Fradulent Credit Card Charges (gaming related?)

[WayAbvPar]

Hey all-
Was checking my bank accounts today and noticed a charge for $4.96 on my account from ABC GAMING LLC 321-396-5753 FL that I didn't recall making. This credit card is used to autopay my cell phone and cable bills, to buy Steam games, and as a backup on my Amazon account (primarily). I googled the company info and everyone pretty much assumes they are fraudulent (shockingly, their phone number is disconnected). Anyone have similar charges? I reported it to the bank and have a new card being chiseled by gremlins (or whatever it is that makes it take 2 weeks). I also checked back on my records and they made an identical charge in December.

Maybe they got my info from Sony  That is very likely the card I had on file for my SOE account.

[Hawkbit]

If you google ABC GAMING LLC 321-396-5753 you'll find a lot of posts by folks asking the same thing, none of them have answers.  Best advice there was to call your bank/cancel the card.  Never heard of the outfit myself, though. 

My parents have a similar situation on one of their cards, but in their case they have had the card reissued twice now and the charge is showing up immediately on the brand new number, too.  That's all kinds of fucked.

[MahrinSkel]

If you google ABC GAMING LLC 321-396-5753 you'll find a lot of posts by folks asking the same thing, none of them have answers.  Best advice there was to call your bank/cancel the card.  Never heard of the outfit myself, though. 

My parents have a similar situation on one of their cards, but in their case they have had the card reissued twice now and the charge is showing up immediately on the brand new number, too.  That's all kinds of fucked.

That's probably a trojan on their computer, unless the black hats have a pipeline directly into a company they do business with regularly (unlikely, they rarely use them so quickly in those cases because it's too easy to find the pattern and the pipeline company gets a visit from the SS).

--Dave

[slog]

Had a $25 authorization on my Debit card (no pin) from Craigslist.org.  Canceled the card immediately.  I was thinking that this might be a test purchase by some hackers/whatever to see if the card number is still valid before they went on a spree.

Thoughts?

[Chimpy]

Craigslist does not process payments for things posted on there.

[slog]

Craigslist does not process payments for things posted on there.

They do actually.  Looks like they charge for Job postings and Real estate ads.  The only thing that's $25 is Job postings. 

All craigslist postings are free, except for:

1. Job posts in the San Francisco Bay Area

    * The fee for posting a job in the SF Bay Area is $75. This fee pays for one job in one category.
      (One job posted in two different categories would cost $150.)

2. Job posts in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, South Florida, and Washington DC

    * The fee for posting a job in these cities is $25. This fee pays for one job in one category.
      (One job posted in two different categories would cost $50.)

3. Brokered apartment rental listings in New York

    * The fee for posting a brokered apartment rental in New York City is $10.

4. Posts in therapeutic services on craigslist sites in the United States.

    * The fee for posting ads in these categories is $10. Live approved ads can be re-posted for $5.

[Merusk]

All these recent hacks make me glad I've switched banks every 3-4 years for the last decade.  It wasn't deliberate, mostly because each bank would piss me off so I'd go to another.  Looks like it might be time to switch again.

[slog]

All these recent hacks make me glad I've switched banks every 3-4 years for the last decade.  It wasn't deliberate, mostly because each bank would piss me off so I'd go to another.  Looks like it might be time to switch again.

All you have to do is report the card and they give you a new number.  Takes about 3 days.

Why on earth would you need to switch banks for something like this?

[Merusk]

Paranoia.

The previous bank switches were unreleated to said paranoia, they were just shitty banks.  (5/3, US Bank, National City)

[Minvaren]

The previous bank switches were unreleated to said paranoia, they were just shitty banks.  (5/3, US Bank, National City)

US Bank...  (snicker, guffaw, chortle)

One of these days, I really need to write up some stories about my dealings with Big Banks(tm) over the last decade, being a vendor for them and dealing with their IT (and other) departments daily.  The sheer levels of incompetence revealed should scare anyone who has their money managed by them.

[Merusk]

My wife worked for US Bank after Firstar got bought-out by the other brother.   Yeah, I know how incompetent banks are..

