Way OT: Identity theft and Dell Computer rant

[Master Betty]

Before anyone reads this they should know: I have taken extreme measures to protect my identity and I have reported the incident to the local police and IC3. I have been in constant communications with my bank and everything has been done that can be done as far as my bank is concerned. If anyone has a suggestion other than ?call your bank? I?ll be glad to read them. I called Dell because the fraud specialist at my bank suggested it. I am never using my debit card online again and I am even curtailing using it locally.

My bank debit card information was stolen and the thief used it to purchase a computer from Dell India on 1/13/10. As soon as I found out about it, from my bank, I called Dell customer service USA. I found myself trying to negotiate my way through Dell's automated phone matrix. When I finally got to talk to someone they said they needed the order number to help me. When I told them what happened they continued to ask, curtly, for my order number or my Dell ID#. So I kept repeating that all I have is the credit card info and my name. That initiated the call transferring. They kept transferring me until the phone finally went to "If you'd like to make a call please hang up". So I started the same process again and the same thing happened. The whole process took about 2 ½ hours.

I quit calling Dell USA customer service and decided to try and call India customer service at 9:00 pm because that is 9:00 am India time. So 9:00 pm comes and I call the toll free number listed on Dell's website for India. There was a message for a sex chat line. Needless-to-say, I gave up until the next day to let my blood pressure return to normal.

The next day I called, starting fresh, with the USA customer service number. Initially I got the same results but I did get through to someone (somewhere) that was at least willing to take the time to understand that I did not, and never will, have an order number. She took the information I had and forwarded it to the fraud department. While she was still as curt as all the other phone reps, she at least understood that it was an out-of-the-ordinary problem. I asked for the fraud department?s phone# and email address and she said she couldn't provide that. She told me she could transfer me to her supervisor and he could help. So I talked to Glen the supervisor. I explained to him the situation (which had to be done with each and every transfer). I asked for the fraud department?s phone number and email. He refused to give them to me. Frequently he would cut me off saying "Sir! ?" in a condescending manner.

I live in Austin, TX, the home of Dell computers. I naively thought it would be easy to talk to someone locally and they would be anxious to take the information and resolve the issue being that it is in both of our best interest. I was sadly mistaken. While I was able to finally get through to someone, I never got the impression that anyone I talked to cared about resolving the issue. Meanwhile, the charges are going through, but I?ve been reassured by my bank I will get the money back eventually, but it could take up to two months to complete the process.

Jim

[Frank]

I feel for you as something similar happened with my wife and her Sears credit card where the thief was probably a Sears clerk. They caught it as it was an unusual purchase.

Not sure how this works with debit cards and I understand they are not as secure. I think the bank should have got you out of this mess and I would threaten not to deal with them in the future.

[rochacha]

"Master Betty" wrote in news:hiqd20$j32$ [e-mail]:

Your bank must not be that good. Or maybe the laws are weaker in TX? Not sure what is wrong. But in NY when my card # was stolen "over the internet" , my bank was aware of it before I was. They shut down my account. It was embarrassing when I was at the checkout and the girl told me the card was declined. It was lucky I had about $200 in cash so I could buy groceries and gas until they gave me a new card #, which was right away. 'cept I had to drive from the store back home to get the money.

The bank sent me a form to sign that I didn't make the purchase. I didn't even have a chance to mail it back and the bank put the money back into my account.

To buy over the internet, I only deal with sites I know are legit. The others I use a Vanilla Visa card that you can find at Walgreens and lots of other places.

Don't bother calling the companies (Dell) where the robber used your number. It's just a waste of time. Your bank is better to deal with it.

[norminn]

clipped

Customer service would not be likely to understand how to handle criminal activity....Since you live where Dell HQ is located, try to contact someone in their corporate security....just a thought. Debit cards do not have the same protection that credit cards do, according to my bank. If you have something like overdraft protection that transfers money from savings to checking, I'd be sure to shut it off until you get things fixed. Whew!

Does the local PD or bank know where the purchase transaction took place? Buying from India might have taken place in the US (on a lucky day) and state police then might be able to act. I don't know...just a thought.

[Oren]

Move further up the food chain and write Dell's VP.

Here is a sample letter from:

(date) John Jones Regional Vice President ABCD Company 500 Main Street Suite 100 Anywhere, USA Dear Mr. Jones, I regret having to write to you about an unpleasant experience I've had with your company. I prefer to contact a company only in praise of an employee or the company's actions. Unfortunately, my situation is such that it is necessary for me to forward a complaint to you. (In this area, give the specifics of the complaint. Say who you've spoken with about the problem, what attempts you've made to solve it and what specific action you would like.) I look forward to hearing from you. I hope you can respond within 30 days, so that we are able to resolve this problem in a speedy fashion. Sincerely, (your name)

[norminn]

Debit cards are not as secure...my bank offers special protection for $8 per month :o)

[N8N]

ptember.org:

I had a similar issue and my experience was similar to yours *except* that my bank insisted that I contact the merchant as well as them to inform them that the charges were fraudulent. It was fairly straghtforward and hassle free however, albeit worrisome.

