Huge Credit Card Scam Hits 1.3M U.S. Consumers
The fake companies involved in the scam.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has busted a long-running international scam that affected around 1.3 million consumers, costing them more than $10 million over approximately a four-year period.
The scheme involved charging consumers’ credit and debit cards for amounts under $10 through more than 100 merchant accounts set up by a large number of legitimate sounding companies and extensive identity theft.
“It’s easier to steal one $1 from one million people than $1 million from one person,” stated the FTC in a recent memo about the thefts.
The FTC received more than 1,000 complaints from consumers affected by the scam, however the vast majority of the victims took no action, because the stolen amounts were so small that they either went undetected or cardholders simply didn’t bother to investigate.
The FTC has not revealed the identities of the individuals behind the scheme, however it is known that at least 14 people were recruited over the internet and hired to set up the fake companies, open bank accounts and handle money transfers.
(Via CreditCards.com)
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