free4now
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,228
In another thread I mentioned how I found a good deal on long distance phone service, so I want to mention here an unexpected aftermath.
I typed "long distance" into google, and one of the top advertised links was phonedog.com. Through their site I found a good rate with Pioneer Telephone, and signed up. I verified that they were using https encryption on the signup page where I entered my credit card number.
The day after I signed up, there were a rash of fraudulent charges on my credit card for Nokia, Kodak, ecost, and Gamequeue. A couple of days later my credit card company called me to check for fraudulent activity and I found out about these charges.
What is surprising is the credit card I used was one that I only use for recurring monthly charges, so I have only given the number out to a handful of places. I hadn't given the number to anyone in months, and the last recurring charge was 2 weeks before these fraudulent charges. So it seems very likely that somehow an employee of phonedog or Pioneer Telephone stole my credit card number.
Another interesting tidbit is that when I click the TRUST-E logo on the phonedog contact page, it comes up with a page saying "Not Verified". I don't necessarily think this proves that they are a fraudulent site, but it doesn't inspire confidence.
It's no big deal for me... the credit card company isn't going to hold me accountable and the account will be closed. The only real hassle is that I'll have to contact the places I have recurring charges with and give them the new credit card number when I get it.
I just wanted to give a heads up to this group in case anyone else saw my post and went for the same deal.
Ironically, my whole reason for using a separate credit card for recurring charges was to prevent the need to contact my recurring billers if I had to change my credit card number![:-\](https://www.early-retirement.org/sk/forums/images/smilies/undecided.gif "Undecided :-\")
I typed "long distance" into google, and one of the top advertised links was phonedog.com. Through their site I found a good rate with Pioneer Telephone, and signed up. I verified that they were using https encryption on the signup page where I entered my credit card number.
The day after I signed up, there were a rash of fraudulent charges on my credit card for Nokia, Kodak, ecost, and Gamequeue. A couple of days later my credit card company called me to check for fraudulent activity and I found out about these charges.
What is surprising is the credit card I used was one that I only use for recurring monthly charges, so I have only given the number out to a handful of places. I hadn't given the number to anyone in months, and the last recurring charge was 2 weeks before these fraudulent charges. So it seems very likely that somehow an employee of phonedog or Pioneer Telephone stole my credit card number.
Another interesting tidbit is that when I click the TRUST-E logo on the phonedog contact page, it comes up with a page saying "Not Verified". I don't necessarily think this proves that they are a fraudulent site, but it doesn't inspire confidence.
It's no big deal for me... the credit card company isn't going to hold me accountable and the account will be closed. The only real hassle is that I'll have to contact the places I have recurring charges with and give them the new credit card number when I get it.
I just wanted to give a heads up to this group in case anyone else saw my post and went for the same deal.
Ironically, my whole reason for using a separate credit card for recurring charges was to prevent the need to contact my recurring billers if I had to change my credit card number
