Listen up here folks, I want you all to be aware of this. Yesterday I checked my credit card balance online and I noticed a charge of $9.95 from a company called Absolute-Soft. Apparently this is some type web design company – something that I obviously do not need having built the internal and most of the external infrastructures of the websites that I own.
Folks, I was the victim of identity theft!
Somehow, either this company or someone pretending to be me used my credit card number and personal information to make a purchase of $9.95 from this website. I’m currently using the process in place from my credit card company to have the situation checked out, but there are a few points that I want everyone to take away from this.
First, this Absolute-Soft.com group apparently doesn’t do a good enough check on the financial information that they are given so beware of using them.
Second, being it’s the holiday season and that it’s the year 2004 we can all expect a lot of online shopping to take place. BE CAREFUL of where you put your credit card information online!!! If you’re not sure of a site (and I was ALWAYS sure before today), then do NOT use your credit card there. Just find the 800 number and make the order by phone.
And finally, I only caught this fraud because I haven’t used my credit card for the past two months. Hence, when I checked my account online ANY charge would be odd to me. For those of you who make a lot of charges, please be sure to check the charges made to your account. You never know if someone is out there pretending to be you!
Ditto on the NewEgg suspicion. Just balancing my credit card statement and noticed the following item dated 10/05: AZ BUSINESS PRODUCTS CALGARY AB – 9.95. I note my first ever use of this card with NewEgg on 09/21.
well, I did check my statment today, and i seen a weird transaction from 12-27-05 VISA-JM BUSINESS PRODUCCALGARY AB for 9.95 on my washington mutual debit-visa card. I did few serch on this company, but i got nothing. The only thing i can find is this page, and I regonize they are scammers.lol
I called my bank to disbill it, well they told me i have to cancel my card and fill a some kind form to done it. I have no choice. From what i know by reading all ppl’s post. This thing were happens from last year already, But It’s still happen till this year. Not sure it’s going to keep happening in next year or not. The only thing i can say is those banks SUCKS>_
I had the $9.95 charge fom Art Magic inc.com on my dec. statement–the transaction date was black friday, and I did purchase online that day, but only from one site—I Googled the art magic site and found out it was a scam. I immediately called my CC and reported it. But from the looks of these reports, it’s nothing new—-How long can this go on?
AZ BUSINESS PRODUCTS got me on the 31st. Frustrating that they’re still in business. I’m guessing it’s because 10 bucks just isn’t enough to compell me to fill out a police report. Annoying to have to cancel my card and deal with my bank.
I got hit on 1/4/06 by Absolute-soft.com.
What surprises me is 1) there have been few posts with this scammer’s name, other than for months ago, but it’s back, and 2) that the problem seems to have persisted for months. As others have stated, you’ve got to wonder why the credit card companies haven’t managed to stop it by now. When I called (twice – I found another suspicious charge that I didn’t recognize – also with the word Absolute). In neither case was the customer service rep aware of the scam. Cancelled card, etc.
Wonder how much money these jerks have made…
I got hit. I came home from work the other day and in looking at my December Wells Fargo Master Card statement saw a charge for $9.95 from AZ BUSINESS PRODUCTS. I had no idea what this charge was for. My Husband did a search online for this company and we found it is a scam thanks to this site. I called my bank and they immediately cancelled my card and will issue a new card. Now I am hesitant to shop online. What a hassle!!!!
So my question is whether or not Master Card and Visa are still processing the AZ Business Products and other fraudulent charges. One would think that they ought to have received enough reports of fraud by now to be screening for this. I also note that the big-three – Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union – are going to have a heyday suggesting that people who are hit now ought to subscribe to their credit watch services. Hmm.
I was checking my on-line transactions and saw the charge from KCSOFTLLC COM ROCHESTER NY for 9.95 I had no idea about. I did the search and, to my surpirse, found this thread.
Does anyone have any suggestions, besides calling my bank and have them cancel the transaction?
Any feedback is appreciated!
Ekaterina
After reading all these complaints, I absolutely don’t know why these people are still able to do this? I just found this charge on my checking account as well and am getting it resolved with my bank. Best wishes to all of you who have also been burdoned by these idiots!
I just found this charge on my checking account from Absolute-Soft.Com. for $9.95. It is amazing that this company is charging people since year 2004 and nobody is doing anything to stop them? I’m going to cancel my credit card tomorrow.
