Listen up here folks, I want you all to be aware of this. Yesterday I checked my credit card balance online and I noticed a charge of $9.95 from a company called Absolute-Soft. Apparently this is some type web design company – something that I obviously do not need having built the internal and most of the external infrastructures of the websites that I own.
Folks, I was the victim of identity theft!
Somehow, either this company or someone pretending to be me used my credit card number and personal information to make a purchase of $9.95 from this website. I’m currently using the process in place from my credit card company to have the situation checked out, but there are a few points that I want everyone to take away from this.
First, this Absolute-Soft.com group apparently doesn’t do a good enough check on the financial information that they are given so beware of using them.
Second, being it’s the holiday season and that it’s the year 2004 we can all expect a lot of online shopping to take place. BE CAREFUL of where you put your credit card information online!!! If you’re not sure of a site (and I was ALWAYS sure before today), then do NOT use your credit card there. Just find the 800 number and make the order by phone.
And finally, I only caught this fraud because I haven’t used my credit card for the past two months. Hence, when I checked my account online ANY charge would be odd to me. For those of you who make a lot of charges, please be sure to check the charges made to your account. You never know if someone is out there pretending to be you!
I also got hit with a $9.95 charge from Art Magic Inc.com Victoria BC – the only place I have used my card on-line recently was Disneydirect.com
got hit for….. you guessed it $9.95 from AZ Business Products, shopped at numerous stores but the common ones seem to be Newegg and Amazon, bank canceled card and gave me money back same day
I have a charge that just showed up for $24.99 from Digital Age as well. I recently signed up for an account and made a purchase on NewEgg. David, do you have any more information on this company?
It boggles my mind that this is going on with so many people (the ones on this posting have got to be only a fraction of the total people affected) – and yet there is no large-scale action against these companies?
I also just checked my account and see a charge for $24.99 by DIGITAL AGE 888-529-98 CYPRUS. I also see a $9.95 charge by MASTER TEMPLATE LLC 713-429-1177. I too use paypal/ebay and that appears to be a very common thread between everyone here!!!
Yeah, I got hit with the $9.95 from ART Magic Inc.Com thing. Only places I’ve shopped recently and only places that have my card on file is NewEgg, Amazon.Com, and PayPal. Definately beginning to sound like one of those three companies had their credit card databases stolen.
I too got the $24.99 charge by Digital Age. Here is the key on mine. I got an email on the 21st from paypal saying my account was fraudulently accessed. Same with my ebay account. I havent used my ebay account in 6 years and the card on it is way dead. My paypal account has my current card as I still use paypal. I did not click the links in the email I recieved, but I did login to paypal and report the fraudulent email. Thats the same day my card was charged. So it is possible that just opening the email could have allowed something to be run on my pc and allowed them to track my paypal connectivity. Anyone else get emails regarding the accounts. The links in my email went to some offshore domain, I dont recall the place, I deleted the stuff already.
I checked and I have ordered from Amazon as well, and it has my updated card. Which I have since deleted from thier system. I will add and delete the card as I make purchases from now on when I use amazon. I had spoken to a co-worker and they had mentioned there was something in the news about Amazon, Ebay, or Paypal having had account information stolen sometime in the last month or so, which they also noted these companies do not have to tell you the theft happened.
I have a charge that just showed up for $24.99 from Digital Age. Now that I think about it, my card has been used with Paypal, but not in the last 6 months. I also received one of those bogus e-mails from “Paypal” asking me to update my information, but I didn’t open it. I deleted it. – I have had to cancel my card and submitted fraud complaints to my Bank.
I too was a victim of the latest DIGITAL AGE for 24.99. What is common is that I too have a Paypal Account and have made purchases at New Egg. I do have an E-Bay account, but that is on a different card. I suspect Paypal is the culprit of the fraudulent activity. Thanks for all your information on this fraudulent activity.
Sucks!!!
I got hit the same as everyone else, 24.99 for Digital Age.
Thankfully they’d hit my paypal card which is intentionally left empty unless something’s used for it.