The embarrassing part was that the fraudulent charges on my card were for World of Warcraft upgrades. The part that makes me weep for the future of humanity was that the guy at whatever WoW's parent company is seemed completely unsurprised by the whole thing, as if people calling up to report that their credit info. had been stolen and used to purchase WoW stuff was an ordinary, everyday occurrance.

nate

[Master Betty]

Update:

Dell Fraud called and what little information we have is being sent to India.

The bank fraud specialist called and said the info was stolen via the internet. I have a VERY strong suspicion which website it was. Until I know for sure I won't say which one. I'm on hold with them right now.

Jim

[Master Betty]

My bank so far has been decent considering. They called me the day the debits were made. They shut down the card immediately. She did delete the pending charges but for some reason she said they will go through. I've been assured I will get the money back. She also told me that they are arranging for "provisional" funds so I will never actually be out of the money. Not sure how that works. She's been emailing on the hour practically. I say "so far" they have done a good job. But you never know. The information may have been skimmed at the bank.

Finding a "legit" site is going to be difficult. Many of the sites have companies that handle their internet transactions. The statement appears as Sears (or whatever) but the money often goes through a 3rd party.

I disagree about calling Dell. They are now actually trying to find and cancel the order. (see my update) The problem is the purchase was made in India and they are asleep during our working day. There were a total of 4 transactions and I have already stopped one of them for $100. So it can pay to contact merchant. A place called ccbill.com is the 3rd party for a sex website called Imlive. They gave me the information to get the charges reversed. Imlive was very professional and refunded the money immediately.

[Matt Williamson]

I'd highly recommend using a service like Paypal that lets you generate one time use credit card numbers. This is the only way to make purchases online for any site you might have reservations buying from. I'd also suggest creating a custom checking account apart from your normal one if you choose to attach it to the paypal account and only keep enough funds in it to meet requirements for the account and your purchases. It only takes a couple of days to transfer money from one account to the other. This covers most of the bases and will give you a much higher level of protection.

[Davej]

Yes, I would not use a debit card online. I have heard that with a debit card you still have some protection if you notify your bank within two days of the fraudulent charge.

[HeyBub]

You can use Pig Latin to tell us which web site you suspect...

Only those friends of yours here who know how to decode it will be informed.

[Master Betty]

Some one in another group suggested gong to Dell in person but it wouldn't do any good because the purchase actually took place in India. I did get through finally (see my update), Hopefully they will do something. If not I might get a picket sign and stand out side one of Dell's many buildings here. They take up a good portion of Austin.

I have enough money to absorb the loss regardless so I don't need overdraft protection. I wouldn't have been able to say that 15 years ago. This would of been a disaster of Biblical proportion back then.

[Master Betty]

For all I know it may have been the bank now that I think about it.

[Kurt Ullman]

I can get a one-time card number for use over the Internet. Although I have more problems with CC being stolen at Restaurants, etc. over the years.

Local Cops, too to get the paper trail started that you tried to stop it. Someone once suggested getting touch with the FBI (in the US, the national equivalent elsewhere) but I don't know if that makes all that much difference in Real Life.

[rochacha]

Frank wrote in news:hiqfkc$g8t$ [e-mail]:

I got all my money back right away with after my debit card was hacked.

[Peter]

The banks always ask you to try to resolve the problem with the merchant involved. In my experience, if you can document with them that you were unable to resolve the issue with the merchant, the bank will make good. However, (also in my experience) all bets are off when it comes to overseas transactions made with a US based account. The credit laws that provide certain consumer protections only pertain to domestic transactions. In my case, the fraudulent charges were on a credit union debit card which carries the same protections as do credit cards. Look around, you may be able to find a bank or credit union that issues debit cards with creditcard equivalent protection.

[norminn]

My son had some fraudulent transactions on his bank account last year, along with several co-workers. Transactions were in Romania, got his money back. Payroll systems would be lovely sites to hack, especially with so many people using electronic deposit for paycheck .. all the ID one could imagine and the amount to spend on top of it all.

[norminn]

FBI can't handle the mortgage fraud in Florida, what with terrorists to deal with. I suspect that credit card theft, on a small scale, would be way down on the list.

[Master Betty]

Basically, the merchant has to prove I charged the items. If they can't, the bank reverses the charges.

I'm not too worried about the money but I sure as hell don't want the guy to cash in with a new computer. I doubt this guy will receive anything if he hasn't already. I emailed and/or phoned each merchant within a few hours of the purchase. One of the purchases was for airline tickets. Unless he hopped right on the plane I would think he's SOL. He may have got his jollies off at ImLive.com, but I got that money back already. This story has everything!