wagglepopsurvivor
@Dial1.Cinc | reply to legalbegal
Re: Pluto Data Credit Card Charge
Mordacray,
You better read fast, because in a few hours they're planning on deleting any trace of wagglepop from their servers over at the 'support' forum. |
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TwoMatchMike
join:2005-02-23
Severna Park, MD
|  reply to legalbegal
My wife and I are pretty vigilant about our credit cards and such things. We just found a charge on our primary card from "Pluto Data Ltd" for a transaction dated 2/20/05 for (you guessed it) $29.99. We didn't get a phone number for them.
We were already on alert because about 12/30/04 there was a charge for about $34 from www.skype.net which appears to be a VOIP company in the European market. We disputed that with our CC company and they reversed it but asked us to wait and see rather than cancelling our card right away.
So my wife called the bank and they looked up the contact info for Pluto and made a three-way call, then hung in the background and let my wife do the talking. The person who answered (presumably from AnswerQuick) took my wife's name and looked up the charge, which was supposedly for a music CD. They asked for our address and my wife (I love this girl) said "no, you tell me what you think my address is". They gave some address in Arizona (thousand+ miles away from us) and my wife informed them that she had our bank on the phone too and had the bank rep confirm that we don't live in Arizona.
Net, the phone rep said that they are canceling the transaction and the bank has closed the account and is sending us new cards. Clearly our card info has been compromised.
I think I can shed some light on this for everyone. The old way to do credit card fraud was to get a card number and rack up as many charges as you could before the legitimate owner or the issuer caught on. Credit card companies are now using very sophisticated technology to detect this kind of behavior and shut down the card.
The new way to do fraud is to get lots and lots of cards and make one small charge on each. Chances are that the charges will slip by under the radar for a great number of the cards and you can keep doing it every month or two for a year or more.
The card numbers could be obtained any number of ways, but most likely by hacking a legit merchant's database or by someone inside a merchant (even a brick-and-mortar merchant) captureing card numbers from legit transactions.
So who are the players here? Well, chances are that AnswerQuick is really just an innocent intermediary. I'd be curious how long Pluto Data has been a customer of theirs. If Pluto is really bogus, then they probably just signed up and AnswerQuick may find that they don't get their bill paid.
Pluto Data may be an "unfaithful merchant" or may simply be a clearinghouse as they claim. There are dozens or hundreds of companies that offer credit card clearhouse services to small businesses that are too small to support the costs of a full-fledged merchant account with all four major credit card companies. It's fairly simple to set up an account with one of these clearinghouses and start to process charges.
So Scenario One is: Pluto is innocent but careless. The fraudsters set up a dozen or two credit card processing accounts with Pluto (and probably other credit card clearinghouses as well) and start to file lots of small transactions through them. Who cares if some get reveresed? It's still free money to them.
Scenario Two: Pluto is the fraudster or is a legit company with employees who are the fraudsters. They start filing loads of small bogus charges and make up companies and addresses for who the charges were submitted by and where the goods were shipped.
For us, the end result is the same. If you have a charge from Pluto Data or some variation on that, skip calling them. Call your credit card company, tell them that there's a fraudulent charge on your card. Have them close the account and issue you a new number (because your card has definitely been compromised). Look back through your statements and see if there's any other suspicious charges.
If Pluto is legit but careless, they will get a lot of flak from Visa and Mastercard for all the chargebacks. (if you call them directly then they get to reverse the charges themselves and don't draw V/MC's attention). By the end of this week Pluto will be clamping down on the bad accounts. If Pluto is completely bogus, they will simply disappear into the night when Visa and MC call to ask them what's up.
Best of luck, and keep your eyes wide open.
-2-Match Mike |
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SandyBee
@comcast.net
| reply to legalbegal
I don't think wagglepop has anything to do with this. Within the last hour, I have just found four people with the same charges on their card, none of which have even heard of wagglepop.
It sounds like someone hacked into a main database. I am told that Choice Point is also known as Equifax. I believe there was a major hack at Choice Point and thousands of people had all their information stolen. |
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izy
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Naples, FL | »www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar···b23.html |
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SandyBee
@comcast.net
| reply to legalbegal
Someone, who also had the charge on their card, found the following address to where the shipment was going to. Even a phone #.
Apparently it's for a "CD Pack" from Matador. The shipment is going to:
201 E Ann Street #9
Berwick, ME 03901
I even got the phone number: 201-818-2888 |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
| reply to legalbegal
said by legalbegal  :When I called the number, I was told that the charge was dfrom a company called "Folk and Tribal" and it was for a DVD. However, on the date that the purchase was made, I had just had surgery so there was no way I was buying stuff online or out shopping. I could not find the charge anywhere in my records OR this company anywhere online. I hope they nail the scumbags behind this scam.
--
Don't shoot the messenger,shoot the spammer
»www.antihotmail.com
Dslreports.com Profile: »profile.antihotmail.com
spammers_are_scumbags@antihotmail.com |
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cavalri
join:2004-09-01
Manchester, NH
| reply to legalbegal
I just got back from the bank and a google of PLUTO D revealed this. I got a call from my debit cart company asking if I made a $29.99 charge and a charge for $2.00 that was later reversed, both coming from Nicosia, Cyprus. I had to reapply for my debit card at the bank and dispute the $29.99, but at least the banks/credit card companies are now aware of the problem. |
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cvlight
join:2005-02-23
CA........