It’s sad that these guys continue to try to hit individuals like this, as it only shows their ignorance of the internet. First google search showed this as a fraudulent company, which means that they’ve been doing it a while.
Info passed on to paypal, maybe (maybe) they’ll fix whatever problem allowed this to happen.
I’m reasonably sure it didn’t just happen randomly, and I’m 99% secure my identity (cc info, etc) online is “secure”, but who knows where they got this info from. Quite disturbing.
-=T=-
I just got hit with the Digtal Age charge on 9/27/05.
DIGITAL AGE 888-529-98 CYPRUS SWE $24.99
I do a fair amount of on-line transactions but nothing in common with the above threads except some Amazon transactions.
I just got hit by Insofttech.com with a $9.95 charge on 9/19.
USAA was very helpful: reimbursing me and issuing me a new card. Unfortunately, I was informed that the charge was too small for them to (1) report the fraud, and (2) charge the scum running this scam. So the bank is just going to write off the charge and the crooks are going to escape with another ill-gotten ten bucks.
Apparently, there are few to no consequences for the human excrement running this fraud.
I will be reporting this fraud to the FBI as well.
Make that 65 posts on this blog alone for this $9.95 fraud over a period almost a year. Also had the Digital Age (seems to be the second iteration of this charge). This makes me wonder who the crooks really are. How many obvious scams like these are discovered by these companies but never reported to the customers? Would I ever have been notified by the bank if I didn’t discover these charges?
Forget the FBI, I think it is time to write your Senators and Congressmen because I bet the banks are not required to report fraud they discover to their customers and just hope that their customers just eat the charges. This is BS.
I just got a charge on 9/30/2005 from AZ BUSINESS PRODUCCALGARY AB. It is definitley something I did not sign up for or authorize. I also had another pending $9.95 hold on my account that disappeared today but was there yesterday when the other charge went though so I might have a second charge taken out in a few days.
Did anyone else get strange phone calls a little before the charges? I suppose they could have just been a nervous guy trying to reach a girl and dialed the wrong number but I had several calls around the time that seemed to be probing for information or trying to verify that the phone number was correct and that a real person would answer the phone.
Anayway no big deal. Washinton mutual will credit the transaction immediatley. Just a big PITA since the card will have to be cancled and I will need to change my card number on eBay & Amazon.
PS I have buy and sell (full time) on eBay. I never ever click links in e-mails so I don’t think that is how this happened. I have bought on new egg, just made a recent purchase from amazon using 3 different cards and my PayPal card so far only one has been hit so far.
I have received the $9.95 charge from http://www.insofttech.com as well. I have not used this card with EBay, Amazon, or PayPal, but I have made purchases from NewEgg using this card. There seem to be quite a few comments regarding NewEgg…
I got hit with the Digital Age $24.99 charge, but I’ve never used NewEgg.com before. I don’t know that a particular website is to blame.
9.28.. absolute soft.com.. jerks!! how are they doing this??
Just checked my statement – lo and behold, $9.95 from Art Magic Inc. @@$h0les! I watch my accounts like a hawk, and this never happened before. Paypal or Amazon could be a problem.
I also got hit with a $9.95 charge from AZ BUSINESS PRODUCTS, CALGARY.
I have read all the posts here. I have been very careful about my card info, I thought.
My mistake was LEAVING CARD INFO ON FILE AT NEWEGG.COM. I have a newegg account and I have deleted my card info there. I am convinced that somehow NEWEGG has been hacked OR THEY might have shared card info with some other database that was hacked. Now I am not only cancelling my card and requesting a refund, but now I will NEVER own a checkcard or credit card again. There are too many people getting rich this way and there is NOTHING anyone can do about it. I am afraid the day of the safe check card or credit card days ARE OVER!!! NOBODY is safe anymore. IF YOU USE IT ONLINE, YOU LOSE IT ONLINE!! The problem is to big to control. I suggest this pages keywords be updated to include all references that the card charges were made to.
And BTW, I used my BOA check card online at newegg, SBC and Ebay. They all had my card info on file. I am having problems at ebay delting my card. Seems there is no place to take that option. Never used amazon, but i heard they were hacked some time ago. Already had a few $1 charges to my paypal. i think it was to see if the numbers were good.
