Saturday, December 21, 2013

Holidays - Sadly, a Time for Scams...

Scammers...always looking for an easy Buck or more!  During the Holidays they are out in full force.  You've probably heard about the Target Store scammers that have access now to over 40 million customer accounts...just because they scanned their credit or debit cards when making their purchases.  And it started right around Thanksgiving.  Well, this morning, I found out it happened to us!  Never thought it would happen to us.  Hubby doesn't make purchases...
on-line, I handle all of that.   And, believe me, I am diligent making sure it's only on a secured website that I'm making a purchase.  I'm careful - and read every single word of the mumbo jumbo some places have for you to read.  But, still...when I reviewed our on-line Credit Card Statement this morning, I saw an Outstanding Authorization, one that I knew I had not made.

I immediately Googled - Continuity/Subscription Merchant BlueMountain*ECA and discovered that Continuity/Subscription Merchant {with a multitude of names after it}, is a scam!  

(This does not have anything to do with Blue Mountain Cards on-line AND there is nothing on Snopes.com about this and I tried several different methods of trying to locate info on this there.)

'Continuity billing' scams cause continuous credit card pain
By 

You agree to one small purchase and get billed over and over. The scam is called continuity billing, an appropriate term because if you fall for the scheme -- and thousands of credit card holders are falling hard for it -- you will experience a continuity of regret.  The remorse continues because your credit card is billed each month for generally worthless services you were tricked into authorizing.

Law enforcement authorities around the country say continuity billing scams are on the rise and warn consumers to avoid being victimized. "We've brought several cases and we'll be bringing more of them," says Frank Dorman, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission.

In summary, continuity billing scams work like this...To continue Reading this Article...Click Here 

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Believe me, we were on the phone with our Credit Card Company early this morning - 7am - discussing this.  They closed our account.  We will need to contact the Dispute Department in about a week - 10 days in order to try to retrieve our $59.99 they charged to our account.  We declined, at this time, to have them send us another Credit Card.  I certainly did not one mailed during the Holiday Mail Rush!  We can always call them and get another card.

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I hope this results in you being even more diligent then I have been in your internet credit card purchases.  It can happen to all of us! 

2 comments:

  1. Sorry this happened but glad that you noticed so quickly. Have to be on the lookout these days for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jan, it is awful and I am so sorry this happened to you, but so glad you know and acted quickly. Careful and watchful attention is the key. Yes this can happen to anyone!!
    Have a great night.
    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete