Beware $429 Fradulent "ID Safe" Charges
Check your statements. Fraudulent charges of $429 for "ID Safe" are showing up on some people's credit card bills. Which is odd, because usually these places use tiny charges so they're more likely to go unnoticed. If you see a suspicious charge on your credit card, call your card company immediately to check it out and get it reversed if need be. On the credit card statement, the phone number listed for ID safe is 888-261-6045. After the jump, what happened to one consumer when he called the number and got through to the mastermind, who sounded like she was banging pots around in her kitchen...
Same thing. Noticed a $429 charge on 1/4/08 from ID SAFE. I called the 888-261-6045 ID SAFE and the same rude woman that other people talked about answered the phone "customer service". It sounded like she was cooking dinner slamming around pots and pans and out of breath. She could tell she was not sitting at a desk in a prof. environ. I asked about the charge and she said it was basically a fraud protection plan and I laughed and said that is ironic I feel like this is the first time I would actually need it and she laughed. I asked for a website that I could go and research the company ID SAFE and she said she did not know it. When I insisted that I speak to a supervisor-no go then I finally said I would like to speak to any other human being in your office- no one available. I asked if it was a corporation and she said no an independent company. I asked for an email address-no go. She said to google the company and I said I did and you didn't show up! I asked for an address and she gave me 1112 Stoneham Road Yucca Valley, CAL 92284. I asked for a name and she gave me June. I asked for a claim # when she said they would look into the charge and call me-she gave me #ProtectR07Volunteer Refund - which was odd. I told her I was going to contact the Better Business Bureau about this company and she said GO FOR IT and hung up!Some sense of humor, the identity theft is for a supposed identity theft protection company.
[via 800notes] (Thanks to Mike!)
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The gods of irony smile upon us once again. Maybe she needs more expensive pots.
Anyone who sees these charges should also contact their state attorney's office.
You know, when you call an 800 number, they are charged for the call...
Now what happens if b/c of this charge, you get overdrafts? Does your bank take over?
As a small businessman that had to go through the whole Visa/Mastercard proctology exam, I want to now if these thieving bastards have a real live merchant account to perpetrate this fraud ? If so ,how did they pass muster ?
I wonder where they got folks card numbers from? One of the last couple of security breaches or is someone stealing receipts...
Just about all receipts only show the last 4-5 numbers now, my money is on breech.
I just called the 888 number and decided to eat chips loudly into the phone. A woman answered and said "Customer Service, hello?" I continued to chew loudly and she decided to sings "Hello, hello" several times before hanging up.
Wow, I must be bored....
@GavinEstecado: Yeah, that'll show 'em.
@Snarkysnake: I'm sure that if enough people report them to Visa/Mastercard they'll get their ability to conduct credit card transactions pulled.
Googled their phone number came up with this [800notes.com] looks like they've done it to alot of people.
Nice... USPS doesn't recognize "Stoneham" as a street in Yucca Valley, CA.
Could this be their website? [idsafeusa.com] (found it on, like, the third or fourth page after googling "ID SAFE" with quotes)
It claims to be a "division of Capital One Marketing Inc." and looks super-duper sketchy. ("High qualitied" bank specialists?) Nothing costs $429, though.
The domain is registered to Domains By Proxy, Inc. Very up-and-up. /sarcasm
The testimonials page is particularly great. Googling those people leads to articles about them joining LifeLock, and at least one "testimonial" is lifted almost word-for-word from one of those articles, exchanging "ID Safe" for "LifeLock."
The "order number" on this website is 1-800-397-2875. I don't have time to call myself, but I wonder what would happen if you did call and ask them whether they're connected to this $429 charge?
@GearheadGeek: Neither does Google Maps. I was going to try to get a satellite picture to see if it was residential.
@snowmentality: I haven't been affected by this (just checked), but decided to check out the 'Contact Us' info on that site. Interestingly enough, they list their contact times in EST, and their mailing address as New York, and their fax number as...western WA?!?
