[mollypeanut]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

I think Florida is scam capital of the world 🌎. Better be diligent cause they keep coming from all sources. Telephone, cell phone, computer, door to door. Then there the Amazon scams, IRS scams, social security scams utilities scams ( which you have witness) banking scams, ect.... Even where you use you credit card/bank card it can get Skimmed. Anywhere you have account that can get hacked. World we live in today. Don’t you wonder why we never here on news where hacking got caught or prosecuted?

I agree 100% with the above!!
I had something happen, and I can only “assume” I hate that word.. But you tell me..
Back in March my son and his family visited we enjoyed breakfast at one of the country clubs.. It was my treat.. I have a CC that had no charges on it 0.00... this was on March 7th.. They returned home then the lockdown.. May I get a statement for April.. I have 2 charges for takeout from Chilpolti one for 129.00 one for 44.00.. My credit card is still in my pocket book!!! I have not left the house.. I called the credit card company they reversed the 129.00, I requested a new card.. I had to fight with them to remove the second charge..They said they could not trace the phone call..?
Please tell me how someone was able to use my credit card to order food over the phone? I had not used it other than at the county club that morning.. it was still in my pocketbook with me on lockdown.. No gas station, no groceries..

[ALadysMom]

We were getting strangely targeted robocalls when we were traveling to Central Florida to visit our daughter at UCF. The recorded robocall voice imitated Mickey Mouse and offered discounted travel deals especially cruises. The calls started when we were there then stopped when we left. I reported it to AT&T, to FL & to the FCC. I hope they caught the culprit.

[ALadysMom]

Originally Posted by mollypeanut

I agree 100% with the above!!
I had something happen, and I can only “assume” I hate that word.. But you tell me..
Back in March my son and his family visited we enjoyed breakfast at one of the country clubs.. It was my treat.. I have a CC that had no charges on it 0.00... this was on March 7th.. They returned home then the lockdown.. May I get a statement for April.. I have 2 charges for takeout from Chilpolti one for 129.00 one for 44.00.. My credit card is still in my pocket book!!! I have not left the house.. I called the credit card company they reversed the 129.00, I requested a new card.. I had to fight with them to remove the second charge..They said they could not trace the phone call..?
Please tell me how someone was able to use my credit card to order food over the phone? I had not used it other than at the county club that morning.. it was still in my pocketbook with me on lockdown.. No gas station, no groceries..

Sounds as if the waiter at the CC took a photo of your card then he/she used it to buy themselves lunch or they sold it on the dark web.Either way, a new card will stop new charges but I would report it to local police. The thief probably did it to other customers too.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by NY2TV

There is a fee to pay TECO by credit card. I use their budget plan and the direct debit to my checking account. Saves a stamp and I don't have to remember to pay them every month. Have done this with my utilities my entire adult life (as long as it has been available anyway). Never had a problem.

For companies who charge a fee to use a credit card, I set up email billing and make a manual electronic check payment myself every month. So far, I have never had to do business with any company who requires regular access to my checking account. Very risky.

The only company I allow to make monthly credit card charges is Xfinity Mobile, because they require all customers to use auto pay and they have a great cell phone deal. I refused to do business with Dean's landscaping because they require monthly credit card auto pay. So, I hired Massey instead.

[ALadysMom]

Originally Posted by davem4616

Thanks for the heads up

If they call me, I'm going to tell them that I don't have a credit card and they'll have to come see me and I'll give them either cash or a check (whichever they would like)....but I'm in and out, so they'll have to set a specific day and time. Then I'll have the police waiting.

Please don’t put yourself in harms way by meeting with them. Trying to outwit a crafty criminal isn’t a good idea.

[LG999]

I think it is safer to call the actual # on your statement or utility contract instead of the number provided.

[msilagy]

If people weren't still believing these calls the perpetrators would not be making them! Amazing!!!

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by ALadysMom

Sounds as if the waiter at the CC took a photo of your card then he/she used it to buy themselves lunch or they sold it on the dark web.Either way, a new card will stop new charges but I would report it to local police. The thief probably did it to other customers too.

That is what I was thinking.

