BSBD Online and Assistuhelp.com: A new scam
This past weekend was gloriously beautiful for Minnesota at this time of year (Middle of October!). In what is considered the coldest state in the continental US, a mid October weekend of mid 50s was amazing.
However, it was marred by one significant event which, apparently, ruined a lot of people’s days.
What I’m talking about are two companies that join the rank of human scum – BSBD Online (I have no idea what website they operate) and Assistuhelp.com.
Saturday I was hanging out with some friends, and checked my bank account out of habit. I noticed I was about $70 short in my account, and checked my history. To my surprise, I found two charges in the amounts of $38.88 and $29.89 sitting in my pending transactions. After doing some digging, I found Assistuhelp.com to be, what looked like, a company similar to CCbill and other credit card processors for various online transactions. I couldn’t even find a website for BSBD Online, which was the 3rd red flag in this whole ordeal (the first two being that I didn’t authorize these two transactions).
I called my bank, and, for what seems like the first time, they were on my side and helped me out immensely. When I called to dispute these charges, the person on the other end immediately knew what two I was having an issue with, and certainly didn’t have a problem transferring me to the fraud department, where they promptly reversed both charges, canceled my card, and got me set up with a new card. Thankfully I caught it when I did, and not a couple days later, or after I had paid some bills or any other situations that could have happened.
When I got home, I did some research and found several websites with thousands of people complaining about these scumbags. And it all sounded like most of these transactions went out in the last couple of days, one site’s comments started around 2 days before my card got hit, so from what I can tell, these are new scams.
Now, granted, the internet is full of braggers and people who like to exaggerate, but I’m sure several of the complaints on the websites I visited regarding these scams sending accounts negative and incurring huge overdraft fees were legitimate.
What tops all this off, is that these credit card transactions are for, from what I can tell, pornography websites. Now, if are in a situation where pornography is offensive to you or your loved ones/significant others, this can cause even more stress and emotional turmoil on top of getting your transactions reversed, getting your card canceled and your money back and having to start over fresh with a new card.
Obviously insert guidelines for the internet here -
Don’t use your card number on sites without a secure transaction option (usually indicated by a security lock and also a https:// address for checkout.
Don’t use your card on a site you don’t trust or don’t feel comfortable with using. If they don’t have a contact us email and/or phone number (my preference is the phone number) easily visible and accessible, it might not be worth the trouble.
Keep an eye on your bank account on a daily basis. These scum think that they’ll hit thousands of people (probably bought a list of card numbers from an even bigger scumbag who sells them) and hope that some of these transactions will stick because not everyone will notice the $70 missing from their account.
Just be careful online, it’s a scary world out there when you get away from the top 100 sites or so.
Feel free to post any experiences you’ve had with these guys or any other scammers online.
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Hi ! I had suprise in my bank account that this site
BSBD ONLINE 888-271-22 Have charges me for USD 38.88 = -26,16 Euros How is this possible?
You’ll have to call your bank and debate the charges off as fraud. BSBD Online is nothing more than a scam and there is no way to prevent it (as far as I know)
I would also like to know how to stop payments I did not authorise!!
I’ve got two of these charges in the last week. Both from BSBD online and both for $38.88. I emailed my bank and had them disputed. But they’re still acting like it’s my fault. Hopefully they will be refunded.
I just noticed two charges on my card for 38.88 as well from BSBD. My bank is making me fill out all these fraud forms, what a pain in the ass.
Hi guys, I’m sorry to hear all of you have had an issue with these scammers. Thank you for letting us know your issue you’ve been having.
Again, the best defense is to only use your Credit Card on a website you trust and never click links in any email, unless it is from someone on your allowed sender lists.
If you have been scammed, the best thing to do is call the bank, and fill out any forms, any information they ask for. Don’t get mad at the bank, it isn’t their fault, just work with them.
The scammers are relying on people not checking their bank accounts and on banks not supporting the customers, but if enough people call about these scammers, the banks will have to change their position.
My credit card company (United Visa from Chase) evidently recognized the scam and rejected the charge. However, I do now have to get a new card which is a minor inconvenience. Why can’t they catch these guys and put them away for the rest of their natural lives???
Don’t we all wish they were thrown in bars? Of course, then we, as taxpayers still have to pay for them. Love it!
I’m glad you got it figured out, hopefully other people can get their banks to back them up as well!
I got hit by a HHG ACCESS , 9/21&9/24, 38.88 each time. Then on 10/19, got hit twice for 38.88 again by the BSBD ONLINE one. I am guessing they’re the same outfit. I tryed calling the phone number listed on my credit card bill. They each had a different phone number, but each phone number I called was not in service. I notified Bank of America and they credited the full amount back. They said they were sending forms to be filled out. I asked for a new card, but they suggested that it should be ok now.
I STRONGLY recommend getting your card replaced. They got your card number from somewhere didn’t they?
I have a feeling there is a list of card number these guys bought and have been hitting it hoping it sticks.
