Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge in Spam, Scam and Phishbusters

Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge in Spam, Scam and Phishbusters http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r12737207 en Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:53:08 EDT Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:53:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13923327 funchords :

said by overwelmed

:

It seems as though the posters who are saying their bank won't refund them the money since it's under $50 may be right. According to the FCBA you are only responsible for unauthorized charges "up to $50". That wouldn't stop me from raising holy hell with my bank though.

No. Don't let your bank buffalo you!

Only if the card is lost or stolen AND the consumer failed to report it within (some time limit that I can't remember).

This does not apply to charges that appear on the statement that were not made by the consumer. Those have 60 days from the statement date to be reported in writing.

Further more, many banks have been advertising zero liability -- although terms and conditions may apply. Debit Cards aren't covered by the same laws as Credit Cards, but both Visa and Mastercard have set brand rules that the issuers must follow, offering at least the same consumer protections as the credit cards.

Do not accept these charges under any circumstances. If you have disputed in writing and a U.S.-based bank is not holding you harmless, contact the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency with a copy to the Office of the President of the offending bank. You will get a positive response.
--
Robb Topolski ;) http://www.funchords.com/ :D Hillsboro, Oregon USA
They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13923327 Mon, 18 Jul 2005 16:44:27 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13920209 algorithm :

said by overwelmed

:

Read the fine print on the back of your credit card statements before you start telling people they are wrong.

Re:Pluto charge again on new card

»www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fc..

It seems as though the posters who are saying their bank won't refund them the money since it's under $50 may be right. According to the FCBA you are only responsible for unauthorized charges "up to $50". That wouldn't stop me from raising holy hell with my bank though.

Those people need to dump the card that sticks them with the first $50 and get one that doesn't.
--
"Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana - 1905]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13920209 Mon, 18 Jul 2005 10:00:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13787636 i386 : There are many ways the charges could have happened to you... we'll need to see other merchants people have shopped at

1) Some crooks are randomly generating credit card numbers
2) One of the merchants is selling your card # (doubtful), or they have an EMPLOYEE that is doing it]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13787636 Fri, 01 Jul 2005 02:36:32 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13785927 anon : I just tried to pay directv with a prepaid credit card and was declined due to lack of money. I put the money on the card yesterday at 4:33 and the money from pluto data was deducted and 5:15. I only use this card to pay my husband's insurance with GMAC insurance, Virgin Mobile, Z-tel communications and Directv.

There is also a charge for e-music.com for 9.99 that we had not signed up for.

Glad to see that we are not alone and going to check my credit card balance online now at least once a day.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13785927 Thu, 30 Jun 2005 22:05:43 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13697447 anon : actually, had the same thing.. he is filipino, that's for sure. lots of related charges to mobius.ph etc, infophil, some other bs. I notice some of the charges to EU8885969279 were reversed but not all. taking it up with my bank. google search brought me here.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13697447 Sun, 19 Jun 2005 19:27:39 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13693146 i386 : What is the link? Yours came out like this:

»www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fc..

You will need to add "hxxp://". Replace "x" with "t". And also complete the part after "...".
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13693146 Sun, 19 Jun 2005 03:03:38 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13692295 overwelmed : Read the fine print on the back of your credit card statements before you start telling people they are wrong.

Re:Pluto charge again on new card

»www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fc..

It seems as though the posters who are saying their bank won't refund them the money since it's under $50 may be right. According to the FCBA you are only responsible for unauthorized charges "up to $50". That wouldn't stop me from raising holy hell with my bank though.

I've read about 90% of the pages in this thread and it seems pretty clear to me that Answer Quick was just the answering service. Is there any solid evidence that they are in on it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13692295 Sat, 18 Jun 2005 23:50:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13655707 i386 : well, we have new registration info.

   Robert Barnes (rjbarnes@rjb.net)
   +1.3107047072
   Fax: +1.3103389168
   6562 Firebrand St.
   Westchester, CA 90045
   US

rjb.net also has the same
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13655707 Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:18:00 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13646567 MGD : Unfortunately, additional charges made against the old card will rollover to the new one. However, something is wrong there, and the law (is on your side). They cannot charge late fees, finance charges etc on disputed charges and must resolve them in a specific timeframe. In addition, the witholding of payment on the disputed amounts cannot affect your credit rating.

Please review the following, and make sure you have documented the dispute in writing to them, after the phone calls.
Quote:

The Fair Credit Billing Act requires creditors to correct errors promptly and without damage to your credit rating.

A Case of Error? The law defines a billing error as any charge

• for something you didn't buy or for a purchase
by someone not authorized to use your account

• that is not properly identified on your bill or
is for an amount different from the actual
purchase price or was entered on a date
different from the purchase date

• for something that you did not accept on
delivery or that was not delivered according to
agreement.

Billing errors also include:

• errors in arithmetic

• failure to show a payment or other credit
to your account

• failure to mail the bill to your current
address, provided you told the creditor
about an address change at least 20 days
before the end of the billing period

• an item on your bill for which you need
more information.

In Case of Error. If you think your bill is wrong, or want more information about it, follow these steps:

1. Notify the creditor in writing within 60 days after the first bill was mailed that showed the error. Be sure to write to the address the creditor lists for billing inquiries and to tell the creditor

• your name and account number

• that you believe the bill contains an error
and why you believe it is wrong and

• the date and suspected amount of the error or
the item that you want explained.

2. Pay all parts of the bill that are not in dispute. But while waiting for an answer, you do not have to pay the amount in question (the disputed amount) or any minimum payments or finance charges that apply to it.

The creditor must acknowledge your letter within 30 days unless the problem can be resolved within that time. Within two billing periods, but in no case longer than 90 days, either your account must be corrected, or you must be told why the creditor believes that the bill is correct.

If the creditor made a mistake, you do not pay any finance charges on the disputed amount. Your account must be corrected, and you must be sent an explanation of any amount you still owe.

If no error is found, the creditor must send you an explanation of the reasons for that finding and promptly send a statement of what you owe, which may include any finance charges that have accumulated and any minimum payments you missed while you were questioning the bill. You then have the time usually given on your type of account to pay any balance.

3. If you still are not satisfied, you should notify the creditor in writing within the time allowed to pay your bill.

ref: »www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/cons···htm#bill

DOW]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13646567 Mon, 13 Jun 2005 12:38:31 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13643752 anon : Hello all.

I dont recall if this is the same message area i poste dbefore but my charge was in march. well, the pluto charge is still lurking. after doing the proper reporting, etc. i had my new card wit hnew number shipped. well, to my suprise i had 2 more pluto charges on the card and then called cap one. come to find out, they never even disputed it, they just let the "vendor" credit me back. i wasl ike, vendor? how can the fraudulent pluto credit me back? then i am now fighting cap one. i been hit with 3 late payment fees because i refuse to pay the pluto charges. i even have a letter from cap ones fraud dept saying i was frauded and they will credit all back to me. now they are saying other wise. besides getting a lawyer, who else can i report cap one to about this?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13643752 Sun, 12 Jun 2005 23:35:59 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13622161 Wyoming44 : I have not heard of that one! But, the lesson is read your statement and call the card company and request bogus charges be removed. Learn more at »www.ihatecreditcards.com.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13622161 Thu, 09 Jun 2005 23:31:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13618270 i386 : Any other ideas on how this may have happened?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13618270 Thu, 09 Jun 2005 15:02:38 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13591468 i386 : DD13 - I'd recommend registering and making a new topic :-) You don't need to register, you can post anonymously. Dispute the charges with your credit card company, and contact the three credit bureaus and have fraud alerts posted to your accounts. Cancel your credit card and get it reissued.
--
Best regards, Eddie]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13591468 Mon, 06 Jun 2005 15:39:09 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13544485 i386 : if they have another merchant account it may not be the same
--
Best regards, Eddie]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13544485 Tue, 31 May 2005 21:54:07 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13541237 etoast66 : It looks like a similar scam is now being reported in the Security forum. I wonder if its the same group or a copycat.

»Strange CC charge - disputed]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13541237 Tue, 31 May 2005 15:21:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13537868 i386 : I doubt anyone will know where the break-in was at, but... just watch your credit card statements.

And for your security, CANCEL YOUR CARDS WHEN YOU GET A FRAUDULENT CHARGE.
--
Best regards, Eddie]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13537868 Tue, 31 May 2005 03:22:33 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13338841 anon : Same here. i called my credit card company and they cotacted Pluto and Pluto credited by credited card.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13338841 Thu, 05 May 2005 17:32:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge Poss Busted http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13317998 markww : Wanted to let everyone know that the FBI Busted a guyt who had broken into SKYPE. NET and had stolen thousands upon Thosands of credit cards. He had broeken into the system for over 8 weeks started in Feburary on Valentines Day I have talked to Baton Rouge PD Investigators and sending them this information. The guy who broke in was 20 yrs old and had Puraches Brand new Coputers, and many many automatic weapons from Tek-92 to Sub Machine guns and Ak-47's. If you go to rip off reports and do a search on the right of the page top and put skype you will see how he broke in and the final disposition. This couls have also been a mail fowarding system setup and the man could have used Pluto. D Nicosia, but that was not on the report. The Skype system had been broken into for over 8 weeks, and even the president of Skype didnt know it till they got their security people involved and this kid was able to break through security systems. Including in the Bust was all his notes thousands of pages and cds full of credit card information.

Mark]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13317998 Tue, 03 May 2005 07:39:43 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13284656 anon : I never posted at the time, but back in March I did notice 2 charges from Pluto Nicosia on my Visa bank debit card and notified my bank that I knew nothing about the charges. My bank credited my account for the two amounts...19.99 and 29.99 and I also in see a credit was added from the company (Nicosia?) in April for the 29.99 charge. At the time I reported it to the bank I dumped that card and got a new number. Still wondering how and where my credit info was stolen though. In scanning some of the posts on this site I happened to see the offensive post about ordering porn etc. Never in my life. THAT made me extremely angry. lol I order things online only from department stores like Penney's, FTD florists, Amazon etc. At first I thought about ceasing all online purchasing activity but who's to say this originated online? Couldn't it have just as easily been an "in house" theaft too? With paper reciepts or records involved? I don't know. Sheesh. Should we all go back to paying with cash and keeping our money under our mattresses? lol I hate theives. Slime. Lazy, corrupt, slime. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13284656 Thu, 28 Apr 2005 19:31:47 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13276584 anon : I also realize the Pluto Data scam is probably over, with no real answers, but I appreciate everyone's help, support, info, and time in commenting in this website. It helped me vent. And thanks to Bob Sullivan @MSNBC for giving it the first media coverage. Does anyone think this will ever be known as to how we got scammed or will it just become ashes?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13276584 Wed, 27 Apr 2005 20:31:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13276521 anon : I realized this when I got the product and opted out of the automatic shipments before they could start. I got the link from Oprah's website and decided to try it. But thanks for the warning. I've got my guard up....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13276521 Wed, 27 Apr 2005 20:24:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13272659 SOLdesign :

said by Kip patterson

:

IMX Hydroderm is an outfit that supplies skin creams. A sample is free, but you are billed $3.95 for shipping and handling, for which you have to provide a credit card, cvv2 code, billing address, and year of birth.

A quick Google will show what this person posts is accurate - when you get the sample you are enrolled in an autoship program, and they will ship additional product and bill you for it.

In other words, a scam.

I guess my point was instead of putting this post in the 57th page of a Pluto Data section, maybe create a topic describing this actual scam and what happened. His post was very vague about who or what this was or how it was related to Pluto Data. Thanks for the additional info...
--
-Why don't you just Xanadu yourself right into the police car sir? Well, why don't you just Xanadont! - Reno 911]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13272659 Wed, 27 Apr 2005 12:55:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13272625 Kip patterson : IMX Hydroderm is an outfit that supplies skin creams. A sample is free, but you are billed $3.95 for shipping and handling, for which you have to provide a credit card, cvv2 code, billing address, and year of birth.

A quick Google will show what this person posts is accurate - when you get the sample you are enrolled in an autoship program, and they will ship additional product and bill you for it.

In other words, a scam.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13272625 Wed, 27 Apr 2005 12:51:39 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13271946 SOLdesign :

said by arji:

:mad:Be careful the charge from IMX*HYDRODERM when you purchasing the sample. You credit card will be automatically charged lots of amount.

what sample? how does this relate to Pluto?
--
-Why don't you just Xanadu yourself right into the police car sir? Well, why don't you just Xanadont! - Reno 911]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13271946 Wed, 27 Apr 2005 11:25:20 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13265321 anon : :mad:Be careful the charge from IMX*HYDRODERM when you purchasing the sample. You credit card will be automatically charged lots of amount.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13265321 Tue, 26 Apr 2005 15:44:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13235297 Kip patterson : Mastercard and Visa were hit. There seems to be no pattern as to what issuers or where the cards were used, at least none disclosed so far.

Neither American Express nor Discover were hit, likely because of the different way those two issuers work. They create merchant accounts directly, whereas Mastercard and Visa work through banks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13235297 Fri, 22 Apr 2005 16:06:40 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13235104 anon : I'm curious to see what credit cards were not hit. If you have multiple cards and one got hit and one didn't; which cards are "safe"?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13235104 Fri, 22 Apr 2005 15:37:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13231513 anon : :(

I did not check my statements until today, 65 days after the charge on 2/15 for 39.99 on my BOA Visa from the pluto people, Is there any hope for me? I got the address to file a dispute. But I'm really mad that the fraud dept. that obviously knew about this in March didn't think to let its other customers know about the problem. That would have been nice.

I cancelled the card anyway.

Does anyone else have T-Mobile -- another site suggested there might be a connection.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13231513 Fri, 22 Apr 2005 01:31:05 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13225879 anon : I have a charge for 19.99 on my Master Card. Will call to stop it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13225879 Thu, 21 Apr 2005 14:03:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13174317 anon : Just got my credit card statement and had Pluto data charge of $39.99 on the 6th of March, found this site, contacted my bank, looks like it as spread to Australia as thats where i am.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13174317 Thu, 14 Apr 2005 22:52:13 EDT Re: GM Mastercard breach http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13169033 DyerUser :

said by Kip patterson

:

The "unnamed retailer" is Polo Ralph Lauren, per the WSJ.

And according to the BusinessWeek write-up on this I was wrong to surmise it is related to Pluto Data. The article says:

MasterCard said in a statement that it was informed of a 
possible security breach "of transaction data associated 
with a U.S.-based retailer" in January 2005 and had launched
an investigation immediately. The statement said banks that
are members of the card association were notified.
.
.
.
HSBC's Cohen said the bank did not yet know if the thieves 
had used any of the data they got.

Both a January notification and not knowing if the data were used would argue against a Pluto Data link.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13169033 Thu, 14 Apr 2005 12:53:09 EDT Re: GM Mastercard breach http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13167545 Kip patterson : The "unnamed retailer" is Polo Ralph Lauren, per the WSJ.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13167545 Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:41:49 EDT Re: GM Mastercard breach http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13167528 DyerUser :

said by JoshNJ

:

Pluto charged both visa and mastercard, and wasn't only gm branded cards with pluto

Correct. However, MasterCard fraud would have done its own investigation and if it found something, it would have then contacted appropriate issuers.

I was not suggesting that it only hit GM Mastercard users. What I was suggesting is that it could be that this is GM Mastercard's issuer finding out about the fraud from Mastercard.

If you read the CNN article, you will note that it says that "information may have been open to compromise when [consumers] shopped with an undisclosed retailer." So, that would hardly make it unique to GM Mastercards, it's just that GM Mastercard apparently has a policy of notifying its customers when a major breach like this occurs. It appears that most don't.

This may well be unrelated, but the time frame of March is right for an investigation into the Pluto Data scam--as is the recommendation to change your card.

For what it's worth, I have a GM Mastercard. I did not receive any Pluto Data charges and I have yet to receive any letter from GM Mastercard. Of course, if less than .1% of the letters have gone out, I still have a chance.

This is the first time that I have ever heard of a credit card company sending out a mass mailing recommending that cards be changed.

Since the article implies that it is a problem with an unnamed retailer, we should be hearing about this from more card issuers going forward.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13167528 Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:39:58 EDT Re:Pluto charge again on new card http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13167352 anon : Missing the point!!!!!!! I would not contact Pluto anyway since they are overseas and my phone bill would probably rack up to the same amount I originally lost from them.

The point of the discussion that I responded to was if Answer Quick knew or was involved in the Pluto scam. The operators saying one thing and then not being able to back it up when questioned and hanging up in your ear does not make any sense. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13167352 Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:11:12 EDT Re: GM Mastercard breach http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13164896 JoshNJ :

said by DyerUser

:

GM Mastercard customers

Pluto charged both visa and mastercard, and wasn't only gm branded cards with pluto
--
I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13164896 Wed, 13 Apr 2005 22:37:04 EDT GM Mastercard breach http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13163507 DyerUser : »money.cnn.com/2005/04/13/news/fo···?cnn=yes

CNN is reporting on a breach of 187,000 GM Mastercard customers who shopped at an unnamed merchant. It has this to say, which makes me think it may be related to the Pluto Data scam:

HSBC said it was notified by MasterCard's Fraud
Management Department in March about the breach, but 
was not provided with details on the unnamed retailer.

Fraud department id'd it sometime in March and it hit thousands. May be unrelated.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13163507 Wed, 13 Apr 2005 20:07:20 EDT Re:Pluto charge again on new card http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13153117 catseyenu : Sounds like easy money to me, maybe we should all get in on it.
/sarcasm
The more I learn how half assed the credit industry is about security and customer protection the madder I get.:mad:
--
"Parched, dry and thirsty... Knee deep in the river of life."]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13153117 Tue, 12 Apr 2005 17:45:19 EDT Re:Pluto charge again on new card http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13152046 Kip patterson : Once again, Answerquick did not have any direct access to the Pluto merchant account. When you call them, or any other similar service, all they can do is look in the seller's order database and leave a request for the reversal of charges.

Obviously, Pluto never had any intent of processing any of those reversals. Answerquick was in the picture just to make the scam last a little longer. One merchant bank found them out and shut them down in three weeks. Another shut them down until contacted by the card company, so they go about a five week run there. Each extra day means more money for Pluto.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13152046 Tue, 12 Apr 2005 15:42:32 EDT Re:Pluto charge again on new card http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13151907 JoshNJ :

said by BB72:

Why tell people that they will contact Pluto to reverse the charges right AFTER saying they have no contact info for Pluto.

Generally answering services do not give out contact info for the businesses they are answering calls for, probably is in their contract that they can't give out info. Just because pluto may be doing something illegal, doesn't necessarily mean answer quick can break the terms of their contract, besides, them giving you contact information wouldn't do any good, if pluto is wrongly charging people, you calling them yourself won't do any good.
--
I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13151907 Tue, 12 Apr 2005 15:26:03 EDT Re:Pluto charge again on new card http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13151849 anon : There was some discussion further back that most of the operators at Answer Quick are just college kids. I am sure these kids are not involved directly but whoever is running the show at Answer Quick is. Why tell people that they will contact Pluto to reverse the charges right AFTER saying they have no contact info for Pluto. What happens when people question that, they hang up on you.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13151849 Tue, 12 Apr 2005 15:19:09 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13148893 anon : Hi,

I have also got ripped off by thedownloadplace.com....I can't find a number by which to call them, where did you get yours?

Thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13148893 Tue, 12 Apr 2005 07:56:30 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13145901 panmus : I went to my Bank today. I thought there were two charges but one was the charge and the second was the refund. It looks like the Fraud Investigation division of Chase bank had seen this charge before I did and reversed it.

I took the news clippings one of the participants provided to the bank and they were surprised at the extent of this scam. They are going to alert their customers about this scam. I really thank all the people who participated on this bulletin board and provided the information.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13145901 Mon, 11 Apr 2005 20:50:52 EDT Re:Pluto charge again on new card http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13144006 internetlol2 : »www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fcb.htm

It seems as though the posters who are saying their bank won't refund them the money since it's under $50 may be right. According to the FCBA you are only responsible for unauthorized charges "up to $50". That wouldn't stop me from raising holy hell with my bank though.

I've read about 90% of the pages in this thread and it seems pretty clear to me that Answer Quick was just the answering service. Is there any solid evidence that they are in on it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13144006 Mon, 11 Apr 2005 17:04:28 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13138141 panmus : I just returned from a two week vacation and saw my bank statement. I have two charges, one on March 11th and another one on March 29. I called the Quick Call and they told me that they were only the answering service and they had been with the Pluto Data for only one week. Reading the complaints in the "Broadband" I see, Quick Call has been answering for Pluto even in November of 2004. If Pluto was their customer for only one week, how is this possible? If so many people have been complaining since fourth quarter of 2004, how come nobody took action even after 6 months (I got a charge on March 29 the you know!)?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13138141 Sun, 10 Apr 2005 22:00:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13117847 Kip patterson : Some days I eat at Wendy's; each Wednesday. though, I eat lunch at a restaurant across the street from Wndy's headquarters.

What does that have to do with this fraud? A considerable amount, it turns out.

Wendy's has been plagued by an allegation that a woman bit down on a human finger in a bowl of their chili. Wendy's did not run and hide from this allegation - they faced it squarely and publicly, offering a $50,000 reward for the person who identified the source of the finger.

In the news this morning you wll read that the police got a warrant to search the property of the alleged victim, and it looks like Wendy's will be vindicated.

AnswerQuick, are you listening, or do you still have your head in the sand???]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13117847 Fri, 08 Apr 2005 05:09:25 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13117138 anon : that little 30 dollar charge put my account out of balance u see some ppl live pay check to paycheck bc there r no jobs in their crappy little redneck towns so when they took that 30 dollars the put everything out of balance when i had other things that needed to clear. ummm duh how else would that have happened]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13117138 Fri, 08 Apr 2005 01:14:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13113626 bearbear505 : Nope. i have the original that was fwd to the new account as listed and then the new charge listed, however ending with a zero after, nicosia0. I called and they (visa cc co) didnt understand it either. new card is coming soon. I had my Boa card put on security hold and they notified me that the nicosia charge was attempted, but wasnt since i was in the process of canceling the card and getting a new account for safety reasons. i thought at first it was the fwd charge but then noticed the new charge. beats me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13113626 Thu, 07 Apr 2005 18:30:23 EDT Re:Pluto charge again on new card http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13113546 Kip patterson : I think you will find that the bank forwarded the charge to the new card. My bank tells me they do that and nothing can be done about it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13113546 Thu, 07 Apr 2005 18:20:08 EDT Re:Pluto charge again on new card http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13113510 bearbear505 : Well, I was charged again, got a new visa, never been used or given out to merhcants. cc company says theyll immediatly mark it as fraudulant like the old charge but makes me wonder. cancelled that card, awaiting for a new one.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13113510 Thu, 07 Apr 2005 18:15:36 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13111783 ErinV : I am a local news television producer in Washington DC and I am looking for consumers in the Washington, DC "Metro Area" who had charges illegally posted from Pluto Data on the credit card.

Please post a reply if you are interested in working with me on this story?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13111783 Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:13:50 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13111633 anon : i just got a credit, automatically with respect to a charge for 29.99 earlier this month.
at the advice of my financial institution, i cancelled my card and requested a new one.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13111633 Thu, 07 Apr 2005 13:49:38 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13106259 anon : I have the same charge on my debit card also. All you need to do is call 888-596-9279 and explain to them that fraud was committed, and they will refund you your $100.

-Richard]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13106259 Wed, 06 Apr 2005 20:45:54 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13088647 DrTCP : This scam also covered by Clark Howard:

»clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2005/03/29.html

Scroll to the end of the page.

(Clark has a consumer empowerment show on radio)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13088647 Mon, 04 Apr 2005 21:20:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13085452 anon : Got me too. My bank had already had another complaint and recognized the scam. They immediatly reversed the charges canceled my card and issued another. Pass the word about this one a lot of people are getting hit.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13085452 Mon, 04 Apr 2005 14:47:47 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13080890 algorithm :

said by overwelmed

:

Keep in mind some card holders cannot get their money back from this charge because the amount isn't large enough. My Visa card will not refund any disputes under $50.

That's not legal under the Federal Fair Credit Billing Act. As long as you report the amount in a timely manner, they must reverse the charge.

Are you confusing this with a policy that stipulates that you are responsible for up to $50 if you don't report the fraud in a timely manner?
--
"Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana - 1905]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13080890 Sun, 03 Apr 2005 22:08:41 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13080845 algorithm :

said by passowrd:

Got ripped off too. Saw a charge of $29.99 on my Visa. Called the 800 number and would only get a busy signal. This sucks! Called my bank, and though they can't remove the charge, they cancelled my card and issued a new one. These Pluto people need to go down hard!!

Demand they remove the charge; "The Federal Fair Credit Billing Act sets up procedures requiring creditors to promptly credit your payments and correct billing mistakes, and allows you to withhold payments on defective goods."

The Act further defines "billing mistakes" to include items charged which you, or an authorized person, did not purchase. As long as you report it within 60 days, the bank must reverse the charge until and unless the the vendor provides proof of its validity.
--
"Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana - 1905]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13080845 Sun, 03 Apr 2005 22:04:19 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13078357 anon : I also had the 29.99 charge on 3.9.05 from Pluto D Nicosia Cy. I did not catch it right away and actually did not find out until my bank called me about other charges on my account. I have disputed the charges and been refunded the 29.99 but now have a laundry list of other charges popping up on my account. Phytoray, I M A Healt I M A Healtheline europe mold GB and MANY MORE. The bank has canceled the card and it has gone to the fraud department.

Other general info:
I'm in Colorado
Visa Debit - Credit Union]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13078357 Sun, 03 Apr 2005 15:31:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13077038 anon : I got the same charge on my card on march 15 for 29.99. I went to my bank canceled the card and the bank gave me the money back. I was checking my bank account and found that CkCd 888-323-8955 PL COSIA had refunded the 29.99 back to me on March 31.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13077038 Sun, 03 Apr 2005 11:51:53 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13073908 sailor :

said by BB72:

I am not sure if this has been posted yet and is a different situation than pluto data but I thought I would post it here anyway.

Be aware of emails being sent out from Paypal telling you to click on the link given or your Paypal account will close or expire. This is not a legit Paypal Admin email. Delete it immediately.

Anyone who uses Pay Pal should know that any email officially from Pay Pal starts off addressing them by their REAL NAME as they registered it with Pay Pal...If anyone with a Pay Pal account receives a email that says from Pay Pal but DOES NOT address them by their real name should immediately know it's NOT from Pay Pal and is Bogus.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13073908 Sat, 02 Apr 2005 20:48:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13072841 anon : I am not sure if this has been posted yet and is a different situation than pluto data but I thought I would post it here anyway.

Be aware of emails being sent out from Paypal telling you to click on the link given or your Paypal account will close or expire. This is not a legit Paypal Admin email. Delete it immediately. There are also some going around from Regions Bank that says something similar. I am not even a Regions Bank customer. I am on the same boat as the rest of you and would love to strangle the people behind this stuff. The best way to get back at these people sending the emails is to delete them ASAP.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13072841 Sat, 02 Apr 2005 18:01:20 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13068759 anon : Disregard that last post. I just re-read my statement and it would seem I was a little gunshy. It appears VISA was just getting around to reversing the earlier charge. I saw the name and totally missed it being a credit rather than a charge..... Show me gunshy about my cards now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13068759 Sat, 02 Apr 2005 02:53:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13068702 anon : Okay,

Now I'm really mad. I cancelled all my cards, got new ones issued. I didn't use the new card on-line, or access my account on-line and yet I now find a new charge that just showed up on 1 April, transaction date 22 march for Pluto D $29.99 I only used the card once, and that was on 21 March at my local Best Buy. How could VISA allow this to happen? Luckily, they're open tomorrow, and I'm heading down there to tell them what I think.....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13068702 Sat, 02 Apr 2005 02:36:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13067900 overwelmed : Keep in mind some card holders cannot get their money back from this charge because the amount isn't large enough. My Visa card will not refund any disputes under $50. I wonder if Pluto D counted on that. I got the charge last Feb. on my debit card and just finally got my money back from my bank a few weeks ago. I've switched banks but supposedly my old bank is still investigating it and could come back at me for the $29.99. This ordeal was mostly just a HUGE hassle in dealing with Bank of the West. When I first reported it they ignored it and didn't even cancel the card. After two weeks I went in to the branch to question the progress only to find out nothing was ever reported. I was then reprimanded for irresponsible use of my card and treated like I was the one that was stealing. After proving to the all-knowing teller that it was obviously fraud, she let me sign an afidavidt. I'm very curious to find out who this Pluto Data is, they shed some light on how Bank of the West treats their customers.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13067900 Fri, 01 Apr 2005 23:57:18 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13061773 Bink63 :

Call your bank back, or better yet, go into a branch and insist on doing a chargeback!

If the bank gives you a hassle, post back and we can give you some more options on how to proceed at that point.

;)

Regards,

Randy
--
Just my .02alt0162 worth!
Legacy Consulting ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13061773 Fri, 01 Apr 2005 11:30:42 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13061505 anon : Got ripped off too. Saw a charge of $29.99 on my Visa. Called the 800 number and would only get a busy signal. This sucks! Called my bank, and though they can't remove the charge, they cancelled my card and issued a new one. These Pluto people need to go down hard!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13061505 Fri, 01 Apr 2005 11:00:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13057614 algorithm :

said by Upset:

I was charged 39.99 then refunded 29.99 - where's the other $10.00? I can't get thru to the toll free number! This is ridiculous!

You should be disputing the entire charge through your own bank and not trying to deal with the people who are trying to steal from you (or their supposed innocent agent).

Your bank will charge the item back to the first bank in the transaction (the one Pluto used) and demand proof that the charge is valid. If Pluto fails to provide proof (and they will since all these charges are fraudulent) you won't hear any more about it.

The junior g-man method of going after them yourself is unnecessary, time consuming and ultimately frustrating.

Let your bank handle it; and if they won't, contact your state banking regulator and then get a new bank.
--
"Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana - 1905]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13057614 Thu, 31 Mar 2005 21:38:33 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13057468 anon : found another article:

»209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1373159/posts ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13057468 Thu, 31 Mar 2005 21:24:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13057210 holmantp : It seems the local paper is starting to become aware that this is going on.
»www.avpress.com/n/31/0331_s3.hts

Was front page today, even if below the fold.
--
Tim]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13057210 Thu, 31 Mar 2005 20:57:25 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13051842 hbreg :

said by JoshNJ

said by madashll:

um josh that one little 30 dollar fee as u put it cost me 140 dollars in overdraft fees

How could a single $30 charge cause you to have $140 in overdraft charges? That doesn't sound right.

Josh depending on when the charges hit the account and what order they hit it is possible they all bounced and incurred the charges. So when the first overdraft charge hits the account is now off another $35 or so on top of the $30 Pluto charge. It snowballs from there.
--
I try to keep an open mind, but not so open that my brains fall out. -- Judge Harold T. Stone]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13051842 Thu, 31 Mar 2005 10:14:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13051365 anon : I was charged 39.99 then refunded 29.99 - where's the other $10.00? I can't get thru to the toll free number! This is ridiculous!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13051365 Thu, 31 Mar 2005 08:54:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13047776 markww : I also have notified the FBI AND US SECRET SERVICE. I have some information for you to look at concerning your computer too. I live in Houston, and was also hit for Skype.net and Pluto. Short of it is I think it is about the 1.5 million accounts that were compromised from BOA. As to your computer if you use windows,xp or ME, look in the icon double click the icon that says My Network Connections. SEE if there is a unknown folder in it with a globe that may be from a college like collins.est.ed. Or one that is in there bseides your network connections. About the same time the scam was going on with Skype and Pluto I had a college Collins.est.edu located in Denmark trying to break into my pots, on my cmputer. This was happening on my firewall program,and they were tryingto add files to my connections so i beleive this may have been a way they could open a internet connection to the outside world.I would also run Spybot search and destory or adaware and see if you have any Keylogger programs in your system,and or look in the logs if you already have that and see if they show any information. I helped a lady get 80 dollars back from a coledge that was calling computers all over america.

I run A new firewall program too which is free and works.Its Called sygate.

I am awaiting for the FBI and Secret Service to call me back so I can give them the new info as to the college trying to break into my system.

SO far Denmark and Cypress is in the lost of things. Pluto D Nicosia is also the city name in cypress called NICOSIA CYPRESS Alqueda is based there too,This could have been a terror attack on the infrastructure. Will do what I can to help nail these people. ALSO INTERPOL ARRESTED 35 hackers 1 to 2 weeks ago trying to break into the BANK OF LONDON and put key logging rpograms into their computer systems so they could break into every transaction and acvcount. These could be some of the same people too
Mark]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13047776 Wed, 30 Mar 2005 20:33:33 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13046498 markww : ALSO FOLKS anyone get hit 4 times last month or so in their accounts for SKYPE.NET Located in London England. Interpol busted a group of hackers there could be how they used the internet to make telephone calls to banks through the internet,from Cypress and or from a school named collins.est.edu

Mark]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13046498 Wed, 30 Mar 2005 18:09:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13046460 markww : See is anyone has a folder in their my network connections from a unknown school or university.Pluto D Nicosia took out funds from Me through Bank of America in Phoenix Az and purchased in Phoenix ukn Cd-s I got my refund.

BOA has their credit card processing system in Phoeniz too. Bank of America accounts were compromised 2 months ago as well as choicepoint.

Interpol busted a group of hackers trying to put in key logging software in the Bank Of England. Search your logs in Adaware / Spybot and others to see if you had a key logger install a file in your MY NETWORK CONNECTIONS. Also add this info, anyone have anything from Collins.est.edu in their systems.

There is a computer lab system located in Cypress in Nicosia Cypress.
Mark]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13046460 Wed, 30 Mar 2005 18:05:49 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13046206 JoshNJ :

said by madashll:

um josh that one little 30 dollar fee as u put it cost me 140 dollars in overdraft fees

How could a single $30 charge cause you to have $140 in overdraft charges? That doesn't sound right.
--
I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13046206 Wed, 30 Mar 2005 17:43:00 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13042713 SOLdesign :

said by madashll:

um josh that one little 30 dollar fee as u put it cost me 140 dollars in overdraft fees because it put my checking balance off so just becasue they only took 30 dollars doesnt mean that is all you are out.

demand the bank refund the money. its your right, the charge was not valid. you might want to get overdraft protection
--
-Why don't you just Xanadu yourself right into the police car sir? Well, why don't you just Xanadont! - Reno 911]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13042713 Wed, 30 Mar 2005 10:39:19 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13041618 Kip patterson : Well, there are two ways of dealing with adverse news. The first is Answerquick's, which is to hide your head in the sand and turn it over to your attorneys. Unfortunately, this leaves your butt sticking up in the air. They remind me of the airlines, who early on dealt with crashes by hiring a local farmer to go out and whitewash over the airline's name.

For comparison, see Wnedy's handing of the recent incident in which a human thumb was found in their chili. They acknowledged it and dealt with it. Far more professional, and far better for their image.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13041618 Wed, 30 Mar 2005 07:31:21 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13041313 anon : um josh that one little 30 dollar fee as u put it cost me 140 dollars in overdraft fees because it put my checking balance off so just becasue they only took 30 dollars doesnt mean that is all you are out.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13041313 Wed, 30 Mar 2005 04:48:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13039415 anon : ok get this people i went to answer quicks website and i cant stop laughing listen to this it is a direct quote from their website: Answer Quick has a proven track record of steady growth by providing long term solutions for its customers both large and small. Lmfao what long term solutions poverty. part of their industires include law enforcement agencies..... really i wonder how they would feel to know that this company is part of a scam to steal people's money. i mean come on these people have got to be joking because it is laughable. i mean who did they get to write this terrific load of tripe. im sorry has to be the same people that tell us what the government is doing lately that is the only people i know of that are experts at writing crap and making it smell like daisies. i still cant quit laughing]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13039415 Tue, 29 Mar 2005 23:17:38 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13039209 anon : if your boss isnt guilty why wouldnt he call me back. i left a message with your general manager a week ago still no word from the notorious Jerry Long of Answer Quick. I want answers that only your boss can give us if he isnt involved with this scam then he should give us the information about pluto data and let us decide what to do with it. use your brain employee God gave it to you for a reason if he wasnt guilty he would get on this thread and post all the info about pluto data. Im sorry but if i was head of your company and found out that one of the companies i work for is a scam and people are getting their money stolen i would do everything in my power to make sure all info i had on the company was out in the open i would put it on the net and on tv and on the radio what are they going to do about it. think about it is pluto data really going to come out of hiding to sue your company for leaking private info i think not. we all want to know and im finding it rather odd that your boss wont tell anyone who these people are and how to contact them. but then again that is only one persons opinion on the subject. maybe you should ask the rest of these hard working people if they agree because im pretty confident that they all do.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13039209 Tue, 29 Mar 2005 22:56:42 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13038971 anon : yes i can see where you would think that however the simple fact of the matter is simply this compare your visa card number with that of friends visa cards at least the first 8 to 12 numbers are exactly the same so think about it if you wanted to make a lot of money quickly which is exactly how these kind of people think all you would have to do is guess at the last 4 to 8 numbers and with so many credit cards in this country it wouldnt be hard to figure out that just about every sequence of numbers will work. So i still see a problem with your theory. It doesnt make any sense these people want to get rich quick(excuse the cliche).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13038971 Tue, 29 Mar 2005 22:31:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13033657 Bink63 :

said by internetkruizer

:

.........Curious about this,Could a Bar Code Scanner in say a Central Post Office scan these numbers thur the envelope?????????????????????

No, not without extensive, noticeable modifications.

Something like that would have to have taken place at the factory.

Considering the 2 biggest manufacturers of postal mail sorters are government defense contractors, the chances of that happening range between slim and none!

Regards,

Randy
--
Just my .02alt0162 worth!
Legacy Consulting ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13033657 Tue, 29 Mar 2005 12:41:21 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13033361 anonemouse1 : I was interviewed my ABC WQAD in the Quad Cities, IL/IA Channel 8 several days ago...they ran the piece on the 6 o'clock news but it never made it to the web page...I was hoping it would for more people to see/notice, but I did what I wanted to do - get the word out to check your statements.

No other problems/charges here yet...I keep watching!

Michele]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13033361 Tue, 29 Mar 2005 12:07:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13032169 anon : mine is a debit card, yes i use paypal and amazon and have just started using itunes..any connection there? hmmmm]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13032169 Tue, 29 Mar 2005 08:45:27 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13031992 internetkruizer : .........Curious about this,Could a Bar Code Scanner in say a Central Post Office scan these numbers thur the envelope?????????????????????
--
Welcome to »www.shineintl.org/ and »www.blacklion.us]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13031992 Tue, 29 Mar 2005 07:54:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13030269 ZOverLord :

said by madashll:

yes but here is the problem with your theory. first off some banks do not require those three numbers on the back for a transaction to take place. secondly i have had my card for ten years do you honestly believe these "inside" people compiled those numbers for ten years and more and if they did why didnt they freeze some of the checking accounts and take the lot of it. just some questions from your statements. believe me i want these people caught just as much as u do. because of these people i dont have enough money to pay bills this month. luckily i live in a small town and the companies understand this happens. just thought u might want to know that some of these cards are older than some of our kids and that it is not likely to be an inside job however it is still possible

I think you completely missed my point, the AGE of your card has little to do with an INSIDE job.

Very Many Banks, no common source, some people claim that the CVV on the back of their card was included in the transaction.

This is WHY I believe it was an inside job at the card ISSUERS. Think of 911 there were many planes and airports involved, when it happened, it happened all at once.

If it was an Inside Job at Visa and Master Card, well, all the parties involved only needed to hold onto their data until the right moment and then and only then, start creating fraudulent transactions.

After all, these people knew that the fraudulent Merchant account would be shut down quickly ("Not Quickly enough").

Timing is everything in these frauds, you collect information, when you feel you have enough, you go for it.

I can tell you many past situations, where this is SOP ("Standard Operating Procedure"). ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13030269 Mon, 28 Mar 2005 23:51:41 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13030214 anon : It hit me March 1st, and the charge was alongside an expensive international call which i made while in Europe.
I wouldn't have noticed it, but thank goodness i had two us dollar charges which were absurd and converted at different rates.
My bank is on top of it now as well.
I will join the fight against this Pluto Data organization, but the reality of it scares me. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13030214 Mon, 28 Mar 2005 23:43:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13027826 anon : yes but here is the problem with your theory. first off some banks do not require those three numbers on the back for a transaction to take place. secondly i have had my card for ten years do you honestly believe these "inside" people compiled those numbers for ten years and more and if they did why didnt they freeze some of the checking accounts and take the lot of it. just some questions from your statements. believe me i want these people caught just as much as u do. because of these people i dont have enough money to pay bills this month. luckily i live in a small town and the companies understand this happens. just thought u might want to know that some of these cards are older than some of our kids and that it is not likely to be an inside job however it is still possible]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13027826 Mon, 28 Mar 2005 18:54:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13024079 anon : My citibank card has two charges in Feb. 2/14 (39.99) and 2/17 (19.99). Card cancelled, fraud dept. notified.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13024079 Mon, 28 Mar 2005 11:06:20 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13023436 anon : i will tell ya what the bigger banks do they lose your dispute claim form and take the longest time ever to give u your money back well at least navy federal c.u. does anyways]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13023436 Mon, 28 Mar 2005 08:58:35 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13020351 anon : oops not the same thing....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13020351 Sun, 27 Mar 2005 20:01:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13020338 anon : first time for discover card???]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13020338 Sun, 27 Mar 2005 19:59:18 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13019825 Bethums : I just received my March MasterCard statement and there was the $29.99 charge. Just so happens that this is the card I use for my ebay/PayPal purchases. I was alerted to possible unauthorized activity when DiscoverCard said someone was trying to charge $1000 to that card. Two accounts compromised and two cards cancelled. Also, DiscoverCard placed a fraud alert on my credit and I have received letters from all 3 credit reporting companies stating that there is a 90 watch on all my accounts.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13019825 Sun, 27 Mar 2005 18:38:00 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13018483 anon : Guess what people. You're not the only ones. My CITI credit card got hit for $19.99 and printed the number 18883238955 in the billing detail as a contact number for them. The only problem is, when you call that number you only get a fast busy signal.....this entity and those behind it...look like they should be shut down! Good luck to all affected.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13018483 Sun, 27 Mar 2005 14:47:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13018206 catseyenu : Sounds like BOA is trying to pass the buck onto unsuspecting customers...
Makes me suspect they are in trouble financially or trying to limit pending large losses.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13018206 Sun, 27 Mar 2005 14:10:46 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13017704 anon : My card was issued by Fleet, but now after merge it's BofA's card. I called BofA twice yesterday, and the second time the representative also said that I should contact merchandiser first. But after I asked her to look at the MSNBC article (gave her URL), she immediately said that my card will be cancelled and a new one will be sent in 10 business days.
BTW I never used this card for online or any other kind of purchases, only used it for balance transfer at the time it was issued which was almost a year ago.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13017704 Sun, 27 Mar 2005 13:01:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13016109 AdelphiaKill : OHUYET, what bank issued the card? It's standard practice for them to say that you need to contact the merchant that posted the charge but seriously folks, they really should know about Pluto Data by now. My BOA removed the charge after my second call to them (after trying to contact Pluto Data) and sent me an affidavit form to fill out and either fax or mail. I filled it out and tried to fax it but it was busy every time I called so I mailed it. This Friday I received another affidavit from BOA stating that they had not received the first one and that they were going to reapply the Pluto Data charges April 8th. I filled out the second form and faxed it back to them along with a print out of a Google Search of "Pluto Data". Are there any actual humans working at these banks or just robots and computers? There definitely needs to be some kind of "clearinghouse" for the consumer to report these frauds and to get immediate action to be taken. The banks do not seem to care.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13016109 Sun, 27 Mar 2005 07:49:59 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13014748 anon : I received bank statement today for the card which I only used once for balance transfer (almost a year ago when received this card), and guess what - I found $29.99 charge from PLUTO D NICOSIA CY! I called the bank to report fraudulent charge and they say that I should first contact the merchandiser! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13014748 Sat, 26 Mar 2005 23:45:04 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13012137 anon : Just for the record, I live in Ukiah, CA and I as well just today received a "PLUT:o" charge for $29.95 from March 15, 2005 on my cc statement:huh:. I closed off that cc and reordered- what everyone should do first- and will make the necessary reports suggested throughout some of these threads. KEEP CHARGING!!;)
Koko]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13012137 Sat, 26 Mar 2005 17:13:25 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13004343 sitsinwest : I find your post interesting. Sometime over a year ago my bank (B of A) issued to me a new CC account in place of my existing one. There was no explanation, I didn't request it, and my old card had yet to expire. It is most likely a coincidence but it is interesting all the same.
--
My Home Page

Behold the superfluous. They are always sick. They vomit their gall and call it a newspaper. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche 1844-1900]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13004343 Fri, 25 Mar 2005 16:42:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13003765 anon : well.....another victim (for a moment anyway) i noticed the same charge- today. mine was only for $19.99. I immediately call the number on the charge (888-323-8955) and it rang quick busy. I called 3 times. Maybe this one is fizzling out and they'll be starting a new one (possibly the fun & sun mentioned?)Then I called my cc company. They started the dispute process, I read them some of these postings, which they then placed my account in lost/stolen status with an immediate reverse of the charges. It is now in their hands. I don't know what the larger credit card companies are like to work with, ours is smaller bank and they were quick and understanding and the entire phone call took less than 15 minutes. I watch all my cards closely. having them paid off monthly helps.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13003765 Fri, 25 Mar 2005 15:30:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13001419 lotusracer : They just did a story on the local news here too.

If everybody visited dslreports.com, just think how much smarter the world would be! :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13001419 Fri, 25 Mar 2005 10:30:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12998091 funchords : I just reviewed the entries in Google News -- looks like most of the reports is a rebranded copy of the same report.

I don't care -- as long as word is getting out, I'm happy!
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12998091 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 22:18:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12997079 SandyBee :

quote:
Current List Of News Articles On This Scam

Sneaky New Credit Card Scam Uncovered

WFIE-TV - Mar 24 4:48 AM

Your credit card statement may have dozens of charges on it, for things like gas and groceries, so you might not even notice one for $29.99 from a company called Pluto Data with a toll free number.

�www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=3118..

Credit card warning: Strange charges showing up all over country

WKYC 3 - Mar 23 7:24 PM

CLEVELAND -- A warning tonight for anyone who has a credit card: some strange charges are showing up on bills across the country. Police say it’s a charge, usually $29.99 or $39.99, from a company called “Pluto Data.” There are hundreds of victims in virtually every state.

�www.wkyc.com/news/news_fullstory.asp?i..

Contact 16: Pluto Data scam under investigation

WNDU 16 - Mar 23 9:36 AM

The next time you get your credit card statement, you may want to take a close look at the charges. People all over the country are seeing something strange on theirs. It's a charge from a company they have never heard of.

�www.wndu.com/news/contact16/032005/con..

Pluto D Nicosa

Broadband Reports - Mar 22 4:58 PM

drags on .. and on .... Incredibly, despite over 55,000 unique viewers (the vast majority anonymous coming from a google search from the company name) the Pluto D Nicosa charge saga continues, with people finding charges as recently as last week, and even double-hits: findi..

�Pluto D Nicosia / Pluto Data

Beware of New Credit Card Scam By First Coast News Staff

First Coast News - Mar 23 3:40 PM

You may want to take a close look at your credit card statements. People all over the country are seeing something strange on theirs. It's a charge from a company they have never heard of. Authorities are starting to investigate, but the only way to protect yourself is to pay attention.

�www.firstcoastnews.com/money/news-arti..

Credit card scam hits area

Coeur d'Alene Press - Mar 14 8:31 AM

POST FALLS -- Rhonda Carlisle was checking her bank account online when she found out she'd been zapped. There was a charge of $29.99 on her debit card by "Pluto D." But the Post Falls woman hadn't made any purchases recently with the card.

Feds Probe Mysterious Credit Card Charges

MSNBC - Mar 10 3:19 PM

Federal authorities have opened an investigation into a rash of mysterious $30 and $40 charges appearing on consumer credit cards around the country, MSNBC.com has learned.

�www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150531/

That's excellent! Thanks for posting that, with all these posts, it's hard to remember exactly how many stories were aired.

I'm still waiting on the reporter from ABC, maybe after the Holiday she'll contact me. I will post it if she does the story, along with a link if possible.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12997079 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 20:26:09 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12996592 ZOverLord : Current List Of News Articles On This Scam

Sneaky New Credit Card Scam Uncovered

WFIE-TV - Mar 24 4:48 AM

Your credit card statement may have dozens of charges on it, for things like gas and groceries, so you might not even notice one for $29.99 from a company called Pluto Data with a toll free number.

»www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?···3w6oXrAD

Credit card warning: Strange charges showing up all over country

WKYC 3 - Mar 23 7:24 PM

CLEVELAND -- A warning tonight for anyone who has a credit card: some strange charges are showing up on bills across the country. Police say it’s a charge, usually $29.99 or $39.99, from a company called “Pluto Data.” There are hundreds of victims in virtually every state.

»www.wkyc.com/news/news_fullstory···id=32231

Contact 16: Pluto Data scam under investigation

WNDU 16 - Mar 23 9:36 AM

The next time you get your credit card statement, you may want to take a close look at the charges. People all over the country are seeing something strange on theirs. It's a charge from a company they have never heard of.

»www.wndu.com/news/contact16/0320···1097.php

Pluto D Nicosa

Broadband Reports - Mar 22 4:58 PM

drags on .. and on .... Incredibly, despite over 55,000 unique viewers (the vast majority anonymous coming from a google search from the company name) the Pluto D Nicosa charge saga continues, with people finding charges as recently as last week, and even double-hits: findi..

»Pluto D Nicosia / Pluto Data

Beware of New Credit Card Scam By First Coast News Staff

First Coast News - Mar 23 3:40 PM

You may want to take a close look at your credit card statements. People all over the country are seeing something strange on theirs. It's a charge from a company they have never heard of. Authorities are starting to investigate, but the only way to protect yourself is to pay attention.

»www.firstcoastnews.com/money/new···id=34431

Credit card scam hits area

Coeur d'Alene Press - Mar 14 8:31 AM

POST FALLS -- Rhonda Carlisle was checking her bank account online when she found out she'd been zapped. There was a charge of $29.99 on her debit card by "Pluto D." But the Post Falls woman hadn't made any purchases recently with the card.

Feds Probe Mysterious Credit Card Charges

MSNBC - Mar 10 3:19 PM

Federal authorities have opened an investigation into a rash of mysterious $30 and $40 charges appearing on consumer credit cards around the country, MSNBC.com has learned.

»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150531/

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12996592 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 19:31:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12996387 Kip patterson : Well, not exactly. They are the billing arm of a number of porno sites, according to their web site. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12996387 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 19:07:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12996317 GirlofSummer : »maxxpay.nl/contact.php

Another foreign account. My bank told me they are an inbound telephone marketer. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12996317 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 18:59:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12996191 GirlofSummer : Another charge came through before I had a chance to close the card.

$32.40 from Max Pay.com I can't find anything for that website. They said it was another online charge.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12996191 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 18:44:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994869 ZOverLord : I can't AGREE more, this is why it is so important to provide the links I have, for your personal protection as well as making sure that the political side does not write this particular fraud off.

Sadly, if people here do not realize that a Bank or card Issuer cares little that Your credit report scores have been lowered because of this, or that Everyone involved in this should also contact their local Secret Service field office, the Media will not support this group.

Actually, victims of this fraud have a Golden opportunity to keep this fight alive.

Most likely, the data already in the WILD will be sold and re-sold for some time. If that data contains other information, such as "Mothers Maiden Name" SSI # information, and these card numbers are re-sold and SPLIT into smaller bundles, it maybe a complete mess.

Think of a large Diamond being stolen, once it is split into smaller diamonds, it becomes much harder to deal with.

Things could cool down for 6 months, and all the sudden the data is used again, maybe this time to apply for credit cards with $50,000.00 limits.

Nobody knows at this stage, how much data is in the WILD for each person involved in this, and it is that question which may or may not become the most damaging after effect yet to come.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994869 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 16:17:50 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994705 therealshari : Z, I read the article with great interest.

One thing that keeps coming to mind, while they captured the alleged crooks... the data is still in circulation.

Over the last several hours, I've come across some pretty scary sites that offer exactly this kind of data. If I, as an honest person, with reasonable "Internet search skills", can easily find this stuff, how much more can someone with ulterior motives find?

I received a note back from Andrew Cochran, who runs an anti-terror blog that mentioned the Washington Post article I referenced. When and if, we can provide any ties to the big "T" word, he'll work with us to let folks know about in his blog.

Several names of officials keep surfacing in all the investigations. The one we may have the best shot with is Larry Johnson, US Secret Service. He recently testified before a senate committee in regards to cyber-crime. He may well be "all over it" by now, regarding our case, but I'm sure some extra attention from us would be beneficial.

Here is a link to the regional locations of the Electronic Crimes Task Force... part of the Secret Service

»www.ectaskforce.org/Regional_Locations.htm

Also, here's a link recently created for consumer's to take the proper steps.

»www.fraudaid.com/How-To-Deal-Wit···vice.htm

Let's keep the pressure on.
Shari Thomas
www.whois-sharithomas.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994705 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 16:01:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994672 kasperkpc7 : that is why you get paid the big bucks!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994672 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:57:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994599 ZOverLord :

said by kasperkpc7

:

...if they have the ability to change the amount, and they aren't preset amounts.

Trust me ;-), nothing about these SCAMS is preset. Please do not forget that there will always be people willing to share procedure as well, so your suggestion would not remain secret, it would be in the public domain, just as quickly as a card number can be.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994599 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:48:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994571 kasperkpc7 : ...if they have the ability to change the amount, and they aren't preset amounts.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994571 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:45:35 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994536 ZOverLord :

said by kasperkpc7

:

So it's better to not try? Don't assume the scammer(s) would know they're being scrutinized, don't decline all transfers ending with .99, just flag them.

Again, how many Milliseconds would go by before this became public knowledge and none of these fraudulent transactions would use .99?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994536 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:42:03 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994529 kasperkpc7 : That would also reveal how quickly the scammer(s) can react.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994529 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:41:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994506 kasperkpc7 : So it's better to not try? Don't assume the scammer(s) would know they're being scrutinized, don't decline all transfers ending with .99, just flag them.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994506 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:39:13 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994460 ZOverLord :

said by kasperkpc7

:

I still say the banks and/or card (VISA/MC) processing companies should put extra scrutiny into charges that end with .99 since that's what these charges have all ended with, a common link, especially charges for 19.99, 29.99, and 39.99. Unless they want to keep losing money and customers trust...

Over the last 4 months I have only had four charges ending in .99 because of tax, the four charges that did end with .99 were:
A) because of a tip I left at a restaurant
B) charges that didn't require tax (ie...labor)
C) chance.

How many Milliseconds do you think would go by before the charges were changed to end with .98, .95 or some other value?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994460 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:33:52 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994374 kasperkpc7 : I still say the banks and/or card (VISA/MC) processing companies should put extra scrutiny into charges that end with .99 since that's what these charges have all ended with, a common link, especially charges for 19.99, 29.99, and 39.99. Unless they want to keep losing money and customers trust...

Over the last 4 months I have only had four charges ending in .99 because of tax, the four charges that did end with .99 were:
A) because of a tip I left at a restaurant
B) charges that didn't require tax (ie...labor)
C) chance.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994374 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:26:00 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994305 ZOverLord : Here is a SMALL portion of the Article that I gave a Link too in my prior post.

From: »www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1···0,00.asp

QUOTE

Shadowcrew: Web Mobs
Shadowcrew: Web Mobs (continued)
Geekfather, or College Student? contd

Once a vendor came into possession of stolen goods such as credit card numbers or identity papers, the merchandise had to be vetted by a reviewer.

If the goods were in electronic formats, the vendor could just send the product in a file to an inspector such as Monchamp or Palacio. If the goods were actual plastic cards or paper documents, they had to be moved along through drop boxes at retail outlets such as a UPS or Kinko's store.

Naturally, mailboxes were rented out to individuals using false names, according to the complaint. Crew members also changed the location of drop boxes regularly to avoid detection.

Once in a reviewer's hands, the goods were scrutinized thoroughly. One procedure was the "dump check," in which reviewers would hack into a retailer's cash register system. Frazzini, the former Secret Service agent, says hackers can enter through back doors used by technical support personnel to maintain or repair the system remotely.

Once in, the reviewer could test a group of cards by entering nominal amounts, a dollar or two, against a few of the accounts to see if the charges were approved or declined. If the charges were accepted, says Christie, the reviewer would know that the "dump" of numbers was good.

The reviewer would then write up and post detailed descriptions of the merchandise. For a driver's license or bank card, the quality of the photos, the hologram, the printing of names and numbers, the color scheme and the card thickness would be described, almost like a used book on Amazon might be described by its seller.

The comments might be: "'This is the best I've ever seen' or 'This is a really good driver's license for people who are not looking too closely,'" Christie says. "That level of detail."

Once certified by a reviewer, goods would be put up for sale. Transactions usually involved just a handful of numbers at a time. But, on occasion, illicit goods got shipped in bulk.

In May 2004, one Shadowcrew member moved 110,000 stolen credit card numbers, according to the indictment. And the value of each bank customer's credit card number? Not much. Special Agent Johnson says credit cards with $10,000 limits could sell for anywhere from $1 to $10 or more.

Personal information is just as easily and cheaply trafficked. On Sept. 27, 2004, Mantovani allegedly "transferred" approximately 18 million e-mail addresses along with associated user names, passwords, dates of birth and other personal information.

The selling price of each e-mail address and related information might be a few cents each, according to Mark Rasch, a senior vice president of security consultancy Solutionary and a former attorney in the Department of Justice's Export/Espionage and Fraud sectors.

Credit cards, e-mails and other items were posted with prices on the Shadowcrew Web site. But vendors also had the option to sell their wares through an auction forum that worked "much like eBay," according to Christie.

Listings, such as "three counterfeit Arizona driver's licenses" or "1,000 stolen Visa credit card numbers," were posted to the forum, he says. The auction would open and a time would be given for when the last bid would be taken. Potential buyers came to the auction forum and progressively bid until that auction closed, with the item going to the highest bidder.

Once a "buy" went down, according to court documents, a member would send payment using Western Union money transfers or electronic currency, such as e-Gold, to the seller. And, of course, the member might as well use a stolen card number to pay for the transfer, Christie points out. At e-Gold, they could even purchase gold bullion and transfer the bullion to other e-Gold account holders.

The goal was to avoid holding on to cash. "You don't want to keep a lot of it around," Frazzini says, because U.S. banks keep detailed records.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994305 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:16:27 EDT Re: Pluto Data - So Little Coverage http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994192 anon : I e-mailed Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc last night. Some official connection to NBC encouraging them to let all the affiliates of NBC to share the Pluto Data story. Slowly but surely it is the NBC stations that seem to be broadcasting it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994192 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:00:29 EDT Pluto Data - So Little Coverage http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994153 Innoma : With all these messages, I'm surprised this hasn't received very much in the way news coverage.

Since I help put together a community newspaper with a local readership of about 12,000, I think I'll arrange a full-page article on subject which should go to press tomorrow.

People should know about this.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994153 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 14:54:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994042 ZOverLord :

said by Katbug:

I have a hard time following all the tech talk, so will leave it to you guys, lol. I just wanted to jump in and say that there was no small amount on my account before or after the $29.99 charge on the 15th. Also, don't know how much my bank knows, but they also suggested that it was someone using random #s.

Only a certain percentage would need to be PINGED with a small charge to be able to increase the value of the numbers being sold. It is a method used to add value to the price people are willing to pay to buy your number.

In most cases, numbers are sold hundreds and on some cases thousands at a time in bundles that are auctioned to the highest bidder.

Most customer service people have no clue about this type of fraud, and will say what the PR people in the bank tell them to say over the phone. So it does not surprise me that one banks customer service says one thing and another says something else.

Again if you want to see an example of a prior case please click on the link below ("make sure you click NEXT on each page to read the entire article"):

»www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1···3,00.asp

For my post with ALL the other links in how to protect yourself after this has happened, please click on the link below.

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge

Don]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12994042 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 14:41:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993912 anon : I have a hard time following all the tech talk, so will leave it to you guys, lol. I just wanted to jump in and say that there was no small amount on my account before or after the $29.99 charge on the 15th. Also, don't know how much my bank knows, but they also suggested that it was someone using random #s. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993912 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 14:25:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993808 DyerUser : More and more local TV stations picking this up.

Check out: »news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=u···coring=d]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993808 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 14:12:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993624 treetop1000 : Possible new scam following this one.
Saw this over at ComputerCops webpage:
»castlecops.com/article-5836-nested-0-0.html
Tell me if I'm wrong, but is this a new trend?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993624 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 13:46:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993410 GirlofSummer : I was originally hit with the pluto charge. It came on 3/1. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993410 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 13:17:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993190 Kip patterson : Refresh my memory (it would be a big help if you would register on this site, please, so that we can look up your earlier posts) - Were you hit with a Puto Charge to start with?

Thanks,

Kip]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12993190 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 12:46:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992975 anon : You do not need a valid address to bill a card. The charges that came through from register.com for me did not have my valid address, yet it still was authorized on my account. I have called my bank twice and they say both times that the charges came through on the new card. Without working at the bank I have to believe them.

I'm going to call Register.com today to try to get the information that was used to register for the website. I feel as a consumer they should have to give that to me. I mean they did have my card # and all. What I'm finding through all this is we as consumers have very little protection and rights when it comes to this. I had the charges holding up $175 in my checking account for 3 days. Even though I told the bank they were fraud they still could not release the funds because of the agreement they have with mastercard.

Whats wrong there?

To everyone else...I'm a girl. :) SHE not HE]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992975 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 12:12:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992694 Kip patterson : Thanks for the info.

By the way, that's how banks get their butts in a sling. Mastercard requires a credit report from almost everyone, including public companies under a certain size well into the millions.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992694 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 11:37:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992681 Kip patterson : Agreed, that's why I said "think". And my remark didn't address the possibility that these same accounts may be sold to other scammers.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992681 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 11:36:21 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992421 AkumalDave :

said by Kip patterson

:

I think it is over. There are very few new visitors to this thread, and the latest transaction posting date I have seen is March 15th.

I don't believe we'll be able to say that with any certainty until a billing cycle (or two) passes without new charges. People who have already been hit might be monitoring their accounts with more frequency than the average Joe. There may be new victims out there that haven't received their statements yet.

Dave
--
"...enjoy every sandwich..." Warren Zevon 1947-2003]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992421 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 11:01:20 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992361 jimkyle :

said by Kip patterson

:

2) So far as I know, you must have name and expiration date to bill. Under some circumstances you also need billing address, but I am unaware of the details.

I have a merchant account that's connected automagically to my business bank account, and use an ETC-ARU interface to post billings to it. The only information the ARU asks for is my merchant number, the card number, expiration date, and amount. Neither cardholder name nor address are required.

Not all merchant accounts may be so simplified, but at least mine is. Also unusual is that I did not have to provide any sort of business license or credit report to open the account, just my own statement of business history. Of course the fact that I've had personal accounts at the same bank for some 20-plus years might have something to do with that...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992361 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:52:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992058 anon : You stepped over the line when you inferred that people who use their cards for inet purchases have nefarious reasons for doing so... ie... porn?

In that one paragraph, you went from providing information that may be helpful, to being a condescending, uninformated, immature college puke.

Why did you have to go there... emulation? What people purchase should have nothing to do with whether or not they are robbed blind! Get real.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12992058 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:11:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991959 Kip patterson : I would expect that the credit card companies are now reversing the charges. Two reasons for them to do this - first, goodwill, and second, financial. If they reverse the charges, the card holder is less apt to call the bank, and those calls cost money. Moreover, when fraudulent charges are reversed, the originating bank is penalized and that is a significant cash flow item for the card companies. I was given an estimate of $80 to 100 million per year.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991959 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:57:47 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991831 nmatthews : I am in the same boat as everyone but my situation has a slight twist I had a charge for 19.99 from Pluto D and then the charge was credited back just recently. I called and cancelled my card just in case but, I have no idea how they got a hold of my acct number. I also have purchased things off of E Bay and have a Paypal acct, I am wondering if this is the common link?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991831 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:39:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991617 Kip patterson : This may be a possibility, but let's not forget that Pluto was able to get two european banks in major countries to give them merchant accounts. My guess is that Pluto is going to turn out to be pretty ordinay folk.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991617 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:08:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991573 funchords :

said by therealshari

:

It was with the last that I came across a most interesting trail... culminating with this link that may help us all.

»www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar···c13.html

It's about that Bali Bomber dude who's written his memoirs while he's cooling his heels on death row in Indonesia. There may, or may not be a connection.

Wow, Shari, awesome - awesome find!

This guy is probably kicking himself that he bombed that nightclub and spoiled all his fun.

If you want more fun, google for the Indonesian department of justice / prosecutor / and etcetera. Indonesia is a church state where I would expect little cooperation with our law-enforcement system.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991573 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:03:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991281 Kip patterson : 1) I believe that 1,000, not 20,00 cards were billed with $.01 charges.

2) So far as I know, you must have name and expiration date to bill. Under some circumstances you also need billing address, but I am unaware of the details.

3)How is the procedure for obtaining address "widely known"?

4)Amex and Discover differ greatly from Mastercard and Visa. Mastercard and Visa accounts, both card and merchant, are issued by member banks, and the transactions pass through those banks ( or a clearing house used by the bank). Discover and American Express do all of this internally.

5) The last time I was directly involved, we received our cash the day after we posted the charges. There is a requirement to retain a reserve in the account to cover the bank against fraudulent charges. There are some banks out there that are hurting right now because it is the bank, not Mastercard or Visa, that has to cover the fraud.

How big is this? Who knows. I was told it was of a "routine" size, whatever that means.

I think it is over. There are very few new visitors to this thread, and the latest transaction posting date I have seen is March 15th.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12991281 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:05:27 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990964 MGD : therealshari, that is an interesting theory, and merits further investigation. It is worth noting that girlofsummer78 stated that her "fresh" card was used at register.com in an attempt to set up a tasikmalaya-dal.net domain, which as already noted: "Tasikalaya is a town on the island of Java in Indonesia"

After reading the entire posts over the past few weeks, I also believe that this originated as a complex card hacking script. It appears to be random within Visa and Mastercard and besides the US, includes victims from Australia and England. There is no common thread, there is also an indication that they did not know which numbers were debit and which were credit cards.

I believe that this scam is dynamic, still on going, and is much larger and more complex than most realize. They are aware of, and are exploiting major security flaws. The fact that a hijacked merchant account of a small Pennsylvania travel agent can successfully process 20,000 pings in a 24hour period over the weekend without a trigger, confirms this. Bear in mind that this account probably never ran more than a couple of hundred transactions in a week, if that.

I believe that in addition to validating the number the ping also returned a name for the card thereby enabling a wider range of use for the number.

The complete lack of recognition by security of the extent of the fraud in the early stages, as noted by the original posters, will eventually be recognized as a serious error.

The lack of any promptly shared fraud info, impedes a quick response to nip a massive fraud in the bud. The burden of catching a multi-million dollar scam, made up of $30 charges on several hundred thousand cards, rests with the cardholders reporting it, after reviewing their monthly bill. By that time millions of dollars have disappeared via layered wire transfers and the trail is cold, and a new one already prepared, starts again.

