AOL Artificial Intelligence

[donaldb]

I'm sitting here reconciling my checking account and I come upon a debit charge for $25.90 from AOL. Problem is I do not have a AOL account..........least I didn't know I did :blink: So I call and after working through there automated phone system I finally break through to a real live person (I think). I explain the charge, along with the fact that I do not have, nor have I ever had nor did I open a AOL account......matter of fact I do not have a computer at home because I have one at work which my face is stuck in all day and I need a break away while at home. He tells me a new account has been set up using my debit card # with a screen name of HDERJKF8EF.......I didn't get a chance to write it all down, got as much as I could. Finally I convince the guy there has been an error and he agrees to send me an affidavit to sign and return and they will refund my $. They closed the account. My ? to you guy's and gal's is how in the hell did someone get my debit card # and what should I do to prevent this from happening again? You think it was just a fluke...someone just keyed in a wrong # on a key board or maybe you think I should get a new debit card with a different account # to be on the safe side?

 

[airboss]

Call your bank NOW, tell them you need a new card and why. prob a keystroke error, but I wouldn't mess around with it.

 

[fjrchik]

i agree - call your bank. i started getting charges from germany on my account and while they were small (~$10), they continued even after I was reimbursed. might as well take care of it now.

 

[twowheelnut]

Here's what just happened to me:

Went to the local lunch joint and slapped down my Visa for 24 bucks and change for sandwiches for the gang at the office - the last place I used the card before I got a call. One week later, I get an automated call from Visa's fraud investigation unit, "...blah, blah, blah, if you did not make or authorize this charge, press 1 now."

Turns out that the restaurant piles all the days receipts on one of them spike thingies next to the register where anyone can get a read on the cc #. That, and the late teen - twenty something, less-than-reputable looking, dope smoking, tatted-up wait staff may to blame as all of the fraudulent charges were to in'nernet sites that merchandise e-games an' ****.

I made the suggestion that they begin their investigation at that restaurant and since, I've noticed that the receipts are now being put under the change drawer in the register - so Visa is doing their job at least.

And yeah, definitely call your bank.

 

[sparky3008]

Yep, call your bank get a new number and close that one.

I had a similar incident on my AMX card yet it was over $1000.

The person created a paypal account using my card number and sent money to a different account.

They said this is usually when you have handed your card to someone and they had a chance to walk away with it such as paying at a restaurant.

The person in my case had my card number but got the name wrong completely so it was easy and obvious.

 

[Bounce]

+1 on all that. Get it changed right away. The problem with AOL is, even with valid accounts, they have a history of continuing to charge for months after the request to cancel has been made. If you don't change your cards, AOL will probably continue to charge the card and force you to fight them tooth and nail to get your money back.

It was so bad that, at one time, a class action suit was files against them.

 

[radman]

Try and find who did it, and kill them, kill them dead. Gawd, I hate thieves.

 

[donaldb]

Dammit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

got to go by the bank on the way home and close my debit card account. Wifey is going to go nuts without a debit card for the next week or two........during holiday time it will likely take 2 weeks to get new cards issued...............better safe than sorry, thanx guys...and gals

 

[ponyfool]

You need to do more than that. In the Pacific NW (where I work), identity theft is HUGE. You can't open an account using just a credit card number. You also have to have the name, and sometimes a zip code as well.

You are the victim of identity theft, and I highly doubt AOL would open an account with no verifying procedure (zip code, name, etc), so I highly doubt it was just a key stroke error. In addition, credit card numbers have specific protocols, and rarely are they sequential.

Calling your bank is a good FIRST step, but don't stop there. Contact the three major credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax and put a fraud alert on your credit history. It is only a slight inconvenience to you, but it significantly curtails the ability of someone opening an account under your name.

My guess is, AOL is the first of several you will discover.

