credit card fraud

[Kartman]

Has anyone had unauthorized transactions on their credit card lately? I've had two. One from "justlikethat, LLC" for $39.99 and one from "DR CardzPlus" for $16.20. The reason I ask here is because I did a little research and found out that ECS Tuning may have been hacked. I have done business with them. Here is the link on what I found....

http://forums.thecarlounge.net/zerothread?id=2474502

[Toad]

OMG, that's horrible.

Hackers only do what they do cuz they can't get laid. So they make others suffer.

I wonder if they got me.

[CrazyJames]

Originally Posted by Toad

OMG, that's horrible.

Hackers only do what they do cuz there is no way in hell that they can get laid. So they make others suffer cuz they have no genitalia.

I wonder if they got me.

dot dot dot

Well stated Toad... well stated

:golfclap:

OMGWTFBBQ!!!1!1!~1~11```1!2@

[dnyed]

The world is such a scary place anymore. I hope that is all the heathens got.....

[bugfreak]

WOW! just today, i received a "receipt" from service@paypal.com

$215 for an i-pod to a seller vector2ny@it-gadgets.com

there was a link to "dispute transaction" and it looks like a paypal page but has this url: http://www.shopbuydesign.com/squirre...run=/login.htm

then it proceeds to ask for bank info and the atm pin.

that's freaky. cause this just happened today.... and guess what? i ordered my clutch and flywheel from ECS.

nothing has happened with my bank account. it was an attempt to get in through e-bay/paypal. i'm closing this bank account anyways and this gives me one more reason to.

[Crazy_MoFo]

Originally Posted by bugfreak

WOW! just today, i received a "receipt" from service@paypal.com

$215 for an i-pod to a seller vector2ny@it-gadgets.com

there was a link to "dispute transaction" and it looks like a paypal page but has this url: http://www.shopbuydesign.com/squirre...run=/login.htm

then it proceeds to ask for bank info and the atm pin.

that's freaky. cause this just happened today.... and guess what? i ordered my clutch and flywheel from ECS.

nothing has happened with my bank account. it was an attempt to get in through e-bay/paypal. i'm closing this bank account anyways and this gives me one more reason to.

I got the same fake paypal email yesterday. I've gotten quite a few fake paypal emails, I just forward them to spoof@paypal.com.

This is what I do as far as paypal goes, if I'm going to buy something with paypal I log onto paypal enter my credit card info make my purchase and before I logout of paypal I go back and remove the credit card info. That way if anyone hacks into my paypal account they can't buy nothing because there's no credit card on file

[bugfreak]

good idea raul.... i'ma gonna do that right now (remove my card that is- i've already reported the spoof)

[GatorBeetle]

My mom got one of the fake PayPal emails, but the auctions in the email were real, which had her worried...she doesn't even have a PayPal acct, and I showed her the address in the email didn't even go to PayPal...sophisticated Phishing...

[larryziegler]

Originally Posted by GatorBeetle

My mom got one of the fake PayPal emails, but the auctions in the email were real, which had her worried...she doesn't even have a PayPal acct, and I showed her the address in the email didn't even go to PayPal...sophisticated Phishing...

I got several of those, too. Person was complaining and wanting a refund on a $2 trading card. I never enter eBay or PayPal from an email. I always type the web addy from the browser...then I know its legit, as these phishing expeditions just get more complex.

[GatorBeetle]

Always be aware of where those email links take you!! It surprises me the number of people who think because the text in the email says www.ebay.com that the link has to go to ebay, and not Russia or Taiwan.

This really shouldn't have anything to do with the original post...phishing is casting a wide net in the hope someone is uneducated enough to give away their info...taking advantadge of the uninformed. Hacking and stealing CC info is a whole 'nuther deal altogether!!

[GatorBeetle]

Another thought...if ECS was hacked, and they know about it, they have an obligation to let their customers know!!

[CoriBug]

My grandparents had someone try to run up charges on their credit card last year. My grandpa is quite the Internet/computer guru these days and he monitors their cards very closely. A few charges popped up, something like $3. He called right away and the card was cancelled. After that, the card company said the person tried to charge a more expensive item, and of course it didn't work. Apparently a thief will charge something cheap just to see if it works and then charge more $$$. Scary!

