About 143m customers affected by massive Equifax cyber incident - Page 3

August · 09-27-17, 07:31 AM

Just yesterday somebody tried to buy a digital movie from Amazon in my name using a company credit card that luckily had been cancelled several months ago. I only found out because Amazon sent me an email (the do not reply type) that the transaction had been rejected for an invalid card number.

It's kind of irritating that there seems to be no way of contacting Amazon to report the attempted theft. The link in the email sent me to page that tried to get me to update my CC info to allow the transaction to go through. Of course I did not. I left a negative review complaining (nicely) that I had not ordered the movie and that Amazon was difficult to contact. I quickly got another do nor reply email from them telling me that my review was rejected because it didn't meet some unspecified standard for reviews. The accompanying link just sent me to some general help page listing nothing pertinent to the situation.

Screw them, there are plenty of other online sellers to choose from.

vienna · 09-27-17, 08:08 AM

The situation you describe sounds like you may have been the object of 'phishing' attempt. First of all, it seems odd Amazon, or any other reputable vendor, would require you to verify or update your CC info; just on the face of it, it doesn't make sense. The fact the rejected charge(s) were on a cancelled card raise flags; it is possible some one has gotten hold of old account data and is using it to try and ferret out more current, valid info. I know of several persons, including myself, who have gotten seemingly legitimate emails about some alleged problems with bank or credit accounts that were actually false and phishing setups. If you receive an email purporting to alert you to account problems and they supply a 'convenient' link, don't ever click on the link; instead, contact the purported vendor/entity through a known portal such as their homepage or call their customer service 800 number; clicking on a link supplied in a bogus email can have undesired results such as the installation of malware or trojans. I would seriously recommend running a virus scan and, perhaps, changing the passwords to your email, financial, and/or commercial accounts that may be open to affect...

I do have to say some of the fake emails are really very transparent as frauds: I can't begin to estimate how many concerned emails I have gotten over the years about accounts for banks and other entities with whom I have never had any previous contact, almost all of them stressing I needed to verify or update my 'account info/data' for nonexistent accounts...

<O>

propbeanie · 09-27-17, 11:06 AM

One of the problems, like August mentions, is the fact that there are no phone numbers seemingly available on the Amazon web site. Similarly, eBay is set-up the same way. You have to ~really~ hunt to find a phone number, and even then, it's usually not directly to someone who can help, but sometimes gets your foot in the door. I think that the last time I spoke to a person at Amazon was probably 10 years ago, and I think I got the phone number after emailing them a number of times. I never did get anything accomplished by it though...

vienna · 09-27-17, 03:45 PM

It's even simpler to find the Amazon Customer Service phone number than you'd imagine: just go to Google, type in "Amazon Customer Service phone" in the search box, hit 'enter', and there it is...

For future reference, the number (24/7) is : 1 (888) 280-4331...

This link has even more detailed info on contacting Amazon:

http://www.wikihow.com/Contact-Amazon

<O>

propbeanie · 09-28-17, 07:09 AM

notice that you didn't find it on the Amazon site?...

vienna · 09-28-17, 04:05 PM

Oh, I very seldom, if ever, waste my time trying to dig through an official site; I learned a long time ago most entities, either commercial or governmental, really want to hear from the public. It's a case of path of least resistance: why plow through the roadblocks when there is a wide open freeway available? Google will give you, generally, the most direct answer to finding info usually buried in the 'official' smokescreens...

All this reminds me of a situation where I had to deal with official smoke and mirrors in the analog world; back before the Web and Google, I was working for a film production company and my boss's mother, a WW2 war bride from Germany was planning a return trip to her birthplace; she was getting up in years and wanted to make the trip while she was still capable. She knew I was good at ferreting out hard to find info and she had been having difficulty in clearing up some passport and visa questions with the US State Department, so she asked if I could help her reach someone in State who could answer her questions. First, I tried the usual path: looked up State in the phone book and called the number given; spent about 30 minutes listening to recordings and bouncing from one 'menu' or phone tree to another looking for someway to connect with an actual human being. After going through all the trees and menus, the last recording finally just wished us a good day and hung up. My boss's mother was dispirited and near tears. I got out the phone book again and tried an old trick. Almost all large entities, either civilian or governmental, have internal phone directories available for their employees. I just looked for a US government agency in the regular phone book that probably wouldn't get a great amount of public inquiries, some arcane agency or other. I called the agency and, sure enough, a real human being answered. I explained to the person what we had gone through with the State phone tees and asked if they could possibly look in their inter-agency phone directory for someone in an appropriate State position to help us. The person on the phone very kindly looked up a number for us and laughingly commended us on our "sneakiness". We called the number given and got an actual human being (who was shocked someone had actually gotten through) and finally resolved my boss's mother's issues...

Sometimes you have to think outside the box and/or the box someone is trying to put you in...

BTW, for a laugh, try entering "Amazon Customer Service phone" in the Amazon homepage search box: it seems Amazon has listings of books and guides for sale on the subject...