[Strazos]

I worked in document management for a large bank...the pure incompetency within the middle management and the lending units was...staggering.

[WayAbvPar]

Why doesn't everyone use credit unions? I understand that some business accounts aren't offered or whatever, but for personal stuff, why would anyone ever use a bank? Especially a huge rape-y bank like B of A?

[Rasix]

Because you've never had a problem with them?  Only thing I use my bank for anymore is my checking account and ATMs cash withdrawals.  If someone's getting raped, it's not me.

[Kail]

Why doesn't everyone use credit unions? I understand that some business accounts aren't offered or whatever, but for personal stuff, why would anyone ever use a bank? Especially a huge rape-y bank like B of A?

I'm not financially savvy enough to know what the actual difference between a bank and a credit union is, much less why one would be immune to systemic problems that the other has.  For me, it's just somewhere that holds my money until I need it, so I don't have to store it under the mattress or something.  I don't need a loan, don't have a mortgage, don't invest in much escept my RRSP, don't really do much except put money in and take money out.  As long as they don't start keeping my money or something, I don't see a problem, and if something does go horribly wrong, I can eat ramen for a few weeks while I change banks.  What are these huge, rapey problems that everyone keeps hinting at?

[Merusk]

Why doesn't everyone use credit unions? I understand that some business accounts aren't offered or whatever, but for personal stuff, why would anyone ever use a bank? Especially a huge rape-y bank like B of A?

Inability to qualify for membership.  Last I looked there was one CU I qualified for and it was north of the loop in Cincy, but I qualified because I worked in that county.   I don't work there anymore so I don't qualify now.

The CUs around my house all require you to be a farmer, a member of a church, or own a buisness that runs in the county, so I don't qualify for them.

I'm pretty happy with USAA for banking right now, though.  They certainly don't act like any banks I'd previously belonged to.

What are these huge, rapey problems that everyone keeps hinting at?

Things you're apparently young enough to not have to deal with on a regular basis.  Loans, mortgages, interest rates, holds on deposits, fuckstupid policies about how transactions are ordered and fees.

That's before you get in to less tangible issues like, slow to adopt new technology, features that aren't offered that previous banks did and make sense, locations of ATMs & Branches, asshole managers you have to deal with, etc.

[Morat20]

I'm not financially savvy enough to know what the actual difference between a bank and a credit union is, much less why one would be immune to systemic problems that the other has.  For me, it's just somewhere that holds my money until I need it, so I don't have to store it under the mattress or something.  I don't need a loan, don't have a mortgage, don't invest in much escept my RRSP, don't really do much except put money in and take money out.  As long as they don't start keeping my money or something, I don't see a problem, and if something does go horribly wrong, I can eat ramen for a few weeks while I change banks.  What are these huge, rapey problems that everyone keeps hinting at?

Effectively: Banks are out to make a profit for shareholders. Credit Unions "shareholders" are basically "the people that keep their money there". (It's a bit more complicated, but not much). CU's profit motives are lower, they have lower overhead, and their incentive to screw the customer is minimal.

In terms of "huge, rapey problems" with banks -- the most common one (and one of the most egregious) is reordering transactions. Say you have, oh, 500 dollars in your checking account. You have a thousand in savings, and you have overdraft (ie: they suck money from savings to cover checks, rather than bouncing the check. The actual cost to the bank for doing this is, effectively, zero).

Now, say you write the following checks (or use your check card or debit card) over two days: 25 for a meal, 120 for a hotel stay, another string of 5 10-dollar-ish charges, 50 bucks for an oil change and a tire rotation, then a 450 dollar rent payment.

Obviously that last charge will overdraft, which the bank will charge you 30 bucks for.

What banks like to do -- (not sure if this is still legal or not. It might have been changed in the last year) is reorder your transactions. They will process the 450 dollar one FIRST, then the 120 hotel stay (overdraft), then the oil change (draft), then the meal (draft), the misc charges (5 drafts).

So if they'd done it in order they RECIEVED the charges you'd have one 30 dollar overdraft. Instead, they reordered it to charge you 240 dollars in overdraft charges. Because that's pure profit.