3 edits | PASS IT ON! MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR STATEMENTS!
»Pluto Data Credit Card Charge
The company had refunded my money back, but this whole ordeal reeks one big scam (I got charged $29.99 for a dvd that was supposed to be sent to Redondo Beach, Ca. with a contact # in Georgia.) People all over the country have been getting these fraudulent charges by a company called www.Answerquick.com and www.billing.cc/support. Read up on the above post. Especially my thread (cvlight pg. 2) about these scammers. I may have uncovered key info about the scammers. |
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srv
@cerner.com
| reply to legalbegal
I got alerted to this fraud from a friend on a gun discussion board.
I called Pluto, and got the information on the charge.
Here it is:
Apparently it's for a "CD Pack" from Matador. The shipment is going to:
201 E Ann Street #9
Berwick, ME 03901
I even got the phone number: 201-818-2888
I called the number, and an answering machine picked up. |
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sweintz
Premium
join:2002-03-01
Hamden, CT
1 edit | reply to SandyBee
said by SandyBee:
Someone, who also had the charge on their card, found the following address to where the shipment was going to. Even a phone #.
Apparently it's for a "CD Pack" from Matador. The shipment is going to:
201 E Ann Street #9
Berwick, ME 03901
I even got the phone number: 201-818-2888
Funny, that address is in Maine, but that phone number is in New Jersey!
The "#9" tacked on the end of the street address makes me think this is likely a mailboxes etc. type place - a rented po box, likley rented using fake ID.
The phone is in Ramsey, NJ. I'd bet it's voicemail service |
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Luko
Premium
join:2003-06-18
Pittsburg, CA | reply to legalbegal
dont you folks know a GA credit check company been hacked? It effected ten of thousand here in California where there is a law that a company has to report to people when their SS#/CC# in their system been compromised. |
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izy
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Naples, FL
| said by Luko :dont you folks know a GA credit check company been hacked? It effected ten of thousand here in California where there is a law that a company has to report to people when their SS#/CC# in their system been compromised. yup
--
"There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot." ~Steven Wright |
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Phaetos
join:2003-09-21
Slaughter, LA
1 edit | reply to legalbegal
said by legalbegal :People (probably YOU) break into Internet Servers ALL the time and STEAL contact information. I personally am a developer who has to make purchases online quite a bit with our "Company Credit Card". So implying that our Company Credit Card was used to make a PORN purchase is ridiculous and quite interesting. Begal,
I find that a bit harsh of a statement. I agree that what has happened to you is wrong and scary that it can happen. But going around accusing people of breaking into servers to steal information with absolutely NO proof of that can get you in just as much trouble as you are trying to cause for that individual that tried to give you a very honest and what they considered helpful information. I have lived in Baton Rouge my whole life and have known people that worked for Answer Quick and myself have worked for an answering service, of which you apparently never have. Never, not once, have they ever been accused of such a thing. If they had I can guarantee you it would have ended up on any of our news channels, they are fiends for getting that kind of information for a story  AnswerQuick has been a long respected member of the commercial community for as long as I can remember. What the poster said was very true. All they are is an answering service. If a client gives them a way to access information, then so be it. AnswerQuick is not a scam and is in no way directly affiliated with stealing credit card information.
Just my 2 cents worth. |
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legalbegal
No Mercy
Premium
join:2004-11-08
Beverly Hills, CA
2 edits | Phaetos,
Funny you would comment what I said in defense of myself. I was merely returning the insult back to a "NEW" poster who implied that I purchased porn online and that's why I made those comments. If "Answer Quick" did not want to get involved, then "Answer Quick" should have kept their distance.
You see they are STILL answering the phones for "Pluto Data" -whomever Pluto Data is. No one knows who they are or how to contact them.
The reason that any scamming business is viewed a repected member of any community is because they have yet to be CAUGHT. Just because they look legit doesn't mean that they are.
How would you know what they have been accussed of unless you have the inside track? I have lived in Baton Rouge as well and have relatives who reside there. You should be careful what you imply unless you know the whole story.
Good luck with your Answering Service Career, Phaetos! |
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legalbegal
No Mercy
Premium
join:2004-11-08
Beverly Hills, CA
| reply to legalbegal
To more explain why ANSWER QUICK has been brought into this as a culprit (in my own opinion):
When I called, I could not get a straight answer from these people. They are based in Baton Rouge, however, I called several times before finding this out and was told that they were in other locations like New York and Washington State.
I got one employee who had to "whisper" to tell me that they were in Baton Rouge and that they were not Pluto Data that they just answered the phones for them. She then told me that she worked for Answer Quick and where they were located.
The conversations that we did record are being sent to the authorities. (It's still legal in some states.)
