I was the victim of identity theft recently.
My credit card, Capital One, did a masterful job of stemming the losses. They called to ask about some charges they identified as 'suspicious'. Three charges were attempted within a few hours of one another in Virginia somewhere, and all for less than $20. One to York Photo, one to Blockbusters and one to a charitable organization, the USO!
How they sussed that out so quickly and accurately was impressive.
So then I went online to order my free credit report like they always recommend you do, especially if your identity has been pilfered. I went to the website for Experian.com and pulled up credit reports for me and for Judy. They came up clean, much to our relief.
I was surprised when I got my American Express bill this month and found two identical charges of $16.15 from someone called CIC Triple Advantage. A quick Google search yielded some more surprising information. CIC is apparently connected to Experian and in the process of securing my 'free' credit report, I was tricked into subscribing to a credit monitoring service! CIC has been the target of "multiple class action lawsuits and over 7000 complaints with the Better Business Bureau!"
Fortunately, the first 'hit' from my Google search brought me to a site called Knowsy.com and the page it publishes in regard to this scam offered the information I needed to get the situation fixed.
Calling CIC, I got them to agree to cancel my 'subscription'. But they refused to refund the charges they had already placed. For that they've earned two more complaints filed to the BBB and to the NYS Attorney General's office. Happily, my American Express card folks removed the charges in a heartbeat and with no questions asked! Now THAT'S service.
So, be careful out there. Even the guys you think are on our side seem more than happy to slip their hand into your pocket when you're not looking. While you're at it. Check out Knowsy.com. Their page on this issue contains a lot of great information AND a link to a site where you can get an actual and truly FREE credit report!
No comments:
Post a Comment