That's right, apparently their fax machine is in western washington state. A free Intelius lokup on that number (425.998.0173) reports it as a residential number. So a company based in New York, has all of it's fax communications going to somebody's house in Washington State. A prefix search for '998' within the '425' area code from www.thedirectory.org shows it as being located in Bellevue, WA (type of service is listed as 'CLEC' meaning that it is not through the actual. I heppen to live in Bellevue, WA so for those not familar with the area I'll tell you that some of it's neighborhoods can be quite ritzy. With that in mind, it is not implausable that the faxes simply go to some tele-commuting executive (but still improbable). I am considering looking into seeing if they are in fact associated to the 'company' charging the $429.00 fees.
@valarmorghulis: i R genus! I somehow truncated the parenthetical statement in the middle of the 2nd paragraph above. that should finish, "...owner of the hardware, but a liscensee)."
There is a Stoneway Ct on Google Maps. It appears to be an apartment complex.
Why call the person at all? If I notice any charges that aren't mine I call the card company and specify the charge that's wrong and request a new card number.
@dragonpup: It doesn't matter that your card number isn't printed on a receipt. Any time you go out for dinner and pay with a card the server has all the time in the world to copy everything down - name, number, exp date, and the verification # on the back.
ALL of your information is public for those who care to look hard enough.
My eFax number is in Washington. I wonder if it's just a free eFax number?
And the same people who let the waiter disappear with their card for 20 minutes are the ones who "won't buy anything online" because "it just isn't safe".
I got hit by Id Safe last week the day before I left for a week long business trip out of town. Bank of America recommended canceling my Visa Debit Card and had me file a claim with their fraud investigations unit. My $429.00 was back in my account by midnight the day I made the claim. I told the BOA rep that Googling ID Safe does produce several sites dealing with fraudulent claims. I'm very interested to know how these criminals got by bank card number.
Yesterday, my wife and I found that ID SAFE had hit our checking account three times in the past week and a half - $429. each time. After submitting a fraud report our bank, the customer service rep. backed out the unauthorized charges. We suspect that the compromise was somehow connected to a cash advance we made at a casino the day before the first unauthorized charge. The ID SAFE folks should be banging around pots & pans in a penal institution.
Had it happen to me, too. This may be related to a group of companies out of New York, one of which is bestpricecameras.com. This (and related companies) are the typical low-ball price, sell-up consumer electronics websites. I placed an order and cancelled after they did not honor the price on a camcorder. Curiously, the domain (bestpricecameras.com) is registered in Vancouver, Washington, though the company is based in New York -- which may tie into the stories above. The 800 number on my Visa statement is out of service 888-621-6045 (digits appear to be reversed). Anyone else have a problem with an online NY merchant recently?
They hit one of my credit card accounts twice in eight days in early February with the identical amount of $429. I called the 888 number and all I got was a busy signal. I call the credit card company and contested the charges and have also filed a Police report. I hope this helps.
they hit me ... i called the credit card company they cancelled that card and issued me another they are not charging me for it. they are investigating and will pursue fraud charges
They nailed me for a $429.00 charge on my WAMU Debit Mastercard last week. I called WAMU (was on hold for 2 hours!) and spoke with a lady in the fraud dept. She told me this was the second one of these she had dealt with this week. There was also 2 charges pending for Yahoo!Voice and one more for $1.00 to IDProtect. Apparently they were trying to see if my account was still active.
ALSO, on Saturday I recieved a bogus "Welcome to idSafe" letter in the mail. It consisted of five pages of poor grammar notes telling me how great idSafe is. There was NO phone number listed. But there was a page asking the name of everyone in my household and my telephone number and email address.
The package was mailed from PO Box 2829 in Myrtle Beach SC 29578.
Anyone live in that area? Maybe someone should take a ride by the post office where this box is located.
Hah. Yucca Valley. I can see a scam coming out of there. Nothing else to do out there!