Cori

[SilverVw3]

There are guys on Audi World that had their credit card info stolen from ECS and they were all for dating type websites.

Punks! You would think ECS would own up to the fact this is happening, but so far they're not.

[GatorBeetle]

Everyone this has happenned to needs to get together and file a complaint with the Attorney General in the State ECS does business.

I'm glad now I paid $10 extra for my mirror switch on eBay. Forgot ECS had them cheaper, but in the long run, it was fortunate I did.

Sorry to everyone who did get stuck in this one!

[Kartman]

I wish we could get something definitive too. I'd call them but I'm sure they'd deny it. It's not exactly good for business. I'm not saying it was ECS, but I just find it strikingly odd that others have had the same thing happen to them and it only seems to be current or former owners of volkswagens and audis.

[dnyed]

I hate Capital One, but at least they have (or had) a "Zero Liability" policy.

Somehow, a Capital One Gold Mastercard, in my name, ended up in Germany, to the tune of $8,000+. It was a very scary time, but credit monitoring has turned up nothing else in 6 or 7 years.

I was lucky, but I am still always on the lookout.

I got a scam email from "Ebay" a while back. Before I sent it off to spoof, I decided to have a little fun with it.

Every answer was "In your dreams", "What, you think I'm an idiot?", "---- you, ---hole", and other colorful replies. I then hit send, hoping it would go there, but dang, it just went to my sign on page.

Oh, well.

[VW2.0Driver]

Well here's what I know about this "situation" since I've probably done the most research since the **** hit the fan awhile ago and I was right in the middle of it.

Before everyone get's ALL fired up over it being ECS's fault.

ECS seems to be the common link everyone on the Vwvortex, and Audiworld had to the credit card problems. However, some people at Audiworld talked to the guys @ ECS and they had no idea it was happening, and investigated. Not sure of the outcome.

HOWEVER

someone on audiworld brought up a good point. ECS uses a company to process the credit cards. They don't do them on their own. MOST likely it was the company ECS uses to process the cards online and THAT is why the cards have an issue.

I had My credit union Lock down my credit card for 4 months. I recently unblocked it and haven't had any problems.

[BlueMartian]

Gang, I can't disclose what I do for a living on an open forum, but I will say that I really know my stuff when it comes to this subject. I am inclined to believe that the guys over at AudiWorld are probably correct. There have been quite a few merchant processor hacking incidents recently and more show up in the news weekly. If you want to see how bad the problem is becoming try typing "Credit Card Fraud" into Goggle News' search box sometime. I think there are two classes of consumers, those who have had their information stolen and those who will. My MasterCard account that I never use online got stolen recently and I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how it happened. I'm guessing the cashier at the local Taco Bueno skimmed it considering the internet fraud started happending within a day of my Muchaco purchase.

The FTC suggests these tips to help you avoid getting hooked by a phishing scam:

If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And don’t click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company’s correct Web address yourself. In any case, don’t cut and paste the link from the message into your Internet browser — phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but that actually send you to a different site.


Use anti-virus software and a firewall, and keep them up to date. Some phishing emails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge.

Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files. Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically.

A firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It’s especially important to run a firewall if you have a broadband connection. Operating systems (like Windows or Linux) or browsers (like Internet Explorer or Netscape) also may offer free software “patches” to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit.


Don’t email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organization’s website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for a website that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure”). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.
Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.


Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other software that can weaken your computer’s security.


Forward spam that is phishing for information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. Most organizations have information on their websites about where to report problems.


If you believe you’ve been scammed, file your complaint at ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC’s Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Victims of phishing can become victims of identity theft. While you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim of identity theft, you can take some steps to minimize your risk. If an identity thief is opening credit accounts in your name, these new accounts are likely to show up on your credit report. You may catch an incident early if you order a free copy of your credit report periodically from any of the three major credit bureaus. See www.annualcreditreport.com for details on ordering a free annual credit report.