Got Scammed!

[treatneggy]

Checked my bank account online this morning to see if my direct deposit had gone through and noticed a check withdrawl with an unfamiliar check number.

When I pulled up the check image, I noticed that while the check had my name, it had the wrong address. Check was made out for $26.95 to "Goodman Group" at phone # 1-866-273-4979.

Contacted my credit union, but they won't do anything until I can contact the people at the phone # an ask them for my money back. Been trying to call all morning but nothing but a busy signal.

This will piss me off if I have to pay the $20 payment cancellation fee to get the money back.

[Emjaysmash]

Such BS. Banks are supposed to protect our money for those kind of people, and 90% of the time they just give us the run-around. Super Lame.


I hope everything works out!

[HK3-]

Dirty bastids. :gn

[bsmokin]

That sucks man!

Good luck with working it out!

[md4958]

I hope youve closed that account and opened a new one... if they have one check, pretty good chance they have a whole set of them.

[Brad]

I hope youve closed that account and opened a new one... if they have one check, pretty good chance they have a whole set of them.

This.

Remove all funds from that account. NOW!

[neoflex]

I just did a Google search after reading this and it seems like this scam is running pretty rampant and has been for over a month which kind of annoys me that most of the banks have not red flagged the company name and phone number associated to it. Hell, my last employer toward the end was bouncing checks all over town and the country and most of the major banks red flagged them so it got to the point where I made them pay me in cash because my bank would not take their checks any more. From the few pages I read it seems most peoples banks are even giving them the run around about cancelling the checks even though it is a documented scam.
Also you would think if your bank issues you the checks and knows the mailing address printed on them that if the check that came in didn't match it would automatically raise a red flag for them and stop payment and investigate it but I guess that is just the mentality nowadays. I would think there would be some kind of simple verification process to avoid scams like this especially in the day and age of identity theft. I did however double check my account after reading this post. Sorry for your troubles but thanks for the heads up nonetheless.

[Subvet642]

I hope youve closed that account and opened a new one... if they have one check, pretty good chance they have a whole set of them.

They don't even need the checks; they only need the routing numbers,
IIRC.

[Silound]

For this, I love Chase. They absolutely are 100% behind protecting your money. Been there done that, it was all fixed in less than a week.

[icehog3]

Your credit union is full of sh*t, Brother....compete crap. I would be at a new bank yesterday. :2

[sikk50]

Generaly they'll take out a small amount like that first just to see if it works. If it does they'll come back for a larger withdraw. Deffinatly get rid of that account

[Ashcan Bill]

Contacted my credit union, but they won't do anything until I can contact the people at the phone # an ask them for my money back.

At that point I would have immediately gone down to the CU, withdrawn every cent, and closed the account.

[Texan in Mexico]

I have had this happen in botht he States and in Mexico:

Wells Fargo and Capital One both called me and alerted me to it in the States, quickly changed accounts and will be a lifelong client of both!

In Mexico, Banorte took 2 months to get it back but they did.

Things are tough all around and there are banks hungry for your business. I would follow the advice already given and ask to see the manager, close the account and be thankful it only cost me 20 or 25$ usd!

[Eleven]

Went and checked my account just now as well!

Googling this, it seems like the Mortgage Company, CENLAR is a common denominator in several peoples complaints about these dudes taking money from accounts.

[Chingas]

Thieves are too aggravating. Then to top it off, they leave a trail. Will they ever get busted, maybe. It's just sad and pathetic.

It's less then 30 which is better than your entire account but it's more the act that pissed me off. Best of luck Brother and sorry for your loss.

[G G]

Your credit union is full of sh*t, Brother....compete crap. I would be at a new bank yesterday. :2
Tom beat me to it.:tpd:cept in this case he aint stupid.

[neoflex]

The other common denominator in some of the Google links is Dish Network.

[Mugen910]

Your credit union is full of sh*t, Brother....compete crap. I would be at a new bank yesterday. :2

:tpd:

[Kreth]

Depending on whether you think it's worth your time, you could start barking your way up the chain of command at your credit union, with frequent mention of the letters you have drafted to the NCUA and your state AG's office, regarding their apparent complicity in this scam.
Posted via Mobile Device

[OLS]

Keep in mind that no one is on alert at a bank checking each check for proper
adresses and such. It amounts to a computer checking routing numbers and
maybe a human doing math, or at least entering numbers by hand.
If that.
No one waves a red flag unless a bad fake check comes in or someone at the
bank sees someone trying to cash a check in your name. Tellers at many banks
still discriminate, but I take it this was more of an electronic scam.
Of course, I am babbling on. I do not know bank tech. But I know they aren't
going to catch some of the things you stated as dead giveaways. This is why
I absolutely freaked when I tried to get a Paiperl account. They wanted ALL THE
GOOD STUFF, routing numbers, account numbers. I simply couldn't abide by that.
Some numbers need to stay private.

[RGD.]

Your credit union is full of sh*t, Brother....compete crap. I would be at a new bank yesterday. :2


Yep.

I'm normally pretty good at checking out companies before I order online - but last year got taken when I ordered a book online. Never got the book but did get 3 charges for different amounts from the same company.

One call was all it took to my bank (BB&T). They immediately credited my account and then mailed me a few forms to fill out, which I did.

So yeah - I agree with the others - time for a new credit union.

Ron

[treatneggy]

Went and checked my account just now as well!

Googling this, it seems like the Mortgage Company, CENLAR is a common denominator in several peoples complaints about these dudes taking money from accounts.

I saw Everhome implicated in this also. This is my mortgage company, and I've been paying them online for almost 2 years now. The common link seems to be tha payment processing center - they all seem to use the same clearinghouse for their ACH transfers.

Might have to go back to mailing the check in. Doesn't stop them, but makes it tougher since they have to actually handle the check to get the numbers.

If I get some time tomorrow, I'll try a different branch and see if I get better service from a different teller.

[Goldie]

I got online a few years ago to check my account balance and saw I had almost $300 missing, which had been spent in Beijing, the same day I used my card at the grocery store.

I gave my bank **** because they obviously saw I used my card in the US, and then four hours later I used it in Beijing. WTH? Must have been an insanely fast flight. They reimbursed me, and ate the $300, but it's a stupid mistake on their part.

[d'am]

Be careful if you decide to close your account. If someone tries to hit your closed account with an ACH, some banks will actually re-open the old account and slap you with overdraft fees for a negative balance.

If you decide to close your account, make sure that the bank/cu agrees that it won't honor any transactions drawn against it.