Hello,
My mother also recently got hit with this scam and have quite a few charges showing. One for $38.88, 3 for $1.00, 1 for $0.31 from BSBD Online. Also got 1 for 39.99 from Selectson.com. so also be advised about this website too. Our bank caught it but unfortunately not before some of them posted and now we are waiting for the fraudulant papers to be sent. Our card was cancelled so no further charges could be added on but is still a real pain. So please watch your account for this other scum and again it’s Selectson.com. Thanx, Jinx
Hi Jinx,
Thank you very much for the Selectson.com information. I’ll update the blog post accordingly. I’m glad your bank backed you up. If any of you have any issues with your bank, I almost wonder if you can direct your bank here so they can see you aren’t alone.
Thanks for the support!
My son was on a road trip and called to say he wasn’t able to use his debit card. Thanks to the BSBD scum, I had a teenager, on the road with his sports team , and no way to access his cash. Fortunately for us, the BANK caught the fraudulent charge. How are they getting these numbers? My son has never used the debit card online.
Jack, you’re right: the phone numbers are bogus! A big thank you to those of you who took the time to post comments. Otherwise, I’d probably think my son was accessing something he shouldn’t.
This just shows how low these people are. And what really really gets me is that these people are making more money than some of us who support ourselves and our loved ones with honest, hard working jobs. It’s frustrating!
I hope your son gets a new card and doesn’t get hit by these guys again!
I got hit by these bsbd.com scum and im in england. it is a pain and makes life aukward. but my bank has sent me the forms and i am looking into it. I hope they catch these people before they really hurt someone. thanks lee
the damn thing is happening all over the wolrd….im from malaysia in asia…and my account got charged 38.88 USD for times…
by BSBD online and also some INTER-DS Service GRP….
wut the *Editor Edit for PG rating* is this…i lost almost 240 USD…
I would also like to know how to stop payments I did not authorise $ 38.88
how come the banks don’t black-list BSBD Online if there are lots of complaints about it? and the scary part is, who is behind this and how much money they already had with this kind of scum?
I too have been hit with this scam. And yes it is an inconvenience to have to replace your card. As mentioned before, beware of any “free” offers or “For just this low price you can…”. Once they get your card, you have essentially signed up for an ongoing “service that unless you cancel, they wil continue to charge your card. But the kicker is that they will connect it to other “sites” and even if you cancel one, the next month there will be another with a different name. The one’s I’ve seen are BSBD and HHG. And make sure you check you account for both the main charge and the little service charge. Mine were for $39 and $1.17 each time.
I too was scammed $38.86 the first time and $38.88 the next two times! Charged $116 altogether! Called the number that showed up on the transation and its disconnected! I canceled my card and had another one issued to me. Scary stuff knowing people can do that to you without you knowing!
I too was hit by this fraudulent company. Please call 800-778-9583 and ask for a full refund. I did this last week on Wednesday and the money was posted to my account yesterday. There did not, however, refund the 3 $1.00 charges that were on there. They’re getting bombarded with calls and I don’t know if this will slow down these thieves or not.
I’ve had the same problem too. i phoned my bank, declared it as fraud. they have kindly refunded me. AQnother one to watch out is another one called LLS GRP. the CY is the same as that from BSBD. i have been had three times. twice from BSBD and once from LLS GRP. damn low lives. earn a pissing honest living.
Ya i got a BSBD online thing for $38.88 and an LSS for $38.88 so when i found out they were porn sites i was embarrassed to tell my aunt what they sold thinking that i might be down with that…
anyway called my bank fraud dept and had a chat with BSBD and they sent me my money and canceled my card with any sitse that they owned… i was so relieved..
ThX! for telling me about it.. and what their up to.. the whole thing was a little stressful.. especially since it over drafted me..
Have a nice day : )
I have just had the same experience. Seems that Visa is affected the most. Canceled the card and I’m now waiting for the refund-forms. Glad to see that I’m not alone in this, sites like Yours who pull these crooks into the light are a great help. Thanks!
I had two payments of £24.24 show up on my statement, I went to my bank and disputed them as fraud but my bank won’t accept that they are, I managed to get in contact with BSBD Online and they cancelled any subscription charges to my account but nobody seems willing to refund my money. As far as my bank is concerned the case is closed and its all settled but I’m still short £50!
If anyone (possibly only relevant to the UK) needs to get in touch my bank gave me 001 800 778 9583 as the phone number for BSBD Online.
