Alright, I just wanted to quickly post this so you all know that I have read the concerns regarding the Easy Bakeware issues on the Bath & Body Works post. I've been trying to research Digital River (the company fraudulently charging some of you) and ended up finding quite a bit of complaints. You can read what others have written about them here and here.
I first want to apologize. I try to post deals that I personally do as well, so I want to let you know I've ordered from Easy Bakeware 3 times in the past and have yet to see any fraudulent charges. The third time I ordered it took FOREVER to get my pan and I did call customer service. I felt a little uneasy about the company after receiving my 3rd order, so that's why I haven't posted about them since.
Anyway, if you have ordered from them previously, I would highly recommend checking your credit card statements and making sure there are no charges you're unaware of. If you see anything from Digital River, then I would make sure to give your credit card company a call. They should easily be able to remove these charges. I personally don't think you should try to contact Digital River directly. They sound like such a scam and I'm sure will not be any help.
Again, I am very sorry! I would have never posted this deal if I had known the outcome. It's midnight here and well, I can't sleep because I feel so bad about the situation. I hope you all understand and I hope that any of you who do have fraudulent charges are able to get those charges removed right away. If any of you have questions regarding this, please feel free to email me.
Friday, September 25, 2009
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78 comments:
In the past week I've had Digital River try to charge $180.00 on two different bank acounts of mine. I wondered how that company would randomly get account info of mine. I had never heard of them before. Now I know. I have ordered from Easy Bakeware in the past for the free/1.00 items. I think I ordered 3 times, but only received 2 items months and months later. I felt wierd about it then, like you said, and haven't ordered since then. Don't lose sleep over it, you had no idea this would happen.
Yeah, you didn't know this would happen. Don't worry about it! I got three charges from somewhere in Luxembourg the other day and I have ordered from Easy Bakeware. I wonder if that had something to do with it.
Just asked my hubby and the charges were from Digital River!! Yup... Seriously though, you didn't know! No worries!
People were asking: I did cancel my membership and I did get my two bakeware items (although I had to contact them about it weeks later in order to get them).
How do you contact Easy Bakeware? I also had fradulant charges but they were thankfully removed and I did cancel that card.
It's not your fault. Everyone who shops online needs to remember to watch out who they give their credit card information too. Also never use a debit card online - unless it's a store you can physically go to...like a Sears, or Toys R Us, etc.
Sorry this happened to you and others!
I had three charges of $180 made to my debit card. Fortunately, my bank called me an hour after it happened and let me know about it (and took the charges off). I'm glad to know where this came from...not happy about it...but glad to know.
I'm soooo happy to finally figure out where those charges came from. I tried Easy Bakeware for the first time a couple of months ago (and have yet to receive my pan). Luckily the bank placed a hold on my card, called me and I was able to cancel the card before any charges went through. They were also in the $180 range and from Luxembourg (sp?). At least the mystery is solved!
Wow. This is good to know. I ordered easy bakeware 2 different times, but didn't go through that $1 shipping program, I paid $5.99 shipping each time, or whatever it was. I received both mini muffin pans quickly with no issues.
I just went through my bank statements. No charges, thank goodness, but I'll be keeping a close eye just incase. I wonder if that place that gave the $1 shipping deal is how they swindled... or something. I don't know. Thanks for posting this just the same.
I also was charged by Digital River and wondered how they got my information. I did receive my easy bakeware items but wondered how my charge was used. Thanks for the update
You only put the deal out there so we could know about it.
It's not your fault if people paid with credit cards online instead of those prepaid ones.
When is already been said NEVER use credit card for this kind of deals.
I also ordered from them back in February but didn't do the membership, just the $5.99 pan. I received it quickly and had no issues but will keep a close eye on my account just in case. Thank you for the head's up. I am quick to get a deal and don't always think of the safety of my identity. Thank you Colin for all you do, yours is my absolute favorite blog!
I got 3 from digital river also, 3 different names, something like digital river luxumbor, digital river u.s. and digital river llc.
My charges were all for over 200.00 dollars, luckily it was a debit card I use only for online purchases and only keep a small amount of money on it at any one time. The first charge went through, the 2nd and 3rd didn't becuase I don't keep that much money on the card for this reason. I cancelled the card, ordered another one and my credit card company reimbursed me for the charge that did go through.
Do yourselves all a huge favor and get a debit card for web only purchases and put money on it as you need it.
I did Easy Bakeware awhile ago now (April, I think?) and never rec'd my items. I contacted them a few days ago and I see the items have all shipped now.
Incidentally, did everyone read the terms & agreement before submitting? Buried in there was authorization for a ridiculous monthly charge unless you called a specific number to cancel. I made sure to write down that number and cancelled as soon as I placed my order.
I ended up purchasing three different items, and all three times, there was a different monthly charge associated along with a different company and different cancellation number. If I wouldn't have written this number/company down, I really do not know where I would've gotten it again! (Maybe my credit card statement once it went through?)
I've done a number of these deals now and my biggest advice? READ, SAVE, and PRINT the terms & agreement! And if the risk is too much, just don't do it.
Hip2Save, I appreciate your integrity in researching this company and being honest with your readers. PLEASE do NOT lose sleep over this. Your readers love you and will continue to come here for more great deals. These things happen, and readers should understand that when you post deals, you cannot personally guarantee them. Get some sleep now!
It's not your fault!! I love your site!!
I would like to make one suggestion. Get a credit card either pre-paid or seperate from any other accounts you have to do ALL of your online purchases.
Hip, you are honest and trustworthy person. The fact that you care shows your integrity. I know that every time I leave your site to buy things I am taking a risk.
On a further note. I looked at these when you put them up. I didn't feel right once I got to a site. If the deal is to good to be true then read the fine print!!
Love your site. You have helped my family save so much money plus have stores of food and basic items on hand for the same amount I used to spend just to live week to week.
Thank you for all your dedication and hard work on our behalf.
God bless you
My husband and I have a credit card that we designate as our "internet shopping credit card." It is so helpful when reviewing statements. And if we need to cancel that card it does not inconvenience us by not having one in the stores. So when I get that bill, I know that all the charges should be online. And if I review another CC that we don't use online and see some strange charge, it is much easier to spot.
Just a tip that might help all ofyou.
I, too, got charged a few days ago for $180 but the credit card Company called me to ask about it and it never appeared on my on-line statement even. They were on the ball! I got 3 items from Easy Bakeware, had to call each time to get it, and after June one I stopped! Thanks for letting us know about this!
the Easy bakeware is what I've orded 3 times from and it took forever to get my pans but I never received any fradulant charges. However, there is a company that has been trying to charge my account $60 but I put a stop to that by Canceling my card numbers and haven't seen anything since then. Sorry that this is happening to people and don't blame yourself Collin. I think we all want to believe everyone is trustworthy.
I agree with some of the other posts. It would be a good idea to have a seperate card for online purchases. It also goes without saying but keep a close eye on your statements. There are a lot of people out there just waiting to steal your hard earned money this way!
i an glad that you mentioned this...about a week ago i was trying to use by debit card at bath & body and my card kept being declined i knew there had to be a mistake so i called my bank only to find out that my card had been blocked due to fraudulent activity. there were $500 in charges from Digital River and also and attempt from walgreens.com
I also ordered two of the easybake pans and i havent received anything
It's a shame that all you ladies had this problem with Easy Bakeware. I will not give my credit card on the web...I know this is the future, but I am leery about doing this, so if I lose out on some good deals, oh well!
I went to do that digital lettering thing the other day with the $10.00 free stuff. I ordered $10.00 free stuff and it still wanted my credit card #, even though I didn't have a balance...I don't get it. I wouldn't give card #, so I never got the deal.
And Collin, you are not to blame...how were you supposed to know? I know that feeling when you can't sleep because you are worrying about something. No one is blaming you.
Just a word of advice to anyone who shops online. Use a paypal account and prepay into it or use a prepaid debit card. The debit card will only authorize charges up to the amount on the card and no more. Don't worry Collin we love you and the site. We take a risk everytime we purchase something online. You could not have known.
Same with me, did not get my pan and three charges appeared yesterday. Glad to know how it happened. I called the bank and they cancelled and reissed my card. I too appreciate the deals and will definitely be more careful going forward.
Aack! Sounds similar to the Vistaprint scam!