Absolute-soft hit here, I’m in Charlotte area… recently made an Amazon purchase… support at my bank suggested that I not click on popups! As if… I hate the thought that I have to change my Wachovia account number… damn, damn, damn.
Well, I got pegged also but mine was $24.99 they are DIGITAL AGE 888-529-98 CYPRUS. Unfortunately, I use my debit card. I called my bank immediately and basically what I was told is “so what.” The debit is pending (the my does things is to show you what has come in and it is pending until the next day). I was going to have them issue a new card, but I have several items outstanding and therefore until they clear, I cannot order a new card. There is nothing which says they will not do this again in the meantime. I’m so furious, I can’t walk, talk or see.
If what I’ve read elsewhere is correct, the FBI won’t investigate unless more than $5000 is involved. In this case it certainly is, but it’s distributed over many victims, so none of them individually can get any official attention to the crime.
My cynicism says that only corporations, rich people and egregious crimes (violence, etc.) get law enforcement resources. But maybe it’s not that bad. There must be some solution. The bad guys are getting rich at the expense of random citizens.
Maybe Arch Stanton above is on the right track. If there were laws placing some of the cost or risk on card issuers or requiring disclosure that might help. And maybe what’s lacking is just awareness of the problem. Let’s spread the word. If Visa and Mastercard get enough complaints they might take action. And if you know a local reporter, a tip might lead to a story.
I too was hit sept 20 2005 for 9.95 by insofttech and 7 days later by digital age for 24.99. I have used my credit card at paypal ebay amazon and new egg.I am running suse linux behind a gateway with a server and a switch I am firewalled and consider myself somewhat computer savy so i am very freaked out about this. I have been using a computer on the internet for 5 years now and never had any thing like this happen. My bank seemed to be very unconcerned about this and admited that they would probably eat the charges as there was nothing they could really do about it.I camcelled my visa as wellas my husbands visa and have serious doubts about whether I will have a credit debit card again linked to my checking account.It makes me wonder if some central database was hacked and possibly it was not made known about to the end consumer. If this has gone on to the degree it has why is it not being investigated? I am getting so paranoid about the ease in which this seems to occur that I am even questioning whether to have a checking account at all.This is exactly how identity theft starts and that can take years to clear up if you are ever a victim this seems to be a problem no one cares to do any thing about even though it is occuring more and more
I just got hit on mine by Absolute-Soft. Had to call the credit card company and log a dispited claim with them. They cancelled the card immediately and are sending me out a new one as we speak. Like most people here, i am totally P.O.ed about this stuff happening.I use my card on Ebay, and with NewEgg and PayPal. I am also going to talk to them about this, I am also seriously considering deleting my card information from their sites. I am also double firewalled via software AND hardware, and never answer any requests for info from anyone.I F i do get a request for info (pfishing) i delete it immediately and contact the supposed company it has to do with and tell them about it. IF they tell me they never sent out requests like that, then i send them a copy of the email and make sure to include the address where it came from ..So much for security on the internet. 🙁
I was hit with the $9.95 charge on August 21st, 2005. I called my credit card company (Wells Fargo) and let them know about the problem. They said the charge will be reversed and that they have never heard of any problem with Art Magic.com (Victoria, BC.). I will be sure to check my credit card statement next month for any other suspicious charges. I have never had any trouble shopping online until now. I have purchased items online from newegg and amazon.com. I don’t use Paypal.
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Now I am not only cancelling my card and requesting a refund, but now I will NEVER own a checkcard or credit card again.
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Just a tad big of an over reaction there don’t you think? Its not like it is that big of a deal. You dispute the charge. Bank sends you a form to fille out and you get your money back (actually most banks give you the money back while they wait for you to send the form back). It is however a real PITA to change card numbers at several different places.
PS This probably has nothing to do with newegg or any other particular merchant. Given the variety of cards used and people who have said they never shopped at newegg this is probably releated to one of those secrity breaches you read about (didn’t one have like 40 million peoples records compormised recently?).
