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Heads up! Review all of your bank statements.
Blackpanthers Charities International- Taking your money without you knowing it ^ | 07/16/2010 | self

Posted on 07/16/2010 2:39:37 PM PDT by Sally'sConcerns

I'm physically handicapped so I do some of my shopping (with reputable) companies. I also have my bank account set up to automatically pay my bills in the event I'm in the hospital.

Today I was reviewing my online statement and updating the names of the companies I have done business with.

Imagine my surprise when for the first time since 11/96 I found 3 charges which were unrecognizable. Needless to say I called the bank for more info.

All 3 charges were from an organization I want nothing to do with and didn't know. BTW: I did not lose my debit card nor do I randomly use the card on sites which either don't support ideals I don't believe in or on sites which aren't recognizable.

Two of the charges were done on 06/21/10 (while the other charge is currently pended. Once the charge becomes a debit instead of pending that too will be removed from my account.

The 2 unauthorized charges were made by ACORN and we're reasonably sure the third one is also. I hesitate to list the web addresses as they could have been hacked.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: acorn; banking; fraud; illegal
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To: Gaffer

I know on a lot f the bills I get in the mail they are encouraging you to go paperless and have your pyments done automatically and I just can’t do it. I know people who have the auto debt thing and sometimes they get charged twice in the end it all gets worked out but you have to prove they dedcuted twice.


21 posted on 07/16/2010 3:23:08 PM PDT by funfan
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To: Gun142
Ditto. The debit cards leave you with much less protection than credit cards that you pay off every month

I also use automatic bill pay, but I have it set up that my bank pays amounts that I have previously set (monthly mortgage, budgeted gas and electric). For bills that vary from month to month I use “e-bill”. The bank gets the bill and per my set up instructions pays either the total amount due, minimum due or no more than an amount I set. The bank sends emails when the bill comes in and when it is paid

I am not comfortable with the other process where the company is authorized to debit your account. I feel that if they make a mistake they leave me in a position of possibly having to chase them to get back my own money

The only problems I have had were when countrywide and WAMU failed and were taken over I did not catch the fact that eventually the ebills from them stopped and as a result the new banks did not get paid. I was charged late fees, but the new banks, BoA and Chase graciously waived the fees when I discovered and explained the error

I cannot imagine going back to using snail mail. Too often the checks were late because they were forgotten in my jacket pocket or the visor of the car

22 posted on 07/16/2010 3:25:49 PM PDT by John Galt's cousin (Principled Conservatism in 2010 and 2012 * * * * * * * * * * Repeal the 17th Amendment!)
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To: funfan

Mistakes on auto-debit are never in the user’s favor, IMO.


23 posted on 07/16/2010 3:26:52 PM PDT by Gaffer ("Profiling: The only profile I need is a chalk outline around their dead ass!")
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To: Sally'sConcerns

Something called Greentree data started piling on $8 / month on my Verizon bill. When I called the # on the bill, the guy, sounded like he was from India, told me it was for setting up an 800 number, which I obviously didn’t. I then called Verizon, they were very little concerned, said that this happened “a lot” not with this Greentree necessarily but other companies. He said “they’re usually pretty good’ and refund the money. So clearly, they hope you won’t notice or attribute to something else, keep out of trouble with Verizon by refunding quickly. I think Verizon ought to be a lot more vigilant.


24 posted on 07/16/2010 3:27:15 PM PDT by gusopol3
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To: FlyVet

I got a call last year from the credit union about a VISA charge of $.99

evidently they were tipped off and watching- the charge was to purchase a NYT article which is the LAST thing I would ever do

Scammers often try to charge something small- then go for the big time


25 posted on 07/16/2010 3:28:16 PM PDT by silverleaf (Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.)
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To: Sally'sConcerns
If I must enter a credit card into an online system such as Amazon to buy something, as soon as the transaction is complete I go back into my profile and remove the card.

If I do business with them again I will re-enter the card information as needed.

-PJ

26 posted on 07/16/2010 3:28:20 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too ("Comprehensive" reform bills only end up as incomprehensible messes.)
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To: bushpilot1

Maybe something having to do with monetary rates of exchange?


27 posted on 07/16/2010 3:29:00 PM PDT by upchuck (Our margin of victory this November MUST BE greater than their margin of fraud.)
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To: Gaffer
I also NEVER have utility bills, etc. auto-debited. These people get checks as antiquated as checks are.

I use B of A's online bill-paying application. It's easier and more secure than writing a check. With a check, the payee gets to see your account number. Not so with bill-pay.