I ordered on May 1st my only pan. It came the end of June. I just went to my account with them and cleared out CC info. I have not seen any fraud charges, but thanks for the heads up. I am also going to call CC company. Don't worry Collin, not your fault by any means. Love your blog!
Oh my goodness...thanks for putting this on your blog! I have ordered from them in the past, and never had a problem, but I blogged about this deal a few months ago, so I posted this today (and gave you the credit!!) to alert my followers.
I also went into my account and took out my cc info...I am soooo glad that you are on top of things! :)
Does anyone have the contact information for Easy Bakeware?
I just had my bank call me yesterday to ask me about a $147 charge from Digital River. I told them I had no idea who that was. They cancelled my card and are sending me a new one. Wow, I cannot believe Easy Bakeware would do this. I am really upset and will be writing them a letter right now. I never got anything from them and for them to do this is illegal!
On my credit card I can go into the credit card website and get a Virtual card number. It is linked to my account but can only be used once. This way companies cannot use my card after I have ordered. I have used this virtual card a few times but I should be using it everytime. Anytime I want to use it, I have to log into my credit card website and sign up for a new virtual card. I have a Citibank card. This is what it says on the website. Shop with confidence and never use your real credit card number online again. Get added protection by generating a substitute account number for each purchase you make online. And just like your other transactions, you can still track your purchases. Plus, your real account number is never revealed to the merchant or anyone else. It's FREE and easy!
Please don't lose sleep over it. It seems like you have smart people following you who watch their card. What an amazing group of people who don't care about themselves but your well being as well. Thank you for posting what you have already. Get sleep!
There was a 108 charge on my account this week. I went to dispute the charge but it dropped off after a week of putting a hold on the balance. I tried calling the number in the bank system and I got someone who didn't speak English. It was very shady. I closed my bank card.
Collin,
Try not to worry about it. The first thing I told my hubby was that your site was so dependable about things....I knew that you would have had no idea that there was anything "fishy" going on.
And if it wasn't for your blog, I probably wouldn't have found out where the charges originated so I am happy to at least have that information!
Kate, you know by now, but yes, Digital River ( if there is such a place) is based in Luxembourg.
I saw this on another site months ago and it sounded completely shady. The blogger recommended canceling the membership immediately after placing the order for the pans, and she claimed to do this successfully several months in a row. I thought it was odd that the company didn't put a stop to this after it became clear that no one was actually paying for memberships, just getting pans for a buck. Usually when the bargainistas descend, reputable companies very quickly revoke deals, cancel orders, and/or change the terms of the deal. I guess this is just a case of bargainer beware. If it seems too good to be true (and requires a credit card number!), maybe it is. Don't beat yourself up--this is one of the most trustworthy sites out there. Personally, I consider every deal on every blog as YMMV. If you aren't prepared for coupon arguments, revoked deals, canceled orders, and yes, even scams, then you probably shouldn't do the deals. I don't think anyone holds the bloggers responsible. Now go get some sleep!
If a deal is too good to be true, it probably is... dont be such suckers, is a 1 dollar pan worth hrs of headaches. You have to ask your self how valuable your time is.
Just called CC company Skype has been trying to make a charge of $10.00 and Walgreens for $1.00. Thank goodness for freud protection. They closed my account and are sending a new card. No little bakeware was worth this, but not a problem now that it is identified.
Hey Collin - I'm too new to have tried this deal but i wanted to send you a little support.
It says a lot about who you are that you care about a bunch of strangers so much that you're losing sleep. You're a sweetheart and we all love ya for it. We appreciate that you care for all of us not even knowing us...
However, We are all responsible for which companies we do business with, give our information to, keeping up on our charges and knowing what to do about it if something's wrong. You've said your oops and I hope you don't lose another ounce of sleep over this. Your gorgeous kids should be the ones robbing you of your sleep, not this. :)
Lea ann - Yes, Freud was a nut! :)
*sorry, i know it was a typo but it gave me a chuckle cuz well, the man was crazy. LOL :)
OMG! This week I found an odd $1 purchase from Walgreens(haven't been there in weeks!) The bank called me before I could even call them and told me that there was fradulent activity on my card and they were blocking the account. The odd thing is that the last time I ordered from the bakeware company had to of been May and I received what I ordered. I have been trying to figure out the mystery of how this happened and now I know- Thank You!
