I got a reply from Paypal's security today, basically a form note telling me the horrors of phishing and noting that "the email was not sent by paypal." I sort of wonder if they realize they have this security problem. These people kill me.
Precisely what I did, and note my tale of woe below. They got me with this scam, and I started at good ol' www.paypal.com, or should i say, www.paypal.com/igotbentover/paypalsecurityblows
Well, a first for me... they got me.Iopened a new paypal account on Monday, and by Wednesday, my credit card was being fleeced. Worst of all, there is no way these guys get caught based on the following actions by the involved entities:
Paypal:
Classic, I contacted Paypal on Wednesday, "we have had no security problems.... Don't reply to phishing scams." (no shit sherlock, i just figured I was safe entering information directly into your website using SSL). When elevated up the customer support retard chain, I was then lectured on phishing scams (damn these people are bright), and told to contact my local authorities. Unreal... my local authorities... I wonder how many local reports are taken nationally due to these wankers.
Follow up today (Friday), "you should contact our security" [by filling out our webform that warns you incessently about phishing scams and that tells you after you fill out the form that they will get back to you in about 10 days... nice].
Mastercard:
I contacted my credit card company, they cancelled the card but will not investigate until I fill out an affidavit, "which will take about 14 days to arrive."
Kmart:
I contacted Kmart, being one of the companies that put through charges to my credit card. "We cannot give you any information without your purchase number" (unreal, my credit card is used for illicit purchases, and I cannot find out where they are shipping the goods). They were nice though, and suggested I fax information to them if I wanted to speak to a security person, and they also suggested I have my local police contact them.
Frederick's of Hollywood:
Another company that put charges on my card- "We don't have a security department, call your credit card company." Will someone please shoot that g-string wearing cow.
Local Police -
I filled out an online complaint on Wednesday with the financial fraud division of my local police department. Still haven't heard a thing.
I went the extra mile and filed a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center:
Classic moment in law enforcement... after filling out the extensive affidavit, I received a generated email that read in part, "The IC3 receives thousands of complaints each month and does not have the resources to respond to inquiries regarding the status of complaints. It is the IC3's intention to review all complaints and refer them to law enforcement and regulatory agencies having jurisdiction. Ultimately, investigation and prosecution are at the discretion of the receiving agencies." [in other words, we really don't do anything, best of luck old chap].
I wish the crew working this scam the best, they are truly disgusting, but ingenious. As for the entities above, the next time I hear a news report where they are whining about credit card fraud costing consumers and businesses millions, I'll just chuckle at how pathetic the reaction was to my inquiries. They really don't care.
Finally, some have posted that it won't cost me anything.... they are wrong. Some credit cards require the user to pay the first $50 of such fraud. And what about the people who just don't catch the credit card fraudulent uses. If you do not challenge the charge within 90 days, in most cases, you own the debt. Finally, by having my credit card cancelled for fraudulent purposes, I am the lucky recipient of a fraud alert on my credit statements with the credit reporting agencies for at least the next thirty days (I think 60). This means that I am barred from gaining any instant credit during this time period. Several years ago I had fraud on another credit card (authorities believed that the info was lifted from the card while I was on vacation when I paid for something at a restaurant). I cancelled the card, but a couple weeks later there I was buying $2,000 worth of lumber at home depot for a home project. The clerk says to me, hey if you open up a home depot card, I can discount your purchase by 10%. Hey, I don't need a home depot card, but 200 bucks is nothing to sneeze at. After filling out the form, I was reject
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I got a reply from Paypal's security today, basically a form note telling me the horrors of phishing and noting that "the email was not sent by paypal." I sort of wonder if they realize they have this security problem. These people kill me.
Unfortunately, I got taken here and I did begin this adventure at paypal.com... see my post below.
Precisely what I did, and note my tale of woe below. They got me with this scam, and I started at good ol' www.paypal.com, or should i say, www.paypal.com/igotbentover/paypalsecurityblows
Well, a first for me... they got me.Iopened a new paypal account on Monday, and by Wednesday, my credit card was being fleeced. Worst of all, there is no way these guys get caught based on the following actions by the involved entities: Paypal: Classic, I contacted Paypal on Wednesday, "we have had no security problems.... Don't reply to phishing scams." (no shit sherlock, i just figured I was safe entering information directly into your website using SSL). When elevated up the customer support retard chain, I was then lectured on phishing scams (damn these people are bright), and told to contact my local authorities. Unreal... my local authorities... I wonder how many local reports are taken nationally due to these wankers. Follow up today (Friday), "you should contact our security" [by filling out our webform that warns you incessently about phishing scams and that tells you after you fill out the form that they will get back to you in about 10 days... nice]. Mastercard: I contacted my credit card company, they cancelled the card but will not investigate until I fill out an affidavit, "which will take about 14 days to arrive." Kmart: I contacted Kmart, being one of the companies that put through charges to my credit card. "We cannot give you any information without your purchase number" (unreal, my credit card is used for illicit purchases, and I cannot find out where they are shipping the goods). They were nice though, and suggested I fax information to them if I wanted to speak to a security person, and they also suggested I have my local police contact them. Frederick's of Hollywood: Another company that put charges on my card- "We don't have a security department, call your credit card company." Will someone please shoot that g-string wearing cow. Local Police - I filled out an online complaint on Wednesday with the financial fraud division of my local police department. Still haven't heard a thing. I went the extra mile and filed a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center: Classic moment in law enforcement... after filling out the extensive affidavit, I received a generated email that read in part, "The IC3 receives thousands of complaints each month and does not have the resources to respond to inquiries regarding the status of complaints. It is the IC3's intention to review all complaints and refer them to law enforcement and regulatory agencies having jurisdiction. Ultimately, investigation and prosecution are at the discretion of the receiving agencies." [in other words, we really don't do anything, best of luck old chap]. I wish the crew working this scam the best, they are truly disgusting, but ingenious. As for the entities above, the next time I hear a news report where they are whining about credit card fraud costing consumers and businesses millions, I'll just chuckle at how pathetic the reaction was to my inquiries. They really don't care. Finally, some have posted that it won't cost me anything.... they are wrong. Some credit cards require the user to pay the first $50 of such fraud. And what about the people who just don't catch the credit card fraudulent uses. If you do not challenge the charge within 90 days, in most cases, you own the debt. Finally, by having my credit card cancelled for fraudulent purposes, I am the lucky recipient of a fraud alert on my credit statements with the credit reporting agencies for at least the next thirty days (I think 60). This means that I am barred from gaining any instant credit during this time period. Several years ago I had fraud on another credit card (authorities believed that the info was lifted from the card while I was on vacation when I paid for something at a restaurant). I cancelled the card, but a couple weeks later there I was buying $2,000 worth of lumber at home depot for a home project. The clerk says to me, hey if you open up a home depot card, I can discount your purchase by 10%. Hey, I don't need a home depot card, but 200 bucks is nothing to sneeze at. After filling out the form, I was reject