Once I got a bill-pay check returned to me by a payee (along with a note that the amount should now be paid to a different payee). The returned check not only had a different account number on it, it was not even drawn on B of A! Rather, it was on JPMorgan Chase! All it had was my name and address, my memo notation (Rent for January), and an 800 number for the Online Bill Payment Processing Center in Columbus, Ohio.

(BTW getting the returned check credited was simple. I just sent a note to B of A's customer service identifying the check and asking what to do with it. They said, just destroy it. We'll credit your account. And that was that.)

28 posted on 07/16/2010 3:32:02 PM PDT by cynwoody
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To: cynwoody
With a check, the payee gets to see your account number. Not so with bill-pay.

I'll check this out..

29 posted on 07/16/2010 3:38:28 PM PDT by Gaffer ("Profiling: The only profile I need is a chalk outline around their dead ass!")
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To: Gaffer
They cancelled the card and issued me a new one pronto.....they know their stuff....been with them since 1981 and never got caught on anything except this and this was a dumbass error I WILL NOT REPEAT AGAIN.

Yeah, AX is excellent when there's a situation. I use them pretty much exclusively.

BTW, I also use a PO box for a billing address. That way, if my wallet gets stolen, the thief won't be able to use the card online, since my wallet only has my street address.

30 posted on 07/16/2010 3:45:02 PM PDT by cynwoody
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To: Sally'sConcerns

I check out my account once every 24 hours.

Nothing gets by.


31 posted on 07/16/2010 3:45:59 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (Latest most accurate Az Poll to date, of 14 likely voters: McCain 137%, Hayworth -37% (+/- 62%))
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To: Sally'sConcerns

I had a company offer me a special deal of only $0.97 to search for someone. I took up the offer and they did find them. They then offered me a membership at a discounted rate of $29.00 which I refused.

The next day I checked and they had debited my bank account for both the $0.97 and $29.95. The bank told me they would remove the charge but only after it had actually posted to my account rather than just pending. They suggested I phone the company and have them remove it first. I did and they did but still a scam.


32 posted on 07/16/2010 3:47:49 PM PDT by yarddog
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To: Gaffer

You can pay bills online without autopay. You save $5-10 a month in stamps that way.


33 posted on 07/16/2010 4:03:31 PM PDT by Persevero (Homeschooling for Excellence since 1992)
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To: funfan; Gaffer
I've always paid by check my whole life and have never ever had a problem. I don't much trust online transactions. PC Tools.com once tried to charge me a yearly fee for TWO programs, one of which I had never even bought from them. I had bought and charged for one online.

My credit card company removed both charges and I canceled the one downloaded program I had bought because I didn't know it required a yearly renewal fee.


34 posted on 07/16/2010 4:08:51 PM PDT by potlatch (*snip*)
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To: Sally'sConcerns
That's interesting considering that ACORN changed their name over a year ago.

ACORN drops tarnished name and moves to silence critics

35 posted on 07/16/2010 4:12:14 PM PDT by Jean S
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To: Gun142
This spring my credit card number was stolen after someone hacked monoprice.com. They used it at iTunes, Microsoft services (probably to get iTunes to work), and some other charge.

Same here. I had used a debit card. Luckily the washing machine they tried to buy was over the limit. My bank credited me the five overdraft charges within days.

36 posted on 07/16/2010 5:02:04 PM PDT by raybbr (Someone who invades another country is NOT an immigrant - illegal or otherwise.)
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To: Sally'sConcerns
I understand your reluctance to name the site that might have been hacked; but why not divulge the name of the fraudulent biller? Was it actually ACORN or one of its dozens of offshoots?

I would definitely file a complaint everywhere I could (local, state and federal) regardless of what the bank chooses to do.

37 posted on 07/16/2010 6:55:32 PM PDT by Publius6961 ("We don't want to hear words; we want action and results.")
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To: John Galt's cousin
The debit cards leave you with much less protection than credit cards that you pay off every month


Since I got the "cash back card", I've paid it off every week. Well, except once.
Ordered a gun last year and when I picked it up another blue-steeled beauty caught my eye. So did a few accessories.

Impulse shopping at the gun store adds up quick. Paid a little interest on that. Can't really complain, using the card has given me about $200 back.
38 posted on 07/16/2010 11:20:40 PM PDT by Gun142 (Where Will You Be When You Get Where You're Going? -- Jerry Clower)
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To: Gun142

Now I use Google Checkout for most purchases.
___________
Oh that’s Real smart. NOT


39 posted on 08/06/2010 10:26:36 AM PDT by mojitojoe (When crisis becomes opportunity, crisis becomes the goal.)
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