If this happens to you I suggest you call the bank that issued your credit card and demand that they issue a “chargeback” against BSBD. If you phone BSBD’s “customer service” number on 1-800-778 9583 as I did today you may or may not eventually get a refund. The person I spoke to assured me I would (in 10 working days), but these fraudsters are working with Jettis which is another of these scammers who charge peoples’ cards without their permission. Jettis promised they would cancel the charge on my card/reverse the pre-authorization but never did and I was charged $38.88. They are working together and may even be the same scammer/scumbag. They’re hoping that enough people won’t notice the charge or will give up if they can’t contact them on the disconnected phone number given on the credit card statement. What really hurts these fraudsters are chargebacks, because the more of these a merchant receives the greater the chance of them being blacklisted by Visa. So, people, don’t just meekly ask for your money back from BSBD, contact your card issuer, tell them you’ve been scammed and demand they issue a chargeback against BSBD (as I did). You will get an immediate credit by the bank for the unauthorized amount while they investigate the fraud. You may have the inconvenience of filling out a fraud investigation form, but this is the only way to ultimately stop these scumbags.
fun fun, I check my account on a daily basis, and guess what- so after looking at my transaction history, identifying the false charges (and there were a few mind you) I started searching out the companies in question- which brings me here. I wish there were some ethical hackers out there who could bring these monsters down too their knee’s.
I got scammed for 275$ in total over the course of 3 months.
I realised something was wrong on my statements originally and asked for a refund from the company. They sent 95% of the charges back (~75$), and I didnt think it was worth the effort to get 3$ back through a charge-back.
A few months later I noticed another charge and took it upon myself to check my visa reports carefully. I found back charges and weird names for 275$.
Absolute crooks.
Hey guys I got billed for 3 sites BSBD, bzt assoct and inter-ds service grp all for 38.88 USD. just found you moment ago and I am furios. just wanted to share my story.
I had the same problem as everyone else here. I only realized it once I received my credit card bill. Next to BSBD, there was a phone number so I called and it was the customer service of an adult site. I just asked them to cancel my subsription and they did. Now I need to fight with my bank for further refund.
Dam the money god who rules this world
These people will pay!!
I’ve got five charges in the last week. Both from BSBD online and both for $38.88. I emailed my bank and had them disputed. But they’re still acting like it’s my fault. Hopefully they will be refunded.
I want you cancell it right now !
1 800 580 2319 CYP NATRWENTERPRISE
1 877 583 9061 GBR SBMCP
1 866 450 4000 CIB http://WWW.SEGPAYEU.COM
1 888 217 0023 GBR urfasterpc.com
1 888 389 6413 XXX AID99CS.COM
1 888 220 1292 GBR callmew1.com
1 888 271 2259 CYP BSBDONLINE
1 888 363 8704 GBR YOUNGS.COM
1 877 260 8194 GBR withd45.com
1 888 711 3319 GBR pay658.com
1 888 441 2694 SOBV INTERNET
These are all crooked pay sites #1 When a company must post on their web site in large fonts “What am I being Charged For” obviously has a high volume of callers with that very question. If the charges were legitimate consumers would know what the charge is for. I was a return customer for a website that I was always satisfied with. Not expecting anything different I signed up again. Now they have a negative options box just like when you download something and forget to uncheck the box you end up with a toolbar. This is not a toolbar this gives any number of third party scum bags credit card authorization to fleece customers. The 29.00 legit charge I was willing to pay for is now up to $449.00. I investigated the signup page I used particularly the negative options box I unchecked it and when I moved my mouse to change credit card info the box rechecked itself, that is criminal in my book.
Learn about negative option marketing from http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/02/PO64202negativeoptionreport.pdf and download this report which is very interesting and enlightening.
I’m from the UK and these guys along with other others have been scamming me for over a year now and I’ve only just noticed as I rarely check my statements,I just don’t have the time!!! These guys trade your details with eachother and many of them are the same people scamming under aliases. I went on one of the scam sites I found on my statement than checked another and the wording and photos were exactly the same,just the name and logo were different. Unfortunately I’ve lost just over £900($1440 US). I’m hoping to get it back from my bank or claim on my insurance, although it is christmas now and nothing will happen quickly. My advice; Check your statements regularly and maticulously, these guys operate under allsorts of names and fronts, so if you see anything and you’re not sure; contact your bank asap!
New scam alert!!! I had the same probelm as everyone else a couple months ago and got my money back and thoughht everything was over, but now I just got a 39.95 charge from a HYRAS.net plus that foreign charge fee. The only thing I suggest doing is cancelling your credit card.
Thank’s for This Good Read! I have heard checking your Credit Report is definitely a great idea to check
Hey guys just wanted to share my story from this morning. I woke up this morning and had an email at 4am stating that my membership had been activated for some site called UltraDvdPass.com which I have never heard of. Second of all I am asleep at 4am.
My debit card was billed by a company called pay658.com 888-711-3319
When I called that number some Middle Eastern guy answered the phone. No professional greeting or company name was given. He just said “Yeah”
I told him what happened and he said well give me your credit card number and your name. I said “Um I am just going to call my bank” and then he hung up on me.
I called my bank right away and explained what happened. They asked me to call the company that charged me and I told them I did and what response I got. So they canceled my card and now I have to file a claim as soon as the charge goes through.
This started my day off in the wrong direction. Hopefully I can get this thing straighten out soon.
Sorry to hear that, hope it gets taken care of by your bank!
pay658.com 888-711-3319 is on the list of crooked websites another person listed earlier, good thing you got your card canceled right away.
Thomas