<O>

09-27-17, 07:31 AM	#31
August Wayfaring Stranger Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 22,682 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Just yesterday somebody tried to buy a digital movie from Amazon in my name using a company credit card that luckily had been cancelled several months ago. I only found out because Amazon sent me an email (the do not reply type) that the transaction had been rejected for an invalid card number. It's kind of irritating that there seems to be no way of contacting Amazon to report the attempted theft. The link in the email sent me to page that tried to get me to update my CC info to allow the transaction to go through. Of course I did not. I left a negative review complaining (nicely) that I had not ordered the movie and that Amazon was difficult to contact. I quickly got another do nor reply email from them telling me that my review was rejected because it didn't meet some unspecified standard for reviews. The accompanying link just sent me to some general help page listing nothing pertinent to the situation. Screw them, there are plenty of other online sellers to choose from. __________________ Flanked by life and the funeral pyre. Putting on a show for you to see.

09-27-17, 08:08 AM	#32
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,507 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	The situation you describe sounds like you may have been the object of 'phishing' attempt. First of all, it seems odd Amazon, or any other reputable vendor, would require you to verify or update your CC info; just on the face of it, it doesn't make sense. The fact the rejected charge(s) were on a cancelled card raise flags; it is possible some one has gotten hold of old account data and is using it to try and ferret out more current, valid info. I know of several persons, including myself, who have gotten seemingly legitimate emails about some alleged problems with bank or credit accounts that were actually false and phishing setups. If you receive an email purporting to alert you to account problems and they supply a 'convenient' link, don't ever click on the link; instead, contact the purported vendor/entity through a known portal such as their homepage or call their customer service 800 number; clicking on a link supplied in a bogus email can have undesired results such as the installation of malware or trojans. I would seriously recommend running a virus scan and, perhaps, changing the passwords to your email, financial, and/or commercial accounts that may be open to affect... I do have to say some of the fake emails are really very transparent as frauds: I can't begin to estimate how many concerned emails I have gotten over the years about accounts for banks and other entities with whom I have never had any previous contact, almost all of them stressing I needed to verify or update my 'account info/data' for nonexistent accounts... <O> __________________ __________________________________________________ __

09-27-17, 11:06 AM	#33
propbeanie CTD - it's not just a job Join Date: May 2016 Location: One hour from Music City USA! Posts: 9,755 Downloads: 440 Uploads: 2	One of the problems, like August mentions, is the fact that there are no phone numbers seemingly available on the Amazon web site. Similarly, eBay is set-up the same way. You have to ~really~ hunt to find a phone number, and even then, it's usually not directly to someone who can help, but sometimes gets your foot in the door. I think that the last time I spoke to a person at Amazon was probably 10 years ago, and I think I got the phone number after emailing them a number of times. I never did get anything accomplished by it though... __________________ "...and bollocks to the naysayer/s" - Jimbuna

09-27-17, 03:45 PM	#34
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,507 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	It's even simpler to find the Amazon Customer Service phone number than you'd imagine: just go to Google, type in "Amazon Customer Service phone" in the search box, hit 'enter', and there it is... For future reference, the number (24/7) is : 1 (888) 280-4331... This link has even more detailed info on contacting Amazon: http://www.wikihow.com/Contact-Amazon <O> __________________ __________________________________________________ __

09-28-17, 07:09 AM	#35
propbeanie CTD - it's not just a job Join Date: May 2016 Location: One hour from Music City USA! Posts: 9,755 Downloads: 440 Uploads: 2	notice that you didn't find it on the Amazon site?... __________________ "...and bollocks to the naysayer/s" - Jimbuna

09-28-17, 04:05 PM	#36
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,507 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Oh, I very seldom, if ever, waste my time trying to dig through an official site; I learned a long time ago most entities, either commercial or governmental, really want to hear from the public. It's a case of path of least resistance: why plow through the roadblocks when there is a wide open freeway available? Google will give you, generally, the most direct answer to finding info usually buried in the 'official' smokescreens... All this reminds me of a situation where I had to deal with official smoke and mirrors in the analog world; back before the Web and Google, I was working for a film production company and my boss's mother, a WW2 war bride from Germany was planning a return trip to her birthplace; she was getting up in years and wanted to make the trip while she was still capable. She knew I was good at ferreting out hard to find info and she had been having difficulty in clearing up some passport and visa questions with the US State Department, so she asked if I could help her reach someone in State who could answer her questions. First, I tried the usual path: looked up State in the phone book and called the number given; spent about 30 minutes listening to recordings and bouncing from one 'menu' or phone tree to another looking for someway to connect with an actual human being. After going through all the trees and menus, the last recording finally just wished us a good day and hung up. My boss's mother was dispirited and near tears. I got out the phone book again and tried an old trick. Almost all large entities, either civilian or governmental, have internal phone directories available for their employees. I just looked for a US government agency in the regular phone book that probably wouldn't get a great amount of public inquiries, some arcane agency or other. I called the agency and, sure enough, a real human being answered. I explained to the person what we had gone through with the State phone tees and asked if they could possibly look in their inter-agency phone directory for someone in an appropriate State position to help us. The person on the phone very kindly looked up a number for us and laughingly commended us on our "sneakiness". We called the number given and got an actual human being (who was shocked someone had actually gotten through) and finally resolved my boss's mother's issues... Sometimes you have to think outside the box and/or the box someone is trying to put you in... BTW, for a laugh, try entering "Amazon Customer Service phone" in the Amazon homepage search box: it seems Amazon has listings of books and guides for sale on the subject... <O> __________________ __________________________________________________ __