Those of you who got this charge but the credit card company did not close the account and open a new one: That is probably best. Closing the account and opening a new one makes the new card “new credit” with a short history. That will hurt your credit score. This $9.95 thing is probably just a one-time deal.
Same thing happened to me. How come banks or cc companies don’t do anything a bout it.
Got hit up on 12-31-2005. AZ Business Products, $9.95. No history of transactions with newegg.com. One amazon.com transaction over a year ago. Citibank immediately put in a dispute, reversed the charge, cancelled my card, and issued me a new card number.
Art magic inc.com is still at it! Charged 9.95 on 1-2-06. How long will it take to stop these freaks? Did anyone put a fraud alert on their credit reports? Is a local police report needed for a long-term alert? Websites like http://www.equifax.com has good info on preventing the fraud from continuing. Also remember that you can request a free credit report from the 3 major credit reporting bureaus every 12 months (check out http://www.annualcreditreport.com). It isn’t the 9.95 that bugs me as much as the potential for further fraud down the road…
Hi all,
I got hit in December on a CC that has NEVER been used at NewEgg, Buy.com, etc, and has never been typed online for that matter. It was only used once with a PHONECALL order. The credit card has been in my safe for months, so ANY charge I get is fraudulent. I am making an educated guess that the breakdown is somewhere in the mechanism that communicates the CC number and info for approval. Maybe the common denomincator is the company that certain merchants are using for CC authentication.
Just a thought…
I was also hit with a $9.95 charge on my VISA from AZ Business Products. I can’t find any information about this but was told by my VISA company, Bank of America, that it was a software purchase.
Well, they are still at it. I just got hit for the first time $9.95 from absolute-soft.com. I had no idea how many other people this had happened to until my bank told me (after reporting it to them) and then I found this site after doing an internet search. My bank refunded me the same day and is issuing me a new debit card. I have also used Amazon, Ebay, and Paypal. It’s a good thing we monitor our accounts because we do alot of shopping online, if we didn’t keep a check on things who know’s how many times we would be hit without noticing.
Yep, they’re still doing it. Got a $9.95 charge on my credit card a couple of days ago from Abosolute-Soft.com. Cancelled my card, but where are they getting the credit card numbers? That’s what worries me. Maybe they’re choosing random cc numbers to see if they get a hit? I did NOT give my credit card number to ANYONE….why hasn’t the FTC shut down this scam??
Me Too!! Just check my bank account and 9.95 was charged to Absolute-soft using my visa debit. I did a lot of shopping during holiday. Most on ebay with paypal. Did shop at ToyWiz.com. Who knows. I just can’t believe that this has gone on so long with the same company. It’s crazy….
$9.95 on my credit card statement! I was surprised, “How did this happen to me?” I guess I shouldn’t have been. My card’s customer service has been great! At least this one was small and a good one to start on (it could have been a lot worse). Should it happen again I’ll have the confidence to take action right away.
Well, I was just doing my statement balancing when I noticed a 9.95 charge. Did a google, ran across this blog. I ordered some things from Amazon in December. Also do buisiness on Ebay.
Beware, this charge was to “AltaVista Web Design”. Also gave a phone number (757) 271-604 which I can not trace other than in Virginia. It says due to number portability, some numbers have been transfered to new carriers.
I have ordered no products from such a company. Guess this scam is happening under different names. Will cancel card tomorrow.
I got hit with a 9.95 charge today from absolute soft.com, please know that this is still happening and if it happens to you call your bank asap. I tried to call this “company” and it only leaves a voice mail, so i don’t think they plan on calling anyone back. heads up peoples.
Glad to find this thread. Just noticed a charge from Absolute-soft.com for $9.95 on my Bank of America card dated Feb 20. Went through on the same day as my Blockbuster.com charge. I have never used NewEgg but have used it for PayPal, BMG, Earthlink and a few others.
Looks like the credit card companies would have an automated block on transactions posted by this company after so many complaints.
I also got hit with $9.95 from ALTA VISTA WEB DESIGN (757)271-6046 VA. Thank goodness I found this site, as I wasn’t sure if it was something my husband may have purchased and forgotten about. I called them and just got a voice mail (said to leave a message or email support@altavistawebdesign.com with any issues). Unfortunately, I left my name and phone number on their voice mail before finding this, but hopefully that’s not enough information for them to do much with. A WHOIS lookup of altavistawebdesign.com brings back the following information:
Domain name: altavistawebdesign.com
Registrant Contact:
–
Frank Adams (altavistawebdesign@yahoo.com)
+1.2679605277
Fax: –
1112 Queensferry Road
Cary, NC 27511
US
I’ve cancelled the credit card, and filed a dispute for the $9.95 which will be refunded. I used the card for a lot of online Christmas shopping- buy.com, ebay (via paypal), deepdiscountdvd.com, shoebuy.com, shoes.com, walmart.com, wweshopzone.com, gamestop.com, and staples.com that I can remember. I have never used the card for Amazon or NewEgg.
