(WSVN) - A hacker got into her account and stole $6,000 from her. Normally, you would get your money back because you were scammed, but in this case, the crook sent her 25 boxes, and when she opened them, she got quite a surprise. It made a case for Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Mady was on a cruise. Relaxing, having fun. A scammer attacking her was also having having a good time.
Mady: “I started getting prompted that my order was received.”
But Mady hadn’t ordered anything from her Walmart account.
And then she logged in.
Mady: “And it was just one order after the other, after the other for the same amount.”
Mady tried to stop the hacker.
Mady: “As quickly as they placed the orders, they process the order. So there was no way to cancel it.”
Each order: four coffee mugs for $235. The crook ordered 25 boxes of mugs and used Mady’s credit card to pay for it.
Mady: “It was $6,000. I was very panicked.”
And then it got weird.
The boxes the crook ordered started arriving at Mady’s home. So light, the mailman could fill a bag with them because there were no coffee mugs inside the boxes..
Just this.
Mady: “Oh, it is the chips. So I paid $54 for this.”
Why did the scammer put a bag of Pea Green snacks in a box that was supposed to have four overpriced coffee cups? Mady has no idea.
Mady: “This is a whole new level.”
But one thing is clear.
Mady: “I would think it’s either an inside job. They have access to Walmart boxes, Walmart tape, and it’s a Walmart shipping label.”
Actually, two things are clear: the crook left Mady with a $6,000 bill.
Mady: “And, if they’re not cleared, I would have to pay $6,000.”
And the boxes keep coming in. None have cups, just snacks.
Mady: “There were 25 orders, so I’m assuming I’ll be getting 25 bags of chips.”
Well, scammers are always changing tactics, and since Mady got boxes with a snack inside, Howard, legally is she left holding the bag?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “This is an interesting scam. In this case, the criminal created a phony company to send the coffee mugs. Then they used the Walmart website because Mady’s credit card was linked there to her account. And to get Walmart to ship the boxes, the scammer had to buy a bag of snacks from Walmart, so there was something to send. Of course, Walmart did not know the scammer was not delivering any coffee mugs. By the way, under federal law, Mady does not owe the $6,000.”
It took a few attempts for us to get Walmart to respond to us.
Finally they did. They wouldn’t explain how the scammer was able to become a third party seller on their website, but they did what Mady wanted.
Mady: “If my credit card did not refund those charges, that they would help me out.”
Mady will get her $6,000 back, and from now on, will change her passwords once a month and not leave a card attached to an online account.
The lesson was aggravating, but it didn’t cost her any money.
Mady: “Thanks to you guys helping me out and clearing a lot of stuff up. I feel a lot better.”
And that makes us feel better.
Now, you might have noticed we didn’t show Mady’s last name. She says she is afraid of other hackers coming after her.
And while the credit card companies had to return all Madys money, in other cases, the victim of the theft might not get it all. A lot of twists and turns in the law.
A scammer scheming to scare you? To heck with the hackers. Bank on us to be aware of them.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
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