As most of this fraud is transacted via the internet, a quick response is crucial in tracking the culprits. Hijacked proxies are most likely used for most connections, from register.com to the hijacked merchant accounts. It is possible to trace these connections back to the originator, if they can be accessed during or shortly after the connections are made.

In addition to what is obviously a complacent attitude of the card issuing banks as evidenced on here, the icing on the cake has to be the passing of additional fraud charges from the old cards to the new ones "with a no questions asked" attitude by the issuers. You would think that as a matter of policy after a card has been cancelled for fraud, a hold might be placed on forwarding any additional charges on to the new one pending customer approval.

It did not take thieves too long to figure out how to defeat the address verification on charge submits, which is now widely known. So I am not surprised that they may have figured out how to keep the invalid number submits below the trigger threshold. Especially since the prefix and check sum numbers can be removed from the equation.

Does anyone know if Amex etc. have more complex processing requirements and numbering, that would make it more difficult to hack or abuse?. Also, how long does it take for the money to be transferred to the merchant after a charge is submitted?. Is there a holding period for fund transfers to new accounts?.

It is also clear from this "mother of all threads" that consumers need a central clearing house public forum for reporting potential card fraud. One that will quickly identify trends at the early stages. The forum should be monitored by both card security reps. and law enforcement. We can use the same tools that thieves do, to quickly freeze the scam. Just look back at how long ago the first reports started to come in, either way we are all paying for the cost of this.

Kudos to Broadband Reports, you will be known as the first means by which the "Pluto Scam" became public, you are to be commended for providing this public service. Also I thank the victims who took the time to post here and alert others to this scam. This thread cannot end until the culprits are identified!!.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990964 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 06:12:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990534 therealshari : Ok, I'm back.

I have no problem with anyone disagreeing with any theory I toss out here...

I have been doing a little research using the following keywords. You can follow up if you like. Keep in mind that there's more rubbish than gold when you're searching for this stuff.

keywords:

credit card hacking scripts, carding scripts, carding hacking

It was with the last that I came across a most interesting trail... culminating with this link that may help us all.

»www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar···c13.html

It's about that Bali Bomber dude who's written his memoirs while he's cooling his heels on death row in Indonesia. There may, or may not be a connection.

I've found a blog site where I have asked the experts to come here and read this thread, hoping they may shed some light, and/or carry our issue forth.

Will let you know if I hear back from them.

Shari Thomas
Forest Grove, OR
»www.whois-sharithomas.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990534 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 02:30:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990506 ZOverLord :

said by Kip patterson

:

I think there is a valid argument that the $.01 charges were actually made by Pluto, and it ties into the use of Answerquick.

The problem that Pluto faced was how to fly under the radar, and to maximize the endurance of his merchant accounts. To keep the accounts open, he had to make sure there were not a lot of chargebacks or other indications of fraud. By checking the numbers on other accounts, he insured that only good numbers were used on his merchant account. By using answerquick, and having a database of "Orders" with false addresses, he created two illusions - first, that the "erroneous" charge was being reversed, and also that it resulted from an accident, discouraging the cardholder from calling his bank.

Exactly :-)

In this case, I actually think the Merchant account and the card numbers were sold at auction, as a package deal!

After the small .01 and $1.00 charges were done, to get the best asking price at auction.

It would have been Pure Insanity for the small .01 and $1.00 charges to have been done for any other reason.

The funds are transferred via Wire Transfer from Visa/MasterCard so quickly that it would have made little difference or added any benefit to doing the small charges, unless there was a need to prove that not only the Merchant account, but the cards were good, and what better way to do it than with the cards that are part of the package deal.

This is the aspect which is rare, and probably got much more money than a merchant account sold at auction alone, and a large number of card data sold alone. Combined, they probably made twice as much as they could be sold for alone.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990506 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 02:19:28 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990477 Kip patterson : I think there is a valid argument that the $.01 charges were actually made by Pluto, and it ties into the use of Answerquick.

The problem that Pluto faced was how to fly under the radar, and to maximize the endurance of his merchant accounts. To keep the accounts open, he had to make sure there were not a lot of chargebacks or other indications of fraud. By checking the numbers on other accounts, he insured that only good numbers were used on his merchant account. By using answerquick, and having a database of "Orders" with false addresses, he created two illusions - first, that the "erroneous" charge was being reversed, and also that it resulted from an accident, discouraging the cardholder from calling his bank. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990477 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 02:09:21 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990435 ZOverLord :

said by spamd

:

One thing that confuses me is how can a credit card or debit card be charged if it's not even active yet? Most cards you get via mail you have to activate.

How is this possible?

This is yet another reason why I think this was an INSIDE job, because in most cases a card must be activated, by calling or using an ATM with pin prior to any transactions, however, all it takes is setting a flag on the account to make it seem like the activation already occurred.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990435 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:59:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990394 ZOverLord :

said by funchords

said by ZOverLord

:

I am sure that for every person who posted here there are over 500 people who did not.

I know for a fact, that if even 1,000 bad accounts were probed the Merchant account would be suspended.

There were not probes they were intentional charges to prove that the cards were active so that they could be sold at auction for a higher price.

If there's anything that I've learned over the years is that criminals take advantage of things that we "know for a fact." If the bad-guys have gamed the system, those things we depend upon may have somehow been defeated. :-)

No offense, Overlord. You have to admit that this case defies the usual explanations.

Interesting theory that the probe charges were actually all $0.01 approvals on valid accounts so that they could sell the account to someone who would charge $30 or $40 on it?

If that's true, then we do know that the merchant accounts were used thousands of times, one over 5,000 times and one over 15,000 times, and I've seen at least a half-dozen merchants mentioned here. And if these were all valid cards, then there should be at least 60,000 Pluto Data victims (very roughly)?

Hey, is it just my imagination, or did any of the charges made in the last two weeks have a $0.01 auth?

Yes I agree this is most unusual, however the small .01 and $1.00 charges are not, please read my earlier post, there is a link to one example, the small charge is proof that these numbers were re-sold to other parties. Anyone who was going to use the cards themselves would have no need to test for .01 and $1.00, they would just try the $29.xx or more charge.

Yes, by the time this is over, my estimate is there will be tens of thousands of victims in the Pluto fraud.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990394 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:49:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990379 spamd : One thing that confuses me is how can a credit card or debit card be charged if it's not even active yet? Most cards you get via mail you have to activate.

How is this possible?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990379 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:44:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990353 funchords :

said by ZOverLord

said by funchords

said by ZOverLord

:

PS. Sorry about being so forward, just don't want people to think I am GUESSING about this stuff.

Even so, what should happen and what does happen are two different things.

Some of these merchant accounts were used upwards of 15,000 times -- for the probe charges -- before they were shut down.

I am sure that for every person who posted here there are over 500 people who did not.

I know for a fact, that if even 1,000 bad accounts were probed the Merchant account would be suspended.

There were not probes they were intentional charges to prove that the cards were active so that they could be sold at auction for a higher price.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990297 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:27:05 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990278 JoshNJ :

said by ZOverLord

:

The data being compromised being so widespread it must have occurred at the Card Issuer

You are missing the processors in between merchant and cc companies.
--
I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990278 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:22:16 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990226 funchords :

said by ZOverLord

:

PS. Sorry about being so forward, just don't want people to think I am GUESSING about this stuff.

Even so, what should happen and what does happen are two different things.

Some of these merchant accounts were used upwards of 15,000 times -- for the probe charges -- before they were shut down.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990226 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:09:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990194 Kip patterson : Yes, and I question the accuracy of the statement. I think he was misinformed by the bank.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990194 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 01:04:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990167 ZOverLord : I provide consulting services to the fortune 100 banks worldwide for Debit/Credit card interfaces and processing.

I write software for them, certify with Visa, MasterCard, Amex and the like. Have done it for 25+ years.

The card Issuer would FREEZE any merchant account that was trying approvals on many bad numbers very very fast.

The PING of the .01 or $1.00 was so that the people who obtained the compromised data, could prove the number was valid, they get a much higher price per card number by having supporting evidence that the card will take charges.

Don

PS. Sorry about being so forward, just don't want people to think I am GUESSING about this stuff.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990167 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:59:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990155 funchords :

said by therealshari

:

Oh, and if KGW-TV ran the story, they haven't bothered to post it to their website.

Yep, they ran the story.

The only new information is that the FBI and Secret Service are doing a joint investigation -- and that Visa and Mastercard were "aware of the problem," but otherwise had no comment.

-- Robb

PS: This is message #1000 on this thread! :-P
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990155 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:56:11 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990149 funchords :

said by ZOverLord

:

He claims the NEW CVV2 and the New Card number were used in an online transaction, according to his bank.

Not my assumption, his statement.

Actually, his bank's statement -- and that's why I have my doubts. It's third-party information that starts with someone who answers the phone for a bank.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990149 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:53:53 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990132 ZOverLord :

said by Kip patterson

:

Well, I question the assumptions. I don't think that happened. I think the charge was made to his old number and transferred to the new account. That is SOP for some banks.

He claims the NEW CVV2 and the New Card number were used in an online transaction, according to his bank.

Not my assumption, his statement.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12990132 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:50:19 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989998 therealshari : About 5 days ago, I posted a couple of press releases about this issue at Free-Press-Release.com and they're getting some good reads.

Also, some investigation leads me to believe that it may very well have begun as a brute force carding script, where the hackers simply load up several billion card numbers (with a script) and then, using the fraudulent merchant accounts, start pinging numeric combinations to find valid card. Once a valid (but declined) card is detected, then set the CCV numbers against it until a valid ping is received.

That would explain the strange .01 and $1.00 pings with charges following later.

Now, this doesn't explain the metamorphosis, except to say that more than likely the card info has been sold many times over. There are huge forums (almost like this one) where these scumbags go to ply their wares.

Now, I'm off to find those forums and report them here to y'all... maybe we can have some fun with them, and see who's really listening in on whom.

Oh, and if KGW-TV ran the story, they haven't bothered to post it to their website.

I notified KATU within days after this, even personally leaving a voice mail on Ed Teachout's machine... he does the "2 On Your Side" investigative reporting, but have yet to hear back from him... time for another call to him.

I'll be back when I find more info,
Shari Thomas]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989998 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:26:49 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989964 kasperkpc7 : Oh ya, and a lot of the systems telemarketers use are connected to the internet and use Windows because that's what most people know, if not all of them simply because they need to access up to date information. Some have policies that block access to everything except browsing certain sites (smart but inconvenient *hint*hint*) while others have full access to the internet and very slack security policies. And the systems some telemarketing companies use to access accounts are web-based to the company intranet, but still web-based which would be why they'd require a CVV2 from a caller. So the caller might not have shopped online, but their credit card info was still used online by the telemarketer. Not the telemarketers fault.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989964 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:21:50 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989959 Kip patterson : Well, I question the assumptions. I don't think that happened. I think the charge was made to his old number and transferred to the new account. That is SOP for some banks. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989959 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:20:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989934 ZOverLord :

said by kasperkpc7

:

That doesn't mean that my theory isn't possible, just not everybody used the web. When you order products over the phone sometimes they do ask for the CVV2. The systems that the person on the phone was using could have been infected because the worm sensed certain software...not a perfect theory and probably way off from what really happened but still possible. It could very well have been an inside job, and a hack, I still believe it's got to be the craziest thing I've heard of for a while!

Assuming, that one of the folks in this thread, who had requested a new card, and received it, new number and all and never used it yet, received a statement with an online transaction, using the new number, that used the new CVV2, it would have needed to be an inside job at the Bank, or The issuer, since we know there are multiple banks involved, and he was an original victim, of the original fraud in this thread, the only common thread is the card issuer.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989934 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:17:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989869 kasperkpc7 : That doesn't mean that my theory isn't possible, just not everybody used the web. When you order products over the phone sometimes they do ask for the CVV2. The systems that the person on the phone was using could have been infected because the worm sensed certain software...not a perfect theory and probably way off from what really happened but still possible. It could very well have been an inside job, and a hack, I still believe it's got to be the craziest thing I've heard of for a while!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989869 Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:04:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989681 ZOverLord : Lets do some easy detective work.

What are the possible things that are in common to Isolate where the compromised data needed to take place for this fraud to occur.

Online merchant, Store, Bank, Visa, MasterCard

Not everyone used their card online.

~~Online merchant~~, Store, Bank, Visa, MasterCard

Since everyone lives in different areas, and no common store, even a nation wide chain store was not used by everyone, this cannot be the source as well.

~~Online merchant~~, ~~Store~~, Bank, Visa, MasterCard

Different banks were used, and some transactions had the CVV information included in their transactions which are only known to the card holder, banks and card issuers.

~~Online merchant~~, ~~Store~~, ~~Bank~~, Visa, MasterCard

The data being compromised being so widespread it must have occurred at the Card Issuer, because their is no gateway, or common thread to have linked the required information needed in all the cases where data located anywhere else could have caused this particular fraud.

This is NOT to say that once the data was compromised that it was used by the compromisers, it may hae been sold, and nobody at this stage of the investigation knows to whom, we only know that merchant accounts were used to collect the money.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989681 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 23:33:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989137 madylarian : Here's another link to the story. I just saw a trailer, which was mostly the BBR logo at the top of this very thread, for the upcoming 11 o'clock news.

mady
--
Honi soit qui mal y pense]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989137 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 22:35:42 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989122 ZOverLord :

said by Daemon

said by ZOverLord

:

Additionally, one person said they were issued a NEW card with a NEW number, and that before they used it the card was used for an ONLINE transaction which used the NEW CVV2 on the new card.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12989122 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 22:33:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12988879 Daemon :

said by ZOverLord

That's the best evidence yet to suggest it's something inside the credit card company or bank. I know credit card numbers contain checksums- i.e. you can tell a valid number from an invalid number just by looking at the numbers themselves (but you can't tell whether that number is currently valid- just that it could be). Is the CCV2 randomized or also check-summed with the other data on the card?

IIRC, Visa and Mastercard are one company. Also, I don't remember a single American Express or Discover card reported as being used in this fraud operation.

The only problem with a database hack is that new cards are being used, indicating the database is being accessed by outsiders multiple times. It would also be logged, most likely, and easy to track.

I still have a hunch this is a passive listening type break-in, I just don't know from where the eavesdropper is listening. My best guess is somewhere between bank and credit card clearinghouse. If it were in a bank, only one bank would be affected. If it were contained in the clearinghouse, all banks would be affected.
--
-Ryan
Computational Engineering Student looking for BioMedical/Computational BioEng internship. PM me if you know of any available!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12988879 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 22:10:33 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12988670 ZOverLord : Here is a problem with your theory.

Several people claim that they did NO ONLINE transactions and that their bank said that the fraudulent transaction included the CVV2 which is the number on the back of the card.

Additionally, one person said they were issued a NEW card with a NEW number, and that before they used it the card was used for an ONLINE transaction which used the NEW CVV2 on the new card.

The CVV calculation would have to have been known, since only the bank and the card issuer know what the CVV should be it cannot be at a store or merchant level for this fraud to have taken place.

Since many banks and card issuers are involved such as MasterCard and Visa this is most likely a very well planned and thought out multiple database hack.

Actually this reminds me of something which happened in the past.

A Gang, actually paid for several members to go to college. Once they finished they applied for dispatcher jobs for large trucking companies.

Today all large trucking companies track their trucks by GPS ("Global Positioning Satellite") they can tell you at any given time, where a specific truck is, and are accurate to 12 feet. And also know the EXACT content, value and items in the truck at all times.

Why would this be important? Because a truck may not be carrying a full load from say NY to CA, so they can have the driver stop and load other items at any time.

Now, the gang members know what every truck is carrying, and when trucks are broken into, they don't have diapers in them, they have computers, and whatever the gang is in the market for.

This was most likely an inside job, and planned well, and people where placed in multiple data centers. Once they got the information, they may have actually quit, just prior to the fraud starting. Some may still be there.

This investigation will take some time before it is all sorted out, I am more than sure it will blow peoples minds when it is announced exactly how this was done.

Do NOT think they will not re-sell your data. It is going on NOW, and will continue, this part of this fraud most likely cannot be stopped. You personal info is in the WILD the question is how much, your SSI#, more, only the investigation will be able to determine what level of personal data was compromised :-(

Here is a Link to my Posts in the past about who to contact about this and why, located in this thread, including one example of a prior fraud the Secret Service was involved in stopping

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12988670 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:49:27 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12988431 anon : I don't know that the scam isn't still running...my charge was on the 15 or March by Pluto D Nicosia. Anyone else's more recent than that?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12988431 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:26:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12988149 kasperkpc7 : That is a very good theory, maybe it's not a wiretap on the connection from the merchant to the bank or a bank server crack. Maybe it's a very well thought out worm that affects computers and only activates if there is a credit card scanner connected to the system, if there isn't one connected then it just deletes itself. The systems that do have the credit card scanners and worm would keep a log of transactions. Since there are multiple ways to charge a card that require very little other info, the worm could transmit the logs to somewhere to be automatically added to a list of "cards to be charged". A simple script could keep the worm up-to-date, the way applications nowadays auto-update, also giving the computers connected to credit card scanners the new internet address to send the logs to in case they needed to switch servers or move to a different area among other reasons.

I am willing to bet that there are some merchant computers connected to credit card scanners that aren't JUST connected to banks to verify and process transactions. If they were smart they would have a separate computer for web-browsing and e-mail, leave the computers with credit card scanners OFF (SENSITIVE DATA) the internet!

The thing that makes me think it is a worm or a type of automated program is how organized the charges are.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12988149 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:02:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12987790 catseyenu : The local news in OKC (KFOR) ran a report on it tonight.
Nothing on their site at this point.
»www.kfor.com/
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12987790 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 20:31:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12987763 anon : Add me to the growing list. I have a charge of $29.99 on my Visa, posted on 3-10-05, Pluto D Nicosia CY.
I'm in Rhode Island and use that Visa card rarely. Last time was in Feb for Software. The billing was processed by a company in Germany.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12987763 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 20:29:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12986629 catseyenu :

said by Kip patterson

:

They surely took the money out of the merchant accounts by electronic transfers.

How deep can that be traced before we run into a lack of authentication?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12986629 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 18:23:49 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12985962 Kip patterson : I notified the president of answerquick on February 26th, but I would assume the email wasn't seen until the 28th. They shut down their end of things almost immediately, although I can't say it was because of my email. Unfortunately, they ran for cover and referred all inquiries to their attorney, so no one knows what they actually did. Answerquick was not an essential part of the scheme. All that happened because of their involvement was that the scheme went on a couple of extra days because they lent an air of legitimacy.

At least two of the merchant accounts (Mastercard) were overseas. Closing them down took some time. I have no information about any Visa accounts, how many there were, or when and if they were shut down.

I don't think the scam is still running. It is not going to be easy to catch these folks. They may have never had a location, their names may not be known to anyone. They surely took the money out of the merchant accounts by electronic transfers.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12985962 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 17:04:28 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12985387 gingerwatch : Look what I found - a TV station in Southbend Indiana did a story: »www.wndu.com/news/contact16/0320···1097.php

It doesn't tell us anything we don't already know, but at least it's some coverage.

Hey here's what I'm angry about - early in the scheme the crooks were using an answering service in Louisiana. People started reporting the scam, including to the Louisiana police. So how come, almost a month later, the crooks are still running rampant?! Didn't that answering service, which was supposedly NOT in on it, give the Feds the names and contact info for the bad guys?! How is the hoax STILL going on?

Also, I like what people are pointing out about credit card authorizations running over wires and your credit card data being in a computer somewhere at all times. There is no "safe" way to use a credit card. Let's get all this burden off the innocent consumers and onto the lawmakers to make it a whole lot harder to steal identity! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12985387 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 16:01:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12985161 Bink63 : Glad to hear it!

Let us know if there is a link to the story as well!!!

Regards,

Randy
--
Just my .02alt0162 worth!

Legacy Consulting

Edit: I AM THE Typo King!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12985161 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 15:38:19 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12984939 funchords : Portland Oregon NBC affiliate KGW, Channel 8, will broadcast a news story concerning Pluto Data in the 12:30pm half hour of its noon broadcast.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12984939 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 15:15:40 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12983522 anon : I e-mailed VISA USA last night. his is the response I got.

Thank you for contacting Visa.
We will forward your correspondence to our security department to investigate this matter. They will work with the proper authorities to terminate this fraudulent activity. Should you receive further communication that you deem questionable, please feel free to contact us immediately.

We appreciate your bringing this matter to our attention.

VISA Webmaster]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12983522 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:28:07 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12982721 SandyBee : Has anyone heard back from the many places that we have all contacted? Secret Service, FBI, FTC, etc?

I just received an email from ABC 7 local news here in Chicago, and he/she is going to look into this. I'm not sure where that will go, but any help we can get sure would be appreciated. I'll be sure to let you all know what's going on with it if I find anything out.

I hope that everyone will keep reporting any new charges, type of card, and purchase dates. This is good that we have a log here on this thread!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12982721 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:35:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12982471 DVOOR8 :

said by JoshCloud9

:

Everytime you swipe your card, anywhere - you ARE using it online to the Credit Card Authorization company. That is where the leak is. Must be, too many other variables.

Any thoughts on that?

Of course. People think that if you dont use your CC online that it makes you safe. EVERYONES data, from personal info to CC #'s and much much more is in a cimputer somewhere. There is no "safe" way to use a CC. Just having it puts you at risk.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12982471 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:01:14 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12981972 Kip patterson : i really don't know. One interesting point - the FDIC is expected to issue new rules today requiring that account and card holders be notified whenever there is a possibility that their data has been compromised.

It is not impossible that somebody in authority knows of the breach and that person/firm has chosen to not disclose it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12981972 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 08:38:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12981158 funchords :

said by Kip patterson

:

My guess ( and it is no more than that) is that the Pluto crew, having been pretty much shut down by the credit card companies, is now selling their credit card list to other scammers.

I second that.

I also wonder if some of these new charges on new cards are actually new charges on the old cards -- and the CS Reps that are telling their customers otherwise are simply mistaken -- they don't deal with stuff like this frequently enough.

But, as possible as that is, I also wonder if we have a totally new thing going on. Why so long? Why so quiet? One of the reasons could be that this is a deeply inside job and the tracks are very well hidden.

Kip, you've been tracking this since the beginning -- what do you think?
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12981158 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 02:38:52 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12980963 Kip patterson : My guess ( and it is no more than that) is that the Pluto crew, having been pretty much shut down by the credit card companies, is now selling their credit card list to other scammers. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12980963 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 01:36:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12980660 JoshCloud9 : Is this the answer perhaps: The ChoicePoint scam?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12980660 Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:37:32 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12980238 Voyager2K2 :

said by JoshCloud9

:

Everytime you swipe your card, anywhere - you ARE using it online to the Credit Card Authorization company. That is where the leak is. Must be, too many other variables.

Any thoughts on that?

No they are getting the ccv# it appears as well.
It's gotta be a hacked data base or an inside job.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12980238 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 23:39:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12980128 JoshCloud9 : Everytime you swipe your card, anywhere - you ARE using it online to the Credit Card Authorization company. That is where the leak is. Must be, too many other variables.

Any thoughts on that?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12980128 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 23:22:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12979858 Suffering :

said by hadtoo:

My 2cents on this is preparation for all to be forced to have solid unchangeable identification...eventually in right hand or forehead. (Read tracking chip like digital angel by applied digital solutions, or mark of the beast Revelation 13:16-18;14:9-10)

um, so Pluto is charging your credit card in order to prepare you for the mark of beast?
--
Positive Affirmation Of Creative Destruction

paranoid!

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12979858 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 22:52:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12979462 anon : Well, I've been had too. The only thing I see in common with the posts I have read is pay pal and Ebay. I never allowed them to verify me because of the possibility someone would get my acct info. They did have my credit card in. Sure enough 29.99 to Pluto Data LTD on 2/28/05...Just found it, and this site.

My 2cents on this is preparation for all to be forced to have solid unchangeable identification...eventually in right hand or forehead. (Read tracking chip like digital angel by applied digital solutions, or mark of the beast Revelation 13:16-18;14:9-10)

I'll call my bank tomorrow about the credit card!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12979462 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 22:13:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12979416 Daemon :

said by Dennis

:

Is it possible that the information is being captured using keyloggers/trojans and being transported back to a main server?

Seems to me that might explain how they got the info so fast from so many different banks.

Yes, that is possible. What's also possible is what's known as a man in the middle attack, which basically puts another server between you and where you think you are accessing that can capture any data you send even if it is encrypted (since it's actually the fake server doing the encrypting, it's easy for it to decrypt it again).

It's unlikely that either of these are the case though. I'm sure that at least one person hit by the scam would notice the trojan and or man-in-the-middle and report it, which would then trigger a response from the antivirus makers, followed by an alert in the media.

Since no one has discovered the source yet, I would bet it's a single point of entry in some banking company's network. It's also fairly apparently that it's not one single person ringing up all of these charges, since the cards are being used all over the country to buy things like Cable TV service.

I bet the Pluto Data is one organization's fake company that is responsible for the bulk of the fake charges, but said organization is also selling the numbers to other people, who are then using them to charge other things (like Comcast).

Since I have yet to hear anyone report fraud on a card that is so new it's never been used, I also have to assume the leak is on the pipe from merchant to bank. I suspect someone is passively listening and recording authorizations and charges coming in from various merchants and extracting the information that way.

However, that information is transmitted with encryption, so it's probably not extracted via the internet equivalent of a wire tap. Someone has probably installed something on a bank's private servers that is sending information out.

It's unlikely to be a database crack, in my opinion. In order to get the data on people's new cards, they'd have to redump the database and correlate it with the old one to find the new cards and then use them. It's much easier to just capture the data transaction by transaction.

Unfortunately, I am not an expert. Thus, I have no access to any means to test my theories. And the FBI sure as heck won't listen until I have evidence.
--
-Ryan
Computational Engineering Student looking for BioMedical/Computational BioEng internship. PM me if you know of any available!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12979416 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 22:09:31 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978961 Mordy : If you can dig through the 900+ posts on this, you will find that there are some victims who claim that they never used their cc online - this could be a mistake or wishful thinking, but I tend to believe them. There are also those who are pretty adamant that their PC has not been compromised. This indicates that the source of these cards are not from individual PCs, but that they were harvested from one or more bank or merchant account databases (or credit bureau).

My hunch is that the criminals acquired these accounts from several sources, and chose to launch their crime all at once, which seems to work in making it hard to figure out where their source(s) is.

It's hard to find a solid link to all of these accounts, but B of A comes up quite often. However, cards from other banks cards have also been hit (both Visa and Mastercard).
--
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored - Aldous Huxley]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978961 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 21:24:41 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978687 weeksben1 : You're right this scary, it makes one realize just how dependent society has become on ccs.
--
Ben Weeks Network Admin Novell CNA NW3.2/4.x/5.x Network + Certified]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978687 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 20:55:18 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978576 Dandy : I couldn't read all the pages, but from what I have read, this is scary stuff. Has the authorities done anything yet ?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978576 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 20:43:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978146 oliphant :

said by Katbug:

P.S. I was reading a little more and saw mention of BofA. That's who my card was through that was compromised...

Good luck, most BofA users are getting their money back...I on the other hand have been screwed, despite completely filling out their claim form and sending it in I got a reply from BofA that there was no error...despite no proof of delivery of any goods or purchase of any goods.

Thanks for nothin' BofA. You just lost a 13 year customer.
--
Don't get it, demand it! The Anime Network www.theanimenetwork.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978146 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 19:59:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978038 Dennis :

said by girlofsummer78:

Since I've rcvd my new card I've only used it online one time.

Is it possible that the information is being captured using keylogger's/trojan's and being transported back to a main server?

Seems to me that might explain how they got the info so fast from so many different banks.
--
My Blog. Because I desperately need the acknowledgement of others.

Mainegirl and my Beer Review's]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12978038 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 19:48:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12977610 ZOverLord : Here is a Link to my Posts in the past about who to contact about this and why, located in this thread

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12977610 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 19:04:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12977507 anon : Contact information

I'm sorry but can someone post the contact information on who to call/email re: fradulent charges. I've already filed a complaint through the online form on one of the sites. Or if someone can point me to the page it's on. Thanks!
GirlofSummer

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with my bank and got some more information. They said that both purchases were done online and they had all my security information: full 16 digit #, expiration AND ccv (3digit code in the back). I've only used the card at places where I put my pin in or they swipe it in front of me, not enough time to get the ccv #'s from the back.

What's frustrating with all this is the fact that I have $175 that someone stole from me. In order for me to get that back I have to jump through hoops to prove that it's fraud. Right now it's showing as a preauth and my bank can't send it back even though its fraud because of some legal thing they have with the card issuers. So here I am as the consumer, sol. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12977507 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 18:51:51 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973972 Kip patterson : I was not responding to your situation.

In your case, since MediaOne/Comcast is a legitimate company delivering cable services, it just about has to be a mistake. Comcast has the person's correct name, address, and phone number, so it couldn't very well be a fraudulent charge.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973972 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 12:28:00 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973900 HuntingPluto : I have confirmation from my bank that it was in fact my new check card number that was used and not my old number. My old number is fully deactivated (I've tested it). The new charges were authorized well after my new number was issued and my old number was cancelled.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973900 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 12:17:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973722 Kip patterson : I betcha a beer that the charges were not on your new card. They were on the old card number, and your bank simply transferred them to the new one. That's a pretty standard practice. When I had a problem several years ago, my bank told me the only way that I could stop the ransfer of charges was to cancel the account and reapply for a credit card.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973722 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 11:54:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973630 anon : It was a brand new card and # that was hit with the register.com charges and omni network. I tried getting as much information as possible from register.com but the girl kept saying that she can't see the information and it's been sent to her risk mgmt group. I'll be calling back today to speak to the risk mgmt group directly. If my card was used I think I have a right to know the address and phone # they used, regardless of the validity of the information.

I still haven't found anything about omni network. What I want to know is how someone got my new card number. Only 1 card was issued and sent to me. I had the card in my possession less than 2 weeks when 2 more fraudulent charges came through.

GirlofSummer]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973630 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 11:40:20 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973169 n3rds3x : I'm very curious as to what operating system and web browsing software was used by those of us who have fallen victim to "Pluto Data" and what was used by those who were not victimized.

I run Ubuntu Linux (Hoary Hedgehog PR 5.04), Mozilla Firefox 1.0.1 for web browsing, and I run Mozilla Thunderbird for e-mail. I also employ Firestarter in conjunction with iptables as my software firewall, and I am also behind a Linksys BEFSR11 firewall/router with the latest firmware.

Perhaps there is some connection between the software used and this credit card scam. I am very interested in this situation and I have begun contacting my closest friends and family members and instructed them to check their account statements and told them where to find this thread if they were victimized. Also, I have forwarded the link to this thread to a local television station here in Pennsylvania, perhaps they will run a feature on it. I will let you know when and if this station decides to do anything. Oh, and the station is Blue Ridge Communications Channel 13.

On another note, I would like to applaud the actions of legalbegal as well as every other member on this board for the support they have provided those of us who have been victimized. It is reassuring to see someone take some kind of action against those crooks at Pluto Data.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12973169 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 10:43:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12972447 anon : I too have been charged by Pluto D. I was charged on March 16th on my Huntington Check Card. Oddly though I am in England now and have been since January. I assume that someone must have pulled my numbers from online purchases?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12972447 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 08:38:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12971073 pcdebb : as I quietly read this thread, I'm noticing how some people are getting hit AFTER they receive their new cards/numbers, and for huge amounts.

girlofsummer78, can I surmise that the transaction to register.com happened via their website (or did they provide that info to you)?
--
babbling | mvm]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12971073 Tue, 22 Mar 2005 00:29:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12969786 anon : Add me to the list of those hit by this group. Providian Visa credit card in New York City, I noticed the "Pluto Data Ltd. 8883238955" charge on 3/15/05, the transaction happened on 3/10/05, and the charge posted on 3/14/05.

So far I've contacted my CC company, spoken with Lt. Lively of the BRPD, filed a fraud alert with TransUnion, and filed a claim with the FTC. I will be calling the Secret Service's NYC Field Office tomorrow, and I will review my credit report once TransUnion sends me one.

Here's hoping the gov't. can catch these guys before too much more damage is done. With it being over a month since they first got started verifying the numbers, I fear we all may be in for round after round of problems as our info is resold.... It looks like that may have already started happening to some of us here! :(

I just want to know where they got my info!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12969786 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 21:45:59 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12969053 DyerUser : Tasikalaya is a town on the island of Java in Indonesia. A picture gallery

»www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/I···kmalaya/

City homepage:

»www.wirantaprawira.de/tasik/tasike.htm]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12969053 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 20:27:31 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12967136 anon : More info...
I called register.com and they said that someone signed up for the information on 8:18pac Saturday night. They signed up for a web address tasikmalaya-dal.net Anyone familiar with computers know roughly what this would mean? It was picked up by their risk mgmt group when they noticed that none of the information was valid except my name.

I'm still trying to find information on "Omni Network", but having very little luck. :(

I have a mastercard debit card with Boeing Employees Credit Union. I doubt it's the bank that I'm with, could be mastercard itself. Since I've rcvd my new card I've only used it online one time. That was this weekend through USPS to update my address.

Ugh I'm so frustrated right now that they can get away with this!
GirlofSummer]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12967136 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:42:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12966713 HuntingPluto : Girls of Summer:

What bank is your newly compromised number with? BofA by any chance?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12966713 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 15:50:04 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12966242 anon : P.S. I was reading a little more and saw mention of BofA. That's who my card was through that was compromised...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12966242 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:58:32 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12966187 anon : Just saw this thread after finding the charge on my bank statement. I keep very meticulous records and knew that something wasn't right. I tried the phone number and just got the answering machine. Originally I left a message, but after rethinking things, realized that it wouldn't do any good, so googled "Pluto D Nicosia" and found this thread. I immediately called my bank and started a claim. They cancelled my card, are sending out a different one, and investigating this. Thank you all for sharing your stories with us. It's good to know I'm not alone in this!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12966187 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:51:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12966040 ViperX2E : Hi,

I too received a charge on my debit card from Pluto D Nicosia CY for $23.92. I tried the phone number but all I received was a recording to start sending my fax. I have never heard of this company, and the date the charge was placed I was working until after midnight. I caled my bank right away and reported this fraudulent purchase to them, but as of today I have not received my money back from them. The bank did tell me that this Nicosia CY is in Cyprus. I don't know if Nicosia Cy is a legitimate address for them, or if it's a cover for a scam operation taking place in this country. The only other time I have gotten scammed was from an online purchase made at ebay. A lady merchant sold me a "new" Norton 2004 System Works CD that was nothing more than a burned copy of downloaded software. Does anyone know how ebay pays their merchants? They don't give out debit/credit card information do they?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12966040 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:33:09 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12965878 HuntingPluto : I have done all of the things listed to protect myself including putting a fraud alert on all my credit reports. I have a new 5.8 ghz phone, a Mac that is showing no back door trojans, I have not used the card anywhere that required I hand the car to anyone while they "disappear". I have only used it at reputable establishments. I haven't really had the opportunity to use the card that much since I have only had it for two weeks. I don't mean to discredit all of your suggestions, but I have been very careful with the card, in fact I have refrained from using it unless it was absolutely necessary. Something else is going on here.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12965878 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:10:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12965877 anon : Another charge? I checked my account over the weekend and saw that I had $175 on hold. I called my bank this morning and they told me I have 2 charges pending. $95 for register.com 800-899-9723 & 79.50 for Omni Network, no phone number. I have not used either one of these websites. Plus these charges came through on a new card! I had the other one cancelled on 3/1 because of the pluto data charge. I can't do anything until the charges post.

This is really starting to piss me off. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12965877 Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:10:11 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12961002 JoshNJ :

said by georgia42

:

BOA lawsuit comprimised database. »searchsecurity.techtarget.com/or···,00.html Please Change banks.

Did you even read the article before you posted it? That article is about a customer's home computer being infected with a trojan that stole his information that he stored on his own computer and wire transfers. The article says nothing about any "comprimised database". The article is also in no way related to this thread, and his lawsuit is just plain silly anyway.

said by article:
Joe Lopez filed a lawsuit on Feb. 7 claiming that Bank of America had not alerted him to malicious code that could -- and indeed had -- infected his computer.

--
I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12961002 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 21:12:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12960130 therealshari : Just to add... we got a replacement card today from Providian, the contracted Visa card provider for PayPal...

It has the same (original) number!

Business partner will call them again tomorrow and go through the hassle again.

Sure makes you wonder about all this...

Shari Thomas
Forest Grove, OR]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12960130 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 19:36:34 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12959562 georgia42 : BOA lawsuit comprimised database. »searchsecurity.techtarget.com/or···,00.html Please Change banks. And from other posts, Citi Bank doesn't seem to be a great Choice either. Good luck.;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12959562 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 18:29:32 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12959424 georgia42 : About BOA, I would never do biz. with that bank, They stole money from my acct. back in 1994. They were sued for it. Oh more law suit recently on BOA, »biz.yahoo.com/rb/050303/financia···m_4.html Be careful.:uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12959424 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 18:11:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12959266 georgia42 : well, I called them and they have a news alert section I was tranferred to. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12959266 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 17:50:34 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12956813 Voyager2K2 :

said by HuntingPluto

:

Ok, so I was a victim of Pluto Data going back to Feb 14th (see my previous posts), I canceled my Bank of America Visa check card and was issued a new one. I've had this new card less than three weeks and it has already been hit with a fraudulent charge of $289.36. The charge showed up as pending on 3/16 to a company called MediaOne in Claremont, CA. I called the bank to advise them of the pending charge and of course they said they could do nothing until it actually posted. Well it posted today but was listed as Comcast. I don't live in Southern California and I have never given Comcast any check card number. I called Bank of America to verify that it was the new number that was used and they confirmed this. In fact, the person in card services said that she was "speechless" that this happened so quickly after a new card number was issued. She also said that it was highly unlikely that someone could have mistakenly entered a wrong number and actually had the charge go through. She said that she would have a new card sent out and that it would be coming from Southern California and I should receive it in a few days. I am really suspicious of a leak now at the Credit Card number issuing facility. I've used this card sparingly and have a very short list of people or companies with access to it. I have contacted Comcast to advise them of the activity and they are doing a billing inquiry to see who used the number. I'm sick of this mess and I am ready to go after someone legally and would encourage those of you who would like to join me to do so.

Bingo!
BoA is compromised and continues to be.
Sounds like BoA a big wh*re waiting to be, well you know.
If you have a BoA card I would be VERY careful.
HuntingPluto I would be going ballistic with BoA at this point and finding a new bank.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12956813 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 12:17:10 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12955036 HuntingPluto : I have done all of the things listed to protect myself including putting a fraud alert on all my credit reports. I have a new 5.8 ghz phone, a Mac that is showing no back door trojans, I have not used the card anywhere that required I hand the car to anyone while they "disappear". I have only used it at reputable establishments. I haven't really had the opportunity to use the card that much since I have only had it for two weeks. I don't mean to discredit all of your suggestions, but I have been very careful with the card, in fact I have refrained from using it unless it was absolutely necessary. Something else is going on here.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12955036 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 02:18:31 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12954659 bearbear505 : Adelphikill is totally right! i myself have alot of communications equipment and i know for a fact that alot of good/high quality scanners that cover all bands are available to general public. crooks scanning those frequencies are as common as the police/fire crook scanning for there benifit. its getting easy and cheap to get this stuff and easy for people to use it illegal.

And the pc could be a prob too like they said. now days using more then one anti virus, firewall and ad/spyware blocker is a must in my opinion. i had 2 firewalls, 3 anti virus progs that are compatibale, and 1 ad prog and 2 spy bot busters. i then added 3 more progs and they found key loggers and some small spy piggies. the others didnt. so its easy to miss a logger or other harmful pest on the pc. like they say, internets a dangerous place.

And if you didnt like zoverlord said, review what he posted as it will be a good benifit to you. but im sure u got that all squared off ;)

any new news on the pluto hunt? dead ends where im at :huh: any luck?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12954659 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 00:56:47 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12954625 funchords :

said by dlc32:

Thanx..the gentleman swiped and then swiped again and then I signed. I was just remembering what I watched on Court TV. They do shows all the time showing how people get scamed all the time. That just happened to be one of them..double swiping.

One of things to look for is a swiper like one of these: »www.tyner.com/magnetic/compare.htm

The person(s) most likely to have them are restaurant wait staff (waiter, waitress), full-serve gas lot attendants ... basically anyone who takes your credit card and disappears with it during the normal course of business.

They read your card stripe, providing them with enough information to use the card. And, as an added bonus, they also get a good look at your signature!
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12954625 Sun, 20 Mar 2005 00:52:40 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12953618 AdelphiaKill : HuntingPluto - Have you scanned your computer for "back door Trojans"?

Also here is advise for anyone that may be using older portable phones (non-digital) in their homes. Don't make phone orders with credit/debit cards while using them. It's easy for, and probable that, someone is monitoring your calls. If your phone is in the 46/49 MHZ or 900 MHZ frequency range be careful. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12953618 Sat, 19 Mar 2005 22:19:53 EDT Re: New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12953372 ZOverLord : Did you follow my post for Instructions to protect yourself?

Click on the Link Below:

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12953372 Sat, 19 Mar 2005 21:41:34 EDT New Charge ..... WTF? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12953348 HuntingPluto : Ok, so I was a victim of Pluto Data going back to Feb 14th (see my previous posts), I canceled my Bank of America Visa check card and was issued a new one. I've had this new card less than three weeks and it has already been hit with a fraudulent charge of $289.36. The charge showed up as pending on 3/16 to a company called MediaOne in Claremont, CA. I called the bank to advise them of the pending charge and of course they said they could do nothing until it actually posted. Well it posted today but was listed as Comcast. I don't live in Southern California and I have never given Comcast any check card number. I called Bank of America to verify that it was the new number that was used and they confirmed this. In fact, the person in card services said that she was "speechless" that this happened so quickly after a new card number was issued. She also said that it was highly unlikely that someone could have mistakenly entered a wrong number and actually had the charge go through. She said that she would have a new card sent out and that it would be coming from Southern California and I should receive it in a few days. I am really suspicious of a leak now at the Credit Card number issuing facility. I've used this card sparingly and have a very short list of people or companies with access to it. I have contacted Comcast to advise them of the activity and they are doing a billing inquiry to see who used the number. I'm sick of this mess and I am ready to go after someone legally and would encourage those of you who would like to join me to do so.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12953348 Sat, 19 Mar 2005 21:37:32 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12951010 Kip patterson : I think I answered that earlier, but:

I have no information about Visa.

Mastercard shut their two accounts as of the 10th and the 14th.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12951010 Sat, 19 Mar 2005 16:09:43 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12950988 anon : Kip do you have an inside source on this scam? Are they close to shutting these people down?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12950988 Sat, 19 Mar 2005 16:06:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12948809 anon : Someone on page 44 reported 03/14/05 to a debit card, but CuriousOhio on page 46 may have been on 03/17/05? Have many people used Amazon online at some point? I did but quite a long time ago.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12948809 Sat, 19 Mar 2005 09:47:18 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12948457 anon : They got me on 3/7/05 for $29.99. I'm in Owensboro, KY.

The record labels these crooks used for their scheme were Matador & Epitaph. These are punk rock labels, which tells me chances are these crooks are punkers, either inner city or suburbia based in the good ole USA.

Just my 2 cents.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12948457 Sat, 19 Mar 2005 08:19:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12946902 AlexSH7 : 03/10/2005 $29.99 PLUTO D NICOSIA
BoA NY, VISA secured credit card from June 2004
I cancelled the card immediately
Used for eBay, PayPal, Amazon, T-Mobile, DMV and some internet shoppings]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12946902 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 23:44:54 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12946557 funchords :

said by CuriousOhio:

My credit card Co said that it was listed as a Management and Public Relations Services. What does that mean?

Like the Yellow Pages, merchants are categorized by the type of business. Certain corporate cards can be restricted to Travel or Restaurant use only, or only allow charges for Office Supplies. Banks can also use this information to give their business customers categorized statements -- which are supposed to make things easier at tax time.

said by CuriousOhio:

I'm wondering if I should be worried about future mysterious charges on my credit card?

Abso-friggin'-lutely! I can't believe your bank did not change your number upon your first call! Your number has been compromised and will be used again.

Your bank should cancel your number and issue you a new one.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12946557 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 22:57:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12945406 punk007 : Ok Kip, I see what your saying now.(Pluto may have been a legit company at some point but it has been hijacked by the thieves.)

So what is the last and latest transaction date reported here? Are the crooks STILL in business?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12945406 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 20:03:53 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944539 anon : I was just going to post and say that our card had not been used online, and then I remembered my hubby used it to buy me a Christmas gift on line, he used his work computer. I have firewalls, etc.. at home, only use one card for internet purchases. The card he used got hit by Pluto Data Ltd, Great Britain number 888-323-8955. He shopped online at Amazon.com Cancelled cc. Will follow all instructions posted by S.S. We were victims of identity theft almost 2 years ago. You folks better follow legalbegals advice!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944539 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 18:19:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944364 Kip patterson : I would say yes. If this bunch of crooks got your info, others probably did as well.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944364 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 17:58:14 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944356 Kip patterson : Neither of the Pluto Data merchant accounts are in Cyprus or England.

My best guess is that they used the reputation of an inactive British firm, Pluto Data Ltd, to get approval for the merchant accounts. It is only a guess. It takes some doing to get a merchant account, and they got at least three, including the two Mastercards and at least one Visa. So, I don't think they were Johnny-come-latelys of the street. Nor do I think that the "real" pluto Data, if the original people that created this firm are still around, have anything to do with the fraud. It was obvious that the fraud would be discovered eventually. The perps would not be so dumb as to use a company to which they had any traceable connection.

So, the only options are to follow the money and follow the source of the account numbers. Let's hope that someone does, and that we learn of the result.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944356 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 17:57:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944321 anon : Hey, I just found this site. I had a charge on my credit card bill yesterday from Pluto for 39.99, when I called the number it was simply an answering service. My credit card Co said that it was listed as a Management and Public Relations Services. What does that mean? At least my Co is refunding me the money!! I'm wondering if I should be worried about future mysterious charges on my credit card?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944321 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 17:53:00 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944272 punk007 :

said by Kip patterson

:

Watch your step - there is no reason to think that the crooks who set up/got ahold of a merchant account for Pluto Data in Cyprus have any connection with Pluto Data Ltd in the UK.

Not sure I understand your post Kip. Back on page 21 of this thread I posted as "maybe123" and stated that the fraudulent charge on my card was from "Pluto Data LTD, Great Britain." Not from "Pluto D. Nicosia ,Cyprus" there are also several other people in this thread who posted that their bad charge was from the UK and not Cyprus.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12944272 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 17:48:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942622 Darth Yoda : Btw , my reply was to Sol2 and not John Denver ;)Sorry for that ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942622 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 14:40:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942615 Darth Yoda : Ya

I retract my statement about paypal because i don't think that they are the common denominator anymore (well i never thought at 100 % that they were).However ,i still think that the authorities will ask them a few questions (probably just the basics).

So far the only common denominator (at least in this thread) is still that you all shopped online at some point.I have yet to see someone who did not use his card online to be affected by this scam (but i could be wrong).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942615 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 14:39:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942517 anonemouse1 : Well, my meeting with a Quad City, IL TV station was canceled due to sickness in the office, but they would get back to me to talk. I don't know if they read the forum and figured it was too difficult to understand or if there was actual sickness...but anyway I tried.

I have gotten my new card finally so I am whole again...money returned, etc. but I just can't let it go until whoever is stopped/caught! Until then I will hang in here.

Michele]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942517 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 14:25:19 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942347 anon : excuse me; i need to correct my first reply. They don't seem interested at all. sorry.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942347 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 13:59:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942338 anon : i forgot to mention my newschannel. it is wjbf news channel 6]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942338 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 13:57:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942328 anon : How did u get your news station to listen to u? I contacted my local news station and they seem to be interested at all. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942328 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 13:56:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942175 Kip patterson : I got a call from Mastercard corporate security this morning following up on two earlier conversations. I choose not to post everything I learned, since these folks aren't caught yet.

It takes the card companies a while to stop this sort of thing. They don't issue merchant accounts, banks do. They cannot call up a bank and order it around.

They are doing the obvious things - figuring out how the cards were compromised and what went wrong in the merchant account process.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942175 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 13:39:39 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942056 kubus : Kip,
Can you share just a little bit more on those 2 merchant accounts?

Nice to see the forum getting into some investigation work.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12942056 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 13:23:52 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12941647 ZOverLord : One of the reasons to follow the instructions I posted in early posts is that they are the instructions provided by the U.S. Secret Service, which is the Government agency responsible for Credit/Debit card fraud.

The FBI is not the agency responsible for these types of crimes. The reason to follow the instructions to the letter is, that in the event you do end up getting a Lower Credit Score because of this mess, you can prove you used Due diligence to report it to the proper parties.

Even if you have no credit cards and this fraud occurred on your Debit Card, remember some day you may need a car loan, or a mortgage, or need to re-finance your home.

If you only report this to your bank or card issuer, well they will NOT inform the credit reporting agencies on their own, that falls into your duty.

Once your debit/credit card data is in the Wild you have no idea of what other information is also known about you, maybe they also have your mothers maiden name, your SSI #, all the things required to create a NEW credit card which might have a $50,000.00 limit.

Again, if you read your contract that came with your debit/credit card, it will state what your duties are in the event of fraud, which is known by you.

So Please don't think this mess is over, your personal information will be sold and re-sold for a very long time. Just because these original merchant accounts have been closed does not mean you are SAFE by any means unless you follow the EXACT instructions which I posted from the U.S. Secret Service in my prior posts.

Here are the Links for my prior posts on this thread

One Example Of How These Frauds Are Accomplished

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge

The U.S. Secret Service Is The Government Agency For These Cases

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge

Field Office Phone Numbers Of The U.S. Secret Service In Your Area

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge

Detailed Instructions From the U.S. Secret Service For What You Should Do Being a Victim

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge

What COULD Happen If You Choose Not To Follow These Instructions

»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge

If anyone has any other questions, I am more than happy to help.

Thanks

Don]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12941647 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 12:35:00 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12941346 anon : Perhaps not "protecting" their jobs, but certainly complicit in our victimization. Below is a link to an interesting article on HOW they hamper true investigation..and why..

To the banks and credit card companies, data processing centers, credit reporting agencies: "If you ain't part of the solution, you're part of the problem". From the below article, it seems that there is profit in being part of the problem.

BTW, my BOA debit/credit/visa card number ONE was cancelled after the 1st fraud charge appeared. So far, BOA has put through 3 other charges (not mine) on the NEW card, as of 3/11, so THAT card has been cancelled also. I now await a THIRD card, but have no confidence that this will not occur again. Seems to me that terrorists don't have to blow up anything to destroy our financial system. All they have to do is undermine citizen confidence in the system..which has begun.

»moneycentral.msn.com/content/Ban···8173.asp]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12941346 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 11:52:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12941220 anon : Gingerwatch,

Nope, the higher your credit score, the better. 800+ is "near perfect" credit. Under 600 is not good.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12941220 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 11:34:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12941161 gingerwatch : I saw the suggestions by ZOverLord for handling fraud. On Page 1 of this forum, some suggestions were given by Legalbegal, including reporting the fraud to the FBI at: www1.ifccfbi.gov

When this happened to me, I told my bank, (BofA) and cancelled the Visa Debit Card. I did the report at ifccfbi.gov. But as for all that other stuff - do you have any idea HOW LONG THAT WOULD TAKE?! It says "Keep a log of all conversations with authorities and financial entities." I realize this is serious and I would love to have all the time to spend on this, but there is just no way. I work 40 hours a week and have many repsonsibilities. The law enforcement agencies have got to start doing something.

Also ZOverLord said: "I have known people who were paying say a minimum payment on a card of $200.00 a month, go to $600.00 per month because their credit scores were lowered."

Isn't a LOW credit score GOOD, and a high credit score is BAD? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12941161 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 11:26:05 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12940613 Spensergig :

said by 8744675

:

For anyone interested, especially those who's cards have been hit with this charge, you can sign up at »www.cardcops.com and check 2 credit card numbers per day against their compromised card database for free. They also offer a service that will alert you immediately if your monitored cards show up as being compromised.

The site was founded by a credit card fraud security expert and they have built a large database of compromised cards that are voluntarily reported by banks, anonymous reports under their amnesty program, as well as many covert methods through the internet underground channels and black market. I have no ties to this site, I found it through a link to another site posted previously in this thread. The site appears to be legit, however I'd advise an extra measure of caution by checking them out completely BEFORE giving them your card numbers for monitoring.

They have been mentioned here, and have even posted in this thread. There was a side discussion about whether to put a lot of faith in them.
»Scam or ScamBuster? CardCops.com
Personally, I'm not sure,and thus lean on the "avoid them" side.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12940613 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 10:04:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12940581 Kip patterson : Pluto data had two Mastercard merchant accounts, neither in Cyprus. One was shut on the 10th, and one on the 14th.

Sorry, I can't share more.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12940581 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 09:59:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12940433 georgia42 : An article that appeared on msn.com states the investigation is under way, »www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150531/ It may take them time, but they'll get caught.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12940433 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 09:38:16 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12940063 8744675 : For anyone interested, especially those who's cards have been hit with this charge, you can sign up at »www.cardcops.com and check 2 credit card numbers per day against their compromised card database for free. They also offer a service that will alert you immediately if your monitored cards show up as being compromised.

The site was founded by a credit card fraud security expert and they have built a large database of compromised cards that are voluntarily reported by banks, anonymous reports under their amnesty program, as well as many covert methods through the internet underground channels and black market. I have no ties to this site, I found it through a link to another site posted previously in this thread. The site appears to be legit, however I'd advise an extra measure of caution by checking them out completely BEFORE giving them your card numbers for monitoring. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12940063 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 08:26:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939736 Kip patterson : I don't think so. Wherever the perps got them, they are working from a list of "valid" accounts, that is, accounts that were opened by legitimate individuals.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939736 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 06:26:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939672 flinchlock : Sorry to ask this question again...

Would a credit monitoring service help with this type of problem? If so, any suggestions which one? Something like Equifax Credit Report™?

Thanks,
Mike

P.S. I'm just a retired home owner asking this question, I do not/never have worked for Equifax.
--
Cracker are the terrorists of the Internet... anyone/anything is fair game!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939672 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 05:45:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939622 Kip patterson : February 10th, 2003.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939622 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 05:16:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939137 georgia42 : I will also be on the news tomorrow. errr actually today. I don't want to, but I don't want this scam to hurt too many people. I'm keeping it local so the scammer won't know we are on to them, and the FBI, SBI, and more are on to them. probably won't post for a few days, gots work to do. Take care and Thanks all for posting.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939137 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 01:35:56 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939088 georgia42 : Sandy the ip adress of : 127.0.0.1 is to ping your own pc.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939088 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 01:26:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939055 georgia42 : Well, thats one address that is confirmed to be suddenly out of business, they own the domain, but their site is down. With all of us making state reports, and more, trust me, We are about to catch them. Thanks for your advise, however, they can sue me if they want...lol.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939055 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 01:19:40 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939034 bearbear505 : I know overlord. I dont assume this is the last time as I knew i woudl be hit eventually somehow in life. have done all the proper procedures prior to viewing the info here, but thanks for the info. its a good reminder. good thing people like overlord have there info together. but yes what a mess this pluto thing is. i was also thinking that the europe listings were possibly related, as well as thikning they might be cought in the middle. who knows. i also found the night of my pluto hit something called europa in the uk, london area. dont know if anyone posted it here earlier. ill try and pull the web pages out and look and post the stuff. i think it was either related in some way to pluto data. not sure. ill find it and post. but the thing had to do with a search i did and i remember europa came up.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12939034 Fri, 18 Mar 2005 01:15:39 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12938100 anon : Is it possible the fraud investigators at Visa/Mastercard are protecting their jobs, with a one by one case at a time? Just skeptical?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12938100 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:53:07 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12938053 DyerUser :

said by therealshari

:

This breach apparently occured on Feb 10. The dates seem much more than coincidental.

Feb 10 in 2003. So, it may turn out to be related given that some of these are for cards that haven't been used in years, but the dates aren't that coincidental.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12938053 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:46:57 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12938029 DyerUser :

said by Kip patterson

:

Watch your step - there is no reason to think that the crooks who set up/got ahold of a merchant account for Pluto Data in Cyprus have any connection with Pluto Data Ltd in the UK.

You are absolutely correct. However, looking at their info with that in mind is also not harmful--so long as we remember that they may have no involvement. Because, remember, UK Data, which is apparently a clearing house for setting up UK companies, had registered Pluto Data as an inactive company and just recently apparently transferred it to someone as an active company.

And, that whois info for Pluto Data is intriguing.

The contacts listed on it are all variations of

    mic sand - sales@skyname.com
    Global E Services / SkyName
    1 gladebury court, 1b alwyne road
    london, london sw19 7aa
    US
    Phone - 441819475199

Surely, the "US" in there is just a quirk.

Well, a whois on skyname.com shows contact info of

 
        P. A. Sand: info@houseoflogic.com
        House of Logic
        ...
        Rome,  21125
        IT
        Phone- +39 068 124 157 
        Fax-

The specific address is obfuscated, I think, because of a registrar lock.

The houseoflogic.com whois shows the same as skyname.com. What is interesting is that there is no website for either. www.houseoflogic.com and www.skyname.com do not resolve. Moreover, the dns entries for houseoflogic.com and skyname.com (without the www) are the bogus entries 0.0.0.0.

However, doing an MX query (checking to see where to deliver e-mail) for both returns the same answer of

;; ANSWER SECTION:
skyname.com.            7200    IN      MX      0 mail.dnsvr.com.
skyname.com.            7200    IN      MX      0 mail2.dnsvr.com.
 
;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
skyname.com.            7200    IN      NS      ns3.hostsvr.com.
skyname.com.            7200    IN      NS      ns4.hostsvr.com.

So, both use dnsvr.com for their mail servers. A bit of poking around regarding dnsvr.com leads me to the strong speculation that dnsvr.com is reselling zoneedit.com domain names and mail services.

You can read terms at »https://dns.hostahoy.com/doc//terms.html which include references to dnsvr.com. Furthermore, looking at »www.hostahoy.com/pricing.htm shows that you can get dns and mail forwarding for $6.00/year. (Again, likely using resold zoneedit.com services.)

So, even if the UK PLUTO-DATA is not involved, it certainly looks like the kind of domain name registration chain, lack of web-site, cheap (anonymous) dns/mail hosting and country spanning ownership that would raise flags in my mind.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12938029 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:44:39 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937956 georgia42 : CCBILL is a cc processing co. however, I'm not familiar if they are EU (europe) go to »www.ccbill.com and ask, they will help you. Good luck]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937956 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:36:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937893 SandyBee : kip, at the end of that article it states : "And it’s looking more and more like another scam from our friends in Nicosia, Cyprus, who already used the scam under the name PharmacyCard.com."

I agree it's a very good possibility someone is also using an account there, however it's always a possibility.

I'm going to see if that host listed above has any info on them or if they are even related. I'll drop them an email, not sure if they will reply back, but I'll give it a shot.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937893 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:29:49 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937826 SandyBee : I did a google search on the domain name that Pluto had (skyname.com) this is what I came up with:

House of Logic
...
Rome, 21125
IT

Domain Name: SKYNAME.COM

Administrative Contact
P. A. Sand: info@houseoflogic.com
House of Logic
...
Rome, 21125
IT
Phone +39 068 124 157
Fax
Technical Contact
P. A. Sand: info@houseoflogic.com
House of Logic
...
Rome, 21125
IT
Phone +39 068 124 157
Fax
Billing Contact
P. A. Sand: info@houseoflogic.com
House of Logic
...
Rome, 21125
IT
Phone +39 068 124 157
Fax

Record updated date: 2004-07-04 08:32:18
Record created date: 2001-04-30
Record expires on date: 2006-04-30
Database last updated on: 2005-03-17 22:14:37 EST

Domain servers in listed order:

NS3.HOSTSVR.COM 66.180.175.156
NS4.HOSTSVR.COM 65.125.228.67

TransferGuard LOCK Status => ENABLED

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Server: localhost
Address: 127.0.0.1

Non-authoritative answer:
skyname.com nameserver = ns4.hostsvr.com
skyname.com nameserver = ns3.hostsvr.com

Authoritative answers can be found from:
skyname.com nameserver = ns3.hostsvr.com
skyname.com nameserver = ns4.hostsvr.com

From there I did a whois on houseoflogic.com and got this (same thing):

House of Logic
...
Rome, 21125
IT

Domain Name: HOUSEOFLOGIC.COM

Administrative Contact -
P. A. Sand - info@houseoflogic.com
House of Logic
...
Rome, 21125
IT
Phone - +39 068 124 157
Fax -
Technical Contact -
P. A. Sand - info@houseoflogic.com
House of Logic
...
Rome, 21125
IT
Phone - +39 068 124 157
Fax -
Billing Contact -
P. A. Sand - info@houseoflogic.com
House of Logic
...
Rome, 21125
IT
Phone - +39 068 124 157
Fax -

Record update date - 2004-09-01 12:30:19
Record create date - 2001-08-09
Record will expire on - 2005-08-09
Database last updated on - 2005-03-17 22:16:56 EST

Domain servers in listed order:

NS3.HOSTSVR.COM 66.180.175.156
NS4.HOSTSVR.COM 65.125.228.67

TransferGuard LOCK Status => ENABLED

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Server: localhost
Address: 127.0.0.1

Non-authoritative answer:
houseoflogic.com nameserver = ns4.hostsvr.com
houseoflogic.com nameserver = ns3.hostsvr.com

Authoritative answers can be found from:
houseoflogic.com nameserver = ns3.hostsvr.com
houseoflogic.com nameserver = ns4.hostsvr.com

BUT, doing an IP search on the host I get this:

66.180.175.156
OrgName: Netsonic
OrgID: NESO
Address: PO Box 28283
City: Green Bay
StateProv: WI
PostalCode: 54304
Country: US
NetRange: 66.180.160.0 - 66.180.175.255
CIDR: 66.180.160.0/20
NetName: NETSONIC-BLK2
NetHandle: NET-66-180-160-0-1
Parent: NET-66-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Assignment
NameServer: NS1.NETSONIC.NET
NameServer: NS2.NETSONIC.NET
Comment:
RegDate: 2001-10-15
Updated: 2003-05-28
TechHandle: IA111-ARIN
TechName: IP ADMIN
TechPhone: 1-920-490-1128
TechEmail: ip-admin@netsonic.net
OrgTechHandle: IA111-ARIN
OrgTechName: IP ADMIN
OrgTechPhone: 1-920-490-1128
OrgTechEmail: ip-admin@netsonic.net

If netsonic is Plutdata's host, they may have some information on them, right?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937826 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:21:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937725 therealshari : Here's something I just found...

Do you suppose this has anything to do with what we're all experiencing?

»edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/02/17/···dex.html

Hacker accesses 5.6 million credit cards
Visa: No accounts have been used fraudulently

From Fred Katayama
CNNfn
Tuesday, February 18, 2003 Posted: 12:16 PM EST (1716 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The hacker who breached a security system to get into credit card information had access to about 5.6 million Visa and Mastercard accounts, far more than originally announced, the two card associations told CNN Tuesday.

Monday, Visa and Mastercard said the hacker could look at as many as 2.2 million accounts after breaching the security system of a company that processes credit card transactions on behalf of merchants.

None of the original set of compromised Visa cards had been used fraudulently, Visa spokesman John Abrams said Monday. A Mastercard spokeswoman could not say whether any of their cards had been used fraudulently.

The affected accounts make up almost 1 percent of the 574 million Visa and Mastercard cards in the United States. Spokesmen for the two associations said Monday they promptly notified the banks that issued the affected cards.

Both card companies have zero-liability policies, which protect cardholders from responsibility for any unauthorized or fraudulent charges.

Citizens Bank, a financial institution serving the Northeast, shut down the accounts of 8,800 customers whose card numbers had been accessed after being notified by Mastercard last Friday, bank spokeswoman Pamela Crawley said Monday. All of those accounts were safe, she said.

The FBI is aiding in the investigation.
******************************************************

This breach apparently occured on Feb 10. The dates seem much more than coincidental.

Shari Thomas
Forest Grove, OR]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937725 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:09:14 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937709 Kip patterson : not a good idea. There is not reason the think that there is a connection between pharmacycard and pluto. Your link doesn't say so, and it is almost certainly so, considering that the pharmacycard folks wre caught. They both just happen to be using accounts in Cyprus.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937709 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:07:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937691 Kip patterson : There is no reason to think that UK Data is associated with these crooks. Let's not be making trouble for folks that are almost certainly not involved. The crooks are not going to be someone with an obvious, available, website. The same goes for Answerquick. While Answerquick is not dealing with this in the way that we would like, they have attorneys that are dictating their behavior.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937691 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:05:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937666 Kip patterson : Watch your step - there is no reason to think that the crooks who set up/got ahold of a merchant account for Pluto Data in Cyprus have any connection with Pluto Data Ltd in the UK.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937666 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 22:02:11 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937595 SandyBee : Everyone should do a search on Pluto Data and see how much noise we are making. I couldn't believe all the different home pages with a link to this thread. Excellent!

I found something pretty interesting, it seems that this Pluto Company has done this before as PharmacyCard.com. Check out this link:

www .glassdog.com/archives/2005/03/10/pluto_rising.html]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937595 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 21:53:00 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937511 anon : The whois lookup is interesting. Everything about this from the beginning seems to lead to UK Data. Doing a search on the address that was in the whois info for plutodata.com brought me to them once again. The whois info for UK Data is:

Current Registrar: TUCOWS INC.
IP Address: 217.199.181.112 (ARIN & RIPE IP search)
IP Location: UK(UNITED KINGDOM)-ENGLAND-BOURNEMOUTH
Record Type: Domain Name
Server Type: Apache 1
Lock Status: ACTIVE
Web Site Status: Active
DMOZ 2 listings
Y! Directory: see listings
Secure: No
E-commerce: Yes
Traffic Ranking: 4
Data as of: 25-May-2004

Tucows? Hmm. One would assume that (UK Data) they are being looked into. The most frustrating thing about this whole thing is that we'll probably never know who/when/where or how our information was stolen. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937511 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 21:42:07 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937480 anon : Thanx..the gentleman swiped and then swiped again and then I signed. I was just remembering what I watched on Court TV. They do shows all the time showing how people get scamed all the time. That just happened to be one of them..double swiping.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937480 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 21:38:43 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937217 georgia42 : I found this info at networksolutions.................. The data in BulkRegister, LLC WHOIS database is provided to you by
BulkRegister, LLC for information purposes only, that is, to assist you in
obtaining information about or related to a domain name registration
record. BulkRegister, LLC makes this information available "as is", and
does not guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a WHOIS query, you
agree that you will use this data only for lawful purposes and that,
under no circumstances will you use this data to: (1) allow, enable,
or otherwise support the transmission of mass or bulk unsolicited,
commercial advertising or solicitations via electronic mail, aka (SPAM).
(2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that apply
to BulkRegister, LLC (or its systems). The compilation, repackaging,
dissemination or other use of this data is expressly prohibited without
the prior written consent of BulkRegister, LLC. BulkRegister, LLC reserves
the right to modify these terms at any time. By submitting this query,
you agree to abide by these terms.

