Another Day, Another Rip-Off!!

[cousinlucky]

Almost each and every day a new scam is revealed. This scam involved collusion between a large bank and the swindling company.

HSBC helps a notorious scam company | The Komisar Scoop

[coopstah13]

Funny that you should post this, I am currently having difficulty with HSBC for unauthorized withdrawals from my bank account. It does not seem to be related to this though.

[reed9]

I would love to comment on this, but I don't know how to in a way that wouldn't break the rules on talking politics.

[cousinlucky]

I have talked to people here on Staten Island who have had " phantom withdrawals " from Citibank and Chase as well as HSBC. It is just to easy for criminals to access everyones bank accounts nowadays.

My younger relatives have disregarded my advice about not using personal checks to pay for things and they have unfortunately learned the hard way that their name, address, and checking account number are on each check and this makes their money vulnerable to anyone that handles that check.

Some of my unfortunate relatives have been swindled for thousands of dollars by electronic transfers. I was ripped off by a Best Western that billed my Visa card twice for the same one night stay. Eventually the money was returned to my account and I change Visa cards.

I use a separate Visa card for my ISP and Hostgator which hosts my website. I pay my rent and telephone bills each month with a U.S. Post Office money order.

I am a very small fish on a fixed income but there are lots of people making good money that do not notice small amounts of money being continuously withdrawn from their checking accounts.

[reed9]

Well, you're talking now about theft committed by other people. I'm more concerned with the banks themselves raking in money from people who can least afford it in fees and charges. $38 billion this year, by estimate, about double from only 9 years ago.
FT.com / Companies / Banks - Banks make $38bn from overdraft fees

[Jonathan183]

There is a big difference between overdraft charges and this ... just stop using HSBC and add them to your personal list of will never use again - no matter how good the deal is . Take a similar approach to other companies who assist this sort of at best sharp practice.

[coopstah13]

Yes, I've added them to my do not use list, by means of my bank blocking all future transactions from them for me .

[waterhead]

I recently had a similar experience concerning unauthorized withdrawals.

I have a savings account with a local credit union. It is a savings-only account. No share-drafts, automatic payments, internet access or anything. It is an account I have used to save for a new truck (12 years ago), a new house (9 years ago), and to then pay off the mortgage (last year). Those are the only three withdrawals I have ever made from that account.

My truck is getting rather old, and I am now saving for a new vehicle. Most likely it will be a hybrid vehicle, but I digress.

I check my statement every month, so imagine my surprise when I found this entry on my statement:

paybyphone $988.95

WTF!

The credit union investigated it. They found that another member has an account that is one digit different than mine. They paid their Visa card bill by phone, and incorrectly entered the account number (so they say). Visa doesn't care where the money comes from, they just take it!

When I asked why they can make unauthorized withdrawals, I was told that they don't need pre-authorization. It is normal to allow credit card payment this way. They also said that this happening is a one-in-a-million chance. And they gave me no assurance that new safeguards will be put in place to prevent this from happening in the future.

Well, I then put a stop on the account, preventing all withdrawals. But this is not the way to do things. I am still pissed, but what are my options? Will another bank, S&L or credit union be any more secure? I want one that will only allow withdrawals that are first authorized BY ME, IN PERSON! I don't think accounts like that even exist.

[cousinlucky]

You are quite right, Waterhead, all that is needed is an account number from Visa, Mastercard or from the bottom of your personal check. I, too, inquired about at least having my savings account secure but I found out that electronic transfers can not be stopped. Why go to a bank with a gun to rob it when you can go to an internet Cafe and steal to your hearts content.

Last week there was a big story about a gang that got a bunch of card numbers from a Russian website and they stole millions of dollars and even got loans for luxury cars and mansions from dumb bankers!!

I am not a rich man but if I were there are few things that I would be interesting in investing in.

One of them would be an institution that did not allow ANY outgoing electronic transfers of anyone's money.
The second would be a worldwide ISP of dial-up and broadband solely for Linux users.
I could go on but I think you get my drift!!

[waterhead]

I guess it's time to put my money in coffee cans, and bury it in the back yard! I would miss out on earning interest, but with the low interest rates nowadays, I'd hardly notice.