I received my statement of account today and a POS Debit Transaction 09-04-05 AZ BUSINESS PRODUC CALGARY AB for $9.95 was listed. My debit card was used once at NewEgg and never anywhere else.
Thanks for alerting me to this fraud.
I too use Newegg and Amazon, but I would NOT make the claim that either had been hacked. There were post from people that didn’t use one or the other. So to say the Newegg is the commom thread is thrown out the window when someone has the same charge but has never used Newegg. I’ve always wondered how people could pull these kind of scams off. VISA has to deposit the money into somebody’s bank account. Who is the account holder?
BTW mine was an Art Magic Inc.COM Vancover BC charge for $9.95,
I’m curious did this happen to anyone using “Verified by VISA” ?
Well I also got hit on my bank account..it says withdrawl..not a charge…I think you guys are in the right park but not in the diamond… check to see what CC clearing houses these vendors use…It is more likely a credit card clearing house that these business’s use that has been hacked or has an inside person grabbing numbers..
Just opened my MBNA statemwnt and found a charge from artmagic inc. in Victoria BC. I contacted MBNA and they were very helpful to correct the problem. I have never shopped at any of the sites mentioned, as a matter of fact I do very little online shopping. I do pay all my bills online though. When I talked to MBNA they said they were familiar with artmagic.
Me too… $9.95 from AZ BUSINESS PRODUCTS, Calgary, CA on 8/13/05 and on a different card: $9.95 from ART MAGIC INC.COM, Victoria, CD on 9/6/05. Have never used NewEgg, but I do buy from Amazon occasionally.
I called both card companies and disputed the charges. The first one I called, I mentioned that I believed that this was part of a large scam, and some of the stuff I’ve read here and elsewhere on the internet. The guy didn’t seem too interested. Sounded like he just wanted to get to the next call. The second card company, the lady kept trying to get me to remember whether I authorized the charge or not. Didn’t even bother to broach the scam aspect with her.
This stinks. And it’s kind of scary.
I got hit by Art Magic Com.Inc for $9.95. I too called my CC company Capital One. To complain and they were kind to give me an immediate credit. When I persisted that I also wanted to have a fraud investigation launched. The phone rep persisted that he gave me the credit and it would be to costly to investigate. When I told him that I had searched the web and seen others that had gotten hit as I had he reiterated that it would be to costly to go after someone for $9.95 in charges. These guys are stupid and don’t care about the customers. Their lack of action is robbing our economy blind. When my company got hit with someone using stolen credit cards the card processing company; drug us through court demanding the money back. So I guess the moral of the story is the honest people get screwed and the criminals get off if they only steel a little from a lot of people.
$24.99 by Digital Age on 10/2/05 on my Chase MC.
Maybe we should scap this whole card system for something better. Start from scratch. When a problem costs billions, isn’t it time to make a change? Funny, when I had my online business, I had to pay a $15 chargeback fee for every sniveling customer that wanted to keep the goods AND get a refund AND I had to pay fees for fraudulent card use attempts. I no longer accepted credit cards because the fraud was eating up all my profit and more. Credit card are an abomination of the banks to make money from money. Don’t these hacker scumbags have to pay the $15 chargeback fee? Or is it just the honest people that take it in the xxx ? What I learned is never have card info on file ANYWHERE, keep your cash somewhere else and just keep enough in the bank to cover everyday expenses. ..
Glad I found this blog. I had this on my citibank MC. I have not used my card in months so it was odd to get a statement. I knew I did not purchase any software online so I used google to look it up and found this website. Called citibank and they accepted the dispute and cancelled my card. It is pretty annoying and considering so many have been affected.
Got hit with a $9.95 charge from ART MAGIC INC.COM (Services and Merchandise) on my Sony Card on 10/2/05. First time I’ve gotten an unauthorized charge in over five years.
Fortunately, the woman from Sony Card support refunded the charge immediately, no questions asked, and offered to send me a replacement card if I wanted one.
Any ideas where they’re getting this information?
Thanks to the person who started this blog. I was reviewing my online statement and found a $9.95 charge from ABSOLUTE-SOFT.COM from Sept 27, 2005.
