorry, for whatever I did.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Just did a random check on pending transaction on my bank account. I had a $1.00 charge from: APL*ITUNES 866-712-7753 CA

First clue that it's bogus: There is nothing on iTunes that costs $1.00. Everything is $*.99.

Thanks for posting this, I'll have to keep a closer eye on those...

 

[TangoWhiskey]

There's a reason that I got 4 new cards unsolicited. Several big, yet unnamed, merchants and clearing houses had security breaches.

What got me is one that said, "Your account will be closed if you don't activate this new card immediately." Ok, then. Sorry, for whatever I did.

We've had three cards replaced with new ones in the last 2 months by banks and credit card companies, as well, due to "a security breach reported to us by a merchant, which we're not at liberty to disclose."

OK then... used to be that a security breach this big (lost backup tapes, hacked systems, etc.) was big news. Why all the secrecy THIS time? Who was it? Why is it being kept so hush-hush?

 

[Matthew]

I think it's common for some vendors to post a $1 charge to a credit card to make sure it's valid. I've seen that happen to me, but when I look at it online, it shows as some kind of 'post' or 'pending' status that never really gets charged. It usually goes away within a day or two. It also happens every time I go the the gas station and fill up the car. I can go online, see a $1 charge from the gas station that gets 'posted', probably when I put the card in the reader to get authorized. Eventually, later that day or sometime the next, that charge will be replaced with the actual charge.

BUT, the last time my CC number was stolen, it had a very small charge like $1 from iTunes (it wasn't from them, but something similar). Once that charge was approved, the scammers knew they had a live number and then charged a couple thousand dollars before my CC company shut it down.

 

[wbarnhill]

I think it's common for some vendors to post a $1 charge to a credit card to make sure it's valid. I've seen that happen to me, but when I look at it online, it shows as some kind of 'post' or 'pending' status that never really gets charged. It usually goes away within a day or two. It also happens every time I go the the gas station and fill up the car. I can go online, see a $1 charge from the gas station that gets 'posted', probably when I put the card in the reader to get authorized. Eventually, later that day or sometime the next, that charge will be replaced with the actual charge.

BUT, the last time my CC number was stolen, it had a very small charge like $1 from iTunes (it wasn't from them, but something similar). Once that charge was approved, the scammers knew they had a live number and then charged a couple thousand dollars before my CC company shut it down.

Yep. I used my paypal card to order speakers for my car... first time I'd used the card in 2 years. Got the speakers fine, but five days later, a ton of charges appeared as pending on my account. A few 1$ charges from Napster, and then a few 200$+ charges from different stores. Paypal cancelled the card without a fuss, but I know not to order any more speakers from that particular company...

 

[mikea]

Yep. I used my paypal card to order speakers for my car... first time I'd used the card in 2 years. Got the speakers fine, but five days later, a ton of charges appeared as pending on my account. A few 1$ charges from Napster, and then a few 200$+ charges from different stores. Paypal cancelled the card without a fuss, but I know not to order any more speakers from that particular company...

Ditto the time my card got used at Wal-Mart.com. It was right after I bought a stylus for my phone from a random site.

I don't think it's so much that the sites are set up by miscreants. It's that these dollar store sites use off the shelf web store software that has more holes than swiss cheese. The "leet" hackers get your number before the merchant does.

Memo to self: REALLY gotta watch those credit card statements.

 

[wbarnhill]

Ditto the time my card got used at Wal-Mart.com. It was right after I bought a stylus for my phone from a random site.

I don't think it's so much that the sites are set up by miscreants. It's that these dollar store sites use off the shelf web store software that has more holes than swiss cheese. The "leet" hackers get your number before the merchant does.

Memo to self: REALLY gotta watch those credit card statements.

I actually figure it was someone working at that store that decided to go for it after looking at my invoice, because the payment was actually processed by PayPal.

 

[CJones]

I was recently designing a new website for the company I work for. They wanted to be able to process payments online. After looking at the requirements to maintain data integrity, I decided to simply redirect to PayPal to handle the payment. I didn't want that liability on my hands considering how little I knew about it.

They asked me to implement online payments on a different site and I decided to redirect to another payment handler again - I don't want that information to ever enter my hands.

 

[Geico266]

I just went through the same thing, but it was $4.98 for a screen saver down load. I got a call from the Visa gal and we cancelled the card right then and their.

BTW, NEVER EVER put your CC number in an e-mail, as they are unsecured. There are programs that scan every e-mail looking for CC numbers. Ask me how I know.

 

[Matthew]

I got a call from the Visa gal and we cancelled the card right then and their.

Ahh - the power of a mouse click. I was talking with my CC rep on the phone when she cancelled my card because the number had been stolen. I heard the mouse-click over the phone, and she said "Done!".

 

[BillTIZ]

It's a test to see if the account is active. Then really watch out.

Last month one of my card issuers called me to check on a possible fraud. A card that normally stays in my home safe (auto charges and payments) was used unexpectedly on the other side of the country for $7.xx at a CVS store.

Nope.. no one there I know of, both cards are in my safe.
The company canceled that account number and sent me new cards. PRONTO.

 

[BillTIZ]

We've had three cards replaced with new ones in the last 2 months by banks and credit card companies, as well, due to "a security breach reported to us by a merchant, which we're not at liberty to disclose."

OK then... used to be that a security breach this big (lost backup tapes, hacked systems, etc.) was big news. Why all the secrecy THIS time? Who was it? Why is it being kept so hush-hush?

Cause the merchant just fired the kid that was stealing credit card numbers.

A friend stopped by a well known bagel store chain and picked up supplies for the morning conference at the office and paid with his debit card. By the time he got home that card had been used in 3 different areas around town while he was at the office. Unexpected charges outside of his normal routine is what flagged the bank fruad department that called him.