Colin -thanks for everything you do ! With a family of 11 you have saved us tons of money !
I was wondering where this charge of $109.74 from Digital River was coming from ? The fraud dept. from the bank called me, cancelled the charges and reissued me a new card. I still have yet to see my bakeware. I'll be calling ! Mary
I would like to know which banks you folks use that called you about the charges. Just yesterday I found 3 new charges to my bank account from Digital River, each charge was $143.50. My account is now -$449.00. What a nightmare. I bank with Chase and they say they cannot do something until the pending charges clear my bank. I really need to change banks.
Also, I called Digital River and they wanted me to fax them a copy of the statement with all of my info blacked out and they said they would investigate the charges and reimburse me.
Collin, don't worry yourself, we all know the chances we take when we shop online these days.
We use 5/3 bank and they called me immediately. So happy with their service!
I ordered from the bakeware thing and have not had any issues?!!? Why not?
I just renewed my norton anti virus today and guess who the billing is done through? Digital River!!! what do you think??
So what can we do to put this company out of business? Report it to our state's Attorney General's office? Somewhere else? I know people say we need to be careful about ordering things online, but it is absolutely criminal of a company to be scamming people like this. I think we all need to send out a strong message that we won't tolerate unethical practices such as this.
And please don't feel bad or lose sleep over posting these offers. I saw this on several different websites, and lots of people believed it was a legitimate offer.
Diane
Please be careful whose name you are besmirching out there, especially on an influential blog like this. Digital River is a legitimate ecommerce solution provider. They process your credit card on behalf of smaller companies who do business online. They have been around since the 90s and I believe are good guys. I have used them myself. Whoever is ripping you off, it is not Digital River, but a smaller company who uses Digital River's PERFECTLY LEGITIMATE services. It's actually pretty dangerous to accuse someone of a scam before you know the details. It is probably the easy bakeware company who is responsible - NOT Digital River.
You have cleared up a mystery for me! I haven't ordered from easybakeware since June (and yes, it took forever to get, maybe a ploy...I always contacted the company by email and told them i hadn't received my product yet and the shipped it immediatley.) and last saturday (9/19) my bank called me asking about some fraud charges for 189.11 at a computer store in Luxenburg. They cancelled my card and since it was fraud they didnt charge me. Thank you so much!
Simon, that is so terrible! I bank at Wells Fargo, love them. they are on the ball with any fraudulent activity!
Simon - I bank with Wamu which is now becoming Chase. Love your name by the way ,we just named our newborn Simon ! Mary
Simon, my Cesdit card is through Chase and I just received a fraud alert call this morning (which after reading this I now believe is the same scam but I had my computer shut down by a virus/worm recently so I was afraid it was related to a hacker and have spent all morning changing all of my online account information,) But anyway I have used Chase for 10 plus years (for my CC company) and they have been GREAT at calling me immediately when something looks like it is out of the ordinary, so keep on them, their customer service is good, just be persistent. I am actually glad to know that it is probably this scam so that only my Credit card was affected. It was cancelled and the charges denied. Easy fix.
I had four charges of $147.92 each charged from Digital River. I am just glad that my bank caught it and is taking care of the charges. Thanks for the post about it. I have racked my brain trying to figure out where this company could have gotten my card number. I had never heard of Digital River. I did try to order from Easy Bakeware but never received my pan. Thanks again for the post about this. It is not your fault. We are all able to make our own decisions.
Yep, I had some fraudulent charges from Digital River too! Now I know why... thanks! The bank took care of it no problems. I've received bakeware from easy bakeware before with no issues, so I'm really surprised that it was because of them.
LOL Melissa.....i had it spelled right w/ the 1st comment. I must of been flustered after I found out my CC was about to be charged.
please read Racheal b and nicoles post. Its not digital rivers fault.
Glad to finally know where the fraudulant charges came from! I had never heard of Digital River and was wondering how someone got my info. Thanks for letting us know! And it isn't your fault!
Rachel - I think it may be a bit early to presume which company is not to blame. Clearly, an investigation is needed.
Collin suggested - correctly - everyone should check with their credit card company. Without mentioning the names of the companies involved, how would people know there is a larger problem? The situation is serious. It was honorable and responsible for her to post the warning and to urge caution!