[Stu from NYC]

I get calls for lowering credit card interest rate all the time and even pressing the opt out button does not help. Also for extended warranties for cars we do not own. Not to mention windows calls and tells me my computer is sending out viruses.

Someone suggested and like the idea of messing with these crooks.

See how long you can keep them on the phone. I walk around my house when doing this so getting exercise and fun at same time.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by mollypeanut

I agree 100% with the above!!
I had something happen, and I can only “assume” I hate that word.. But you tell me..
Back in March my son and his family visited we enjoyed breakfast at one of the country clubs.. It was my treat.. I have a CC that had no charges on it 0.00... this was on March 7th.. They returned home then the lockdown.. May I get a statement for April.. I have 2 charges for takeout from Chilpolti one for 129.00 one for 44.00.. My credit card is still in my pocket book!!! I have not left the house.. I called the credit card company they reversed the 129.00, I requested a new card.. I had to fight with them to remove the second charge..They said they could not trace the phone call..?
Please tell me how someone was able to use my credit card to order food over the phone? I had not used it other than at the county club that morning.. it was still in my pocketbook with me on lockdown.. No gas station, no groceries..

I never use a credit card in a restaurant where they take your card into another room. I pay cash. I think the banks should require their merchants to use a portable credit card machine for charges. I also have an alert set up to send me an email message whenever I make a credit card charge. These messages come within a few seconds after any charge is made.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

I get calls for lowering credit card interest rate all the time and even pressing the opt out button does not help. Also for extended warranties for cars we do not own. Not to mention windows calls and tells me my computer is sending out viruses.

Someone suggested and like the idea of messing with these crooks.

See how long you can keep them on the phone. I walk around my house when doing this so getting exercise and fun at same time.

I love those calls. Lots of fun. Something to do when you're retired.

[llmcdaniel]

When you hand your cc to the waiter, s/he takes it back to the register and quickly snaps picture of front and back of your card with cell phone. This info is quickly sold for about $25 to scammers who then call in orders on your card number. When it happened to us, a $1,500 charge for airline tickets to Paris showed up from Boston. Another couple of thousand dollars of Kroeger gift cards were purchased from Dallas, TX. Citi Bank immediately reversed the charges and issued new cards. They actually caught what was going on and called to ask if we had been to Boston and Dallas in past few days.������������������

[Scorpyo]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Thanks for the warning.

But, I don't think it is a good idea to give any company access to your checking account. If you have to use an auto pay system, it is much safer to allow automatic credit card charges. They are easier to track and can be disputed with your bank using the Federal protection rules.

I agree, however, there are some companies that don't accept credit cards such as Sumter Electric and our Villages Utilities and Amenities bill. They've been taking it directly from my checking account for the past 5 years with no problems. Everything else is on my credit card. The one thing I would strongly recommend is getting apps for your bank and credit cards on your cell phone. Check them daily - only takes a couple of minutes. Although like everything else in life it cannot totally eliminate risks, it can certain reduce them.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I love those calls. Lots of fun. Something to do when you're retired.

Enough of us waste their time and lots of them would find honest work to do. Or at least I would hope so

[kimgarwel12@gmail.com]

We also received a call from TECO after they took over Leesburg Gas after we moved to TV in May. The gentleman asked for my husband, refused to talk to me, and when he got my husband on the line, he said they needed to "finalize" our account and he needed my husband's date of birth and FULL SS #. My husband made some smart remark to him and hung up. I immediately sent an email to TECO alerting them to this practice and told them in no uncertain terms they would NOT be getting that info from us over the phone or otherwise! The next morning at 7:30, I received yet another phone call from TECO, from the same gentleman asking for the same info from my husband again. I was supposed to hear back from TECO with regard to my email as their canned reply indicated, but they never did follow up. Instead, I received an email to access my account using other methods than SS#. All is good now and the first bill has been paid. I also don't like giving any access to my checking account, so while I do online bill pay, I manage it monthly when it's convenient for me and when our income has cleared our account. This scamming business has gotten out of hand and apparently there's no way to fight it. VERY annoying and frustrating.