Be Careful with Ordering Online!!!!

[Korpi]

I just ordered a swc Skimmer from an online vendor and it was supposed to ship out 3 days ago, and to be on its way. Awesome. This has been the only thing I have ordered online and used my debit card with for over a year.
The very next night my debit card was used 3 times in the area that the store is located from charging me almost $250 on stuff from the GAP online. I called GAP online and they told me the items where also being shipped to the same State the store is in. Of course I did the regular stuff canceling card and all that but when i put in my police report they basically told me that "they will do what they can, but since this happened out of state, it becomes a federal offense and unless this is happening a lot, they have more important things to do." I hope that this is a singular event and that it was a desperate employee who didn't understand nobility and what is right and what is wrong. But i just wanted to warn my fellow reefers that this happened and to be careful, because if it was a time of desperation for this person and they where broke and HAD TO HAVE some stuff from a name brand store on someone else's dime, they may do it again. I sent a note to the store telling them of the situation, so hopefully it is resolved.
So be careful people, just because a website says its secure, doesn't mean its employees are trustworthy.

 

[Reef UP]

That sucks man sorry!

 

[fab1971]

That totally sucks. Glad you caught it on time. Funny because I was thinking of ordering from them earlier today. I've ordered from them before without a problem. Hopefully they'll get to the bottom of this and take care of it before anyone else gets burned.

 

[Dave3112]

That does suck! I ordered my MP40 from them last month and didn't have any problems.....At least you caught it in time to fix it.

 

[reefsmokinFOOL]

I have had similar issues with my debit card. Every time it was taken/used in either New York or jersey. Because it was a debit card the bank doesnt have to reimburse you, only if its a Credit Card and no an ATM/Credit card is a Debit card according to my bank.

 

[Korpi]

I just got an email from them saying they will investigate it thoroughly, I hope that it was just an isolated incident. But if felt that if there is a chance someone is being dishonest, its best to be safe than sorry. I'd rather it only be me with the crap happen than half of r2r lol

 

[Luisra]

This happened to me with an online reef supplies store, same thing but it was used in different parts of the world. Did you used a public wifi, like BK, MDonald, Starbucks, etc...?

 

[swannyson7]

Kind of related question.... If you pay with paypal using your bank account, wouldn't this prevent problems of fraud, or at least give you some recourse to dispute the charges? I always use paypal when paying with debit card for this reason, but I'm not sure if it would even make a difference?

 

[soccerbag]

I was going to ask the same thing. It's not always an employee of the store, retailer, etc. You would be amazed at how sneaky identity thieves can be. You may have a keylogger cookie on your computer, they could have picked up on the wifi signal, etc. I have a credit card with a very low limit that I use for all internet purchases. If it's stolen (and it has been a few times), the amount of damage is limited. There are a lot of ways someone can get a hold of your number. Just about all internet retail website say they are secure, but most of them will always be vulnerable. A few examples of websites that have been hacked - Amazon, Paypal, Wells Fargo, Capital One, The Pentagon, Department of the Navy...just to name a few. If they can be hacked, a small reef retailer is fair game as well.

Glad you caught it early as that's always key. I, too, have purchased from TB Aquatics a few times with no issues. There are many Identity Theft Companies around that will help you protect your credit card numbers by giving you random numbers to enter at checkout. This keeps your actual number protected and cuts down on theft possibilities.

 

[spscrazy]

I always use paypal my understanding is that the merchant can't see your cards numbers so employees can't steal the info off it.

 

[drainbamage]

I moved this to vendor feedback- please keep us updated as to what happened- as Craig said, there's lots of options as to how it could have happened, so if it turns out it wasn't TB Aquatics, it'd be nice to point it out ASAP so they don't get a bad rep for no reason.

Regardless, glad you caught it fast, that stinks to have one of your few online purchases turn foul like that. I'm a regular online shopper, and knock on wood, haven't had any issues yet.

 

[Troylee]

i have it happen a few times.. the charges were from overseas they paid match.com and itunes etc.... even had to pay a euro exchange rate lol.... i doubt it was tb honestly..actually my local news was showing like 2 weeks ago they walked the strip here in vegas and got thousands of card nubers from people walking.... that little swipe thingy on most peoples card where you just waive it by the machine and it runs your card...well you can buy one of those machines for fairly cheap off ebay since retailers use them, they bought one stuck it in a little folder that looked like a black book and walked the strip anyone with in a foot or so of them when they walked by it would steal the number it gives them the cc number etc.... amazing aint it!!!!!!!!

 

[Korpi]

Ya the last thing i want to do is sound slanderous. I hope that if it is internal that it is resolved. Like soccerbag said, everywhere can be susceptible to hackers. I had just set up a paypal account the day after I purchased the skimmer from them, wish i would have reversed the timing on that lol. I know tb has a great selection I would like to give them my business but I won't use my debit/credit card again. I don't want to scare people away from online vendors, i just don't want others to be naive like i was and just assume nothing bad was going to happen. We should all take steps to protect ourselves. I have been lucky and had very few experiences with fellow reefers or reef stores that were not good experiences. I got comfortable, that was a bad call

 

[drainbamage]

Korpi- I changed the title like you requested, but if you want to provide any more information I'm sure everyone will appreciate the update!

 

[Korpi]

Thank you DB, after receiving the email from the vendor, I got a phone call from the owner of the store. He explained to me that he is a one man show for the business and has limited help from another individual but he is starting his own investigation. He seemed nice and quite genuine about figuring this out. He wanted to know if i had gotten a copy of the police report yet so i could share some of the information that was on it like IP address and such. He will use that to check with his internet provider as well as with the credit card processing company that he uses (that way he retains nothing but the last four digits of the credit card as a reference and to prevent this sort of thing. I'll update as I find out more. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to pick up a copy of the report from the police station and then hit the bank to pull out cash since the my debit card is now a not so spectacularly decorated and useless piece of plastic.

 

[drainbamage]

thanks for the update Korpi! Glad to see TB is doing what they can to take care of ya- Amongst all this bad stuff though, make sure to let us know what you think of the skimmer when you get it :tongue:

 

[Korpi]

Oh, also, he said that to help minimize this sort of thing happening again, that paypal is good but you can also call, that way there are less chances of those sensitive items being intercepted.

 

[nixer]

so the gap.com shipped something out someone paid for with your card and they wont give you the address?
im pretty sure they have to tell you that address and also who if anyone signed for it.

also you might want to report it to the feds. i honestly dont see the police actually doing that themselves

 

[PR_Reefers]

Thats why I always stick to paypal and would advise anyone to do so also!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Korpi]

The company policy for GAP will not allow them give out the address to just anyone who calls. So the police have to request all the information, then when the report is finished I'll be able to get it off the police report.