Credit unions don't, because they aren't for-profit. They have share certificates (part-ownership) but those pay a set interest level.

[KallDrexx]

I've never had any issues with banks, but almost all my transactions are done through credit cards (so I don't have to worry if any funny business happens and it's easier to control the withdrawl of funds from my account) and I'm also financially savvy enough to keep a minimum of $2k in my account so I never have to worry about overdrafts, and I receive daily statements showing my current balance so I can spot something immediately if it looks off.

The only thing that's been mentioned is our mortgage being through a bank (not the same one as our checking/savings/money market accounts) but I'm sure of how a CU would have been better, especially since the mortgage was given when interest rates were pretty close to rock bottom.

[Merusk]

... I'm also financially savvy enough to  NOT MARRIED YET SO I CAN keep a minimum of $2k in my account so I never have to worry about overdrafts, and I receive daily statements showing my current balance so I can spot something immediately if it looks off...

I had money in the bank 15 years ago, too, despite being in college.  I know it doesn't happen to everyone, but it happens to a LOT of us where the spouse is far less thrifty than the saver.

[Morat20]

More importantly: Just because you haven't been hit with shady and unethical, if legal, shit like that doesn't mean you won't. Or that it's not, you know, shady and unethical.

The credit card industry and the major banks play all sorts of games -- with credit cards, my personal favorite is changing the billing cycle to drum up late fees, or randomly applying payments to the previous month -- that was a fun one, the fuckers.

Say payment is due by the April 15th. I'd send in a large payment on Marth 30th (two weeks early) and it'd go on April's bill. And then on April, say, 27th -- I'd send in another payment and they'd apply it to Aprils payment then charge me a fee and try to jack my rates up because I didn't pay for May.

Except I had. You know, on April 27th due May 15th. I'd get missed payment and late fees for paying a bill too early. Canceled that fucking card right away.

Credit unions, in general, simply refuse that shit. Their credit cards (issued through Visa or Mastercard, normally) have flat, fixed rates. They don't offer points or anything like that, but they don't fuck around with due dates or fees. Same with loans, services, overdrafts...everything. They're rather close to the concept of a non-profit bank, and run off actuarial tables not stock prices.

[KallDrexx]

... I'm also financially savvy enough to  NOT MARRIED YET SO I CAN keep a minimum of $2k in my account so I never have to worry about overdrafts, and I receive daily statements showing my current balance so I can spot something immediately if it looks off...

I had money in the bank 15 years ago, too, despite being in college.  I know it doesn't happen to everyone, but it happens to a LOT of us where the spouse is far less thrifty than the saver.

Figuring my Fiance put together our financial strategy and she is already looking at how we can increase our savings from $500 a month to $1000 a month I'm not too worried about marriage causing a financial strain.  Though kids is another issue, but that's why we are aiming at putting $1k into savings every month.

The credit card industry and the major banks play all sorts of games -- with credit cards, my personal favorite is changing the billing cycle to drum up late fees, or randomly applying payments to the previous month -- that was a fun one, the fuckers.

In the past 10 years I have been using credit cards through multiple institutions (Chase, American Express, Discover, My previous bank, Best Buy cards I abuse 0% interest with, and now Capital One) I have never had any of those things happen, nor has my mom who has held even more.  The only issue I have had with a bank was with some of my student loans that were administered by Wells Fargo (I didn't have a choice in this to begin with), and even then everything was perfect except until this year when they sold them to ACS-Education, which has a completely fucktarded online system that is literally broken and customer service that blows.

[Morat20]

I'm very happy that you have yet to be ass-raped by the banks. Suffice it to say, those of us who have not been as fortunate with for-profit banks and their literal joy of fucking over their own customers, are quite happy to move to a just as secure credit union system that lacks the profit-motive for such ass-raping.

[Selby]

The only issue I have had with a bank was with some of my student loans that were administered by Wells Fargo (I didn't have a choice in this to begin with), and even then everything was perfect except until this year when they sold them to ACS-Education, which has a completely fucktarded online system that is literally broken and customer service that blows.

I am so glad this wasn't just me.  I hate that new service and have emailed and called multiple times to try and get it fixed.  They literally don't care.

