Sooo.... as I mentioned in the rant thread I had my damn debit card hacked again. Luckily this time wasn't nearly as severe as the last but it was certainly different. Thought I'd share the story, cause well, seems we could all use a distraction down here from other threads anyway. This morning I woke to find both a text and an email from Apple. Saying my order had shipped and would arrive today. (I do not have apple products and my old apple acct has been dead for 2 yrs) I clicked and found someone had ordered a new iPhone courtesy of me apparently. The email contained my name and email but not my address of course. Also a tracking number. I checked my account and confirmed I'd been charged. Called Apple, called the bank yada yada. I actually succeed in getting an Apple rep on the phone faster than my bank. (Its still before business hours) They do not seem shocked by this situation and quickly say they will stop the shipment and refund my money. Then the bank opens. They cancel my card but tell me I cannot dispute the charge since I've already opened a case with Apple. I would first have to wait for Apples resolution. If Apple didn't process a refund within three days I could then dispute the charges. They said they'd keep an eye on the account. Tracking still shows the package at a location in Grand Rapids at this point. I've now deduced that Apples refund is possibly contingent on them stopping that shipment and getting their product back. I watch the tracking...hour or so later it gets loaded on the truck for delivery. Some ***** Now I'm considering attempting to intercept this package... Its in my name, hell I can prove I paid for it. lol I google the address... Its a big ass house, nice pool, blah blah. Listed in the names of a couple brothers. (thanks onX) I hit FB and search both names. Five minutes later I've sent messages to both property owners. (This may or may not have been the right move but I was aggravated) I simply stated that I was aware there was an iPhone being delivered to his home that was fraudulently purchased with a stolen card. Shockingly I received a response from one of the two. He claimed to know nothing, but after a short exchange, offered his number and said he could talk once off work. He calls , suddenly his story has changed, and much to my surprise the other brother I had msg'd had already been contacted by the Sheriffs Dept. Prolly why he was singing new tunes. Anyway he lays it out that he is a "Quality Inspector" the company sends him products, he checks them in as received and "good" on some site, then they provide new shipping labels for him to send them on. Anyway this cat is playing stupid to the extent of having been previously aware of what he was implicated in but is making it clear he has now seen the proverbial light. lol He shares with me the name of the deputy that is contacting them and a case number. He tells me the deputy said they were intercepting the package but in actuality he had the package in his hands, my name on it, his address. He also says he is willing to bring me the phone. Hmmmm... I call the deputy and leave him a message. I again speak to the "Quality Inspector" when I get home and he said he had not heard back from the Sherriff... nor had I. Moments later the phone rings and a Kent Co Deputy is on the line. Super nice dude, run him thru what I know and he informs me this is the second case of this recently, exact same story, different guy..... They would recover the phone and bring it to me. Then the case would be taken over by fed investigators? Waiting on them to call back to confirm a drop off time... then I get to return a phone that I did not order, to get back my money, that I never spent...... Some *****.. So kids if some guy with candy online is offering you a job as a quality inspector, you just might be in for a bad time. Mmmkayy?
I really have to ask, how do you know it was an actual sheriff or a real case #? Who and where are they dropping of a phone that would normally be considered evidence in a criminal case?
I had that thought initially when the guy first mentioned that... but I reached out to the Sheriff Dept first, through dispatch, to contact the deputy. This let me know he was in fact a Kent Co Deputy.... I have the police report and met the deputy in person after several lengthy conversations. The deputy was at my house this morning and gave me the phone to return to Apple in an effort to expedite getting my funds returned. It sounds like they have A LOT of evidence and according to the deputy there is now federal agents at this guys house "working" with him. As in they are having him continue to receive these goods since he is cooperating in what I assume is an effort to get to the bottom of the operation... or perhaps more appropriately the top?
They are good Bill, thanks for asking. Well the quail are doing well anyway. Our Turkey Jake met his demise over the holidays. We were out of town, with the BIL house sitting and the neighbors dog got loose and tore him up. I had to put him down when I got home that night. Honestly I was pretty upset over the damn bird. He was pretty awesome and had become quite the attraction in our neighborhood. Everyone always stopping to have their picture taken with him or just get pics / vids of him playing. Guess its not everyday one meets a turkey that thinks its a dog and plays catch and tug of war with a full grown lab. lol But..... he ate good
Another fun fact. The last question the deputy asked me was if I had been inundated with spam emails at any time during this occurrence. I had, my inbox had been hit with HUNDREDS of spam emails the 2 nights before last. All of which hit my inbox within two minutes of another on both nights. Right around midnight. This is apparently called bombing. The premise being your inbox is so full you mass delete and miss any legit email which might alert you to any fraud occurring, delaying your response. Luckily while wading through that mess I caught the Apple email, in part because I had also received an SMS notification from Apple so the email caught my eye and I opened instead of deleting.
Get rid of the debit card and use a credit card. Aldi's grocery was cash or debit card so we watched out account like a hawk eyeing a rabbit. Later they went to the credit card. Haven't used the DC in years. Had our CC hacked in Fresno, California but the CC carrier spotted it and called. Never been to Fresno.
My debit card got hit recently as well. People were using it to buy super expensive Uber rides, of all things. They hit me for around $200 in charges one night, then another $100 the next day before Chase caught it and contacted me. The card was shut down, charges reversed, and a new card was issued. 2 days later, more charges from Uber on my new card that I hadn't even received in the mail yet! Turns out, lots of credit card companies have agreements with merchants that when a card is updated, the new info is pushed out to them. This is typically for recurring charges like gym memberships, Netflix subscriptions, etc. If your card number changes or expiration date changes when you get a new card, the card company automatically updates it for them. In this case, someone had registered my DC with an Uber wallet, and it updated all on its own. Chase had to contact Uber to get the wallet canceled. It wasn't even something I could do on my own if I wanted to, because the wallet wasn't in my name. My overall experience with Chase was great. I had all of my money back the same day and a new card shortly after. All told, I think there was just shy of $500 in Uber rides. Crazy times out there.
Good job helping track down those dirt bags. Postal inspectors are like mean librarians when angered. The bad guys are gonna be in for a treat.
Interesting you brought that up @Justin, the new card info updating.... My bank and I were talking about that today. I got hit much worse back in Oct. Someone used a Cash App Acct (I do not have Cash App)to get $4800 out of my checking in about an hours time. Although that instance was greater monetarily, it was easier to get rectified on my end. My bank contacted me that morning, card canceled, charges disputed, and by COB the monies were back into my account. The bank handled it from there. In hindsight I should have taken the same course of action this time around instead of contacting Apple, Apple simply had people answering phones earlier than my bank did. But that meant me getting it straightened out with Apple to get refunded as opposed to the bank refunding me then going after Apple for resolution. End of the day I am hopeful to see the funds returned by the beginning of next week. I am fortunate, that being out $422.94 will not affect me in any way. I am certain, especially in these current times, many folks would not be so lucky. For that I am thankful. I guess its high time I move past my aversion to CC's. I have always used them in a limited capacity, just never been a fan. But the times... they are a-changin.
tacklebox this ones for you.....about the 7:30 min mark gets to the good stuff. 15min mark they get some mail scammers.
Had one hacked a few years ago. despite cancelling the card it happened a few more times. I finally closed the account and changed banks. Ridiculous.