Sandfort
1 Gladebury Court, 1B Alwyne Road
London, London SW19 7AB
UK

Domain Name: PLUTODATA.COM

Administrative Contact -
mic sand - sales@skyname.com
Global E Services / SkyName
1 gladebury court, 1b alwyne road
london, london sw19 7aa
US
Phone - 441819475199
Fax - support@skyname.com
Technical Contact -
mic sand - sales@skyname.com
Global E Services / SkyName
1 gladebury court, 1b alwyne road
london, london sw19 7aa
US
Phone - 441819475199
Fax - support@skyname.com
Billing Contact -
mic sand - sales@skyname.com
Global E Services / SkyName
1 gladebury court, 1b alwyne road
london, london sw19 7aa
US
Phone - 441819475199
Fax - support@skyname.com

Record update date - 2004-07-04 07:39:43
Record create date - 2001-06-12
Record will expire on - 2005-06-12
Database last updated on - 2005-03-17 20:46:08 EST

Domain servers in listed order:

NS3.HOSTSVR.COM 66.180.175.156
NS4.HOSTSVR.COM 65.125.228.67

TransferGuard LOCK Status => ENABLED
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937217 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 21:04:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937030 funchords :

said by LauraRose:

Changing the card doesn't really help I understand as they just find another way to do it anyhow.

That's like saying that locking your doors doesn't really help because they'll just find another way in. So, you don't lock your doors?

Now that they have it, your credit-card number will be re-used or re-sold. Change the number.

Yes, you probably will get hit on the new number someday -- but you definitely will get hit on this number if you keep it!
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12937030 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 20:39:25 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12936970 funchords : We own a barbershop and you just have to swipe the card a second time if the first time does not read the card.

A double charge would require:
- swipe the card
- input the amount
- print the receipts
- reswipe the card

... so if they didn't print the receipts between the 2nd swipe, you were not likely double-charged.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12936970 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 20:33:52 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12935273 anon : You are correct, sorry]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12935273 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:54:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12935231 Mordy : It's been a very consistent part of this thread that both credit and debit cards accounts have been affected. It should stand to reason that some of these fraudulent charges might cause a bank account balance to go overdrawn if a debit card was hit.
--
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored - Aldous Huxley]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12935231 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:48:36 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12935205 anon : question for Jonathan M. Are you saying this was a checking account that got charged not a credit card.. If so this would be a whole other topic.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12935205 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:44:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12935093 anon : I am in Cincinnati and just got my mastercard statement with the $29.99 charge also--have no clue--customer service told me it was for management consulting.:(]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12935093 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:35:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934966 anon : I just got my statement from my bank on an account I haven't used in 5 months, so there was about $5 in there to begin with, and I see that I owe my bank $82.33...I was a little puzzled.

Sure enough, PLUTO N NICOSIA was on my statement as well as a ton of overdraft charges. I typed in their name and phone number and I found a whole bunch of other people just like me. Crazy.

I've already filed a claim, not even bothering to call after what I just read.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934966 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:20:28 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934941 anon : My credit card company (Citibank Mastercard Canada) called me yesterday to ask about a charge on March 3/05 by Pluto Data Limited for $38.15 Canadian. I told them it was not legit, they reversed it and cancelled the card. My thanks for this forum's info. CC companies must be catching on by now if they are calling customers to verify the charge. How big is this scam? This is the card I used for web transactions including Paypal and QVC. Very scary. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934941 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:18:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934521 anon : this is ridiculous. i contacted answer quick and was cussed out for asking to talk to jerry long. i am wondering if there really is a jerry long. i have my dad working on it he is a computer genius. why hasnt the fbi or the attorney general done anything about this. also my husband buys diablo 2 stuff online i am wondering if this has anything to do with it. some of the diablo 2 companies are run by friends of ours and if ppl are hacking into their systems we would like to know because they need to fix this and maybe they can find an ip number for these b@stards. please reply if anyone in your house has ordered diablo 2 stuff thatnks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934521 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 15:20:04 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934511 anon : I too got a charge for $29.99 on my debit card on 3/14/2005. I called my bank and they will do a chargeback. Personally, I'd like to help prosecute these people. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934511 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 15:18:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934273 ZOverLord : I cannot stress this point as much is it should be taken seriously Never Assume that this will NOT happen again soon, once it has happened the first time

You as the cardholder are obligated Based on the contract you signed with the card issuing institution to report the fraud as soon as possible.

For your own protection, it is very important to follow the U.S. Secret Service instructions which I posted in a prior post.

Here is why!

If the credit reporting agencies are NOT aware of you being involved in a card fraud situation, and that situation somehow causes ANY bill, even a utility bill not to be paid, because of insufficient funds, as an example, other cards you may carry, based on your contracts for those cards can raise your interest rates.

I have known people who were paying say a minimum payment on a card of $200.00 a month, go to $600.00 per month because their credit scores were lowered.

Yes, this can be fixed, however, if you did not report the fraud in a timely manner, it can cause much more stress and hours of your time later before you get your life back.

Once your card(s) have been used in ANY type of fraudulent situation, do not assume that the credit reporting agencies will know because you have reported it to your card issuer for that card.

We call this the Snowball Effect

PLEASE follow the instructions given in my last post even if you think these fraudulent charges have stopped for the moment, it may save you hours of work in the future, and allow you to not be surprised that your credit score has dropped to a level that may or can cause any other credit cards you have to suddenly raise your minimum payments by as much as 300 Percent as well as your interest on your remaining balance.

Even if your card was a debit card this can happen if your account was overdrawn by causing another bill of any kind not to be paid. This assumes you have credit cards as well that could suddenly raise your interest and minimum payment because of these fraudulent transaction(s).

Here is a link below that talks about how this can happen:

»www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/busin···rds.html

Again, if I can be of any more help, let me know.

Thanks

Don]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934273 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:38:54 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934265 anon : we filed with out bank which is BB&T..we had to fill out all the papers also..we took in some printed out pages of this website and they kept them..last week they finally put the 29.99 back into our account..it was a visa debit/credit card..but two days after they refunded our money we got a letter telling us right now we are free to use the money but at anytime between now and i think it is june4 if they see fit they can take the money back..which to me made no sense what so ever..anyway for now we have the money back]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934265 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:37:11 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934088 bearbear505 : I found my Secret Service # during the weekend when I was was hit. I called a few times but its always when I call agents are out. kinda funny. But I left them my name and basic info to contact me. See what happens.

As for news and all I emailed my local news, Alamogordo Daily News, and also emailed Koat7, I believe there affiliated abc7, not sure though. I wrote them on monday but no reply yet. I have also told people in yahoo groups that I am part of, local groups and all bt so far everyone kinda is just blowing it off. They say, I dont use a credit card, I dont use it online, I dont look at this or that. I only use debit. I tried in many ways but its like talking to a brick wall. So I oh well guess, theyll find out when its re run through msnbc or cnn in the future. Tried to tell them theres alot involved besides not using the cards and what not. Anyone one else hitting ignorance when telling people or it just my area?

I still think it was funny when 30 min after findign the pluto charge on my card, I called a gov number and the person on there told me, where you from again? I said New Mexico. She says Mexico!? WHy you calling here? I said no, no, NEW MEXICO, spelled it out for her. She says, sir, please contact your own country government on your fraud issue. We are in the united states sir. you need to contact your own people. I was like ummmm...ok... well. I told her I was white and spanish (I am guessing I should contact my own kind of mixed people here, jk) I lived in New Mexico, USA as well as explaining state history. She still kinda thought I was crazy. I laugh because how do people pass high school now days? A couple people were like her over the phone.

Anyway just cant believe people are still getting the pluto slap. I also too thought people that were posting way before me would not have come back to the thread from a week or two ago whenit started. Did any of you who posted in the past get the card company to get the charge off and all? Still waiting for the fraud papers in the mail.

I tell ya. spening alot of time to get papers filed, copied, calling numbers, etc. Then you know how family are, so the desk jockey stress kicks in lol. I wonder how long this forum topic will last? im sure well after the conclusion well all be here lol. which I dont mind. I think sone of the nicest people are here. or am I wrong? lol.

WelI hope everyone is doing good and has had some progress in the pluto junk.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12934088 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:08:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933873 anon : I'm angry too!!! I got hit for 39.99 by the Pluto Data LTD thing and didn't realize it until I had already paid for it. I use MBNA Visa and reported it to them. It is currently in the 'billing dispute' process. Apparently they won't connect it to 'fraud' unless it's over 100.00.
One person I talked with at MBNA said that what these fraudulant companies do is once people catch on to them, they just change their name and continue their dishonest activities. It just burns my butt!!! Changing the card doesn't really help I understand as they just find another way to do it anyhow. And by the way I didn't even order any DVDs or CD or catalogs.

Signed, angry in Newburyport, MA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933873 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 13:28:20 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933783 ZOverLord : The following is information from the U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Divisions Web site. Please also contact the proper field office by phone located closest to you as well ("The Numbers by State are listed in my above posts")

What to do if you have been the victim of credit card fraud or identity theft:

If your complaint is essentially a non-criminal dispute with a retailer or other business, you must immediately dispute the charge(s) in writing with the customer relations office of your credit card company.

If you have been the victim of credit card fraud or identity theft, the following tips will assist you:

Report the crime to the police immediately. Get a copy of your police report or case number. Credit card companies, your bank, and the insurance company may ask you to reference the report to verify the crime.

Immediately contact your credit card issuers. Get replacement cards with new account numbers and ask that the old account be processed as "account closed at consumer’s request" for credit record purposes. You should also follow up this telephone conversation with a letter to the credit card company that summarizes your request in writing.

Call the fraud units of the three credit reporting bureaus. Report the theft of your credit cards and/or numbers. Ask that your accounts be flagged. Also, add a victim’s statement to your report that requests that they contact you to verify future credit applications. The following is a list of addresses and numbers to the three credit bureaus:

Equifax Credit Information Services - Consumer Fraud Div.
P.O. Box 105496
Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5496
Tel: (800) 997-2493
»www.equifax.com

Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, Texas 75013-2104
Tel: (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742)
»www.experian.com

Trans Union Fraud Victim Assistance Dept.
P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
Tel: (800) 680-7289
»www.transunion.com

Keep a log of all conversations with authorities and financial entities.

As with any personal information, only provide your credit card number to merchants you know. Also, remember to protect your social security number. You have to give your social security number for employment and tax purposes, but it is not necessary for many businesses. Notify the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General if your social security number has been used fraudulently:

»www.ssa.gov/oig/hotline/index.htm

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the federal clearinghouse for complaints by victims of identity theft. Although the FTC does not have the authority to bring criminal cases, the Commission assists victims of identity theft by providing them with information to help them resolve the financial and other problems that can result from identity theft.

The FTC also may refer victim complaints to other appropriate government agencies and private organizations for further action. If you have been a victim of identity theft, you can file a complaint with the FTC by contacting the FTC's Consumer Response Center.

By Phone: Toll-free 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338)
TDD 202-326-2502
By Mail: Consumer Response Center
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20580

On the Web: »www.consumer.gov/idtheft
For Consumer Information: »www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933783 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 13:11:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933289 SandyBee :

said by ZOverLord

:

Below are the Field offices of the U.S. Secret Service. Call the nearest one located near you if you were a victim of this type of fraud. Additionally you may wish to give them the link to this thread which is:

broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,12704660~mode=flat

ALABAMA
BIRMINGHAM 205-731-1144
MOBILE 251-441-5851
MONTGOMERY 334-223-7601

ALASKA
ANCHORAGE 907-271-5148

ARIZONA
PHOENIX 602-640-5580
TUCSON 520-670-4730

ARKANSAS
LITTLE ROCK 501-324-6241

CALIFORNIA
FRESNO 209-487-5204
LOS ANGELES 213-894-4830
RIVERSIDE 909-276-6781
SACRAMENTO 916-930-2130
SAN DIEGO 619-557-5640
SAN FRANCISCO 415-744-9026
SAN JOSE 408-535-5288
SANTA ANA 714-246-8257
VENTURA 805-339-9180

COLORADO
COLORADO SPRINGS 719-632-3325
DENVER 303-866-1010

CONNECTICUT
NEW HAVEN 203-865-2449

DELAWARE
WILMINGTON 302-573-6188

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
WASHINGTON, D.C. 202-406-8000

FLORIDA
FORT MYERS 239-334-0660
JACKSONVILLE 904-296-0133
MIAMI 305-863-5000
ORLANDO 407-648-6333
TALLAHASSEE 850-942-9523
TAMPA 813-228-2636
WEST PALM BEACH 561-659-0184

GEORGIA
ALBANY 912-430-8442
ATLANTA 404-331-6111
SAVANNAH 912-652-4401

HAWAII
HONOLULU 808-541-1912

IDAHO
BOISE 208-334-1403

ILLINOIS
CHICAGO 312-353-5431
SPRINGFIELD 217-726-8453

INDIANA
EVANSVILLE 812-858-7365
INDIANAPOLIS 317-226-6444
SOUTH BEND 219-273-3140

IOWA
DES MOINES 515-284-4565

KANSAS
WICHITA 316-269-6694

KENTUCKY
LEXINGTON 859-223-2358
LOUISVILLE 502-582-5171

LOUISIANA
BATON ROUGE 225-389-0763
NEW ORLEANS 504-589-4041
SHREVEPORT 318-676-3500

MAINE
PORTLAND 207-780-3493

MARYLAND
BALTIMORE 443-263-1000
EASTERN SHORE 410-268-7286
ROWLEY TRAINING CTR 301-344-8530

MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTON 617-565-5640

MICHIGAN
DETROIT 313-226-6400
GRAND RAPIDS 616-454-4671
SAGINAW 989-497-0580

MINNESOTA
MINNEAPOLIS 612-348-1800

MISSISSIPPI
JACKSON 601-965-4436

MISSOURI
KANSAS CITY 816-460-0600
SPRINGFIELD 417-864-8340
ST. LOUIS 314-539-2238

MONTANA
BILLINGS 406-245-8585

NEBRASKA
OMAHA 402-965-9670

NEVADA
LAS VEGAS 702-388-6571
RENO 775-784-5354

NEW HAMPSHIRE
CONCORD 603-626-5631

NEW JERSEY
ATLANTIC CITY 609-487-1300
NEWARK 973-971-3100
TRENTON 609-989-2008

NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE 505-248-5290

NEW YORK
ALBANY 518-436-9600
BUFFALO 716-551-4401
JFK 718-553-0911
MELVILLE 631-293-4028
NEW YORK 718-840-1000
ROCHESTER 585-232-4160
SYRACUSE 315-448-0304
WHITE PLAINS 914-682-6300

NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE 704-442-8370
GREENSBORO 336-547-4180
RALEIGH 919-790-2834
WILMINGTON 910-815-4511

NORTH DAKOTA
FARGO 701-239-5070

OHIO
AKRON 330-761-0544
CINCINNATI 513-684-3585
CLEVELAND 216-706-4365
COLUMBUS 614-469-7370
DAYTON 937-225-2900
TOLEDO 419-259-6434

OKLAHOMA
OKLAHOMA CITY 405-810-3000
TULSA 918-581-7272

OREGON
PORTLAND 503-326-2162

PENNSYLVANIA
PHILADELPHIA 215-861-3300
PITTSBURGH 412-395-6484
SCRANTON 570-346-5781

PUERTO RICO
SAN JUAN 787-277-1515

RHODE ISLAND
PROVIDENCE 401-331-6456

SOUTH CAROLINA
CHARLESTON 803-772-4015
COLUMBIA 803-765-5446
GREENVILLE 864-233-1490

SOUTH DAKOTA
SIOUX FALLS SD 605-330-4565

TENNESSEE
CHATTANOOGA 423-752-5125
KNOXVILLE 865-545-4627
MEMPHIS 901-544-0333
NASHVILLE 615-736-5841

TEXAS
AUSTIN 512-916-5103
DALLAS 972-868-3200
EL PASO 915-533-6950
HOUSTON 713-868-2299
LUBBOCK 806-472-7347
MCALLEN 956-630-5811
SAN ANTONIO 210-308-6220
TYLER 903-534-2933
WACO 254-741-0576

UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY 801-524-5910

VERMONT
BURLINGTON 802-651-4091

VIRGINIA
NORFOLK 757-441-3200
RICHMOND 804-771-2274
ROANOKE 540-857-2208

WASHINGTON
SEATTLE 206-220-6800
SPOKANE 509-353-2532

WEST VIRGINIA
CHARLESTON 304-347-5188

WISCONSIN
MADISON 608-264-5191
MILWAUKEE 414-297-3587

WYOMING
CHEYENNE 307-772-2380

Excellent! Everyone needs to contact the number from your state. I think they would be interested to know how many folks this has happened to. Thanks for the information! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933289 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 11:45:56 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933237 anon : Just wanted to mention that Ken Luallen (he posted here on the 14th) of NBC 30 Connecticut News did a story on this mess that was on the 6:00 news last night (March 16). Hope it alerts more people, at least in Connecticut, to check their statements carefully and be aware that this sort of thing can happen to anyone. Thanks to Mr. Luallen and NBC 30.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933237 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 11:35:53 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933067 anon : I as well contacted my local news station. Will just wait and see if they get back with me about this matter.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12933067 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 11:04:40 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12932932 anon : If I am understanding what I read from JohnDenver, then it couldn't have been pizza hut. I wasn't there on the 11th. I was however at wal-mart 3x and I was at a gas station, souper salad, dollar general,and dollar tree. I did not purchase anything online that day. I did however pay bills on qwest,comcast,bellsouths websites.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12932932 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 10:46:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12932750 pstation : Seems to me like a merchant gateway such as authorize.net has been compromised. That's the only possible common denominator as of now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12932750 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 10:21:14 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12931717 flinchlock : Wow! I just found about this thread, and only read about a dozen of the posts.

Would a credit monitoring service help with this type of problem? If so, any suggestions which one? Something like Equifax Credit Report™?

Thanks,
Mike
--
Cracker are the terrorists of the Internet... anyone/anything is fair game!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12931717 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 05:39:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12931477 ZOverLord : Below are the Field offices of the U.S. Secret Service. Call the nearest one located near you if you were a victim of this type of fraud. Additionally you may wish to give them the link to this thread which is:

broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,12704660~mode=flat

ALABAMA
BIRMINGHAM 205-731-1144
MOBILE 251-441-5851
MONTGOMERY 334-223-7601

ALASKA
ANCHORAGE 907-271-5148

ARIZONA
PHOENIX 602-640-5580
TUCSON 520-670-4730

ARKANSAS
LITTLE ROCK 501-324-6241

CALIFORNIA
FRESNO 209-487-5204
LOS ANGELES 213-894-4830
RIVERSIDE 909-276-6781
SACRAMENTO 916-930-2130
SAN DIEGO 619-557-5640
SAN FRANCISCO 415-744-9026
SAN JOSE 408-535-5288
SANTA ANA 714-246-8257
VENTURA 805-339-9180

COLORADO
COLORADO SPRINGS 719-632-3325
DENVER 303-866-1010

CONNECTICUT
NEW HAVEN 203-865-2449

DELAWARE
WILMINGTON 302-573-6188

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
WASHINGTON, D.C. 202-406-8000

FLORIDA
FORT MYERS 239-334-0660
JACKSONVILLE 904-296-0133
MIAMI 305-863-5000
ORLANDO 407-648-6333
TALLAHASSEE 850-942-9523
TAMPA 813-228-2636
WEST PALM BEACH 561-659-0184

GEORGIA
ALBANY 912-430-8442
ATLANTA 404-331-6111
SAVANNAH 912-652-4401

HAWAII
HONOLULU 808-541-1912

IDAHO
BOISE 208-334-1403

ILLINOIS
CHICAGO 312-353-5431
SPRINGFIELD 217-726-8453

INDIANA
EVANSVILLE 812-858-7365
INDIANAPOLIS 317-226-6444
SOUTH BEND 219-273-3140

IOWA
DES MOINES 515-284-4565

KANSAS
WICHITA 316-269-6694

KENTUCKY
LEXINGTON 859-223-2358
LOUISVILLE 502-582-5171

LOUISIANA
BATON ROUGE 225-389-0763
NEW ORLEANS 504-589-4041
SHREVEPORT 318-676-3500

MAINE
PORTLAND 207-780-3493

MARYLAND
BALTIMORE 443-263-1000
EASTERN SHORE 410-268-7286
ROWLEY TRAINING CTR 301-344-8530

MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTON 617-565-5640

MICHIGAN
DETROIT 313-226-6400
GRAND RAPIDS 616-454-4671
SAGINAW 989-497-0580

MINNESOTA
MINNEAPOLIS 612-348-1800

MISSISSIPPI
JACKSON 601-965-4436

MISSOURI
KANSAS CITY 816-460-0600
SPRINGFIELD 417-864-8340
ST. LOUIS 314-539-2238

MONTANA
BILLINGS 406-245-8585

NEBRASKA
OMAHA 402-965-9670

NEVADA
LAS VEGAS 702-388-6571
RENO 775-784-5354

NEW HAMPSHIRE
CONCORD 603-626-5631

NEW JERSEY
ATLANTIC CITY 609-487-1300
NEWARK 973-971-3100
TRENTON 609-989-2008

NEW MEXICO
ALBUQUERQUE 505-248-5290

NEW YORK
ALBANY 518-436-9600
BUFFALO 716-551-4401
JFK 718-553-0911
MELVILLE 631-293-4028
NEW YORK 718-840-1000
ROCHESTER 585-232-4160
SYRACUSE 315-448-0304
WHITE PLAINS 914-682-6300

NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE 704-442-8370
GREENSBORO 336-547-4180
RALEIGH 919-790-2834
WILMINGTON 910-815-4511

NORTH DAKOTA
FARGO 701-239-5070

OHIO
AKRON 330-761-0544
CINCINNATI 513-684-3585
CLEVELAND 216-706-4365
COLUMBUS 614-469-7370
DAYTON 937-225-2900
TOLEDO 419-259-6434

OKLAHOMA
OKLAHOMA CITY 405-810-3000
TULSA 918-581-7272

OREGON
PORTLAND 503-326-2162

PENNSYLVANIA
PHILADELPHIA 215-861-3300
PITTSBURGH 412-395-6484
SCRANTON 570-346-5781

PUERTO RICO
SAN JUAN 787-277-1515

RHODE ISLAND
PROVIDENCE 401-331-6456

SOUTH CAROLINA
CHARLESTON 803-772-4015
COLUMBIA 803-765-5446
GREENVILLE 864-233-1490

SOUTH DAKOTA
SIOUX FALLS SD 605-330-4565

TENNESSEE
CHATTANOOGA 423-752-5125
KNOXVILLE 865-545-4627
MEMPHIS 901-544-0333
NASHVILLE 615-736-5841

TEXAS
AUSTIN 512-916-5103
DALLAS 972-868-3200
EL PASO 915-533-6950
HOUSTON 713-868-2299
LUBBOCK 806-472-7347
MCALLEN 956-630-5811
SAN ANTONIO 210-308-6220
TYLER 903-534-2933
WACO 254-741-0576

UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY 801-524-5910

VERMONT
BURLINGTON 802-651-4091

VIRGINIA
NORFOLK 757-441-3200
RICHMOND 804-771-2274
ROANOKE 540-857-2208

WASHINGTON
SEATTLE 206-220-6800
SPOKANE 509-353-2532

WEST VIRGINIA
CHARLESTON 304-347-5188

WISCONSIN
MADISON 608-264-5191
MILWAUKEE 414-297-3587

WYOMING
CHEYENNE 307-772-2380]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12931477 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 03:00:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12931344 ZOverLord :

said by SandyBee

:

Excellent info! Thank you!

So what do you suggest we can all do? Is there any way the FBI will be able to catch these people with our help?

The responsible Government agency for these types of problems is NOT the FBI it is the U.S. Secret Service.

Below is is a list of agents involved in the story in my last post.

»www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1···6,00.asp

Again for those who did not see my first post, PLEASE read the story by clicking on the link below, at each page, click on next to read the entire story.

»www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1···5,00.asp

The main site for the U.S. Secret Service is located at the link below:

»www.secretservice.gov/

Their Financial Crime Division site is located at the link below:

»www.secretservice.gov/financial_crimes.shtml

Again, if anyone has any questions or needs help let me know if you need help, it will be important to let their investigation (Units) know your details since this is multiple regions so they can see how wide spread it is.

Also there are instructions on proper procedure of what to do if you are a victim of these types of crimes at the link above.

Thanks

Don]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12931344 Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:09:07 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930680 SandyBee : Excellent info! Thank you!

So what do you suggest we can all do? Is there any way the FBI will be able to catch these people with our help?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930680 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 23:41:09 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930670 SandyBee : Excellent! I see you are in IL, what station? Is your NBC 5, ABC7 , CBS 2? I'll watch it if we have the same one. Good luck!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930670 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 23:39:50 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930426 anon : I'VE NEVER USED PAYPAL OR E-BAY...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930426 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 23:06:41 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930306 anon : Does anyone know about that connection thing that connects the windows 2000 servers on ebay to paypal? My paypal account was set up less than a week before this thing happened to my Visa. I don't recall any other times when I used a Visa other than that.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930306 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 22:52:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930259 anon : Yup, yup. That's good information. Better than my rambling speculations. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930259 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 22:46:59 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930156 Bink63 : Just one thing...

despite the present tense of the article, shadowmob was taken down by the Secret Service some time ago.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930156 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 22:35:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930120 anon : Okay, here's what it looks like to me, in my vastly untrained estimation. Either a site was hacked or a company was. The transactions follow a pattern of batch processing. Mastercard was last month around the Feb 22. This month is was around the 11th when the card authorizations through Visa Debit cards went through. The authorizations were on the 11th and the charges were submitted yesterday or so (15th). All the data may have been taken at once but it was used in batches of something like two mass transaction processes. Mastercard seems to have caught onto them last month and Visa Debit cards are somehow harder (more complex) to shut down. There's no sign that Mastercard was shut down really, The batch might have just included all one card network at once. For the scam to matter there needs to be a relatively high number of accounts hit at the same time with the relatively low amount appearing on many accounts at once.

We're only assuming that this was a financial transaction meant to steal money. It might have been a more corporate scam to obfuscate international monetary transfers. That could be useful for a terrorist network in hiding funds going to a terrorist operation. That's not a happy thought. All that is pure speculation though. There's simply too much cover up for the end user to identify a source.

Several things are clear to me though. This is more than e-mail phishing or sloppy card use. This is a large data theft. The feds shouldn't ignore it. I think It's bigger than that.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930120 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 22:31:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930104 ZOverLord : First,

I would like to state that I have been a consultant for fortune 100 banks world wide for 25+ years.

My Specialty was ATM(Automatic Teller Machine), POS( Point of Sale ), and wire transfer customized software interfaces, including interfaces to Visa, Mastercard, AMEX and others.

What you are dealing with is a combination of things which are:

1. A Fraudulent Merchant account.

2. Many Hacked Databases from many sources.

Late Chargebacks will not matter in this case because these card companies would have paid the initial monies to the Merchant, who is Long Gone by now, BUT your bank and the issuing card company will eat the cost.

It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that if an when possible people who have been abused by this merchant List, when possible where they used their card recently, here is why.

Some of the places where your card data was Stolen from may NOT even know their data was compromised. There should be some common sources, you may not find all of them, but this could reach into the Thousands and a new merchant, again fraudulent of course could be used in the future.

This is most likely how this took place:

1. Several databases were hacked into to get credit/debit card information.

2. Prior to be able to SELL your card information, valued on average of about $10.00 U.S. per item, the card must be Tested to prove it is worth the $10, so a small amount usually is attempted from an online web page, as some of you know this is known as Card Pinging

3. Once it is proved that the card can be used for charges it is sold, usually with others, also tested, sometimes 100 numbers or more at a time in an Auction, highest Bidder wins.

4. A fraudulent Merchant account is used or created, and then quickly closed, as soon as the bulk of the money is received from the issuing card companies, prior to most chargebacks being processed.

If you have ANY more detailed questions, please ask I will answer all questions. This has been my field of expertise for 25+ years, I will be VERY honest being a consultant.

I have placed a link below and BEG ALL of you to go to this link and get an inside PEEK on how these things are done. Please click on NEXT on each page to read the entire story.

There are contact names, Phone Numbers and Email addresses of the Government Agencies in this article that will help get to the bottom of this for you all, contact them!

Click on the link below to read how this is done and get important information and read one story.

»www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1···3,00.asp

Thanks

Don]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12930104 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 22:30:05 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12929475 anonemouse1 : I contacted our local TV station and used their "we are helping you" type program. They are supposed to come talk to me tomorrow WITH A CAMERA! The things I do for you people! :0) I just wanted to get the word out so more people can find the charge and hopefully more small news will finally pick up a large news!

If it makes the website (TV station) I will post the address later. Wish me luck! We are going to chat and then they are going to show me reading these posts...I will be sure to get the address in there!

Michele]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12929475 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 21:30:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12929187 SandyBee : After reading these posts for the last month, I don't think it was one particular place. It's sounding more and more like a credit processing got hacked ie; MC and Visa. When you charge something with your card, where/who is the place that approves it? I'd be willing to bet that is the source where the crooks are getting the numbers from.

However, someone has said they never used the card, but that is one person out of how many?

I'll be sure to call Lt Lively, thanks for that info!

I can't believe this is still going on. I was one of the people hit at the start of Feb. I thought by now they'd be long gone. In a way, maybe it's good because apparently they don't realize how many people are onto them. If they continue to do it, chances are probably better in catching them. What happens at that point (IF they get caught)? Do we file a class action lawsuit? Or just be happy with them sitting in jail? :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12929187 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 20:59:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12928051 Bink63 : I would suggest you call Pizza Hut at (800)948-8488.

They will arrange for you to get a callback from either an Area Coach or a Regional Manager.

I can't speak for Pizza Hut, but in my experience, they do take these matters seriously.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Randy
--
Just my .02alt0162 worth!
Legacy Consulting ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12928051 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 19:06:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12927535 anon : the pizza hut is at 2625 georgetown dr in augusta ga and the time was between 7-7:30pm. the name i did not catch but i can describe him.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12927535 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 18:05:11 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12927490 anon : the address is 2625 georgetown dr augusta ga
and the phone # is 706-790-6611
i can not find my receipt to get the employees number and I unfortunately did not get the man's name. But I do remember what he looks like.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12927490 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 17:55:43 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12927295 Bink63 : Which Pizza Hut?

An address would be quite helpful, as well as the date and time the double swiping occurred.

A name or description of the employee in question would also help!

;)

Regards,

Randy
--
Just my .02alt0162 worth!
Legacy Consulting ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12927295 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 17:34:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12927228 anon : U know..i just remembered something. I was at a local pizza hut on March 8th and I remember the gentleman that took my check card scanned my card twice. At first I thought the puter didn't catch it the first time so he ran it again. Have not thought about it again until just now. I forget what they call that but I called pizza hut and they r going to look into it. Don't know how that will work but she said they will find out for me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12927228 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 17:27:40 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12926453 anonemouse1 : I got a refund from my Paypal/Mstercard debit card today. The "merchant" has 45 days to send a note why I should have to pay...hopefully they will be LONG GONE by then!

Hope others have as good of luck getting their money back!

Michele]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12926453 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 16:01:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12926433 anon : I just got the same damn charge for 29.99 and my bank is acting shady about it. Mine turned into a charge after three days. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12926433 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:59:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12926127 Kip patterson : Nothing was purchased with your card. The merchant is phony - they just took the money and ran.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12926127 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:24:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12925224 anon : And through the agency that provides regulatory oversight over the issuer. If memory serves me correctly, financial instituions need to respond in writing to all such complaints.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12925224 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 13:27:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12925002 SOLdesign :

said by sol2:

I got the credit back on my credit card for the Pluto Data charge, but to add insult to injury they stuck me with a stolen/lost fee for $10. My blood is boiling...

um, you card was not stolen or lost. call them back and tell them to reverse the charge. Tell them you will file a complaint with your state attorney general if they do not.
--
-Why don't you just Xanadu yourself right into the police car sir? Well, why don't you just Xanadont! - Reno 911]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12925002 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 13:03:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12924549 anon : I got the credit back on my credit card for the Pluto Data charge, but to add insult to injury they stuck me with a stolen/lost fee for $10. My blood is boiling...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12924549 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 12:08:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12924446 anon : silly me..i posted a new topic instead of a reply.:p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12924446 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:56:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12924396 anon : I did this once b4. I must not have done it right. I had $19.99 debited from out of my account yesterday. I have noticed a lot of u have had $29.99. How do I find out what my card was used for? I called the Answer Quick # and the lady I spoke with told me that they r no longer Pluto Data's answering service. I have no idea what was purchased with my card. IFF..??? wants a persons name or business for the complaint but I have no idea how to get that info. My bank has already cancelled my chk crd. And I should be receiving my dispute papers from Visa w/i 2-5 business days to get my $ back.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12924396 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:50:57 EDT Re: Netflix common denominator? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12924218 anon : I received the 29.99 charge from 888-xxx-xxxx from PLUTO D but I have not used Netflix. I really want to determine the common denominator in this equation and how my credit card # was compromised.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12924218 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:28:46 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923980 anon : Looks like most of us hit in this round were Visa Debit Card users. It didn't do any good to notify my bank that the $29.99 authorization was fraudulent. It still went through on the account. This seems really lame to me that an authorization can be demonstrated fraudulent and not stopped. That means that whoever gets the money can take it and run. Someone must have the capacity to track the destination of these funds. Why hasn't that happened? How is it that Bush can start a war but not protect a bank account?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923980 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:01:05 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923917 anon : I got the same charge on my check card. I contacted my bank and disputed the charge. They investigated themselves and told me that they'll give me my money back. Then I called my local police dept and filed a report. They told me to also call the local secret service and file a report. I also called the Baton Rouge Police Dept and spoke to LT. Robert Lively, Phone#(225) 389-8362. He said he has gotten over 250 complaints and he is making a list of all of the victims and when they get together with the FBI, they will contact the victims.
So, if you are a victim, contact LT. Lively and add your complaint to his list.
Good Luck.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923917 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 10:53:31 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923842 Kip patterson : It has come to the attention of Mastercard, and it looks like they have it shut down. They must have more than one merchant account through more than one bank. The bank that has the Mastercard account would surely have shut down the Visa as well if it was through them - in the long run, it is the bank who gave out the Pluto account(s) that is going to take the hit.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923842 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 10:42:09 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923766 DyerUser : Why is it that we are approaching a month on this scam. Large credit card issuers have to have been hit for quite a bit, yet they have not been shut down?