Something else that tasted really bad, is that when I called the Answer Quick Main Office, I spoke with someone who said his name was "Byron". I practically begged him to assist me in finding out how to get in touch with "Pluto Data". He told me that he was not going to argue with me and that I could do whatever I felt I needed to do, but that he had nothing to say to me. He was very rude for someone who worked for a company that claims so much innocence.
Another thing is that one representative claimed to not have any way of contacting Pluto Data. When I initially demanded a refund, I was told by that SAME representative that they would contact Pluto Data and let them know that I requested a refund.
I said, "I thought you had no way of contacting them?" -The phone went dead. She had hung up.
Anyone who reads these events and defends Pluto Data OR Answer Quick is obviously in their "circle of life".
I completely understand what legitimate Answering Services do. I use on myself during the summer. But they always have the right to give ANY caller my mailing address and any other contact information for me. Why would I charge your credit card and not provide a way to reach me but through some Answering Service unless I was scamming you?
Why would any legitimate answering service be taking calls for some "GHOST COMPANY" anyway?
Just doesn't add up. And I for one don't take any junk from ANYONE after they steal my credit card information especially. I intend to see this through with each agency I contacted and if Answer Quick is not at fault, I will personally apologize but until then I hope that they brush their teeth before the police arrive.
But I feel sorry for whomever is behind this scam because there are a lot of badges looking for them, not to mention each and every person who's credit card was fraudulently charged.
--
Providing services for individuals who have been ripped off by sites such as thedownloadplace.com is my primary focus. Do not allow yourself to be scammed. Fight Back! |
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JoefromPA
| reply to legalbegal
I had the exact same thing to a T happen to my card. It showed up on my online banking on 2/18.
Let me know if you get this resolved in any way. I filed a complaint on this site www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp but I have no idea how effective this is going to be. |
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LisaFromGA
@chartertn.net
| reply to legalbegal
The exact same thing happened to me. First a $1.35 charge from "SUN FOR MOOD POMPANO BEACH FL", followed a few days later by an attempted $19.99 charge from "PLUTO DATA COMPANY". The charge, thankfully, was denied because I keep very little money in that account (it was a debit card). I immediately called and had my debit card de-activated.
Here's a link to the full story, that I posted on another chat board.
»www.otwa.com/community/showthrea···?t=25989 |
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izy
Premium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Naples, FL
| reply to legalbegal
Well said legalbegal.
As a victim of identity theft myself, and we're not talking about no $29.99 charge, to this date I am still receiving calls from collection agencies and credit bureaus about loans, checks and credit cards being taken out in my name and this has been going on for almost 5 years now.
Hopefully the government agencies investigating this can shut down these a-holes fast and put a clamp on the information that has already leaked out making sure it doesn't get into the wrong hands. Unfortunately in my situation local and federal agencies could give a rats ass what happened to me. It was literally like pulling teeth getting help and answers.
Maybe this is a wake-up call to the government and something may actually be done.
As far as the people who have had these charges or may think that their personal information has been stolen I would suggest following these steps to the T from the FTC website.
»www.consumer.gov/idtheft/recovering_idt.html
--
"There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot." ~Steven Wright |
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scambusters
@uic.edu
| reply to legalbegal
Pluto Data LTD is a shell corporation owned by UKData LTD (»www.UKDATA.com). It was "incorporated" 25sep02. Its' alleged UK registration # is 04545504. The alleged corp. address is 11 Church Rd. Great Bookham, Surry KT23 3pb, United Kingdom.
Try tele 01372-750800 fax 01372-750801. These might be UKdata LTD corporate numbers- just as well.
Recent Pluto Data executive activity:
07 feb 05 notice of change of directors or secretaries
03 feb 05 " " " " " "
Charles Schwab's Fraud Team is now on their ass, hopefully. |
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jagged
join:2003-07-01
Boynton Beach, FL
| reply to legalbegal
I think some people here don't understand the billing/support model at all. Legalbegal in perticular.
Just because AnswerQuick still answers the phones for Pluto Data doesn't mean they can help you.
Support/Call centers - DO NOT have all your info to solve your case by default, so that no info does not get stolen.
And besides, the discrepancy between adress/phone number clearly shows one big huge scam.
Pluto could be a 3rd party biller
So Joe Scammer gets a site up and signs up with Pluto Data making them think he's selling a product to process transactions.
When you or whomever runs the transaction online using Joe Scammer's site and YOUR credit card info, it is the thir party biller (Pluto Data) that shows up on your credit card.
Pluto Data outsources tech support to AnswerQuick.
AnswerQuick handles Pluto Data's calls.
IF Pluto Data had their own merchant account and processing and call center then it all would be handled by them.
If so many people are having the same problem, that usually is indicative of one thing - massive leak of credit card information.
CVV2 Numbers on credit cards are on the back, and unless you shopped at a rogue site or used unsecure forms online, the other plausible scenario is that an organization holding credit card data, yours, leaked it by being hacked.
And no, you don't always get notified when your info is leaked. Because it's bad press for the company, and even if VISA or the others know your card leaked, to them it's much more cost effective to issue refunds, than to re-issue 500,000 credit cards, change account information etc...
So screw Pluto, call the issuing bank of your card and file a dispute, save your nerves and times. |
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