I first tried to go to the website, but couldn’t get connected. I next did a Google search and found this blog and others like it. I called my credit card company which immediately credited my account, no questions asked.
Without everybody out there talking, I wouldn’t have caught on as quickly that these guys are crooks. Thank you all.
Now, how can we put these characters out of business?
Me too: 09/20/2005 09/21/2005 Sale DIGITAL AGE 888-529-98 (Services and Merchandise) 74541095264002507477204 $24.99
Ouch. They tried to tell me to call phone number. Ha! Rep needs to read the screen, I guess. Getting credit and new cards. Thank you all good bloggers.
Art Magic got me on 10/1. Called B of A and they cancelled the charge but the rep told me that the dollar amount is too low for B of A to investigate, so I guess they eat the charge. Like others who have commented, I hate the fact that these scum get away with these charges because of the low amount. Prison with a playful cellmate named “Bubba” is what I wish for them.
“Solutions in Networking” $9.95 on 14 Aug 2005 on my Credit Card.
“AZ Business Products Calgary CD” $9.95 on 16 Aug 2005 on my Debit.
Both accounts through Wells Fargo Bank. Both disputed and refunded, cards cancelled, yada yada.
I have never shopped at New Egg, E-bay or Amazon, so I also doubt that that is the connection. Lots of different banks, cards, and even card issuers, so that may not be the connection either. If I had to take a stab at it, I would first point fingers at utilites like your ISP or phone company. I have paid bills online with my utilities and I bet most of the rest of you have too. Maybe a connection there? My ISP: Comcast and formerly Qwest, My Phones: T-Mobile and formerly Qwest.
Joe, thanks for the blog that helped me find out I am not the only one who got scammed.
Wow !!!! — I found this page by doing a search for Art Magic because I couldn’t remember having charged anything form them.
I guess that it is safe to say that I did not. Same story — A charge for $9.95 from Art Magic Inc.com Victoria CD.
BUT – That is just half of the story. A month ago I had a charge from Digital Age for $24.99. I actually accepted that one — I thought it was for my virus protection renewal. Now that I think about it – I believe they charge under the name Digital River. I use my card on line frequently, but two places that I have in common with many of the above posters is Amazon and Pay Pal.
One other bad thing – I just had a new card issued because the old one was involved in that deal where some clearing house let thousands of card numbers get out somehow.
Thanks to whoever has this site for providing this very helpful information.
I just joined the club. In reviewing my current Visa statement, there was a transaction with http://www.insoftech.com in the amount of $9.95 which I didn’t recognize. Found this site in the process of trying to identify the referenced transactor. I subsequently telephoned Visa and they have credited my account for this bogus charge.
Normally I don’t patronize a site that requires me to reveal my credit card number on line. Amazon.com is the only site I can recall where I have posted this particular card number. Thanks Joe for the blog.
My most recent CC statement included a charge of $9.95 from AZ BUSINESS PRODUCTS CALGARY AB. I didn’t recognize it, and suspected it was fraudulent. Thanks to the posts on this thread, now I am sure. Just got off the phone with my CC company, they said they would credit my account on the next statement. We’ll see…..
Yea I just joined the club too! It is too late now to contact my credit card company to dispute charges because they do that during regular business hours, but I am filling out their online form. I am very careful with my credit card and I have never heard of this company, products or services. From now on I am keeping a super close watch out on my CC!
I found USD$9.95 charge from ‘www.insofttech.com Eagleville PA’ in my Canadian Tire Master Card. I am sure I did buy anything recently on any website. I am going to call credid comapny to cancel my card number. We should be careful when puchase on web.
Our credit card was hit Oct. 2 by Digital Age for $24.99. After noticing it on our online statement, we found various threads about the fraud and cancelled the card. Reading this and other threads, this would seem to be coming from the huge breach at a credit card processing company that was announced in June. (Check http://www.digitalagefraud.com for info.) However, what is troubling is that one or two people here have said they got hit with these charges on cards that have been issued since that massive hacking was discovered. It makes sense that all our cards were thieved during that massive hacking, but it doesn’t make sense that even new card numbers are compromised.