Surely it has to have come to the attention of people who can do so?

This makes no sense whatsoever.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923766 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 10:29:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923453 anon : I also have the charge on my card. It is a Visa Check card through a Credit Union.

Here is the particulars on the charge: 888-323-8955 PLUTO D NICOSIA CY Date 03/12/05

It posted to my account yesterday. The card is not used to shop online, only at brick and mortar establishments, usually food places like subway or other local restaurants. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923453 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 09:41:39 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923441 anon : Well, I'm glad I kept watching my account online...the charge finally went through yesterday, and there it is, $29.99 from Pluto D in Nicosia, Cyprus on 3/11, with the usual toll-free number. Argh! I haven't bothered to try to call the toll-free number, I know that's useless. I've sent an online message to customer service at B of A (it was my debit card that got nailed), and considering the fact that someone earlier in this thread had a bad experience with B of A over this same issue, I have to say I'm nervous to see what their response will be. It's bad enough that I'm probably going to end up with a new debit card, which is going to mean a lot of work notifying places that have my debit card number for recurring monthly charges...but if B of A gives me any hassle like the previous poster, then B of A is going to lose a customer of over 20 years.:huh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923441 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 09:40:03 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923274 anon : I discovered the same PLUTO D NICOSIA $29.99 charge on my Visa credit card yesterday. I was browsing my online banking and noticed it had been posted that morning, 3/15. My bank is a Credit Union. I've never used NetFlix, and I double checked my PayPal but I hadn't used this card with PayPal.

I have started the dispute process with my bank, filed a IFCC complaint, and an FTC ID Theft complaint. Has anyone actually had FBI or other law enforcement genuinely contact them on this matter?

Thanks for creating this discussion thread. It has definitely helped my understand what is going on with this ongoing, global fraud.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923274 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 09:16:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923153 anon : I got a charge last night with the same information with a $29.99 charge withdrawn from my bank account via my visa check card number. I filed a complaint with the IFCC and have disputed the charge.

What else can I do?

Sincerely,

Frustrated]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12923153 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 08:55:38 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12921754 sailor : Anyone get a Nevada Drivers License since last November?

The DMV got hit..

Personal Information Taken in DMV Break-In

By KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Personal information from more than 8,900 people was stolen when thieves broke into a Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles office, officials said Friday.

A computer taken during the break-in contained names, ages, dates of birth, Social Security (news - web sites) numbers, photographs and signatures of southern Nevada residents who obtained driver's licenses between Nov. 25 and March 4 at the North Las Vegas office, state DMV chief Ginny Lewis said.

The DMV had previously maintained that the information on the computer stolen in Monday's break-in was encrypted, making it virtually useless to thieves.

But Lewis said Friday that Digimarc Corp., the Beaverton, Ore.,-based company that provides digital driver's licenses in Nevada, told her Thursday the information was not encrypted, and was readily accessible.

Miz Nakajima, Digimarc spokeswoman, said Friday she could not comment on specifics about state DMV customers or the Nevada theft. The publicly traded company provides a service Nakajima called "digital watermarking" to motor vehicle departments in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

All 21 Nevada DMV licensing stations were ordered by the end of the day Friday to remove personal information from computers to prevent a recurrence, Lewis said.

The Nevada DMV planned to send certified letters by next week informing the drivers that their personal information had been stolen. They will be issued new licenses with new identification numbers, Lewis said.

The Nevada DMV data theft comes after personal information was stolen from a database owned by the information broker LexisNexis and from the giant data broker ChoicePoint Inc. Another data loss affected some 1.2 million federal employees with Bank of America charge cards.

Besides the computer, thieves took a camera, 1,700 license blanks and laminated plastic covers bearing the embossed state seal.

»story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s···stolen_3
--
"Money does not make one happy, the amount of it does. And the most expensive thing is human stupidity, people pay dearly for it"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12921754 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 00:35:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12921637 anon : I just got my statement today. It had the PLUTO D on it. Here is the crazy part. I do not use this card at all. I in fact tryed to cancel it in Jan. and Household bank talked me out of it. So I kept the card but I do not use it. This is the first charge to this card since Aug. 2004. This charge was on 2-27.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12921637 Wed, 16 Mar 2005 00:18:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12921471 anon : Got hit on 3/10/05.
First National Bank Omaha Credit Card
$29.99

So this fraud has now been going on for at least a month and is still happening.

Contacted my bank to dispute the charge and cancel my card.

Reported it to ifccfbi

I see msnbc has an article on all of this: »www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150531/

It will be interesting to see if they ever get this group and if they know where the theft of data occured]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12921471 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 23:57:36 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12921221 anon : My MBNA MasterCard shows a 29.99 charge from 02/16, from PLUTO DATA LTD. with the phone +18883238955 and from GB. Although I could have looked at my statement online, I had not, so I'm just reading all about this tonight. I called the 888 number and got a "please press 1 to leave a message", but I didn't want to give them my phone number, so I didn't leave a message. (I guess I already gave my phone number anyway by calling an 888 number. Whoops.)

I have another card, a VISA, from a credit union, but I do not know how to look at that statement online to see if it was affected.

The Pluto card is not a new card. I changed my card number and put a fraud alert in about a year ago after my purse was lost/stolen, and that's how old this card number is. Recently MBNA tried to change me to an American Express without warning me and I got annoyed so they changed me back and (eventually) restored the MC account with the same number. Meanwhile I got a new card with a credit union, and I had shifted almost all of my charges to the new account, making the Pluto charge stand out on the MBNA card. I made just one deliberate charge, in person in Australia, on the MBNA card this month. (In fact, I had just gotten back from Australia when the Pluto charge was made.) The remaining charges were recurring, and none of them were listed in previous posts that listed the companies (ok, I only read through page 14.)

I live in CA but have not gotten a ChoicePoint letter, so I think that's unrelated.

Anyway, I'm just posting here because this information might be useful, even though this was a charge from 2/16. I also filed a complaint with
»https://www.ifccfbi.gov/

By the way I found one news site with information about this story, from 3/10:
»msnbc.msn.com/id/7150531/]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12921221 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 23:26:47 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12920547 sweetpeach : I was hit twice, once on 2/13/05 and again on 2/27/05. Both $29.99 charges were to my Visa credit card. The merchant names were different, the first was 888-323-8955 Pluto D and the second was Pluto Data Ltd.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12920547 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 22:05:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917842 bearbear505 : Just a reminder to all newbies here that been hit by pluto:
Use the numbers/links that LEGALBEGAL provided on page 1.
»www2.dslreports.com/forum/remark···ays=9999

I also used them as well as ones I already had. WHich by the way legalbegal, thank you for them BRPD numbers! But report this properly and I would not contact the 800 number that comes with the pluto charge as we all said earlier.

Hope everyone is doing great and things are looking better on this issue.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917842 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 17:10:30 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917668 Spectre256 : Just like to add that I too have found a charge for $29.99 on my credit card called "PLUTO DATA LTD. - +18883238955 MAIL/PHONE". Looks like I get to dispute the charge and hopefully since this is a fairly common scam/mistake/whatever there shouldn't be any problems.
--
»www.spectre256.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917668 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:47:30 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917621 anon : Kip, My card was a citibank MasterCard (credit), post date 2/28 for $19.99]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917621 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:41:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917146 bearbear505 : Thanks for employment info kip. I am typing a letter to orielly now, who knows. we might get him to look into it. I called my social security office, closest place in las cruces, nm (btw, i found that alot people dont realize new mexico is a u.s. state lol. which suprises me. i was told by a man on the phone while reporting to a official on the fraud "why you calling the u.s. if your in mexico, i said no, new mexico, he says, well same thing. so for those who didnt know, it is a u.s. state.) but keep getting busy signals there. i did that local police report, misc, etc so if the credit card company denies my dispute ill have the other reports along with that, which with all the evidence bieng presented, they shouldnt reject anything. from what ive learned by chatting with other towns people here, one other person possibly has a fraud charge but its unsure if its pluto. when i did the report to the officer he looked at the news articles i had printed out. he said he might contact me later or there detective might. if they do ill show him this place, as i dont think they heard of this yet, or if they did, didnt think it was wide spread as it is. who knows. but all the agencies are keeping quiet for now, obivously to investigate properly, etc. hopefully all this will be resolved. anyone get the charge reversed officially and any good numbers to the social security office, a main 800 number? i looked in the phone book but the one listed was not in service.

but my main worry out of the whole thing is, after all this is pluto is fixed, etc. was any social numbers compromised, etc. i read about the checkpoint and other incident's and if pluto is linked, it doesnt look good for us infected. but its all guess to me. just waiting to see what the official fbi report says.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917146 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 15:46:54 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917074 anon : I too have been hit by the Pluto Data scam. The transaction date is March 10, and there are two charges ... one for $1.00 and one for $28.99. (Visa credit card)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12917074 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 15:38:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12916987 Kip patterson : Yes, credit union cards have been hit. Also, both debit and credit cards. Mastercard and Visa, not American Express or Discover.

It would help if every poster indicated:

1) The transaction date

2) Visa or Mastercard

3) Debit or Credit.

thanks,]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12916987 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 15:26:31 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12916564 kaambler : i also am a victim. pluto data ltd charged 29.99 to my bank account on 3/14. i am posting this so that those investigating will have my complaint also.

thanks!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12916564 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:34:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12916315 SandyBee : For those wanting to send Oreilly an email, here is the email address:

oreilly@foxnews.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12916315 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:09:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12916220 pcdebb : I'm just curious, is only banks being affected? are there any credit unions that are a part of this mix? I dont know if it makes much difference but I'm simply curious. I've been watching my mom's account like a hawk since this all came out. The only suspicious thing I saw was that her "available" and "current" balances were $1.00 off. Nothing ever posted for that amount, and I couldnt remember if it was for something else that eventually posted.

And just as a heads up I emailed two of the local news stations to get their interest. No repsonse yet tho
--
babbling | mvm]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12916220 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 14:00:54 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12915683 Kip patterson : You can go to Choicepoint (and, presumeably, their competitors) and obtain a copy of the preemployment info they furnish to firms you have applied at. It is not free, but not too expensive as I recall.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12915683 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 12:59:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12915554 bearbear505 : Good work sandybee. I was looking for the link to orielly but couldnt findf it lol. You got the email or info so i could link this to him and boggle my story? thanks sandybee.
I still yet to have heard from actual person besides a amachine or automated report system. left messages, etc. im sure there busy after all this but would be a thumbs up to actually ask people questions. someone told me msn did another story about credit fraud this morning. dont know if it involved the pluto deal. My friend told me he was at work and someone mentioned how it would blow to be hit by credit fraud. he mentioned this forum and the pluto. however all in the break room laughed and said "well those kind of people look at porn, etc" i was like you got to be joking. dont people realize whats been going on lately? with the choice point and all the other crap. geeze its like duh. why do they assocciate it with porn?

one thing that bothers me is i applied for a bunch of good jobs a couple weeks ago. now, after hearing this id theft and who knows if social numbers were there, and adding that info msn and the thing i found said about how incorrect alot of info was on the background check they had pulled, bothers me. i wonder if anyone has been cought or questioned into the matter on pluto yet? hopefully they got people in mind and are getting it squared away.

well, i hope to get the email link to orielly. i think it would be interesting to see this wide spread pluto thing on there.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12915554 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 12:42:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12915460 anon : Has anyone sent an email explaining this to the Drudgereport.com.... He is usally way ahead of the main stream media curve. Just a thought. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12915460 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 12:30:14 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12914495 SandyBee :

said by charrog

:

FWIW just wanted to let you guys know I sent an email to the Oreily Factor hopefully he will read this thread and try and put some pressure on these guys...after sleeping on this info I realized this generator sounds more to me like the culprit with this thing spitting out random numbers it would attest for the closed accounts that have been used just my .02.

I sent an email over a week to them and have heard nothing. Maybe if a bunch of us keep sending emails he'll get on it? If he does look at this, you can be sure he'll be on it until something is done. I'll send another one today and link this thread again.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12914495 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 10:10:43 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12914117 anon : Charge appeared 3/10.
Made most recent paypal purchase 3/7 (has effective date of 3/10).

Could be them or a million other people I have used the card with in the last 8 years. (both online and brick & mortar)

Canceled card. Citi is watching for suspicious activity and issuing a new account number tomorrow.

C.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12914117 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 09:09:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12913929 eaglehawk6 : I was charged 2 times, once on my BoA card, and once on a First Premier Card.

--
Regards
Eaglehawk]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12913929 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 08:21:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12913823 Kip patterson : Well, no, most if not all of the .01 test charges come from other accounts. It turns out that there is a flaw in certain merchant software that makes it possible to easily obtain the merchant number and password. These "borrowed" accounts were used for the testing, starting apparently with a travel agency.

I agree that the numbers were not obtained by random generation and testing. The odds of getting a hit are extremely high. I, and some others that know more than me, think that a processor has been compromised. That scenario presents real problems for anyone trying to find out who it was.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12913823 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 07:53:59 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12913683 AdelphiaKill : No, the CC generator would not apply in this case. All of these charges are coming from "Pluto Data.." a merchant account. They could not "test" thousands of numbers until one "hits" because it would raise too much suspicion. These people already have the data for your credit/debit card and the 1 cent charge is a test to see if the card number is still active. This is more along the lines of organized crime not "script kiddies".

I sent a note to Senator Bill Nelson of Florida about this. He is sponsering legislation to regulate credit reporting agencies and companies that sell personal information. »billnelson.senate.gov/ ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12913683 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 07:12:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12913601 charrog : FWIW just wanted to let you guys know I sent an email to the Oreily Factor hopefully he will read this thread and try and put some pressure on these guys...after sleeping on this info I realized this generator sounds more to me like the culprit with this thing spitting out random numbers it would attest for the closed accounts that have been used just my .02.
--
Pray for our troops!! God Bless the USA!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12913601 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 06:38:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912530 Kip patterson : I was told by a senior person at Mastercard that Mastercard and Visa do not share fraud data. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912530 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 00:22:41 EDT Re: Pluto Data - Found interesting small article http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912514 bearbear505 : i found this from www.freedomisslavery.info
heres the article, dont know if its related or anything but found it interesting. ill leave the link of the full story at the bottom (i cut and pasted main parts to here but did not alter anything. see the full page):

-----

By Ellen Simon, Associated Press
Inside Bay Area

NEW YORK — If you're wondering what information data-trafficking companies have on you, you're not alone.
It's a question on many minds now that two such companies, ChoicePoint Inc. and LexisNexis, have disclosed that criminals sneaked into their databases and accessed personal data on more than 170,000 Americans.

To find out just what these companies have on us, I bought dossiers on myself from both, spending less than $30.

A curious customer looking at both reports would find out everything from my sister-in-law's brother's name to my party affiliation. (Undeclared.) But they wouldn't learn that I'm married.

The reports are rich with information but they are by no means complete. Nor are they always accurate.
--- !...?

The LexisNexis database that thieves breached is called Accurint. Through Accurint, the company sells reports on individuals that cost anywhere from 50 cents to $4.50.

--

It had my name, date of birth and Social Security number.

--

It listed my current and former addresses and phone numbers, as well as those of my neighbors.

»www.insidebayarea.com/portlet/ar···=2606064]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912514 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 00:19:50 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912485 charrog : Well I would just like to say I am sorry for all the people getting hit with this scam, while I myself have not been hit and hopefully wont I have made a couple of observations the first is that the area and scope of this is to wide for it to be any release of information or theft from any of the aforementioned leaks there are many that had no connection to those companys.So that leads me to believe that it is a random event. Secondly it has only happened on MC or Visa. So I feel that it is being done all through a credit card generator a cc generator is a bot that will produce random sets of numbers based on some guidelines such as 5491 or 6035 or some other first 4 digit from visa or MC. The generator will then produce numbers based on number of calculations set per minute. Then all you have to do is have another bot run a script pushing these numbers trying to get an authorization running expiration dates till it gets a hit hence the .01 charges once the number is validated the bot will spit out a file with the number generated along with the expiration date then it is smooth sailing for the hacker to use the card on any site that does not need a cvv2 number.While I have never used one of these generators myself I have downloaded one in the past and confirmed they are functional. It would take quite sometime to get these many numbers but with many computers it could be done in a couple of weeks or a month or two then they sit back and run them through at a random pace.Lets hope these guys get shut down soon so not many others will have to endure this. On a sidenote I am proud to be a member of this fine organization called DSLR once again it proves to be on the cutting edge of information and awareness no wonder the last two weekends some one has tried to shut this fine site down.
--
Pray for our troops!! God Bless the USA!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912485 Tue, 15 Mar 2005 00:15:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data - forgot about my other paypal... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912251 bearbear505 : i was diggin in my records and i also had to go through paypal for a life time fee for flyawaysimulation.com which is a simulator site for train simulator and microsoft flight simulator, download files, scenery, etc. it was $5.00 but i it was legit. got a confirm from the folks at fly away. i dont know if this is all from the cypress deal with that fraud deal with the pharmacycard thing or somethign else. who knows until the fbi releases the information when they have it.
but as allenmomof1 said, kidna funny how a majority of people went through amazon and paypal on here and now got the nicosia slap on them. hmmm, but still leaves the door open for the others who havent gone through paypal or amazon before. still no luck in anything new. dont think i missed anything in tracing for pluto data. jsut found a basic post in a basic info search like the msn and others. its dated march 10 from:

»www.glassdog.com/archives/2005/0···ing.html

not much there. i cant recall if i found it in a search or read it on here somewhere. so much info in the bloater today i forgot some things lol. anyone have any luck yet with anything?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912251 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 23:42:39 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912200 anon : One other minute common element I've seen for me is the post office @ xmas. probably desperate but... I wanna know..]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912200 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 23:37:41 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912028 anon : I was charged the $29.99 to my credit card. I used this card in the preceding days to purchase at these places:

Sears.com
ConsumerReports.org
Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim, CA
small car rental shop in Anaheim (credit card was denied)
small Chinese restaurant in Anaheim (credit card was denied)

When I heard from my credit card company that the company name is 'Pluto', I thought it was related to the Disney Hotel. When I found the info on this website, my hackels went up. I had almost delayed action to it, due to the relevance of the name...

If anyone would compile a list of such related charges, maybe the source will be identified...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12912028 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 23:14:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12911952 anon : I got scammed and have never used PayPal. Up a lonely river...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12911952 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 23:02:19 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12911937 anon : i did question paypal twice now..they will not answer me at all..i told them about the pluto data scam and i was hit and i had read where quite a few others used paypal also..i didnt accuse them of anything just ask if there could be a breach in there system somewhere..they wont talk to me about it at all..i have tried two times now]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12911937 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 23:00:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12911745 anon : i've disputed my VISA cc bogus charge with first national bank of omaha, omaha ne. i got my credit with no problem after my explanation and i attached copies from this website and e-mailed the news article from Bob Sullivan @ MSNBC.com. their fraud dept. contacted me and i thought took this very seriously. don't the visa/visa mastercard/mastercard institutions have some sort of an alert system amongst them???? does anyone know about their fraud alerts between them. Give Bof A all the info on this site. good god what does it take to get the media to listen to this??? is there any reason they are ignoring this???? a political reason? i am skeptical but usually not this skeptical... doesn't anyone know of more resources here for the media???]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12911745 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 22:39:36 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12911332 funchords :

said by oliphant

:

BofA denied my dispute. I called in to dispute the charge and cancel the card and about a week later got a cardholder claim form. I filled it out with all the details I know...the answering service the whole thing. Got a letter back from them today stating there was no error and the credit they had given me would be reversed on the 17th.

Needless to say I'm completely pissed. How can Bank of America let stand a charge that is all over the news as fraudulent. Even when talking to a customer service rep. as soon as I mentioned Pluto Data she knew exactly what I was talking about but said there was nothing I could do but fax back the investigation department and basically beg for my $30. That's Bullcrap. It's up to the merchant to prove I bought it. I can't prove a negative.

I've already called Citibank and opened an account, but moving autobilling stuff is a hassle...but after this I've had it with BofA.

You are 100% correct.

Here's how to get your money.

1. Write a letter stating that you have been a provable victim of fraud. Visa USA advertises Zero Liability for fraud.

2. You demand that the charges be reversed.

3. You are sending a copy of all correspondence to:

... Visa USA

(google for their address)

... The Feds

COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney St., Suite 3450
Houston, Texas 77010
Toll Free (800) 613-6743
FAX (713) 336-4301
www.occ.treas.gov/customer.htm
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12911332 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 21:59:57 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit, more crap and more crap http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12910181 bearbear505 : I came back. Seems like this fraud charge is getting outa hand. i saw that digitalsoftwarefraud.com thing. isnt it funny? were considered losers? well they can expect me to get an attorney if it doesnt work out for me. i think calling people losers is irresponsible on that sites listing. our info was possibly taken without our knowing of it and were considered the loser and at fault? well i guess we are, cause we got credit. yeah right lol. give me a break! credit is something required in todays world and it isnt our fault business's dont conduct there outfit properly. geeze. whats this world business coming too. in my opinion, this whole security thing in every area that we hear about in america is a joke.

whats this world comign to?

ill check back in a bit see what else come back here.
laters all.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12910181 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 19:44:20 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12909811 duffer43 : Here's a link to an article in our local fishwrapper:

'»www.cdapress.com/articles/2005/0···ws04.txt']]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12909811 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 19:00:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12909686 anon : My Chase MC was hit on 2/28 for 39.99 and had the same info ...Pluto Data Ltd with an 888 number that lets you choose number one to leave a message and 2 to send a fax. I am glad for this post...because when I called my bank to dispute the charge they informed me it was a catalog charge...It took me 10 seconds online to find out about the scam. Thanks to all of you for the post. This is the second time in 2 months I had a cc number compromised. The first one was a card I have not used in 2 years. I have had this happen in the past though (this being the 4th time) and I am very careful about my info and where I shop. Makes you wonder about the security of all cc info and your identity. Good luck to all and I hope they get these creaps that are now going to cost me time to take care of this.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12909686 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 18:45:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Charge, forgot to add paypal http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12909248 bearbear505 : I forgot to mention, I also bought a item at amazon.com in 04 before x mas and had to go through paypal with the card.

it was a one time thing. funny though, i saw that speciali think discovery channel did or court tv on fraud, with the internet thing and all during december. i kept my gaurd up and was wondering the whole time, will i get hit by fraud soon? i kinda look at it as a sign lol. just didnt see it!
lol

but yeah, i also go through 2 model sites (toys, as in cars, trucks, diecast stuff) because i make police car models. i buy the blank cars, decal equip, paper equip, etc. but the amazon purchase was for a cd called metroploitan mega mix, older cd i couldnt anywhere. i got it and everything was cool. but only side purchase i ever made outside from the 2 diecast model places. i bought from them since last year usding this card. never had a prob till now after the paypal thing. hmmm, connection? lol
so for those still saying "those people buy porn or look at it" im sure we dont.

take care all.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12909248 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 17:48:52 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge, my update http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12909084 bearbear505 : I am still waiting for call backs and other papers to come in. Still doing research. I emailed action 7 news, koat7 in new mexico, thenewmexicochannel.com and emailed foxnews and told them the story and gave this sites link as well as others. I been writing all i do, printing proof, getting financial records ready, looking over all of them. i also found a site, which is similiar in story with what someone else posted on a different page here. it also said "Bank of America loses over a million customers records" i will put the link on here, its kinda in the middle, theres other crap there so just gotta look for it. if you print it, its on page bottom 3 and page 4.

»www.2rss.com/atom2rss.php?atom=h···atom.xml

it makes me mad that all this is going on, and nothign happening. like the previous guy says, they dont wanna refund or take it off or whatever. thats bull. all this proof theres a big fraud scam going on and they just jurk it off? jesus, theres nothing secure about america anymore.
it seems to me most of us did the right thing in protecting our credit, etc. but someone is responsible for our data leaking out and there should be a suit.

but all last night and today (with no sleep) been gettign papers printed, copied, etc. as well as looking for info on this (what I labled my folders) Pluto D Nicosia Fraud File.
so far as like us all, same stuff pops up and little is found. anyone actually talk to a secret service person yet or anyone from the fbi? how about anyone in the Baton Rouge Computer Fraud Div? as it was listed on page 2 i believe on here. anyone? i am still waiting for my stuff so well see what happends tomorrow.

i dont know who it is doing this, or why but hopefully they can get it resolved soon before there are more victims. oh and for the side, i told people in a local online group for my town, alamogordo, nm about this, they all said """thats what you get for buying porn!"""" i was so angry at them. they dont realize anyone is victim to fraud. specially when records are lost out of your control. arrrrrrrhhh! well enough for this long post.

Good luck to all, and lets keep eachother posted.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12909084 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 17:31:20 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12908841 oliphant :

said by Kip patterson

:

Is your BofA card Mastercard or Visa, please?

Visa Debit Card.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12908841 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 17:08:35 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12908818 Kip patterson : Is your BofA card Mastercard or Visa, please?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12908818 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 17:06:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12908775 oliphant : BofA denied my dispute. I called in to dispute the charge and cancel the card and about a week later got a cardholder claim form. I filled it out with all the details I know...the answering service the whole thing. Got a letter back from them today stating there was no error and the credit they had given me would be reversed on the 17th.

Needless to say I'm completely pissed. How can Bank of America let stand a charge that is all over the news as fraudulent. Even when talking to a customer service rep. as soon as I mentioned Pluto Data she knew exactly what I was talking about but said there was nothing I could do but fax back the investigation department and basically beg for my $30. That's Bullcrap. It's up to the merchant to prove I bought it. I can't prove a negative.

I've already called Citibank and opened an account, but moving autobilling stuff is a hassle...but after this I've had it with BofA.
--
Don't get it, demand it! The Anime Network www.theanimenetwork.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12908775 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 17:01:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907963 Jo531 : This is in response to Answer Quick. How dare you judge someone? I do not have a credit card. Pluto Data took my debit card and charged my account $39.99. I don't look at porn. I have never smoked pot, etc. Still, even if I had, NO ONE has the right to steal from me! You may be a "college kid", but you have knowledge that your company is a crook. They are a crook, because they KNOWINGLY have a customer, who is a crook. They are aiding and abetting, just as you are. If you don't quit your job, you will stand to go to prison. It usually is the little guy who gets convicted, while the real criminals get off somehow. The person(s) who get convicted are not necessarily the truly guilty ones. They are the ones who are the ones who can be convicted the most easily (forgive the English grammar). Trust me, they are going to get caught and go to prison. People like this make the rest of us pay. Not just in cash, but with changing the way we can use our debit and credit cards and paypal on the internet. We will lose that right. We could end up being taxed. Definitely, we have lost our trust in the internet system. What a price to pay. They will get caught. They are going to prison. You are too unless you distance yourself.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907963 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 15:15:51 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907869 lerandell : Just an FYI. My card that was hit is not listed on Paypal.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907869 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 15:01:21 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907794 Darth Yoda : From what i have seen and heard so far , a lot of people that were affected by this scam seems to have dealt via paypal at some point before.It is the point of reference that come the most often in thisa thread i think.

My aunt (she live in Florida) that was affected also used paypal a month before the mysterious charge appeared on her Visa card.

Now of course it doesn't mean that Paypal is responsible but like u said , we should start to ask them question.At least ,it's encouraging to see that the Feds and the secret service are working on this case as i type this. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907794 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 14:52:13 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907760 lerandell : I just thought I would add my name to the long list. I got hit with a $29.99 also on my check card that I use everywhere. I have now closed that card. I was charged on 3/8/2005. Mine was also charged from Pluto D Nicosia Cy Surplu.
--
Runnng Family Web Site over Direcway Satellite. »randell.no-ip.com/]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907760 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 14:47:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907426 AdelphiaKill : It looks more and more like a breach of PayPal. It's time to start asking them questions.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12907426 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 14:07:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906953 anon : Yep, just looked at my Chase credit card statement this morning to find the wonderful $29.99 charge from who else but Pluto Data LTD. As frustrating as this is, when I called Chase to begin the disputing the charge process, they claimed no knowledge of any other reports of problems. Not sure how they can claim that when this has been going on for over a month with this fake company. More frustrating as I have now had to waste several hours on hold on the phone with them and typing a letter to formally dispute the charge. Thank you to everyone for posting on this and verifying my suspitions that I was not alone in this. I just called Chase back and had to push for them to treat my account number as stolen and to reissue a new number...looks like they would be happy to do so...

This is the credit card that I reserve for all of my on-line shopping, so not sure which merchant the number was taken from.

Anyway, thanks again for opening everyone's eyes to this scam.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906953 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 13:06:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906881 georgia42 : Same here, same place, same amount, same company, great britain 29.99 plus four one dollar charges. the only accts online i have are networksolutions paypal and itsmysite. A formal fbi report is being sent to me by my cc co. and of course i cancelled my card, get a new one in a few days. Again, I wonder if it isn't something loaded into my pc, which was fixed after the fact due to a virus... I suggest anti-spyware from microsoft and don't download anything free ever. still checking on scams from internet domain name.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906881 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 12:53:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906715 georgia42 : I was charged on my MC the 29.99, thursday march 10th, Pluto Data, the same phone number that everyone else got...1-888-323-8955. The charge came from Great Britian. Thats all master card told me. I suggest everyone tells everyone they know including your local polic department about the company "Pluto Data". Keep getting the word out. I cancelled my card, and am issued a new one. Also, $1.00 charges x4 by "internet domain name". I use few services on the net. they are reputable, so, I beleive it was due to unsafe surfing of an innocent manner. (no porn for this mom) something loads into your machine (PC) and starts reading your e-mails. Anyone know about viruses found weeks previous to your cc attack? please reply.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906715 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 12:33:13 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906580 raythompsontn :

said by SandyBee

:

SO KEEP WATCHING FOR FRUAD CHARGES.

And particularly any FRAUD charges (a FRUAD is perhaps a relative of Frodo.)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906580 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 12:16:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906483 SandyBee : I found the following statement over at ripoffreport.com. I can't verify the accuracy of it, but thought it may be of interest to everyone involved:

"HELLO FOLKS, I WANTED TO PASS SOME INFO TO EVERYONE INCLUDING THE OWNER OF THIS SERVICE. I HAVE CONTACTED THE US. SECRET SERVICE, THE CREDIT BURAEUS AND THE BANK--- BANK OF AMERICA.

SEEMS ALL OF THE SKYPE AND FRAUDULANT CHARGES TO CS'S ALL SPAN FROM PHOENIZ AX.

FIRST BANK OF AMERICA DEBIT AND BANK ACCOUNT TAPES WERE STOLEN ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO WHICH INCUDED SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN AND 1.5 MILLION OTHER ACCOUNTS.

THIS IS THE SAME TIME PERIOD WHEN THINGS STARTED TO DISAPPEAR OUT OF MY BANK ACCOUNTTHROUGH THE DEBIT CARD.

1. CHARGES OF $12.93 X 2 AND $026.00 X 2 CAME OUT FIRST IN FEBRUARY FROM SKYPE.NET FOR HIGH SPEED OR INTERNET SERVICE. THIS WAS DISPUTED AND HAS SINCE COME OFF MY ACCOUNT AS TOT HE CHARGES.

2. THEN IN FEBRUARY VALENTINE'S DAY A CHARGE OF $29.99 CAME OUT, FROM A MAN NAMED PLUTO D. NICOSIA FOR FAKE DVD/CD PURCHASES.

THESE ARE CONNECTED THESE ARE TERRORISTS IN CYPRESS USING THE INTERNET TO MAKE CALS AND THEN STEALING MONIES THROUGH FAKE BUSINESSES.

ABOUT A YEAR AGO THE FEDS SAID THEY HAD TERRORISTS THREATS OF THE INFASTRUCTURE BEING HIT AND THEY ALL CLAIMED (TERRORISTS) WOULD COLLAPSE THE BANKING SYSTEM IN AMERICA.
THIS ALL COULD BE A TERRORIST HIT IN AMERICA.

SO KEEP WATCHING FOR FRUAD CHARGES.

Mark - Houston, Texas
U.S.A."]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906483 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 12:02:42 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906412 SandyBee : said by NBC 30

:If you live in Connecticut and you've received a Pluto Data charge, NBC 30 Connecticut News would love to hear from you. Please email Ken.Luallen@nbc.com with your story, home town, and phone number.

We're considering of a doing a story on these fraudulent charges.

Ken Luallen
NBC 30 Connecticut News

Do you have any connections for those of us that are not in CT? We appreciate you checking this out but we need the word to get out nationwide, if possible. Thanks in advance!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906412 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 11:53:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906207 Voyager2K2 : Quite a resource this DSLReports is.
You media folks should check in more often.
Many newsworthy items start right here or are gleaned from obscure resources.

Thanks for checking in NBC 30!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12906207 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 11:21:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12905927 JoshNJ :

said by pOPEYEpIRATE:

cOME TO FIND OUT SOME COMPUTER HACKER IS HACKING OUR ACCOUNTS. I have personaly found that it is a 30 or younger Philipino Male from North Carolina.

