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American citizens should be on the lookout for a new scam involving unauthorized charges on behalf of fake Google ranging from 99 pennies to $ 07 dollars, which appear on your bank statements, experts warned.
The scam was first discovered in October when Chase bank account holders reported seeing strange charges of $ 13. 01 dollars on your account statements.
It was always indicated that the strange position was from Google, followed by the name of a company or person .
Dozens of other people told ABC 15 who also found false charges on their accounts.
Those amounts include charges of $. 99, $ 1. 07, $ 5, $ 9. 99 dollars and more .
A victim, identified only as Matthew, who uses a local bank in Bastrop, Texas, said he found 13 transactions on your account for 99 cents each a.
Other users have reported seeing false charges on Walmart Money cards, CashApp accounts and even on the benefits accounts of the government.
A Discover account user in Tulsa, Oklahoma said he found a series of $ 5 unauthorized charges on his account.
According to ABC, a person was able to get a refund of $ 10 Google dollars for a disputed charge totaling $ 50 dollars.
In most cases, l The banks are reimbursing the money and issuing new cards to the victims of the scam.
However, an account holder told user Joe Ducey from the network that they had another bogus charge even after blocking her card.
A woman reported receiving a new card along with two new charges of 88 cents.
A man also said he received more charges the day after his new card arrived.
“The low amount of money, it seems like they are testing my waters,” said a victim named Matthew, who has experience in law enforcement.
“Why are these financial institutions so quiet about it? That’s the question of the day ”, he added.
With the scam seemingly spreading beyond Chase bank account holders, experts say that all Americans should pay close attention to their bank and credit card statements in case that they were unknowingly victims of the same scheme.
Any problem or suspicious activity should be reported immediately to your bank.
Chase said that any of its customers who have concerns about the scam or any other potentially bogus charges should visit the bank’s site.
“We encourage customers to check their accounts regularly for transactions they don’t recognize, ”says Chase. “They will not be liable for transactions they did not authorize and for which they report to us immediately.”
Discover Bank said it did not believe the scam was currently a widespread problem.
“We offer several ways that Discover Bank customers can protect their accounts and our customer service teams 100% US based are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help and answer any questions or concerns. ”
Those services include activating account alerts, which will show all charges for email, text message and push notifications.
You can also freeze your debit card in the Discover app or website temporarily if you suspect fraudulent activity.