 

[Ignacio]

Calling your bank is a good FIRST step, but don't stop there. Contact the three major credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax and put a fraud alert on your credit history. It is only a slight inconvenience to you, but it significantly curtails the ability of someone opening an account under your name.
My guess is, AOL is the first of several you will discover.

Bingo! Ponyfool hit the two big points here. It's probably not just a goof and saying the magic words "fraud alert" will get some extra attention for what seems to me the beginnings of an attempt at identity theft.

 

[slapnpop]

Here's what just happened to me:
Went to the local lunch joint and slapped down my Visa for 24 bucks and change for sandwiches for the gang at the office - the last place I used the card before I got a call. One week later, I get an automated call from Visa's fraud investigation unit, "...blah, blah, blah, if you did not make or authorize this charge, press 1 now."

Turns out that the restaurant piles all the days receipts on one of them spike thingies next to the register where anyone can get a read on the cc #. That, and the late teen - twenty something, less-than-reputable looking, dope smoking, tatted-up wait staff may to blame as all of the fraudulent charges were to in'nernet sites that merchandise e-games an' ****.

That's why TN they passed a law a couple years ago that restaurants are only allowed to print the first 4 digits of the CC number on the recipt. A lot of restaurants don't follow the law though, and it's one of those things I'll bring to the manager's attention.

 

[bikerskier]

Try and find who did it, and kill them, kill them dead. Gawd, I hate thieves.

+1 on this Rad!

 

[donaldb]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, the MF hit me again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$347.50 for something bought at Home Decor Products, some internet order site, in New Jersy somehow they got it in before the card was canceled but it did not show up on last month's statement..MFSOB

 

[odot]

Don....call up radman...have him break out his arsenal of illegal weapons stashed in minnesota(there are lots of those, believe you me)....hunt the perp down and take all his belongings....after that, nail him/her to a tree(not a fricken' tree....just a regular tree) and post up some pics......

 

[Groo]

Don,

That sucks big gray donkey dongs... hope you find the sleezeball and can introduce him to some frontier justice... :assassin:

 

[Bustanut joker]

(not a fricken' tree....just a regular tree) and post up some pics......

Yeah definatly a fricken tree, those damn damn things are GAY

:jester:

 

[tripletango]

I'm sitting here reconciling my checking account and I come upon a debit charge for $25.90 from AOL. Problem is I do not have a AOL account..........least I didn't know I did :blink: So I call and after working through there automated phone system I finally break through to a real live person (I think). I explain the charge, along with the fact that I do not have, nor have I ever had nor did I open a AOL account......matter of fact I do not have a computer at home because I have one at work which my face is stuck in all day and I need a break away while at home. He tells me a new account has been set up using my debit card # with a screen name of HDERJKF8EF.......I didn't get a chance to write it all down, got as much as I could. Finally I convince the guy there has been an error and he agrees to send me an affidavit to sign and return and they will refund my $. They closed the account. My ? to you guy's and gal's is how in the hell did someone get my debit card # and what should I do to prevent this from happening again? You think it was just a fluke...someone just keyed in a wrong # on a key board or maybe you think I should get a new debit card with a different account # to be on the safe side?

I used a bank card in china to transfer funds from usa to china. 3 months of aol on the card before i had figured out it was not my partners charge. canceled the card it's easier than farting around with all the ********. beware of aol ! msn is not much better had a run in with them too. Seems like stolen card numbers to me. Fraud for sure.

 

[dbvolfan]

Many years ago, in my previous life as a retail manager we had rings of thieves who got hired on just to steal peoples cards....they would swipe the card, make some kind of disruption and then hand the customer the recipet, while they 'dropped" the card near the register. If the customer realized they were missing their card, all the cashier had to do was reach over and say they 'forgot to give it back' or 'accidentally' dropped it.

If the customer didnt figure it out, they would have one of their friends pick the card up and go for a quick spending spree at the mall across the street (being weary of the speing limits that might trigger an alert) before the card was reported stolen.

They would hit a few stores for an hour or so and then ditch the card and start with a new one....happend all the time.