Oh come on, nobody is "hacking" anything.
--
I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12905927 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 10:40:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12905821 anon : i HAVE THE EXACT SAME CHARGE ON MY CARD AND ITS FROM naVY fEDERAL . cOME TO FIND OUT SOME COMPUTER HACKER IS HACKING OUR ACCOUNTS. sorry for the caps. anyways. I'm currently trying to get navy legal to find this hacker, I have personaly found that it is a 30 or younger Philipino Male from North Carolina. So hopefully i get to the bottom of this and I will let you know where we stand from there.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12905821 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 10:23:44 EDT Re: Is there an Attorney in the Room? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12904913 AdelphiaKill : Nothing gets the "Old Media's" attention like a lawsuit, that's for sure. We would get a lot more coverage in the newspapers and television by doing that. Another option would be for everyone to cancel their accounts with the banks that allowed this to happen and find another bank that is more secure. As far as credit cards go you could switch to American Express but the down side would be that they are not accepted everywhere due to their high merchant fees.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12904913 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 07:04:18 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12904832 anon : If you live in Connecticut and you've received a Pluto Data charge, NBC 30 Connecticut News would love to hear from you. Please email Ken.Luallen@nbc.com with your story, home town, and phone number.

We're considering of a doing a story on these fraudulent charges.

Ken Luallen
NBC 30 Connecticut News]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12904832 Mon, 14 Mar 2005 06:11:49 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge.... hit too http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12903792 bearbear505 : Hello fellow internet users

i too noticed i was a victim on march 12, 2005. i was billed by you guessed it! transaction was on 3/4/2005 and the value of 29.99, though i dont know what for lol. i never did get a 1 somethign charge or a few cents charge, though i am going back into my paper coppies i have in the file cab. i did what we all do for credit fraud, report to fbi, ftc, etc. since it happend on a weekend, other night, i gotta wait to call the other offical office to get on this. put credit fraud alrts on my accounts, etc. what a mess. i also found that msn story by accident before these boards, thank gosh for them. when isaw it, i knew right away, fraud. so i reacted pretty quick, but it wasnt posted on my onlien status during the week, so it mus thave been put there on friday or early sat by capital one.

well if anyone has any info, or updates, please let me know as i am findign anythign i can about this pluto thing. i also logged an saved all these pages on a zip drive for info and study into it.

like to add a note that i too believe a class action suit shoudl be done for loss of sleep, paper printed, ink used, hours of phone calls, internet search/history into the number, invalid use of cards/accounts, pc wear and tear lol (my monitor decided to go out while investigating as my pc power supply is going clunk clunk), etc. and this has also caused family fued/drama! lol. gosh what a weekend!
i knew id eventually in life be hit by fraud, but i thought it would be by me getting my cards stolen from me in a robbery, or something. i tell ya, they need to do something about these hackers.theres goos ones and bad ones. but we need mroe on our side. then the fact the power plants have tried to been breached, scary.. terrorists or u.s. hackers fighting for power. who knows. but its all p*ssing me off. more study and looks into security should be done. crazy. i hope this ends and no more people are hit. but anyoen who hasnt reported, REPORT! dont sit and just pay, this is your privacy and life here. dont let them steal it! is cnn or any news gonna do another story on this???????? >>>> i am just trembling with joy (jk) that someone is prob out there using my identity and ranking up bills, lovely, magnifico, brava. shoot, yeah right, as rodney dangerfield said "I cant get no respect!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12903792 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 23:36:59 EDT Is there an Attorney in the Room? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12903283 funchords : This is week 5 of this scam!

5 weeks of charges, all following the same pattern.

After the first week or two, Visa and Mastercard both had enough information to detect and stop the scam.

But now we're in week 5 -- people are still being charged. Visa and Mastercard have still not taken action. Meanwhile, individual customers are obligated to notice the charge, file a written dispute, and wait for the obvious answer -- or they are liable for the charges and interest!

It's time for this to stop, and Visa and Mastercard are being negligent by their failure to act. They have a financial interest in not acting.

It's time for a suit, and a request for Class Action status!!
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12903283 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 22:17:13 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12901980 therealshari : Just to add to this...

My business partner (in Louisiana) had inadvertently clicked on a bogus PayPal (phishing) link on Feb 10. She immediately called PayPal and changed our password. She DID NOT provide any personal info when she clicked on the bogus link.

Our CC was issued by PayPal through Providian and is a Visa card.

We had the bogus $28.99 and and additional $1.00 charge from Pluto with the infamous 888 number charged to us on Mar 8.

That card has now been cancelled... but when I tried to remove it from our company PayPal account... I couldn't do so, as there is a "pending charge". More on that later, when I find out if it's a real or bogus charge.

Shari]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12901980 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 19:33:02 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12901807 anon : If you are in Canada here is a link to report scams »https://www.recol.ca/intro.aspx?lang=en]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12901807 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 19:07:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12901784 duffer43 : PayPal had my MC credit card as a secondary account to my checking account. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12901784 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 19:03:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12901529 Doctor Four :

said by georgequ

said by 8744675

:

In South Africa, credit cards have a secret pin number like ATM cards. The cardholder must enter their PIN when making a charge. Restaurants had small handheld card swipers with a keypad that were brought to the table when you pay the check. It was simple and much more secure. Without knowing the PIN, a stolen card is worthless.

Otherwise known as the CVV number. On Visa & Mastercard,
it is located on the back, and is a 3 digit number.
American Express also uses this security measure as well,
though theirs is a 4 digit number on the front of the
card.
--
"Kayura or Badamon, whichever you are, you should know that I will never give up this battle. By the will of the Ancient, I shall succeed!" - Shuten (Anubis) from the Ronin Warriors. To RIAA/MPAA - You can sue but you can't catch everyone!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12901529 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 18:07:11 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900951 anon : I just got it on my BofA Visa account. Pluto Data LTD, no number, for $29.99 Trans date 3/10 post date 3/12. Called the CC bank today and they seemed like they knew nothing about this scam. If this is a scam as it appears to be, why aren't the CC companies denying these charges? I recently made a purchase through PayPal but it uses my checking account as a main funding source. My CC is listed on PayPal as an alternate funding source though. How long are the banks going to allow this to go on before they start denying these charges?

Tony]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900951 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 15:57:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900349 AdelphiaKill : I emailed the MSNBC article to everyone on my contacts list. My sister-in-law found the charge on her credit card statement. She is not a heavy user of the Internet or mail order but in the last year she used EBay for the first time and created a PayPal account. I'm highly suspicious of this.
Is there anyone here that has the charge and it is NOT linked to EBay & PayPal? (Remember that EBay took over PayPal)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900349 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 14:16:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900220 Bink63 : I see dead people!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900220 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 13:59:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900129 anon : Well, it happened to me too. "888-323-8955 PLUTO D" for $29.99 is what appears on the visa authorization to my bank statement. It's a Visa Debit card. I have made web purchases on Amazon, and left my card as a verifier on an ebay account authorization recently. I'm in Denver Colorado. I used the card to see a movie at a United Artist theater the same day... In case we're looking for patterns or something.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900129 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 13:42:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900075 funchords :

said by Voyager2K2

:

Is it possible the Auth. returns a name and Pluto fudged the other data just to fill in the required fields?

No, it just returns a tracking number that the merchant can use later to settle the transaction. No other information is returned.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12900075 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 13:32:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12899694 Kip patterson : The only reason that Pluto had a database at all is to keep the scam going. Somebody sees the charge, calls Answerquick, and says no, I didn't order it, no, that's not my address. That doesn't of itself ring any bells at Answerquick. They simply reverse the charge, assuming that an error was made. Of course, all they really do is put notes in Pluto's database reporting the call and the request to reverse the charge.

From Pluto's perspective, a wrong address is good- it would raise more eyebrows if the address were correct. As is, Answerquick sees a transaction that looks like a mis-used card, not something wrong at Pluto.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12899694 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 12:40:18 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12899456 Voyager2K2 : Is it possible the Auth. returns a name and Pluto fudged the other data just to fill in the required fields?
I am still wondering about the volume of CC pings reported (and probably a huge number we don't know of).

I, like you have some questions about the principals at Answerquick myself, although the Baton Rouge authorities have cleared them of any complicity so far.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12899456 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 12:03:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12899423 clint751 : A couple of weeks prior to getting the Pluto charge on my CC I discovered what seems to be a security leak at Ebags.com (where I used the card in question). I use an email forwarding service that will establish a unique address for any given use. I created one for Ebags for a purchase - no other entity had access to that e-mail address. I received a sexually oriented spam message mailed to the e-mail address. I suspected that their database had been compromised, possibly by an unscrupulous employee or a hacker. Because of that email service I was able to trace it back to them without doubt. I contacted them with my concerns, but they didn't take it very seriously. If someone was able to get my e-mail address from their site then I imagine they could get any other info as well. I don't know if others have used Ebags but that could be one source. Selling e-mail addresses and other private info to spammers and others can make some extra bucks for someone with access to that information and it would be very difficult to trace. In my case with Ebags it was unusual that I was able to trace it back to that site with 100% accuracy because that compromised e-mail address was not used for any other communication.

---
Clint]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12899423 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 11:59:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12898724 HuntingPluto : So, the problem with it being "war-carding" is that they had our names. Those of us who were "fortunate enough" to get through to Answerquick/Pluto Data on the phone were asked if we were "Your Name". They had my name right and someone else's phone number and someone else's address. That is not random number guessing or generation. It had to have been a database that was hacked or breached. Also, I received the promised credit from Answerquick/Pluto Data. As far as CardCops goes, my stolen number was not in their database as being available in IRC or any other internet black market trade. The reason this is still going on is that the feds are trying to catch all involved. I'm willing to bet someone at Answerquick is being investigated too.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12898724 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 04:31:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12897883 funchords :

said by dearwinifred

:

Can anyone vouch for cardcops.com? I mean, it sounds like a groovy idea...but considering that I've just been scammed pretty hard...I find myself a little wary of providing real name and address info to a site that is entirely unfamiliar to me.

said by Kip patterson

:

I've talked to him, and he is known to Bob Sullivan of MSNBC and to Mastercard security. He seems to becompletely straight up.

I did some digging, tonight, and I do think he is straight-up. But what I found was interesting, and definitely would steer me away from his company and their services for now...

I've started a different topic since this is really not about Pluto Data

»Scam or ScamBuster? CardCops.com
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12897883 Sun, 13 Mar 2005 00:12:06 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12897611 anon : I was contacted by my bank (navy Fed) and told about this charge. They are taking care of it with no questions asked. Does anyone know if these guys are being shut down.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12897611 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 23:23:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12897515 Kip patterson : I've talked to him, and he is known to Bob Sullivan of MSNBC and to Mastercard security. He seems to becompletely straight up.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12897515 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 23:04:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12896940 funchords :

said by dearwinifred

I've not heard of this service either.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12896940 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 21:32:25 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12896853 funchords :

said by K-dawg42:

I got hit yesterday, 29.99 Pluto Data LTD smae 888# and it said GB at the end. It was on my older visa check/debit card. I called my credit union(in florida) and they wanted to cancle my card. I live in germany right now and there is now way of telling how long it will take to get a new card here i cant go without money for that long. Not sure what im gonna do.

If you don't, you'll be going without money either way.

The crooks have enough info to charge your card, once. No doubt they've sold that info to other bad-guys.

Cancel the card, and have your bank send you some $$ via wire to hold you over.
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12896853 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 21:19:57 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12896793 SandyBee : Is it safe to assume the only people hit were holders of Visa or Mastercard? I haven't seen any other types of credit cards listed besides these two.

I've also noticed most people have used Paypal and/or Amazon. Can everyone confirm that one of these places were used with their Visa or Mastercard?

I have used both Amazon and PayPal using my Visa Debit card, issued through TCF bank.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12896793 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 21:11:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12895663 dearwinifred : Hiya, new to the forums, other than posting about being hit by this and a few other charges (like a racehorse in Cyprus) on my credit cards...so please don't be offended if this is information I should know.

Can anyone vouch for cardcops.com? I mean, it sounds like a groovy idea...but considering that I've just been scammed pretty hard...I find myself a little wary of providing real name and address info to a site that is entirely unfamiliar to me.

I'm certainly not attacking Dan, or the company, but I'm just wondering if I could get some verification from someone who is familiar with them and their business practices.

Thanks very much. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12895663 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 17:59:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12895391 anon : So, I got this charge too ( 3/14/2005 PREAUTH 888-323-8955 PLUTO D 888-323-8955 PLUTO Nicosia NO ) As I read through this it sounded like a scam. Then I thought about what that college student was saying. My Wife purchased a dress online from (promgirl) The website looked somewhat shady but it was the only place she could find this dress. Anyway the same day Pluto pops up as a preauth. I belive that this went through as a preauth for (promgirl) handled by (pluto) and it should drop off the account in a few days. As everyone knows preauths either drop off or turn into charges. I will be watching the account and let you know. Hope this helps others with charge.
-Chris]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12895391 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 17:08:56 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12895188 Kip patterson : Actually, they would only have to come up with the last seven since the final digit is a checksum.

Yes, depending upon how many cards they issue, that would improve the odds of guessing.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12895188 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 16:34:30 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12894929 Bink63 :

said by Kip patterson

:

There are 200,000,000,000,000 possible Visa/Masteercard numbers. Let's guess that 1,000,000,000 have been used. That means testing 200,000 numbers to get one hit. If we guess that as few as 1,000 cards were compromised then the Perps had to have run 200,000,000 charges. Doesn't seem reasonable to me.

My bank uses the same first 8 digits on all of their Visa debit cards.

Wouldn't that mean that someone trying to generate card numbers would only have to come up with the last 8, instead of all 16 numbers?

Just a thought.
--
Just my .02alt0162 worth!
Legacy Consulting ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12894929 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 14:11:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12894869 Voyager2K2 : Actually with just a little deduction the number gets smaller.
I worked in retail a while back.
You had to handle quite a few credit cards and you start noticing some common things.
It's common knowledge that the first six numbers are the banking ID number. It appears in these posts that the charges cluster around different banks.
Getting the BIN for large banks would be no big deal.

I am not a criminal nor do I wish to provide any information to someone that might use it to attempt fraud but all the staff at the store would comment on how the rest of the numbers were similar. Keep in mind ALL credit issuers have to use the same number I.E the processor doesn't receive this is Visa number xxx, just the xxx be it Visa, MC, etc.
Note here that Amex uses more numbers (20) and doesn't require a BIN in the sequence. I noted Amex cards were not hit.

So that's what we knew when the staff had no criminal intent, just a way of playing a guessing game during the endless mind-numbing hours of retail.

AFAIK Visa MC require a minimum of an expiration date reported as mm/yy for added security but again that really only adds 12 * 3 to the randomness (I say three because most cards are not valid for more than three years).

So although I have no concrete numbers it's safe to assume a couple of things.
It appears that the credit cards charge were from big issuers so drop the first six digits, they already had that.
As I recall not all the remaining numbers were all that random so some more digits are easily guessed.
Now by using only cards issued by large banks and other issuers the remaining truly random pool of numbers gets quite smaller.
Someone with inside information on what common information is encoded in the remaining numbers could bring the statistical odds down a great deal I suspect.
Now I was able to figure that out in 15 minutes with information over a decade old for me and I promise I have not now nor ever had criminal intentions.

Now how a card that expired caught a charge is a mystery which could only be explained that it's possible the gateway isn't requiring an exp date or Pluto Data has found some way to circumvent that.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12894869 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 14:02:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12894488 Kip patterson : There are 200,000,000,000,000 possible Visa/Masteercard numbers. Let's guess that 1,000,000,000 have been used. That means testing 200,000 numbers to get one hit. If we guess that as few as 1,000 cards were compromised then the Perps had to have run 200,000,000 charges. Doesn't seem reasonable to me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12894488 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 13:06:51 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12894188 Voyager2K2 : You know after following this issue closely and carefully reading the replies I think I have found the key to Pluto Data's success in obtaining credit/debit card numbers.

So far no one can point to a common business/service that all who have fallen victim to this scam have used.
Perhaps it may have been a charge processor data base was compromised, but I doubt it.
Why? Because there has least been one victim (probably more) who's account had been closed for some time but the bank forwarded their charge to their new account.

So where does that leave us? I suggest it's a brute force war-carding as described in Bob Sullivan" MSNBC article already mentioned here
»msnbc.msn.com/id/3078574/

That would explain all the $.01 or $1 "test charges" to other businesses before Pluto Data attempted to access the account. It would be rather easy to write a script to have a computer automate such a process.
If Pluto Data did in fact have a list of "good" credit/debit card numbers, why risk contaminating the account with a test charge?

It's a pretty good bet that some kind of audit trail exists
at Authorize.Net or whatever payment gateway system the scammers used or continue to use.
In this case I don't think the perpetrators counted on their actions gaining so much attention so quickly which is why they started to raise the dollar amount of the charges.

It is probably a tangled web to unravel before the investigators get to the principals in this scam, but in all honesty to me it looks like this isn't a very clever scheme at all. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12894188 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 12:20:28 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12893373 anon : Just a quick update on my situation, which I posted about last night...I just checked my account online, and the charge from Pluto Nicosia did not convert from a pending charge to an actual charge. As for now, it has disappeared from my account. I'm thinking this is perhaps Bank of America is watching for charges from Pluto and pulling them, realizing they're fraudulent, but I'm still going to keep an eye on my accounts and make sure the charge doesn't suddenly pop up again early in the week.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12893373 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 10:12:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12893151 gingerwatch : I am also a Bank of America customer, mine happened to my Visa Debit card. I have never been to Runescape or any other gaming website. I don't think Pluto got all of our credit card numbers from any one web purchase leak - it seems to be a much larger operation than that.

It's amazing that Pluto is STILL striking! Amen to the poster who said it's nuts that the media is not covering this other than broadbandreports & msnbc. It goes to show you that identity theft is not taken seriously. The burden of proof is often entirely on the consumer. The banks has little responsibility. However, I have to say that my bank reversed the charges as soon as I told them about this. Mag00, I don't think your credit will be wrecked. You may want to look at your credit report - I guess that's what we all have to do. I hear the report is now free, at least once a year per person, at freecreditreport.com. Can anyone confirm this?

And to K-Dawg42, my heart goes out to you. I think you are the first one we have heard from in Germany, some here who've been hit are in the U.K. I will say a prayer that your bank turns your new cards around quickly.

For those still getting hit and trying the 888 number on the credit card statement - if you go back through this thread of postings, you'll see that Pluto Data had been using an answering service in Louisiana. Apparently they shut down Pluto's account and that's why you aren't getting any answer. If the answering service turned over all the information about Pluto Data to the authorities, I can't see why folks are still getting hit right and left.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12893151 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 09:29:12 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12892314 anon : I got hit yesterday, 29.99 Pluto Data LTD smae 888# and it said GB at the end. It was on my older visa check/debit card. I called my credit union(in florida) and they wanted to cancle my card. I live in germany right now and there is now way of telling how long it will take to get a new card here i cant go without money for that long. Not sure what im gonna do.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12892314 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 03:19:42 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12892288 anon : I see some are from BofA Shit I am AT Bank OF America Arizona :(! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12892288 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 03:09:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12892276 anon : I just Got A charge from Pluto Data (yep =29.99)
I called 888 # and gave them my HOME PHONE # !!IDIOT! the next thing I knew !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also got a Tonys?? charge in NY (89.00)and another guys Name?? fo OVER 300!!! I am Pissed! Card is closed Now but Did they get enough data to wreck my credit??? or steal my ID more!
HELP!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12892276 Sat, 12 Mar 2005 03:05:11 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12891377 anon : My debit card was also used for Airline tickets through SouthWest Airlines, quite a bit......]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12891377 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 23:51:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12891354 anon : my Vista Debit card was charged as I posted earlier in this thread. ($29.99)

But it was a business debit card, that had already been closed for two years, by the time the charge was made. Then the bank posted the charge on my new card, on a completely new account. (The old account with the debit card was a Biz account, also closed for two years)

It was never used on game sites of any type. (or porn sites, CD sites, DVD sites, Music sites, or things of that nature)

Nor was a virus issues involved, or Phishing emails.

It was used a few "secure" places online, but generally for business, office equiptment things. Staples, Amazon, Paypal, were the main ones. Once or twice on Ebay. Once at an office supply site, for a toner cartridge for a Laser printer.

And at local stores like Walmart, and Resteraunts.

Paypal and Amazon have been mentioned alot, but a few have also said that was not where their card was used.

Also while at another site recently - www.ripoffreports.com - they had some posts in their for $79.99 charges from Niocosa Internet, in January - wonder if their is a connection.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12891354 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 23:48:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12891266 anon : Count me in as someone who's gotten hit by Pluto Nicosia...I was checking my accounts online (for the record, Bank of America in California) and saw the weird $29.99 charge that has hit so many other people. Having never heard of Pluto Nicosia, I Googled the company name and found this messageboard. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in being scammed by these people, but it's also terrible to see how many people have been hit with this scam, and how, outside of the the MSNBC article, it's been basically ignored by the media.

Well, I've contacted Bank of America and am presuming I'll have no problem getting the disputed charge off my account, since Pluto Nicosia is a proven scammer. *fingers crossed*]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12891266 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 23:39:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12890207 anonemouse1 : Runescape does ring a bell...my son just joined on another credit card and a friend joined at the same time and used another of my credit cards because there were 2 in the family and you could only put ONE person on a credit card...so yes, the card that was charged was used at Runescape, but the other card was used and not charged - at least not yet!

My son had joined a year or so ago and it was fine at that time...I don't think the game is bad but that might be where a leak was made...

Michele]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12890207 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 21:11:46 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12889193 Kip patterson : There is nobody to answer that phone. The Pluto perpetrators, wherever they may be, are long gone. I would refer the bank to the MSNBC article and to Mastercard security. Pluto should be on the warning lists they get from Mastercard and Visa.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12889193 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 18:46:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12889107 anon : We had a charge for $29.99 on our bank card on 2-25. The bank gave us the 888 number and tried to call all morning and it was just busy. We had to go out in the afternoon to get our son some shoes and our card was denied, we immediately went to our bank and to find out that someone tried to put through 2 more charges for $29.99 and one for $1.00. Visa put up a red flag and stopped our cards and issued us new ones. I have been trying to call that number and one time an answering machine came on and I left my name and phone number but no one called back, not really surprised. Then today I was thinking about the charge and decided to search it on the internet and found this site. When I saw that Pluto Data is in the UK a flag popped in my head. My son was playing a game over the internet for about 5 months and to become a member you had to pay $5.00 a month. I paid with this same credit card and when I looked back in my records this site is from the UK. Has anyone been to www.runescape.com? Then a couple of days ago my son tried to get on and play this game and it wouldn't load, it said that the host was on the black list. Does anyone know what that means? I still have to file a dispute with our bank, they said to keep trying to call them for a couple of weeks to see if I can get a hold of anyone and I haven't. This is a pain in the butt.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12889107 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 18:35:04 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12889063 izy : ComradeSohal
anonymous
cpe.net.cable.rogers

Nice! :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12889063 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 18:29:49 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12888541 Kip patterson : Now that was a really stupid thing to do - You aren't anonymous, and this matter is in the hands of the Secret Service. Good luck explaining yourself to them.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12888541 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 17:24:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12888455 anon : I was charged 29.99 too, reported to bank and called the 888-323-8955. The line has only voice message system!!!!! But They'll go down.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12888455 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 17:11:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12887646 SandyBee :

said by Kip patterson

:

If your charges were actually reversed, then you are one of very few.

You did talk to Answerquick. Pluto Data is nowhere to be found. So-called answering services do much more than answer phones these days. In this case, they handled all the "customer service" for Pluto. you may wish to look at the Answerquick site to see the range of services they offer.

Their answer to everyone is "see our attorneys". That reminds me of the old days when the first thing an airline did after a crash was go out and paint over their name on the side of the wreck. I will never accept that the correct response is to hid your head in the sand. All that does is leave your head sticking up as a big target.

Kip, yes I was lucky to get the charges reversed. I was hit on a Visa debit card and Visa fraud called me several hours after the 'purchase'. The minute I got off the phone with them, I first called the bank to deactivate the card, then called the Pluto #. It takes a few days for any charges to show up with the visa debit, but when it did show up, both were there, the charge and the reversal. The $1 never posted, but Visa Fraud did verify there was a $1 charge on my card to some jewelry store in NJ.

I didn't realize answering services had that much access, my bad. I worked for one years ago, and all we did was take messages. Guess times have changed. :D I still think it is rather odd they didn't have any other information on this company. I hope that they will continue to work with Police and link Pluto to their location.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12887646 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 15:42:50 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12887395 Kip patterson : If your charges were actually reversed, then you are one of very few.

You did talk to Answerquick. Pluto Data is nowhere to be found. So-called answering services do much more than answer phones these days. In this case, they handled all the "customer service" for Pluto. you may wish to look at the Answerquick site to see the range of services they offer.

Their answer to everyone is "see our attorneys". That reminds me of the old days when the first thing an airline did after a crash was go out and paint over their name on the side of the wreck. I will never accept that the correct response is to hid your head in the sand. All that does is leave your head sticking up as a big target.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12887395 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 15:11:31 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12887073 JoshNJ :

said by SandyBee

:

How can an answering service do that? Don't they just take messages?

No, many answering services have their computers linked into the business that they are providing services for, usually they can only do a limited amount of things though, like in your case putting in a note to request for credit, but they might not be able to issue a credit themselves, and pluto easily could have really been selling dvds somewhere under thier merchant account, so answerquick wouldn't only be getting calls for refunds, or they could have also told answerquick that they would only get phone calls directed for refunds, so it wouldn't seem suspicious right away. after all, if you were to answer the phone for all calls and everything was for a refund, you would wonder what is going on, but if you only had to answer refund calls it would take you awhile to figure it out
--
I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12887073 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 14:28:05 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886937 SandyBee :

said by Kip patterson

:

You did not talk to Pluto Data. You talked to Answer quick in Baton Rouge, LA. They did not reverse the charge, they left an entry in Pluto Data's order entry system asking them to reverse it. Pluto did no such thing - they aren't a credit card clearing house, they are crooks. They are located in Nicosia, Cyprus, as in next to Turkey in the Mediterranean.

I disagree with this. When I called, whoever answered asked me my name to look up the charges. They pulled it up and said DVD's were ordered for $29.99. How can an answering service do that? Don't they just take messages? The lady told me she would reverse the charges and two days later, the charges showed up along with a reversal. I wish I would've gotten a name, I wasn't thinking clearly at the time and didn't realize this was such a huge scam!

Perhaps Answer quick isn't part of this, but I still find it strange they take a client but have no information on them besides an email address. Something just isn't sitting right with them, but I am happy to hear they are cooperating with Police.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886937 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 14:12:30 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886542 Mordy : According to the MSNBC article, Answer Quick is cooperating with the Baton Rouge PD and the FBI. Others have sent messages to Answer Quick but they are taking a non-public view.

To say they assisted the crooks is a bit harsh at this point since we don't have any facts about their involvement, except to say that according to the same article the police are not calling Answer Quick a suspect. I agree that a statement would help us understand their involvement, but lack of a statement is not an implication of their guilt.
--
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored - Aldous Huxley]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886542 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 13:26:22 EDT saw this on msnbc.com today http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886470 wwdubbia : post deleted, just saw someone else posted the msnbc story... (»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150531/)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886470 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 13:15:49 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886384 gingerwatch : Ok, thanks Kip. I gathered as much about Answer Quick from reading the rest of the forum. I have sent an email to info@answerquick to see if they have anything to say about this SCANDAL. I notice their website is happy and cheerful as ever. If they really did drop Pluto Data, and they are innocent, they should start the damage control now and issue a statement. Maybe they should even put it on their website. They assisted the crooks, they need to speak up and assist with the investigation if they are an innocent party, don't you guys think so?

Also, do we know for a fact that Pluto Data is located in Greece or Turkey?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886384 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 13:05:28 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886297 Kip patterson : You did not talk to Pluto Data. You talked to Answerquick in Baton Rouge, LA. They did not reverse the charge, they left an entry in Pluto Data's order entry system asking them to reverse it. Pluto did no such thing - they aren't a credit card clearing house, they are crooks. They are located in Nicosia, Cyprus, as in next to Turkey in the Mediterranean.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886297 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:52:45 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886280 Neyland :

said by emulation

:

Perhaps you should consider being a tad more careful what you do with your cards. My credit cards don't have any fraudulent charges, then again, I don't go buying porn on the internet or other interesting purchases. You need to call your company and change your number ASAP.

While I can understand how emulation wouldn't want his company shut down and lose his job if they are in fact simply an outsourced answering service.

However, with the recent issues with companies like ChoicePoint and Bank of America both of which allowed thousands of credit records to be released into the wild, your statement about being more careful of what you do with your CC and where you shop is a tad shallow. Perhaps we should start making gross exagerations about the mentality and ethics of children in college.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886280 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:49:47 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886170 georgequ :

said by 8744675

Actually we have that also. It's just that very few of our financial institutions require this "security number" to be used for on-line purchases. Every credit or ATM card issued in this country has an additional security number either on the back or the front of the card. It is usually a three digit number sometimes preceded with the last four numbers of the card. If it were required to use this number when making purchases on line, the card number itself would be useless. You would need the actual card to get the number. This of course would only work for on-line purchases.
--

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886170 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:30:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886051 anon : I'm in the UK and got hit with this fraud on the 7th march. My bank (HSBC) said that at that amount ($29.99 or roughly �15) it was unlikely to be fraud! I replied any charge I did not make, regardless of the amount, is fraud.

I am convinced this has leaked from Paypal.

I can find no other people that have experienced the PLUTO fraud in the UK. Trust me to be the 1st!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12886051 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:11:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12885922 gingerwatch : Hi, I'm Ginger in St. Louis, MO. I got the Pluto Data charges for 29.99 on my Bank of America Visa debit card on 2/22/05. The 1-800 number was listed on my online bank statement, so I called. The person I talked to was very smooth and nice and said they would remove the charge right away. She said it was for a purchase of a CD at "Folk and Tribal" and that Pluto Data is just a credit card clearing house. She couldn't tell me where Folk and Tribal is located. I asked her where Pluto Data is based, and she said, and I quote: "Nicosia, Louisiana."

On 2/25 the charge was credited to my account by Pluto Data.

Meanwhile I had contacted my bank, who issued a temporary credit. I asked that they do an investigation, and the bank said I'd have to cancel my card for that to happen, so I did. Thanks to the people who posted about virtual credit card numbers - I buy stuff online fairly often and I had never heard of this. I'll ask my bank about it.

I think the people who say this is "no big deal" are wrong. It is a big deal, and I'm so glad to have found this forum. The laws haven't caught up with the perpetrators in these identity theft cases, so unfortunately we are going to have to scream bloody murder twice as loud to get these operations shut down! Thanks to Legalbegal for giving information on further ways to report these bad guys.

Someone posting here said: "I work at Answer Quick, also. The operator who answers the call doesn't know how to contact Pluto. However, someone there does have contact information, even if it just might be an email address. .... This account raised red flags for me right away simply because I had never heard of a credit card clearinghouse. I'm glad that we dropped them as a client. They seemed a little fishy from day one..."

This is a very scary statement. Answer Quick would take on a big account like this WITH ONLY AN EMAIL ADDRESS!?!? HOLY CRAP! NO WONDER THESE SCAMMERS ARE SO SUCCESSFUL. They "seemed fishy from day one"? Fishy, how?! Was this fishiness reported to management? People are getting RIPPED OFF ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!

The woman who I spoke with at Answer Quick TOLD ME they are located in Nicosia, LA. I searched and searched the internet and couldn't find any such city. Are employees allowed to lie?

I'm not trying to point a finger here, it's just that I'd like to see the scam stopped. There is no way for me to know if Answer Quick was in on it or not. If they weren't, I certainly wouldn't want to put them down in any way. However, they should try not to play a part in any illegal schemes.

One thing that surprised me was how QUICKLY Pluto Data was willing to reverse that charge and how fast it happened. I thought, "where is the scam?" But I guess they were waiting for all that money to roll in on people who DIDN'T notice the charge. As for the folks who posted here to say soon after the initial charge, they had ANOTHER mysterious charge, I bet Pluto Data had a method where they waited to see if there would be a claim from the card owner. If not, they hit them again, to make a little more money.

I hope the people who think you should just "tell your bank then go to sleep and forget the whole horrible nightmare" will reconsider. That's the best scenario the scammers can hope for from those who dispute the charges - they don't want us blowing the whistle all over the place!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12885922 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:49:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12885222 anon : Thanks Dan!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12885222 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:56:38 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12885036 nickim : So, do you think there is something that we all have in common other than getting ripped off? Or is it just some freak random thing? I really don't understand all this. I am really glad that I was only nailed for 19.99 and not 39.99 or more. Real clever of the scammers to do a smaller amount that one might not even notice was gone. Where did they get all these credit card numbers? Did we all at one time purchase something from the same place? I am really surprised that my own separate account wasn't nailed since I use my credit card for online purchases all the time. My husband thinks that the scammers just started entering random numbers and got lucky. That is also what the bank told him. I really don't think that is possible to nail this many people. My hubby doesn't think this is that big of deal since the bank will just dispute these charges (we got it all overturned and the money is back in our account) but this scares the crap out of me. If they can get my credit card number and all this places are supposed to be secure, what else can they get from these so called secure places. Also, why isn't this on my news at night alerting unsuspecting people. They will run a story on telemarketing ploys on the elderly, but they won't run a story of people getting ripped off, but an unknown group of people.

SCARY SHIT!!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12885036 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:30:07 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12883631 8744675 : Todays news reported that now the Lexis-Nexus database (data mining company) has been compromised and thousands of social security numbers may have been stolen, and the FBI is now reporting that the credit card database of DSW Shoe Warehouse was breached and credit card numbers were stolen for possibly hundreds of thousands of people. And these are only the 'known' incidents that have been discovered and reported. I wonder how many other companies systems may have been hacked, but chose to keep it a secret. At this rate, the credit card companies should cancel every card they issue and start over with a more secure system, from data storage to positive identification of the person using a card.

