**Beaware** Rakuten /Buy.com Fraudulent Use of Credit Card Info within Company

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News: 

Bogota police warn website users of suspicious charges

TUESDAY MAY 28, 2013, 7:16 PM
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
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BOGOTA – Local police are asking anyone who has used the website Rakuten.com, formerly Buy.com, to look out for suspicious charges on their credit cards.

The police department started investigating three cases in which residents complained of fraudulent charges on their credit cards and has since discovered five additional victims, including one in New York City, Bogota Detective Sgt. Jonathan Misskerg said Tuesday.

The single thread between the victims is that they have made purchases on Rakuten.com in the past three months, police said.

The victims’ names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and credit card information were used to open accounts at online equipment suppliers, police said.

The purchases, made at five online stores, included gas valves and warehouse time clocks and totaled around $10,000, Misskerg said.

The buyer was traced to an address in Bogotá, Colombia, Misskerg said.

After the items were purchased, they were sent to an Englewood company, which then shipped the items to Colombia, Misskerg said.

Police declined to identify the Englewood company, saying that the owner was cooperating with authorities and that it remained unclear whether he was part of the scheme.

But since investigators first spoke with the company’s owner, someone electronically deposited funds in the company owner’s account — enough to cover the cost of shipping the items to Colombia, Misskerg said.

“We’ve seized the packages and additional merchandise,” Misskerg said Tuesday. “We are going to try to shut him down at this point.”

Rakuten.com, a Japan-based online retail company completed its purchase of Buy.com, a California-based online market place, in July 2010. The website was rebranded as Rakuten.com this year.

A company representative said Tuesday that the company had not been contacted by the local police, but that it would cooperate with authorities.

“If there is a police investigation, we are not aware of it, and we have not been contacted,” said Mark Kirschner, the company’s executive officer for global marketing, adding that the company takes such reports “very seriously.”

However, an online message board contains several comments from posters claiming to have used the website and complaining about fraudulent charges on their credit cards.

Kirschner said the company was aware of the website and had made overtures, “without success,” to those claiming to be affected.

He urged those affected to contact the company’s head of customer experience at 877-880-1030 ext. 2095.

Kirschner said he was unaware of any security breach or hacking incident that could have compromised customers’ information.

If anyone suspects that he or she may be a victim of identity theft, he or she should fill out an identity theft report at ftc.gov/idtheft, police advised.

After doing so, the individual should take a copy of the report to the local police department and place an initial fraud alert with all three credit bureaus.

The investigation was continuing, and as of Tuesday no charges had been filed, police said.

Email: superville@northjers…om