Got hacked by semi competents

[tedmich]

So I went to purchase a $12 HDMI/Displayport adapter and found one on a WEB site I hadn't bought from since 2016 (Newegg) and was quite surprised to find two recent purchases sent to Georgia, a $2k DSLR and a $700 video card. WTF!!??

Luckily they used someone else's credit card. The email notice of sale came to my gmail where they'd set up filters to delete anything from Newegg (the only use for these filters is hacking IME)

A week later I get a call from the warehouse at work: "there's a huge box addressed to you" it was a $700 Herman Miller Aeron chair (medium for some pencil necked hacker) sent from an "Amazon Partner" a sleazy outfit in NY named Chair-O-Rama... The hackers did get this one on my credit card but could only get it sent to me!

After the paranoia passed of me thinking a coworker was planning to steal their ill gotten booty from the warehouse, I stashed the chair and arranged a UPS return, a Mastercard claw back and closed / reopened my checking account to lose the PayPal linkage*. Now to re-setup bill pay, direct deposit, wait for new checks / debit card... etc etc etc. joy joy

*When a coworker had a similar episode (same gmail hack hidden with filters) the PayPal link allowed them to EMPTY her account right in the middle of her buying a condo... not good.

[big_teee]

Sorry to hear it.
T

**More info please?
Were these transactions on a computer, or a smart phone?
We would all like to know how to avoid the same fate?

[J M Fahey]

Ouch!!! Hope you solve it.

Maybe you should have multiple unlinked accounts and use only one of them for online purchases, always empty (save for a minimum so they donīt close it) , where you fill it up with just needed money to cover price , plus, say, 50 or 100 $ to cover real but unexpected small changes, such as using a different mailer/courier or whatever.

So absolute worst case you limit losses or CC bounces for lack of funds or credit reserve.
Or something in that general line.

Just thinking aloud.