In South Africa, credit cards have a secret pin number like ATM cards. The cardholder must enter their PIN when making a charge. Restaurants had small handheld card swipers with a keypad that were brought to the table when you pay the check. It was simple and much more secure. Without knowing the PIN, a stolen card is worthless.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12883631 Fri, 11 Mar 2005 01:29:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12883010 catseyenu : This is what, week 3 since it was posted here?
It's appalling how slow the wheels turn in the credit industry.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12883010 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 23:37:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881954 anon : »www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150531/

"The mysterious charges began appearing around Valentine's Day. Many frustrated consumers who searched the Internet for help found each other on a bulletin board service named BroadBandReports.com. By Thursday, there were 35 pages of complaints on the site, with hundreds of victims and over 50,000 visits, suggesting the number of victims could be larger than the 125 complaints logged by local police so far.

"I'm just so angry, and so is everybody else on that site," said Connie Shotkoski, of Columbus, Neb."]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881954 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 21:19:40 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881663 Kip patterson : There were never any DVD's.

The perps needed to keep others, specifically Answerquick, in the dark for as long as possible.

When a customer complained about being billed for a DVD they didn't order, Answerquick looked up the order, found it, and entered information in Pluto's database telling them to reverse the charges. So far, everything looks fine to Answerquick and the bank - a reasonable number of complaints about product not ordered sent to the wrong addresses. I would guess that Answerquick figured that these were fraud attempts, as would the cardholders for a while.

No reversals were actually made, so the processing company had nothing to raise their suspicions.

It was around two weeks before there were enough calls and complaints to Answerquick to get them to shut Pluto down. The first post here was on the 18th, and I emailed the president of Answerquick on Saturday the 26th, so they should have been wise by Monday the 28th.

The only avenue that is apt to find the perps is to follow the trail of disbursements from the Pluto bank account. That may be difficult.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881663 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 19:27:53 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881554 Brat75 : Kip:
Remember the beginning of this? People were "buying" DVD's?

Is there a way to track the DVDs from mfg to distro to "customer" ?

Lets say someone got charged for a DVD on cats. Wouldnt the mfg know who sells it? And whomever charged the consumer for the DVD would have to know something about the distro part of the business..at least have some contact info about the mfg too.

Instead of looking for cc, what about finding the jerks by the other trail?

Brat75
--
I sometimes feel that I'm playing hockey, and God wants to throw me a curveball.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881554 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 19:14:43 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881370 Kip patterson : There seem to be two possibilities for the source of the card numbers.

One is that it is an amalgamation of a number of lists making it difficult to identify the source of any one of them.

The other possibility is that a transaction processor has been compromised. That would be extremely difficult to identify, unfortunately.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881370 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 18:53:47 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881352 mik101 : Forgot to mention. Mine was dated March 4th, supposedly the date these ass*oles were supposed to have been taken down.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881352 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 18:51:56 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881342 mik101 : It seems like its almost everyone within the USA that was hit, but Im from Nova Scotia, and mine was hit with the 29.99US charge as well (well 38.01CDN) from Pluto Data Ltd. There was no 1888 number or anything but im pissed. My mastercard rep wasnt all that helpful other than saying that they'll put it into a dispute and will be sending me an aphidavid (definitely spelled wrong) to sign.
This is retarded. I would think news of fraud would travel faster than this. They knew nothing about it so far there and didnt want to look at the web site. Atleast my card is cancelled now and hopefully i'll get my money back, but this is such a hassle.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881342 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 18:50:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881315 jrheiney : I just nailed. I checked my account today 3/10/05 and had a debit card purches for $29.99 from Pluto data. I got the number from my bank but when I tried to call I got nothing. I found your artical thank you I printed it out and I'm going to my bank to put in a dispute. My question is how did they get my credit card number? I did use it last online to buy minutes for my tracfone
Jackie]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881315 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 18:47:50 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881004 anon : I use orchard bank, they weren't very helpful to me either- I requested a new card and they didn't want to issue me a new one. They finally relented after I kept explaining that the charges were fraudulent. They kept insinuating that the 19.99 charge from Pluto Data was made by me, and I must have just forgotten.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12881004 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 18:17:09 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880899 clydely : Here's the MSNBC story:
»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150531/

-Dan]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880899 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 18:08:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880790 anon : I just talked to Bob Sullivan, tech editor @MSNBC.com and a story should run shortly, stay tuned... He did not find the source but rather is giving it a voice in the mainstream media Mission Accomplished.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880790 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:59:03 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880669 clydely : Story will appear shorthy on MSNBC...

Thanks Kip for all the help.

I sincerely feel for all of you that have been hit by Pluto Data. At issue here, unfortunately, is more than just getting a new credit card from your bank. To be blunt, you all have been exposed in Cyberspace. Some merchant(s) or back end processor was compromised. So the data you entered at some online site was hacked. That means your PII, personal identifiable information, has been exposed to ID thieves.

Many of these thieves go to online data houses, like a Chocie Point, and gather an accompanying DL or SSN to match to your address, phone number, email, and credit card number. They attempt, and sometimes succeed, in completing the mosaic of your identity.

They also will attempt to take over your accounts at Amazon or Eartlink by using the hacked info they already have on you. To reset a password at these sites all you need is name, last few digits of the credit card, and your email. They have this info from the hack. This is how many of you lose more than one card, because you may have other cards on account at Paypay or Amazon.

What you all need to do is to monitor your credit reports, get new credit cards every six months, and watch online banking account like a hawk.

You can, for free, check to see if your old now replaced credit card shows up in our data base. If it does, email me and I will retrieve the data that surrounded your credit card when we found it in an IRC chat room. Many times that info, in certain field formats, will reveal where you shopped, thus proving the original point of compromise. At the very least, you may find out what site you shopped at was/is insecure.

Regards,

Dan Clements
CardCops.com
dan@cardcops.com

PS the thieves validate the cards for $.01 using hi-jacked merchant accounts in global IRC chat rooms. this is why some of you have a $.01 charge from another merchant. they then buy, sell, trade, or charge your card. very similiar to testing the drugs before a deal.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880669 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:46:32 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880573 anon : I just got a charge for $19.99 from Pluto Data LTD. out of Great Britain on 2/18. They must be coming down in price. I called the 888-323-8955 number that showed on my statement and got nothing but a recording that asked that I leave a message. It didn't even say the company name or any information except to leave a message. I called my credit card company and they are reversing the charges. I'm wondering if this is happening to more then one credit card company or happening internally within the cc company, mine happens to be a Chase card.....anyone else?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880573 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:37:19 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880440 anon : I just received my credit card statement and it too had a charge for $39.99 to "Pluto D Nicosia".
I did not recognize this company (?) or whatever so I called the company that I deal with for my credit card.
They told me that "Pluto" was some kind of "Consulting Firm".....I KNOW that I NEVER did any business with a consulting firm.
They asked me if I wanted to dispute this billing.......welllllll.........DUH........YEAH.
They told me that I would not have to make this particular charge.....but I had to fill out a bunch of paper work and return it to them. JEEEZ!!!
All this......just because of some damn scam that is sweeping the country........
These dudes need to be put in prison.......I'd like to know how they pulled this scam off.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880440 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:22:03 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880367 Kip patterson : I would contact the public relations department of the bank and ask them why you received such rude treatment when Mastercard will confirm that this is a known scam.

Yes, charges do get forwarded from old cards.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880367 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:11:35 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880182 anon : What credit card company do you use?

Mine was hit on the 6th with a 29.99 charge and a .01 charge on the 4th through Orchard Bank. Orchard accused me of using my card for the purchase and could not advise what to do next after disputing the charge. A rep and supervisor were very rude with no assistance at all and explaining that while I close this card and a new one is issued any agreements prior to the new card would roll over to the new card. Balance rollover is understandable but other possible fraud attempts is not acceptable from the old number.

In 2-3 billing cycles I may see my 29.99 charged back to my card, who knows. Very upset with the handling of this issue with Orchard Bank, they made me feel like I was to blame.

Anyone else have Orchard Bank?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12880182 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 16:49:55 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12879732 anon : I too have just found a charge on my bank account for Pluto Data LTd. The number listed 18883238955 is a fax machine. My boyfriend was telling me he had heard that Bank of America recently had thousands of account numbers stolen..wonder if this has anything to do with that. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12879732 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 16:01:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12878835 anon : I found this 29.99 charge when I checked my credit card statement online today. The transaction date was 3/6, at which time I was out of the country and made no transactions. I called my credit card company and was told that normally I would have to fill out a dispute form but they received a memo today about fraudulent charges from PLUTO D - NICOSIA and would process my refund immediately without the paper work. So it seems that credit card companies are going on the alert with this company. I can't understand why they haven't been shut down and arrested already.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12878835 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 14:16:03 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12877984 anon : I was hit with this mysterious $29.99 charge and would like to get to the bottom of it. If anyone knows of a class action lawsuit in progress let me know please! I want to help screw these jerks!
My email is sosugaAT gmail.com (remove space and replace with @)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12877984 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 12:25:38 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12877231 raythompsontn :

said by funchords

:

In the USA, the second problem is that debit cards are not covered by the same consumer-protection laws as credit cards.

Not true. If the debit card has the VISA or Mastercard logo on the card you are protected by the same rules regarding credit cards.

All, repeat all, electronic transactions are covered by regulation E. Basically the regulation states that unless the financial institution can prove the charge is valid any disputed transactions must have the funds returned to the customer pending the outcome of the dispute. During that time no interest or penalties can accrue on the disputed charge. If the charge is proven valid then interest and penalties will apply. If the charge cannot be proven valid the disputed transcation is removed.

Debit cards are electronic and offer the same level of protection as credit cards. If your financial institution says no, ask them for a copy of regulation E and then explain why debit transactions are not considered electronic. Their stance on the matter will quickly change.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12877231 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 10:41:23 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12875142 Mordy :

said by simbalina:

This is Sonya McCullough again...please remove my name, address and phone number from your message...

Normally requests like this will not be honored, but I believe that you are an innocent victim of this, along with a lot of other people. The information has been removed.
--
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored - Aldous Huxley]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12875142 Thu, 10 Mar 2005 00:25:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12874863 funchords :

said by algorithm

:

Add me to the list....3/6-$29.99 - PLUTO D Nicosia CYP on my Mastercard. Have disputed charge with Bank.

... hopefully you also cancelled that card # ...
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12874863 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 23:41:53 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12874463 DyerUser :

said by sol2:

I have just gotten off the phone with Bob Sullivan from MSNBC.

I look forward to reading it. Check out his story for today:

»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7118767/]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12874463 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 23:00:14 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12874268 algorithm : Add me to the list....3/6-$29.99 - PLUTO D Nicosia CYP on my Mastercard. Have disputed charge with Bank.
--
"Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana - 1905]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12874268 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 22:41:46 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873712 SandyBee : Just a reminder for everyone who has been hit with these Pluto charges....be sure to file a report with the FTC. The form can be found at the following link:

»https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/widtpubl$.sta···ODE=PU03]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873712 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 21:57:37 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873653 anon : Tell him Connie from Columbus NE referred you. Aren't you from Columbus OH???? Coincidence. I think not...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873653 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 21:53:28 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873594 anon : Any little bit helps. didn't you trace the phone# ???]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873594 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 21:48:57 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873398 Kip patterson : I will contact him, but I'm not that impressed with what i have done.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873398 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 21:31:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873356 anon : I think he only does internet stories. Stay tuned to MSNBC.com I really want Kip, if I can refer to him by first name, to contact him.. Where are you Kip or anyone else on this web in charge. Please contact the guy in my previous post...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873356 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 21:28:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873309 SandyBee :

said by sol2:

I have just gotten off the phone with Bob Sullivan from MSNBC. He asked questions about my experience in this fraud. He said he expects to do a story within a couple of days. If you have crucial info, like you Kip Patterson, his e-mail is Bob.Sullivan@MSNBC.COM. Include your phone number as he will call you. You seem to have done the most research here. We are sooo...close....

Nice job! Please let us know when this will air, I'm very interested in finding out who is behind this scam.

I just sent an email to a producer of ABC here in IL. I am hoping she will read this thread and decide to investigate it!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873309 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 21:22:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873306 funchords :

said by nickim

:

I called that 888 number and it said something about faxing and go ahead and do it now. I am at a loss as to what I should do, I am glad that I am not alone. I am in Iowa by the way.

Do not fax that number with any personal or financial information, nor provide it to anyone who might (never) answer that phone.

You should consider anyone at that phone number to be a suspect in this scam.

You are not required to try to work this out with the merchant. You do not have a business relationship at all with this merchant. Just dispute it in writing and refer to this series of messages -- that's all you have to do!
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12873306 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 21:22:08 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872810 izy : That would be quite a scheme that's for sure...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872810 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 20:34:47 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872741 anon : I to have been hit, but was informed before charge appeared on statment, filed complient with FBI, looking at how they got list and recieve funds from transactions]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872741 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 20:30:04 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872464 anon : Hit with $39.99 by PLUTO D NICOSIA on 03/08/05.

Debit VISA through B of A. Called in dispute. They are refunding and cancelling card.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872464 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 20:05:52 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872394 kenspi :

said by cvlight

:

Answerquick gave me a address in Redondo Beach, Ca. and a phone number of the person who supposedly placed the order. The address is not found and the phone number traces back to Georgia Bruce & Sonya McCullough (snip) Covington, GA 30016-6063 (snip)

This was on the 23rd of February.

Since AnswerQuick had Ms. McCullough's infomation for cvlight's "order", and she was also a victim of the scam, could all of our addresses or phone numbers be implicated, but with a different victim? Could my address or phone number be shown as the delivery address of another victim?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872394 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:58:07 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872354 anon : I have just gotten off the phone with Bob Sullivan from MSNBC. He asked questions about my experience in this fraud. He said he expects to do a story within a couple of days. If you have crucial info, like you Kip Patterson, his e-mail is Bob.Sullivan@MSNBC.COM. Include your phone number as he will call you. You seem to have done the most research here. We are sooo...close....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872354 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:54:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872047 izy : {edit} OT]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872047 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:26:09 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872012 Kip patterson : Unfortunately he cannot do that as we users have only a short period of time during which we can edit our posts. I will forward you message to management and they should get it fixed promptly.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12872012 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:23:22 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871972 anon : This is Sonya McCullough again...whoever CVLIGHT is in this forum...please remove my name, address and phone number from your message...we have no affiliation with the scam and you have no right posting someones information in this manner until you have successfully completed your research and found a definite connection to such an accusation. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871972 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:18:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871916 anon : I too was just charged $39.99 from Pluto Data Ltd. on March 8th. I did a google search and found this link to you all. I will be calling my bank in the morning and cancelling my visa debit card to which it was charged and disputing it. How do I go about reporting this fraud to the FBI?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871916 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:12:21 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871856 Brat75 : Another database busted:

»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7139522/

this is getting sickening. I'm wondering if org. crime has been behind this for extended amounts of time, hitting these places looking for weak links.
What's sad is that the places violated have to tell the government immediately, and not the consumers.

Let's start lobbying for better control?
Global User ID? Not a social?

Brat 75
--
I sometimes feel that I'm playing hockey, and God wants to throw me a curveball.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871856 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:05:59 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871850 anon : My name is Sonya McCullough and I am a resident of Georgia...my phone number has been linked to this scam and we have nothing to do with it. As a matter of fact, we have also been a victim of the scam with multiple charges on my credit card...the account has been closed and a fraud alert has been placed with the credit bureaus...I would like to stress again that we are in no way connected with this scam and I am trying to get my phone number unlinked at this time.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871850 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:05:21 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871841 anon : Oh and it was pending when I checked my account about 8pm, then this morning it had cleared 3/9/05]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871841 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:03:53 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871819 anon : I went to my bank, filled out the paperwork to get my money back. Has anyone been able to get ahold of these people. I left a couple messages (some not nice), never got a call back. I have tried again and get the answering service or the busy signal. Mine was a visa debit card.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871819 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:02:09 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871519 tonfon007 : I too am a victim of this annoying scam. I saw a pending charge for $19.99 from Pluto D of Nicosia, Cy and thought it looked a tad bit odd - a charge excluding tax. Anyway, I just got back from an overseas trip last Monday and decided not to use my card until all my overseas transactions had posted. I noticed over the weekend that my account had a pending charge for $19.99 from Pluto D and with that phony phone number. I called my bank and was told to wait until it posted as it may have been an error. Anyway I checked again and sure enough it posted on 3/7/05 for a charge made 3/4/05. Hah hah! I hadn't used my card since I returned to the US and was told by my bank's rep from the Dispute Dept. that the transaction was made at 7:55pm 3/3/05. Anyway my $ was refunded and I cancelled my visa card. Come to think of it, I do remember seeing a $0.01 charge when I checked my account online while I was overseas. I hope these scamming bastards ( I don't care whether it's ANSWER QUICK, PLUTO D & anything associated with these fraudulent charges) are held accountable for their roles in allowing such charges to go through!!!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871519 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:35:33 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871511 anon : I also have been hit with charges from Pluto, but on two different credit cards. I think this link explains how this probably happened.

URL: »msnbc.msn.com/id/3078574/]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12871511 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:34:40 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12870350 Kip patterson : Makes sense. It also seems to me that it is likely that their list has more than one source - so far there hasn't been a hint of a common merchant. The other possibility is that the list was stolen from a processor/merchant bank.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12870350 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:33:36 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12870291 jerryb56 : And what about the fact that several people posting here are saying that it was old accounts that got the Pluto charge which was then transferred to their present accounts?
Makes me think that it's an older list of credit card accounts that Pluto Data is working from.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12870291 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:27:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12870154 Kip patterson : Well, here's the next step -

888-323-8955 is provided by ATL Telecom Services, 800-508-5200. They appear to be a good-sized British Company that manufactures equipment and supplies services.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12870154 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:14:56 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12869841 anon : Visa here. Hit with Pluto Data charges, handango charges and skype.net charges (in euros). Recently signed up with NetFlix. No other activity other than local transactions on the card for months. Filed reports at all the usual places, canceled card, contacted credit agencies to put alerts on my accounts. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12869841 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:37:10 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12869794 nickim : I just tried to call that 888-323-8955 and now I get a fast busy signal. Great, my bank told me to document how many times I call, and now I don't even get an answer. This is really frustrating.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12869794 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:30:36 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12869687 nickim : I had a charge of .01 from Ricardo Camacho Jr from Newark NJ the day before, then I had two charges one on 3/08 for 19.99 from Pluto D Nicosia CY and then on 3/09 for the same amount. These were all charged to my hubby's debit card-VISA. I had him go to the bank and dispute the charges and they told him they had to wait for them to come out of pending before disputing them. I did notice today that the .01 Ricardo Camacho Jr charge is gone today, but the other two charges are gone. I called that 888 number and it said something about faxing and go ahead and do it now. I am at a loss as to what I should do, I am glad that I am not alone. I am in Iowa by the way.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12869687 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:20:18 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12868824 anon : I got charged 3/7 on my Visa Debit Card issued through my local Credit Union, in TN
Disputed with bank & awaiting credit.

Never used Netflix. Shop online frequently, but mostly with major retailers (i.e. Amazon) - use my paypal account - not linked to this card - for small transactions.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12868824 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 13:28:53 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12868713 DyerUser : EDIT: Leaving my original response below, but the break-in described in the msnbc.com link is a year old. It is unlikely that this was the source of any of the charges.

ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS

said by jerryb56

:

I haven't seen this posted yet.
Could this be related?

»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4516301/

That does look interesting. Particularly the line near the end that says:

It goes on to say that the firm doesn't believe any other personal information, such as addresses, has been stolen in connection with the incident.

Given that the early reports in this thread from people, when AnswerQuick was still able to get into the PlutoData website to look at the charges, indicated that the address associated with the credit card was never even close to correct.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12868713 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 13:15:24 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867759 SandyBee :

said by eightball009

:

A couple of weeks ago I ran into this site: »www.ripoffreport.com/default.asp I know we arn't at a loss of posts and views on this post but this webiste is geared towards the same thing. I'm all for getting this problem out in the open. Not everyone knows about about dslreports.com

Thanks for that link! I am going to file a report there as well. I hope that everyone else will too.

I don't think we are going to get to the bottom of this without some media help. I hope that everyone will continue to send their local news stations and papers the information found on this thread. Eventually SOMEONE will hear us, but we have to keep at it.

I have told as many people as I can, along with sending a link to this thread. There are many folks out there that don't check their statements regularly and are completely unaware of this scam. Several people I have told were shocked to find out they too were a victim of Pluto Data. Get the word out and keep posting info on this thread.

BTW, I have never purchased anything from Netflix so I think that could be ruled out. It sounds more to me like a credit processing center was hacked and/or files stolen. Maybe that article linked above is related?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867759 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 11:07:26 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867616 lccNH : card: Visa
transaction date: 2/15/2005?
post date: 2/18/2005
I'm in NH]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867616 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:51:35 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867581 anon : Add me to the list of debit card charged by Pluto Data Ltd. They got me for $29.99. I do use PayPal, Amazon and a lot of other online purchases. Last year I had a fraudulent charge from Amazon.ca. Not sure if there is a connection here.

This is getting frustrating hearing all of this... Good luck to all.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867581 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:48:11 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867427 anon : I just found the charge for $29.99 from PLUTO DATA LTD on my Citibank Mastercard. I contacted Citibank, the FTC, and I also found this site this morning. I have not used my card for over two months and the last time I used it was with PayPal. I don't know where the common link would be because I pretty much only use my card with PayPal and Amazon.com. I am located in Madison, WI.

David]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867427 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:29:01 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867395 jerryb56 : I haven't seen this posted yet.
Could this be related?

»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4516301/
--
Adelphia Cable, Router, 802.11b WAP, 13 clients, 1 wireless]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867395 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:25:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867253 anon : The consensus seems to be that Answer Quick was not an active participant in the fraud, and I would tend to agree with that. My only question would be under what circumstances they established a business relationship with Pluto. Their website, in the "about us" section, says they deal with local companies, and with speculation as to where the fraudsters are located, and their relationship to UK Data, it seems that there might have been ample red flags even before they started doing business together.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867253 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:09:34 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867238 anonemouse1 : Card Type - Mastercard from Paypal (Debit)
Posted march 6, 2005, cleared overnight 3/9/2005
Had penny charge made earlier in day 3/6 from RICARDO
CAMACHO JR NEWARK NJ that is still pending...I assume that was the test to see if the account was active. I am in IL...have used the card in stores, online and all over. No credit report asked for, no NetFlix or any others that have been offered as connections.

Michele]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867238 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:07:29 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867104 DyerUser :

said by Kip patterson

:

Well, I thought we had them stopped.

Well, an unlikely but hopeful way to look at this is that your contact did call and ask to have it shut down, but law enforcement somewhere countermanded that request because they are trying to follow the trail higher up.

As I said, it is unlikely, but that would be one explanation.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12867104 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 09:49:05 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12866946 Kip patterson : Well, I thought we had them stopped.

Can you give three pieces of information, please:

Mastercard or Visa?

Transaction Date?

Post Date?

Thanks much.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12866946 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 09:26:07 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12866834 emyulick : I, too, have gotten charged $29.99, just yesterday, shoed up on this morning's statement, via my DEBIT CARD. Naturally, not having purchased anything, I did the research. I c alled the number next to the debit on my account. Filed a complaint with IFCC.gov, and am on my way to file a e-fraud report with my bank, dispute the debit, and change my card number. I have read on the internet that these charges can also be scammed through credit bureaus; not sure if that means because you had a report run (I did), or that the bureaus themselves get involved. Anyway, next step is to file papers with all 3 bureaus, and get it on the record. This is total BS. It seems to have been going on for a long time...
WHY HASN'T ANY AGENCY PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS YET?????

Oh, and yes, I believe that the company or companies answering the phones for PLUTO DATA should indeed be held at least partially responsible. The days of 'WASN'T ME" are over.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12866834 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 09:09:58 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12865765 anon : same exact problem recently]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12865765 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 03:04:57 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864997 anon : I just got hit with this charge too. No idea where it came from. Did a search for hours and found this site. The only thing I did that could have any connection to this is my son and his wife wanted me to do a credit report for them and they don't have a credit card. I used my debit card. I called my bank (they were closed) told them to NOT allow it through and to take any legal steps needed, that this is a scam. I will be calling tomorrow morning and canceling my debit card. What a nightmare. 30 bucks, is 30 bucks. Looks like it is hitting all over, I am in North Idaho. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864997 Wed, 09 Mar 2005 00:15:54 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864827 anon : Chill out! Fraudulent charges are one of the easiest things to have corrected on a credit card. I, too, got the $29.99 Pluto Data Ltd. charge on 2/24. I called Chase, reported it, and they marked it as "disputed". Next, they send me a postage-paid reply letter that I sign. Unless the company has some proof that I actually made a purchase (which they don't, cause I didn't), the charge is removed.

To be safe, I also immediately cancelled the card and had it replaced. Once your number is out there, who knows who is in possesion of it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864827 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 23:53:11 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864767 anon : What it sounds like is that the Equifax comprimise is the culprit here.

No, you can call choicepoint and find out if you were one of the "released" names. I was not one of them. My card was compromised a couple of days after joining Netflix, and a few other people I know were compromised a couple of days after joining Netflix...but that doesn't seem to be true for the gang on this forum...so I still can't find a correlating vendor/company to poke with a stick. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864767 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 23:46:32 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864143 anonemouse1 : Nope, nothing from there...they wouldn't have charged the penny AFTER the other and there was nothing from that person in Newark...before or after. I have canceled the card so no charge CAN be made at this point but I googled the Camacho name I listed earlier and found nothing...I think it is just another place they found to charge things through.

Michele]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864143 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 22:40:15 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864069 JoshNJ :

said by anonemouse1

:

didn't charge anything that day on my card.

What about the few days before, it can take a few days for charges to post.
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I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864069 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 22:34:17 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864041 anonemouse1 : I understand that penny charges are to verify the credit card but I wasn't IN Newark NJ and didn't charge anything that day on my card. Nothing else went through except the $29.99 to Pluta D.

By the way, I have never used NetFlix so that isn't the connecting link. I didn't ask for a credit report until AFTER this started either.

Michele]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864041 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 22:31:35 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864035 JoshNJ :

said by atlsmh:

What it sounds like is that the Equifax comprimise is the culprit here.

It doesn't sound like that at all.
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I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12864035 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 22:30:42 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12863794 anon : What it sounds like is that the Equifax comprimise is the culprit here. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12863794 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 22:07:50 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12863718 anon : We just had a $39.99 charge show up on my debit card on 3/03. I have contacted the bank and am disputing it based on all that I have read from this tread. One thing that I would like to add is that legitimate businesses and restaurants make a $0.01 charge to verify the account, then later follow thru with the full charged amount once the tips and signature are obtained.

Thanks for all the information here ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12863718 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 21:59:51 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12863321 anon : OK I just got an e-mail from Bob @ MSNBC asking for my phone #. Pinch yourselves maybe...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12863321 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 21:23:35 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12863099 Kip patterson : I've read that there is quite an active community of fraudsters on IRC. I wonder if the credit cards aren't a compilation of several lists with a source like that.

I do not understand why the $.01 charges were run through. The perps certainly do not care if some of the accounts are bad. Perhaps they are concerned about their bank noticing a large number of bad charges?

It is also interesting that they have used several accounts to run the $.01 charges. At least one seems to have been a legitimate merchant. How did they get access to these accounts? It would be fun to be a little mouse with access to the workings of the fraud departments of Mastercard and Visa. I would think that things would not be in the least boring.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12863099 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 21:02:49 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862715 anon : I am in the same boat as the rest of you. Did the Google search and found this forum. What a great forum this is by the way. By reading this forum I was thinking to myself, has everybody bought or has downloaded something from www.thedownloadplace.com??? I know I have unfortunatly and seeing a couple of people mentioning that place I was just a little curious. It would be great if we could take a poll of people who have gotten these fraudelant charges and has given thedownloadplace.com their cc information.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862715 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 20:27:25 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862712 funchords :

said by qtboo:

Well....the news reporter called me back...and told me this happens everyday and they could put this type of thing on the news daily...he also told me never to use my debit card on any internet site except maybe a site well known and established like Amazon...he said usually a regular credit card is safer than a debit card. But he suggests to use cash and be very careful..I know all that but figured it would never happen to me...I'm going to save a lot of money because now I am afraid to buy online!!!!!!!!!!!!

The biggest problem with using your debit card is that you're actually out the funds until the problem is discovered and disputed. By then, checks have bounced and things are a big mess. A credit card does not present those same problems for you.

In the USA, the second problem is that debit cards are not covered by the same consumer-protection laws as credit cards. However, this difference really is very low risk to you because both Visa and Mastercard have rules that protect debit-card users in the same way that the laws do.
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Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862712 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 20:27:05 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862650 funchords :

said by anonemouse1

:

They said it may just drop off but to cancel it they needed a fax from the seller...I said, so the scammer is just going to send you a fax?

Good job, anonemouse!

You will be bound by the terms of your card agreement, which certainly won't say that you need that fax.

Even if they do handle your dispute over the phone, you do have to dispute the charge, in writing, to protect your rights. This can be a simple memo-type note that says, "This is to verify the details of our telephone conversation on .... "

Welcome to BBR!
--
Robb Topolski
http://www.funchords.com/
Hillsboro, Oregon USA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862650 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 20:21:44 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862498 eightball009 : A couple of weeks ago I ran into this site: »www.ripoffreport.com/default.asp I know we arn't at a loss of posts and views on this post but this webiste is geared towards the same thing. I'm all for getting this problem out in the open. Not everyone knows about about dslreports.com
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For those who fight for freedom, life has a special flavor the protected will never know]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862498 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 20:06:41 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862446 Me 2 in MS : I got the $29.99 charge removed from my debit/checking account (MC) simply by signing an affidavit with a reference to this forum. I was told that the bank (Trustmark) had already asked the FTC to investigate.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12862446 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 20:00:52 EDT Re: Netflix common denominator? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861750 mikeinca : Incase you guys do not already know...

»money.cnn.com/2005/03/08/news/ne···?cnn=yes

Here is the full text...

ChoicePoint thief gets 5-1/2 years

A federal judge sentences Adedayo Benson to prison after he pleaded guilty to identify theft.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A California man who used personal information from ChoicePoint Inc. and other companies to steal thousands of identities has been sentenced to 5-1/2 years in prison, according to the United States Attorney's office.

Adedayo Benson, a 38-year-old Nigerian national, was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty last November to using and conspiring to use fraudulently obtained credit cards, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles, Calif.

Benson was also ordered to pay nearly $155,000 in restitution to several financial institutions.

Benson's sister, Bibiana Benson, was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison after she pleaded guilty in 2002 to unlawful use of identification, according to federal authorities.

The brother-and-sister team operated a nationwide credit-card fraud scheme, authorities said. Posing as a real estate agent, Bibiana Benson fraudulently opened accounts with several public records database firms, including ChoicePoint Services, Advantage Financial and Equifax.

With access to the companies' databases, Bibiana Benson was then able to obtain personal information on thousands of individuals.

Adedayo Benson opened " mail drops" in Beverly Hills and Encino, Calif., where he would redirect mail from victims' credit card companies. Once he obtained victims' credit card numbers from his sister, Benson could make purchases and get cash advances, according to the authorities.

ChoicePoint recently announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened an informal inquiry and the Federal Trade Commission has begun a separate inquiry into the theft of more than 100,000 consumer profiles]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861750 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:54:14 EDT Shop at DSW lately? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861723 anon : »sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f···2S74.DTL

Credit card information from customers of more than 100 DSW Shoe Warehouse stores was stolen from a company computer's database over the last three months, a lawyer for the national chain said Tuesday.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861723 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:51:03 EDT Re: Netflix common denominator? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861712 mikeinca : Never used Netflix. That rules that out.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861712 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:50:01 EDT Re: Netflix common denominator? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861534 kenspi : Well, I had NetFlix for several months about 2 years ago, but they never had this card number. I don't think this card even existed when I was a subscriber to NetFlix.

I really think its more likely that a payment processor was hit, and not a specific merchant. If NetFlix is a common thread to many people, perhaps their payment processor was the source of the leak. Since payment processors support multiple merchants, that would explain why there's no consistent common thread among merchants.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861534 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:31:35 EDT Re: Netflix common denominator? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861417 anon : I did get an Omaha World Herald, Omaha NE reporter to call me and express interest and ask some questions a short time ago. I don't think we need to have any sort of prayer chain going here (and not sabotaging this forum with religion by any stretch) but will you all cross your fingers or whatever lucky charm you use that we might get a little press on this. Stay tuned..

I'm also not informed on what netflix does and since I got scammed can someone explain???]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861417 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:19:07 EDT Netflix common denominator? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861303 anon : Could Netflix be the common denominator here? This topic has been raised on a couple of communities and journals over at LiveJournal, and the only thing everyone seems to have in common is NetFlix. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861303 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:06:46 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861215 anon : I just checked my "un-billed' activity on my credit card account and got this weird $29.99 charge as well. Mine is dated as having posted on 2/20/05 - so I won't technically get the statement until the middle of this month.

I immediately called to dispute it - but the credit card lady could barely speak any English and wasn't much help at all.

I *do* recall hearing on the radio that one of the Major Credit Check Companies (ChoicePoint or something) 'sold' the information of over 35,000 people in California - Their CEOs are currently being investigated.

Not sure - maybe this is related?

What a pain in the f*#!ing b@#%]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12861215 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 17:57:51 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12860571 Kip patterson : Well, I think we, like Toto and Dorothy, are no longer in Kansas.

I finally came across a number which lets you look up which company services an 800 (or 888) number. I tried the now infamous 888 number, and learned that it is handled by a firm with the code of AUA57, name not on file. The support number for that unnamed firm is 800-805-5200. When you dial that number, you get "Your call did not go through, please try your call again." ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12860571 Tue, 08 Mar 2005 16:53:48 EDT Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12860479 internetlol2 : qtboo you are being a little too paranoid. It is good advice to use a credit card rather than a debit beca