[slog]

Why doesn't everyone use credit unions? I understand that some business accounts aren't offered or whatever, but for personal stuff, why would anyone ever use a bank? Especially a huge rape-y bank like B of A?

I've never had to pay any fees to B of A.  Fees are for people who don't manage their finances.

[Lantyssa]

I'm pretty happy with USAA for banking right now, though.  They certainly don't act like any banks I'd previously belonged to.

From everything I've heard about them, USAA runs its services to benefit its members rather than stockholders.  It's how companies should be run.  Much like a credit union though, not everyone qualifies for it.

[Morat20]

I've never had to pay any fees to B of A.  Fees are for people who don't manage their finances.

And poverty is for sinners, and bad luck is only for bad people.

[slog]

I've never had to pay any fees to B of A.  Fees are for people who don't manage their finances.

And poverty is for sinners, and bad luck is only for bad people.

It's not about Poor vs Rich.  It's about those who manage their finances and those that don't.  If you are not the type that checks your account daily, then BOA will fee you to death. 

[HaemishM]

Your complete failure to grasp the reality of people who are not you is continually astounding.

[slog]

Your complete failure to grasp the reality of people who are not you is continually astounding.

This isn't a politics thread.

I used to work at Baybank (now part of BOA) in their phone center and in the Branches for 5 years, so I'm very familiar with all the tricks.  If you are a person who likes to actively manage your finances, then Bank of America is great.  They have an excellent Online banking tool, and ATMs everywhere.    It's great for people like me who like to use software to track every transaction in all their bank accounts.

If, on the other hand, you tend to not manage your accounts so closely, then I'd stay away.

[Morat20]

I tried to translate that, and got the following:

"If you're the sort that likes to watch your bank like a hawk to make sure they don't ass-rape you, Bank of America is fine. If, on the other hand, you're one of those assholes who thinks banks shouldn't ass-rape you, well...Bank of America's going to leave you with an aching corn-hole".

I think the crossed wires was my assumption that banks shouldn't ass-rape their customers, and slog's assumption that customers should be guarding their assholes like the tellers were all eyeing them while lubing up giant strapons.

[slog]

I tried to translate that, and got the following:

"If you're the sort that likes to watch your bank like a hawk to make sure they don't ass-rape you, Bank of America is fine. If, on the other hand, you're one of those assholes who thinks banks shouldn't ass-rape you, well...Bank of America's going to leave you with an aching corn-hole".

I think the crossed wires was my assumption that banks shouldn't ass-rape their customers, and slog's assumption that customers should be guarding their assholes like the tellers were all eyeing them while lubing up giant strapons.

Well, they don't ass-rape if you keep a few grand in there.  I would never recommend them to anyone who doesn't keep at least 4 grand or so in their checking account.

[Reg]

Ah, so it's not about "Poor vs Rich" it's just about "Can afford to keep 4,000 bucks in a fucking checking account vs Nope, Can't do that."

[slog]

Ah, so it's not about "Poor vs Rich" it's just about "Can afford to keep 4,000 bucks in a fucking checking account vs Nope, Can't do that."

Well, I don't keep more than a 1 or 2k, but again, I'm one of those anal people.

[HaemishM]

 

The point, she is over there. Weeping.

[Merusk]

I'm pretty happy with USAA for banking right now, though.  They certainly don't act like any banks I'd previously belonged to.

From everything I've heard about them, USAA runs its services to benefit its members rather than stockholders.  It's how companies should be run.  Much like a credit union though, not everyone qualifies for it.

Yes (Members are stockholders. I get a dividend each year), yes and No.  Anyone can have a USAA banking account.  It's something they've been very bad about advertising.

What most people don't qualify for is membership in USAA.  That's what gives you access to the auto loans, insurance (Which is probably the BEST anywhere.) and other membership stuff the company does. 

To qualify for membership you have to be 1) Military: Active or Retired  or 2) Offspring of a member.   So I qualified for Membership via my Dad's service and my kids qualify because I'm a member.    It's worth looking into for the Auto Insurance alone if you're able to qualify, IMO.