I had the $9.95 charge from Art Magic Com also. For what its worth, the only site I used the card on that is included in the above list is Amazon.com.
I had a charge for $9.95 from absolute-com on my bank statement. The only site I had used was Amazon.com.
I just found out I was charged $9.95 from absolute-soft.com and I HAVE NOT used Amazon.com or any online service except banking. The only charge out of the normal charges(ie walmart, mobile,) that I do, was at Ramada Inn in Shereveport, LA last week.
So go figure that out. Now I am afraid that I will be charged more since my bank says there is nothing they can do till the charge comes through and posts to my account.
Update Absolute-soft.com charged my card again yesterday, disputed Sundays charge supposed to be put back into my account GOT MY CARD CANCELED. So if any one out there doesn’t cancel your card Absolute-soft.com will continue to charge your card. I had some kind of virus on my puter so I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. The virus name was
ATIOGLXX.exe (Norton AV got rid of it) and I have never signed up for Amazon, NewEgg, or Paypal.
The only two places that I haven’t done any business with till 3 weeks ago was reservations at Ramada Inn online and at the check out desk and I swiped my D/CC at Sonic in the mall all the other merchants(Walmart, Albertsons, Whataburger Exxon/Mobile ect.) I use I have done business with for over a year now.
I am reading some information online about this Absolute.com because today I had to deal with the whole credit card fraud today I had to go to my bank and make sure that there is something stating that there is a problem, there is no help from the bank so I just closed the account, My issue is how are they getting my credit card information? I have never been to this website previous. And the only thing I have used my card for was to pay a few bills, I always check for the security symbol at the bottom to ensure security. after reading all this information I will have to go back to the bank and cancel my card.. thank you all for your advise
I got Charged March 24th $9.95 for Absolute-soft &another $9.95 for U-Webtemplates Cancelled Cards Getting Money Back from Bank was a Visa Debit Card
This blog posting was of great use in learning new information and also in exchanging our views. Thank you.
Mary Anne Martin
http://www.citicardspecial.com
I too just got a charge on my card from Absolute-soft for $9.95. I did a quick search on the company name and was amazed that there were more links for people who recieved false charges on their account from these guys than there was info on the company itself!! I contacted my bank last night and they said that they will file a report of false charges against them and I will be refunded the ten bucks, but I had to cancel my card and now wait for a new one to get here. What a hassle…….
I got hit last week from Absolute.com for $9.95. I called my bank. They cancelled my credit card and solved the problem with a refund. I had that credit card for years and never had a problem. What a hassle! I believe my bank is going after them and filing charges.
I have also just been charged the usual amount by absolute-soft.com today. I’ve had this number and used it for absolutely everything for 8 years and have never had a problem. The only thing I can think of, other than the random leak or algorithm ideas posted above, is that I used PayPal for the first time in about 8 months and charged my card for the transaction 1 day before the fraudulent transaction. I’m calling my bank tomorrow! Anyhow, thank you for the blog posting!
I got hit with the $9.95 Absolute-soft.com charge on June 21st. I contacted Discover Card and they credited the charge, but didn’t give me a new account. Tomorrow I’m going to call them back and insist they close the account and give me a new card.
within the week before I shopped at buy.com, e-bay, newegg, I used PayPal 3 days before this charge. I was hit 8-1-06 absolute-soft.com $9.95…canceled card and notified bank.
I just found a charge for $49.90 on my credit card from ‘Element5info’ – I was out of town, nowhere near a computer – called to dispute it and was told it was somewhere in Germany. The credit card company was great when I called to dispute it It was a new card to me and I had only used it a handful of times (a couple of airline tickets and some gas) only had used it for 5 days! It sounds like I should call and close/change accounts as well.
Absolute-Soft.com hit me today for 9.95 on my debit card. Called the bank to close/change account. How they can get away with this for over 2 years is beyond me. You’d think the banks would set up some sort of common list where companies like Absolute-Soft wouldn’t even be able to submit charges at major institutions. A 5 minute internet search shows the level of this scam. Ridiculous.