A security breach at the Hannaford east coast supermarket chain has lead to the exposure of some 4.2 million credit cards. The company said it was aware of at least 1,800 cases of fraud directly connected to the breach. If you shopped at Hannaford’s from Dec. 7 to March 10., when the breach is thought to have occurred, now is a great time to close your current credit and debit cards and get new ones. Side note: when clicking around their official website we found many sub-pages are down, saying they’re currently “undergoing site maintenance.”
consumer alert
Check Your Credit Card For Fake Charges From "Ich Services"
By 3.11.08
Check your credit card statements for fraudulent charges from a company called “ICH Services,” reports KETV. They’re defrauding consumers across the country at $9.95 a pop with unwarranted credit card charges. If you notice it on your bill, call up your credit card company or bank and dispute the charge. And since your information is now in the hands of criminals, you may want to close down the account and get a new card while you’re at it.
HSBC Confirms Customer Card Data Was Stolen
By 2.28.08
HSBC confirmed that thieves stole card payment data from the bank and they were reissuing 6,000 atm/debit cards to customers affected by the breach. One Consumerist reader, Keith, had $2000 stolen from him via an ATM in Bulgaria, and another, Emily, had $2,800 siphoned from her account from ATMs located clear across the country. (Emily also got interviewed on WCBS and we got a mention and a screenshot). Checking the comments section, it looks like 11 other Consumerist readers were affected by the HSBC fraud as well, with a number of the fraudulent withdrawals being made from Montreal and Canada. Sounds like the thieves stole the data, which contained both card numbers and PIN codes, and then cloned ATM/debit cards. If you’re an HSBC customer, might be a good time to change your PIN number.
"For Security Purposes, This Card Is Not Active" Is A Lie
By 2.28.08
When you get a new or replacement credit card in the mail, you have to call the number on the back to activate it, or else you can’t use it, right? Wrong. Despite the sticker on the back that says, “For security purposes, this card is not active,” credit card companies are mailing out cards that can be used without phone activation. This is a problem if the letter containing your credit card is intercepted by an identity thief, like what happened to reader PC Guy. The kicker? He didn’t even request the card, it was a forcible reissue when his store-branded card switched from Visa to Mastercard. His story, inside.
By 2.4.08
../../../..//2008/02/04/scammers-are-calling-up-people/
Scammers are calling up people and pretending to be from the government and here to help with getting you your tax rebate. All you have to do is give them your bank account information. [9news]
By 1.21.08
../../../..//2008/01/21/heres-another-fraudulent-charge-to/
Here’s another fraudulent charge to watch out: charges in the amount of $9.45 or $9.40 from your checking account from an “advertising company” called HBS. A reader says it happened to him, and when he searched online, he found others, a good number of whom had ordered credit reports from Equifax… [800notes]
Cruise Ship Art Auctions Scams
By 12.13.07
Here’s a fun scam: buying art at auction on cruise ships. In one case, a woman paid $20,000 for what she thought were high-value Salvadore Dali, but when they got shipped to her, an independent appraiser told her they were worth maybe $700 each. The business is conducted on international waters, so there’s no consumer protection laws to throw you a lifesaver. Consumerama says they’re not even run under real auction rules, but are instead, “coordinated inebriated sales hysteria.”
By 12.7.07
../../../..//2007/12/07/sergeants-sentrypro-xfc-flea-treatment/
Sergeants SentryPro XFC flea treatment gives pets Pyrethrin Toxicity, causing them to vomit and not be able to walk, and in one case, a dog died. Petco still has the stuff on its shelves. [Gibberish Is My Native Language]
Pensioneer Saves For Cruise For 10 Years, Misses Flight, Princess Cruises Keeps All Her Money
By 11.26.07
A 78-year old pensioner saved for a cruise for 10 years, but after she missed an airplane connection, she missed the cruise ship and Princess Cruises gets to keep her $2500 paid for the cruise. They’re also keeping the $559.80 the airlines refunded because she didn’t take the flight. (See how that works? You don’t get charged unless you actually use their service…) You gotta read the Washington Post column for the full run-down of all the different things that went wrong on this lil old lady’s trip.