I no longer pay at resturants with cards where the "waiter is the cashier", and the card leaves my sight. I make sure I have cash.

 

[Everskyward]

Last month one of my card issuers called me to check on a possible fraud. A card that normally stays in my home safe (auto charges and payments) was used unexpectedly on the other side of the country for $7.xx at a CVS store.

Nope.. no one there I know of, both cards are in my safe.
The company canceled that account number and sent me new cards. PRONTO.

That's interesting. About a month ago I got a call from my credit card holder saying that there was a suspicious charge of $10 from a bar in Texas. I couldn't figure out why they thought it was suspicious because I use credit cards all the time, all over the country. I hadn't made this particular charge, though, so they canceled the card and issued me a new one.

 

[gprellwitz]

That's interesting. About a month ago I got a call from my credit card holder saying that there was a suspicious charge of $10 from a bar in Texas. I couldn't figure out why they thought it was suspicious because I use credit cards all the time, all over the country. I hadn't made this particular charge, though, so they canceled the card and issued me a new one.

Those d4mned computers know where and when you're going to have your next drink! It's a bit of a love-hate relationship. You don't want Big Brother watching until he isn't, and you get ripped off!

 

[BillTIZ]

Got a call a few years ago, driving cross country taking the daughter to college, LAS to BOS. Card company calls the wife at home, "We are seeing this card travel across the country.", yes.. husband is traveling to Boston and back and will be back in about two weeks.. OK thanx.

Got another call, Gas card, I had just topped off an RV in Califorina, $100. Same day the account was charged Massachusetts. Yes, Husband is in California and daughter is at college in Massachuestts. OK thanx.

Thank you for calling and checking.

 

[mikea]

Got a call a few years ago, driving cross country taking the daughter to college, LAS to BOS. Card company calls the wife at home, "We are seeing this card travel across the country.", yes.. husband is traveling to Boston and back and will be back in about two weeks.. OK thanx.

Got another call, Gas card, I had just topped off an RV in Califorina, $100. Same day the account was charged Massachusetts. Yes, Husband is in California and daughter is at college in Massachuestts. OK thanx.

Thank you for calling and checking.

Uh, huh. "Hello sir? We just saw your credit card get used to buy gas in Iowa." Yes, you did. (They're wondering how I could be buying gas 300 miles west in Iowa but not along the way. It's called an airplane and a rented car that turned out to be the huge pickup truck Enterprise had left at the airport that used a lot o' gas.) )

Only sometimes they call home and I ain't there.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Cause the merchant just fired the kid that was stealing credit card numbers.

A friend stopped by a well known bagel store chain and picked up supplies for the morning conference at the office and paid with his debit card. By the time he got home that card had been used in 3 different areas around town while he was at the office. Unexpected charges outside of his normal routine is what flagged the bank fruad department that called him.

I no longer pay at resturants with cards where the "waiter is the cashier", and the card leaves my sight. I make sure I have cash.

A while ago, the owner of a local gas station had a van with a big tank inside. He was harvesting credit card numbers from people that bought gas at his station then using the numbers to put gas in the van (at other stations) which was then dumped into the tanks at his station. Kinda like prepetual motion or something.

 

[CJones]

Got a call a few years ago, driving cross country taking the daughter to college, LAS to BOS. Card company calls the wife at home, "We are seeing this card travel across the country.", yes.. husband is traveling to Boston and back and will be back in about two weeks.. OK thanx.

Got another call, Gas card, I had just topped off an RV in Califorina, $100. Same day the account was charged Massachusetts. Yes, Husband is in California and daughter is at college in Massachuestts. OK thanx.

Thank you for calling and checking.

At least your people CALLED before putting a hold on your card. A few years ago when I started my IR training, I used a CC that I hadn't used in quite some time to pay for fuel during training. I put a couple hundred dollars worth of 100LL on it in a couple of days.

A night or two later, my wife and I flew about 45mins away to get gas in the plane (or at least that was the justification we used to fly - fly for 1 hr to save $.20/gal on fuel ). Anywho, I pull up to the SS pump and put my card in. Denied. Try again. Denied. Uh oh. Try my already failing bank card. Won't accept - the magnetic strip had been getting to the point that a lot of 'normal' scanners (WalMart, grocery stores, etc.) couldn't read it, and the 100LL pump wasn't even close to trying to work.

So here we were at Podunk Municipal Airport in the middle of nowhere at 10pm without enough fuel to get back home safely and no way to pay for fuel. I finally figured out that I could put a request in for $15 at a time on the credit card and it would be approved. So I did that 4-5 times and got enough fuel to get home on.

The next day I called the CC company and said WTF!? They said "We noticed some unusual charges and put a hold on the account." I said "Thanks for watching, but how about letting me KNOW next time!!"

 

[CJones]

Well, my wife's card got bit by this charge today as well. Same APL*ITUNES charge for $1. I'm trying to think of areas where we both use our card, but I can't think of anything online where they could have gotten both of our cards, and the only card swipers my card ever goes through are at school (I watch them do it) and at the gas pump (and I haven't noticed any 'fake' readers).

What really ticked me off THIS time is that when my wife called the bank to get it taken care of, she was told "Oh, we can't do anything until the charge is actually posted." *sigh* Idiots. I called back and got to someone that said "No problem, I'll transfer you."

Oh, and during the 'transfer', I got disconnected. So USBank got a nice 'areas where you can improve' email from me.

After the fuming email, I called back and got another 'No problem, I'll transfer yo..' 'WAIT WAIT WAIT.. I got dropped last time, can I get the direct number so I don't have to go through 50 menus just to have you transfer me?' I miss 'Wanda' who, from her phone and computer could take care of everything I need - from ordering checks to canceling cards with the flip of a wrist.