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Conference 7.286::digital

Title:The Digital way of working
Moderator:QUARK::LIONELON
Created:Fri Feb 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5321
Total number of notes:139771

5150.0. "NEW WAVE CREDIT CARD FRAUD" by BIGQ::GARDNER (justme....jacqui) Thu Feb 20 1997 07:57

    CAVEAT EMPTOR...

    Please remember to peruse one's credit card statements under
    powerful lights and mighty magnifying lenses.  LOOK for any
    words like INTERNET CONNECTION.  My last two DCU Visa state-
    ments had charges on them.  The first was for $5.95 which I
    thought that my mother used for a call home last month.  We
    share a card as she is dis-abled and living with us...this 
    makes it easier to manage her finances.  Well, this month's
    statement came through with $40.00 worth of three hits.  Two
    plus last month's were to the same service which included an
    800 number so I have blocked my Visa number from being used
    again.  The other was APPOLLO INTERNET SERVICES in Shelby,
    NC for which long-distance and the 800 service shows no listings.
    I am in contact with the DCU and will have to file a dispute
    on the Appolo one.  Does anyone have any info on this service
    as to how to reach them??

    Please and thank you.  Anyone else running into this problem???

    justme....jacqui

    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
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5150.1Sort of happened to meWHYNOW::NEWMANInstalled Base Marketing - DTN 223-5795Thu Feb 20 1997 08:1811
    This happened to me some time ago when I signed up with a specific
    Internet Service Provider.  A few months after signing up with them,
    small but frequent mysterious charges started appearing on my credit
    card statement.  I had authroized the ISP to automatically bill my
    credit card every month.  It was a special card I only used for
    business so I was fairly certain that it was related to the ISP.  THey
    had no record of the charges ever being made nor was I ever able to
    track down any of them.  As soon as I stopped allowing them to
    automatically bill my credit card the mysterious charges stopped.
    
    Coincidence?
5150.2ISP Billing ProblemsCIMBAD::CROSBYThu Feb 20 1997 08:3311
This may not be a popular response, but...

To guard against this, don't let them bill to your card.

I know that our local provider, Ultranet, has an invoiced billing option that
costs an extra $2.00 per month.

But if you do that, you're working on their money, not yours, and how much is
your time worth when you start to get into these billing fights?

gc
5150.3SPECXN::BARNESThu Feb 20 1997 10:017
    related..saw yesterday on CNN about a internet fraud scam where the
    provider of certain, er adult services hooked you up to a provider in
    some 3rd world country and even AFTER you had downloaded
    software and disconnected and were in, say, word proccessing mode,
    the foreign county provider continued to charge you for time even after
    you had disconnected....that'll teach 'em to use adult internet
    services!!!  %^)
5150.4QUARK::LIONELFree advice is worth every centThu Feb 20 1997 10:015
This doesn't have anything to do with Digital - you may want to follow up
in the HUMANE::DCU notesfile or just call DCU and they'll advise you on how
to contest charges.

					Steve
5150.5BIGQ::GARDNERjustme....jacquiThu Feb 20 1997 12:0411
    The people at DCU are being very co-operative about this fraudu-
    lent act by others use of my VISA number.  What is surprising 
    in this case is that this card is used by an 82 year old dis-
    abled woman who does nothing with a personal computer!!!

    justme....jacqui

    p.s.  This DOES have a lot to do with Digital and its workers
    	  as it informs them that using one's credit card can be
    	  mis-used by others without one's knowledge!  ;*}
5150.6QUARK::LIONELFree advice is worth every centThu Feb 20 1997 12:116
I disagree that it relates to Digital - you could just as well argue that
it's appropriate to "inform Digital employees that there's a sale on
carrots at the BigFood grocery store".  Please continue the discussion in
the DCU notesfile (where I see you've already posted.)

				Steve