Beware Lead-Laden Christmas Decorations
By 11.15.07
Consumers are getting a shock as they stock up on holiday supplies: it’s not just Christmas cheer they’re spreading, but lead. The back of many decorations are sporting this label:
Dinner Plates On Walmart Shelves Contain Lead
By 11.14.07
What are you feeding your children tonight? How about a hearty helping of lead? KUTV did a followup on their report yesterday about lead in dinner plates. Their investigative reporter bought more plates from Walmart. After heating them to 85 degrees, the plates leached out lead at .381 parts per million. The plates were made in China. The government says that anything below 2.0 is acceptable. But unlike a toy where you’re mainly just coming in skin contact with the toy, with a plate, the lead is actually seeping into the food and you’re eating it.
Baby Poisoned By Lead-Tainted Walmart Plates
By 11.14.07
A Utah child developed painful constipation after it was discovered that her family was using lead-tainted plates sold by Walmart. Investigators found the plates had lead levels of 11. Utah considers anything about 1 “unacceptable.”
Sprint Charges Developmentally Disabled Girl $10,000 For Text Messages
By 10.30.07
Red Tape Chronicles has followed up on the Developmentally disabled 18-year old Amanda Clark who ran up $10,000 in premium text messages whom we told you about last week. The text messages were part of teenage text chat services advertised in the back of her teen mags. “Hook a hottie,” they said. Sprint agreed to cut the bill in half but won’t budge further. The UK-based text message company says that since she texted “Y” in response to the message, ‘Y’ to: ‘74447’ to start. 14+ textconnectusa.com Help?1-866-662-7132. Send STOP to end.100c per msg rcvd + std msg fees,” the girl should have been completely informed as to the service’s cost and the family is plumb out of luck. In all, 642 messages were received.
Hiring Unlicensed Contractor Like Inviting Devil Into Your Parlor
By 10.25.07
You might think you’re saving a buck by going with their advertised cheap services, but they’re bidding without insurance, worker’s compensation, or training. MSNBC’s new investigative series “Home Wreckers” tapes a police sting operation aimed at snatching up sketchy contractors. One of the guys is accused by several homeowners of low-balling bids, which then end shoot up in price over the course of the project. He also takes customer’s money and then never finishes the repairs. The police search his car and find ecstasy hidden in it. The police show off pictures of other contractors who were found to be convicted child molesters, on probation for attempted murder, registered sex offenders, on a state’s 10 most wanted list, and on Megan’s List. They advise to only hire licensed and bonded contractors, as they have to go through background checks and drug tests. You wouldn’t want to let some ex-con in your house, or around your kids.
"VersaDebt" Telemarketers Behind Rate-Lowering Robot Calls?
By 10.10.07
The company behind “Possible Credit Card Scam Alert: We’ll Lower Your Rates, Purrs Robot Message…” is called VersaDebt, according to one reader who was able to string them along long enough to find out.
Beware The Tow Truck Pirates
By 10.2.07
This ’05 KNBC investigation uncovered a rogue industry of pirate tow truck drivers in Southern California. A system of spotters kept watch for any driver who left the premises attached to a parking lot, and got paid $25-50 for calling in targets. In some cases, drivers were gone from their cars for less than 15 minutes.
Consumer Group Finds Lead In More Children's Toys
By 9.27.07
Extremely high levels of lead were found in a Go Diego Go backpack, a Superfly monkey and a pair of Circo Lulu boots, the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (a group dedicated to ridding the world of PVC) reported in a new study released yesterday. In all, 11 items they tested contained lead levels and/or heavy metals well over the safety standard, 10 of which contained PVC, or vinyl. The backpack had levels of 4,600 parts per million. The CPSC standard is 600 parts per million.
Rite Aid Recalls Antifreeze-Laced Smoke Machine Fuel
By 9.6.07
Jennifer reports, “Spoke to someone in [Rite Aid] corporate today- while they still insist the product is safe (no msds, though), they did say that due to “customer concern” (later rephrased as “all your calls”) they are recalling the product!”
