Your credit card has been used on the BestBuy website-Fiction!

Your Credit Card Has Been Used in a Suspicious Transaction at the BestBuy Website-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor
This is a verification request said to be from the BestBuy website. It claims that your credit card has been used in a suspicious transaction. You are asked to visit their website to confirm the transaction.

The Truth
The notification if false.

It's a procedure called "Phishing" on the Internet. The notice is not from the BestBuy organization and the link in the email does not take you to any official BestBuy site.

There are similar emails claiming to be from other institutions such as Citibank.

Phishing is an attempt on the part of scammers to trick you into going to their website by telling you that you are either going to lose your credit privileges or there has been fraudulent use of your credit card.

If you respond to the link provided, it asks you to confirm your information including your credit card data.

It is a scam that is designed to trick you into given personal and financial information to people who will misuse it and, perhaps, steal your identity.

BestBuy.com has issued an alert to its customers warning that the email did not come from them and seeks to get your credit card and Social Security numbers.

Last updated 8/23/03

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Dear customer,

Recently we have received an order made by using your personal credit card information.
This order was made online at our official BestBuy website on 06/19/2003.
Our Fraud Department has some suspicions regarding this order and we need you to visit a special Fraud Department page at our web store where you can confirm or decline this transaction by providing us with the correct information.
This e-mail address has been taken from National Credit Bureau.

Click the link below to visit a special Fraud Department page to resolve the cause of the problem.
BestBuy.com/fraud_department.html

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ORDER# 1095619 - STATUS: SUSPENDED
ITEMS PURCHASED
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Item No: 73890
CDA-9815 In-Dash CD Player/Ai-Changer Controller
Price: $387.65 Qty: 2 Total: $775.3
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The order listed above has not yet been processed.
The reason for the delay in processing your order is:

- UNVERIFIED SHIPPING ADDRESS

- Information provided:
Shipping
41 WINHAM ST
Staten Island, NY 10306
United States
phone# 206-337-9843

In our effort to deter fraudulent transactions, we need your help in providing us with the correct information. Your prompt response is needed to avoid any unauthorized charges to your credit card.

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Click the link below to visit a special Fraud Department page to resolve the cause of the problem.
BestBuy.com/fraud_department.html