Posting this here because I know we have some folks here with education/experience in such matters.
Someone managed to use our debit card to spend several hundred dollars at a cell phone provider (big company). We have never had any sort of account with this company.
I’m working with the bank and also will be having a local law enforcement officer call me back here soon.
Realistically speaking, are things like this ever actually prosecuted, or do these digital theft things end up going into the Bermuda Triangle?
If we are able to find the one who committed the fraud, I think we have the responsibility to press charges against them. Since the purchase was made to a cell phone company, it seems like it shouldn’t be that hard to track down who made the purchase.
“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza
Statistically slim, although you do see the odds go up when they are used to buy services and not just goods, as the services are linked to physical places / people.
(my dad worked for bellsouth adn they had a guy who used a stolen CC to set up bill pay… recurring every month…)
The people who press charges will not be you though- it will be the bank or visa or the place that got the fraudulent CC, whichever one is left holding the bag.
If the bank reimburses your account you are not actually out anything so, you are not technically the victim, the bank is. I have seen banks press charges many times IF the criminal is actually caught. Whether or not charges are made is up to the bank (they usually just want restitution) and, it often depends upon the amount of money and the number of times fraud was committed. The big thing is whether or not anyone is actually caught. Most departments are understaffed and, very few investigators actually have the training, knowledge and skills to do real computer crimes investigative work. NOT their fault, many departments do not provide or make available such training. So, it all depends upon those factors. Despite what you see on TV, such crimes are not easily solved and the criminal really does not have to be a mastermind to get away with it.
No offense taken there Pea.
“Apathy is the Glove in Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
I just went through with this whole thing. Police report, meeting at the bank, paperwork…I got the money back. The charges were from walmart.com and according to the bank manager, walmart.com is by far the worst place for these offenses. He also said that walmart.com absolutely refuses to investigate or prosecute.
Local law enforcement can’t or won’t do crap other than write a report and give you a case number to show the bank to get your money back.
What drives me absolutely crazy is that this is a FEDERAL offense. Are you telling me that someone (with the click of a button) from the Fed can see every website, every transaction, every post I make, but can’t or won’t find these jack legs and slap them with a couple of Felonies?
That’s the problem with the modern criminal justice system---- there is no justice. They are so back-logged with criminals that they can’t do much about these “petty” things, and even when they do have enough smoking-gun evidence for a prosecution, they give them a minor tongue lashing and send them away.
I don’t really care if the punishment is a deterrent or not for the crime, but public justice needs to be done. Let it happen for long enough, with serious consequences for these things, and we’ll start seeing at least some change in people’s willingness to steal.
“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza
Sounds familiar, mine was a couple hundred in purchases to a water purification company in Guadalupe…response: got my money back from the bank, with them saying it is about a 0% chance they will ever get caught. Very frustrating.
Had my American express numbers stolen. Never did figure out how they got them as I did not loose my card. The criminal’s bought freaking airline tickets in their names!!!
They did not get prosecuted, just cancelled tickets. Does not get much easier to find then that…
The lack of justice in this nation sickens me. These people should suffer serious, serious penalties.
“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza
