I've been victimized by a particularly dumb criminal

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 11/21/2019 at 14:05 • Filed to: None

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Last night, I went to pay one of my credit card bills, but the balance seemed too high. I checked the activity and found a bunch of charges I didn’t recognize: several Uber rides, 5 transactions of exactly $25 at Starbucks (probably someone buying gift cards), a Sprint bill (I don’t have Sprint phone service), and a local dentist office that’s not my dentist. In total, $511.72 worth of shit.

My wife and I go to the same dentist, but lately she’s also going to an oral surgeon for some stuff and I didn’t know the name of the place, so I asked her if she’d been to this dentist. She had not. But she had a brilliant idea: “hey, maybe they’ll give you a name.”

Now, that hadn’t occurred to me at all, but I was like, “ooooh that’s an EXCELLENT idea!” First thing I did was call my credit card company to dispute all these charges. Then today I called this dentist. I gave them the date and amount of the transaction, and they said, “was it with this card ending in ____?” Why yes, yes it was.

The dentist wasn’t happy about having been duped with a stolen credit card, so he said he could give me this person’s name but no other info because of HIPAA. I told him that’s fine and I would file a police report. He said he’d be happy to provide the cops with all of this person’s identifying info including social security number.

Turns out, this person had gone in to this dentist one time for a cleaning, never paid the bill, got sent to collections, tried to pay with a check that bounced, then called in and provided my credit card number which the dentist office entered into the payment terminal manually. Since they were ringing it up like that, they didn’t need to enter a name or anything else.

SCORE.

Then I called the police non-emergency line, and they said since I have a name they need an officer to take a statement from me in person, not over the phone. They offered to send someone to my office. I said sure, but asked if they could call me when they get to the building so I could go downstairs and talk to them in the lobby.

A couple hours passed, and then the receptionist here came back to my desk, “uhh, there’s a police officer here asking to speak to you...?” So much for avoiding making a scene at work. But I explained what I knew, gave him a printout of my credit card statement with the fraudulent charges highlighted, and the person’s name.

Now they’re going to have a detective follow up with the dentist, and also possibly subpoena Uber and Sprint for additional information.

Generally speaking I don’t exactly like the cops, but damn if this wasn’t satisfying as hell to use them to fuck with this person who tried to steal my shit.

Moral of the story is, if you’re going to use a stolen credit card, it’s probably best to not use it to pay off a dentist who knows your social security number.

UPDATE: The cop just called me back. Turns out this guy has been reported multiple times for financial fraud, passing bad checks, etc. He’s even tried stealing checks from a dead person’s accoun t. The cop asked if I had ever patronized a couple places they know this guy to have worked, but I haven’t. But there’s plenty there to make a case against the guy.

functionoverfashion > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 14:16

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lol, that’s ridiculous.

A few years ago, I had two fraudulent charges on a card of mine. One for bestbuy.com for around $1,500. And another from a bestbuy store location for the same amount in reverse. I guess someone thought they’d order a TV online with a stolen card number, then show up in person and demand a refund in cash.

I wish I’d known before the attempted refund, because maybe they could have caught the person at that time. But ironically, the credit card company ended up reversing the charges - yes, both of them - and of course, changing my card number.

Textured Soy Protein > functionoverfashion 11/21/2019 at 14:24

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I had someone hack my Walmart account online and buy a PS4 for store pickup at a location in Miami. I live in Maryland. That one triggered a fraud alert immediately. But this didn’t, which is a little puzzling, but at least I caught it.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 14:25

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Someone stole our credit card number one time and used it to book a cruise. What? Are you actually going to show up for that cruise?

Arrivederci > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 14:25

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That. Is. Fucking. Awesome.

Fuck scammers sideways with a rusty hammer. I had someone steal my identity to help themselves to a few phones via Sprint. Just a pain in the ass I didn’t need at the time (with a six month old at home) to get cleared up. I’m sure they’ll never face charges. Now I have to keep my credit locked down. Fortunately, I’ve decided to just buy my two most recent purchases with cash.

Thisismydisplayname > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 14:26

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That’s excellent.  How unintelligent do you have to be to use your own name?  Sharp as a cue ball.  That’s the nice thing about credit cards too, they are normally pretty good to work with on the fraudulent charges.  At worst case you’re on the hook for $50 for each bad transaction.  Much safer than debit cards.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/21/2019 at 14:39

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We had something similar happen, but it was airline fare to/from India.

Gone > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 14:41

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Years ago I g ot my identity stolen in the midst of building a house. Happened right before we closed. We ended up getting screwed on the rate because even though I could provide all the police paper work about it we couldn’t get a bank to come down on the rate and my credit sc or e was still almost 200pts (!) under normal. Recently closed on our   refi to get it down. Turn ‘em into chum, every last one.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 14:43

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Snuze: Needs another Swede > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 14:45

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While this sounds like a PITA, I’m glad they caught they guy.

Someone in the UK used my credit card to sign up for a bunch of R ussian dating sites. I think the total damage was only around $50.

ranwhenparked > Thisismydisplayname 11/21/2019 at 14:54

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Yep, you can dispute debit cards, of course,  but you have much stronger protections with a credit card. I don't understand the anti-credit card zealots who proudly boast amount using only their debit card for online purchases, gas pumps, restaurants/ bars, travel bookings, etc. You're almost inviting a scammer right into your bank account that way.

facw > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 14:57

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Now I want pizza...

Chariotoflove > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 15:05

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I love this story.

I just dealt with weird charges myself yesterday, with limited success.  We noticed some charges on our Visa bill that she didn’t recognize.  Turns out they were recurring charges from Apple iTunes that my wife thought might be for her book downloads or my music.  Nope.  Turns out there were regular charges, and when I looked into purchase history, I had a long list of subscription charges to apps that I don’t have.  I called Apple, and they refunded a big hunk of money going back over time, but not all of it. This is a lesson to me to not be complacent in looking at my bills.

Textured Soy Protein > Snuze: Needs another Swede 11/21/2019 at 15:14

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I don't believe they've arrested him yet but it's probably only a matter of connecting a few more dots then getting a warrant.

user314 > facw 11/21/2019 at 15:16

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Get it now before the robots take over!

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 15:20

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What a dumbass, glad it all worked out 

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 15:33

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I’ve had my identity stolen. Twice. It is bad all around. I can’t get a credit card without a blood test (not really, but yeah. )

Textured Soy Protein > GoodIdeaAtTheTime 11/21/2019 at 15:36

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Thankfully this seems to be not a full-on identity theft and more likely the guy skimmed my card in a retail store or restaurant where he was working. I’m curious to hear back from the cops about more recent workplaces if/when they find those out. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/21/2019 at 15:41

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Book the cruise, resell the tickets to some unsuspecting sap.

Mercedes Streeter > ranwhenparked 11/21/2019 at 15:48

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I find that when it comes to debit cards it largely depends on bank.

Bank of America always made the recovery process a major pain in the butt. Hell, I technically owe BofA $2k because they’ve never heard of a trans person before. *eyeroll*

But Chase? I can call them, say “I didn’t make that charge” and they’ll instantly give me my money back and have a new card at my door tomorrow. And should the account itself be compromised, they can fix that quickly, too . It’s pretty darned brilliant how painless it is.

Mercedes Streeter > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 15:53

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Mmmmmm, I can feel your satisfaction through my computer screen. :)

I used to continually get my card info stolen (living in a bad area, klepto roomies, etc) and it can be a major headache. Bank of America’s process was so painful it would ruin the rest of my week. In fact, doing ANYTHING with Bank of America was terrible, even worse after I came out. Because yes, the Male on my license means it’s fake.

On the other hand, my experience with Chase is in a whole ‘nuther world. The second I notice odd activity I can give them a call and less than ten minutes later I’ll have a new card overnighted and my money back, no sweat.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 15:56

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I’ve gone through the “identity theft” gauntlet a few times. Your story is FAR more satisfying to read.

And, yeah, how dumb do you have to be to pull that stunt someplace where they have all your OWN personal information?

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > GoodIdeaAtTheTime 11/21/2019 at 15:58

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Ditto here. My credit’s so locked down that even the locks have lox which have locks.

Of course, I can’t get a new credit card or mortgage. But, hey, I’m retired (early-- at 40 ) and don’t need any more credit accounts. Ever. and don’t really give a damn— “steal my credit info! Good luck!”

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 16:15

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Good point. Well I hope they nail him soon!

ranwhenparked > Mercedes Streeter 11/21/2019 at 16:24

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Yes, the better ones (e.g., not BofA) will issue a provisional credit right away, and make it permanent once the investigation is closed (e.g., once their fraud department satisfies themselves that it was legitimately fraud). But, if, for some reason, they decide that it was really you making that purchase, they can rescind the credit later on. And that does happen, too. People will buy something online, decide they don’t want it afterall, and call their bank to claim fraud instead of just trying to get a refund.

Mercedes Streeter > ranwhenparked 11/21/2019 at 16:38

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Thank heavens that hasn’t happened to me. :O

There was a time a tenant stole my card and made a large Amazon purchase . Called up Amazon and they said while they couldn’t tell me the name on the order, I am free to guess and should I guess correctly they can tell me I am correct. The only info they could tell me was that it was for an iPhone 6. I got the name right on the second guess. T enant used the name of my worst enemy, but spelled it incorrectly. They had the same policy about the address used. Guessed my own address and surprise, it was correct.

Called Chase, told them what happened, and life was back to normal by next day.

t0ast > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 17:27

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Wow, that certainly beats out the brilliant individual who tried to fly under the radar with mine by spending over $100 at Subway.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 17:40

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I’ve been down this road a few times, but never with so much success. The first time involved my  checkbook (!) and several grand spent at Toys ‘r’ Us and several grocery stores. I was lucky enough to head off the latest when I noticed a $2,300 charge at an out-of-state jewelry store. They ended up filing the police report and my bank just reversed the charges.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Textured Soy Protein 11/21/2019 at 17:46

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One of my favorite stories is how I busted a neighbor that stole my CD collection back in the ‘80s with a sting operation I set up with some local stores. Maybe it wasn’t the most mature thing to do (I was 20 at the time), but when he was sitting in the back of the cop car, cuffed, I planted my face, with a big grin  and two middle fingers extended, on the window where he was sitting. He never fucked with me again.

Textured Soy Protein > Mercedes Streeter 11/21/2019 at 21:17

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I never use my debit card for anything except ATMs. I put basically everything on my credit cards and pay them off every month. Keeps a buffer between fraudsters and my checking account, and I get free shit.