Collin, I hope you sleep well. You have done us a lot of good, and this situation was not of your doing.
I can't believe you just wrote about this!! My credit card company called ME this week about a suspicious looking Digital River $189.00 charge on my card. It looked out of the ordinary for us, so they called me. We had no idea where it could have come from, but this makes sense. I have ordered several things from this company, received a few and am still waiting for others. I now know the scoop and will not visit the site again. Thanks for answering some questions for us! It's too bad this kind of thing happens with a company that appeared to be a positive experience...
Everyone who has had theses fraudulent charges should contact their local police department who can direct them to the right department to get this reported. Just canceling your cards doesn't stop the bigger issue and get these scammers out of business. http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx you can report internet crimes online. If enough people report it they can be stopped and put out of business because I am sure there are lots of people who don't report the theft/cancel their cards/check their statements, etc.
Thanks so much for posting this. Now I have answers. I had fradulent charges on my account but fortunately I was checking my account plus the fraud department called me. And of course, they were from Digital River. I was inconvienced for awhile w/ no card but fortunately the charges ended up dropping off and never going completely thru. Maybe because we canceled the card right away, I don't know.
But anyway, thank you for posting about this. And I for one am not upset w/ you at all. Don't sweat it!
THANK YOU for posting this - I paid for my pan (almost a year ago) with my PayPal credit card - I got a call today from their security dept. They had already denied the $241 AND $214 charges that were attempted by Digital River but needed me to verify, it was easy for me to tell them it was fraud since I had already read this post here. Thankfully this only cost me a phone call and some slight inconvenience on waiting for my new card. I cancelled the old card to prevent any future charges from being processed.
My question is some of us ordered our pans back 6+ months ago - IF there was something in the terms about cancellation of an agreement shouldn't the charges have shown up ages ago? And why suddenly is EVERYONE being charged at once? Even if at some point this was legitimate charges or agreements it seems something has gone horribly wrong - Digital River may only be a payment processing company but something isn't right about all this. I suggest that anyone that has ordered a pan in the last year call and put a fraud alert on your credit card. It could save a lot of trouble.
Psst... Couldn't we just all request one-time-use numbers with our bank and order that way? I liked the $1 products I got and had planned on getting more. =P
Hey and you know what? We had to sign up for a monthly thing for each bakeware item and they were with different companies. I ordered two items and I had two different companies that I had to cancel with. It's possible that it was one of those companies. That would explain why some people are getting charges and some aren't - some people just didn't sign up with the scammer company.
OH MY GAWD!!! I got charged 2 separate times for $209.20 a couple weeks ago from this company! Thank GAWD I had enough money in the bank because I would have overdraft!!!
I got my money back within 3 days though.
I have one other question for you guys - did any of you make a "free" purchase of earrings through Darcus Tori? I recommended them on my site (I had bought the "free earrings" from them in the past) and at least one of my readers has had this happen to their card. They never purchased the bakeware.
Just curious if that is a coincidence, if the two companies could be related or if it might also be a Darcus Tori thing. I don't want to bad-mouth a good company, so please don't take it as that, but they are also behaving strangely with some email communications and with the mention of my reader's card...
Did anyone else receive a letter from easybake saying none of this is their fault?
My bank froze my account because Digital River just tried to run a charge through on my account. They must have been alerted by other customers because I didn't have to do anything. They stopped the charge! Woo-Hoo! When this was posted, I went through my account for months and didn't find anything from Digital River so I thought I was in the clear. I did order from Easy Bakeware but I don't blame you for it. It is those scam artists that are to blame.
Haha! I did today!
It caught up with me too! My credit card company called me to let me know...so apparently this has become a big problem.
They are back at it. We got a call this morning that digital river tried to post 3 transactions of over $200 this morning. So now we cancelled the card and are waiting on a new one...No one blames you Hip...we LOVE all the deals.
oh my goodness, this happened to me this morning. my ank contacted me about two chargers for 131$ each... did everything work out for everyone else? did you end up getting your money back? -Brianne
I just got charged 2 charges of $211 each. I tried calling my bank but they said they couldnt do anything yet because it is still pending. I did cancel my card and hopefully I will get my money back cause I cant really afford this kind of thing right now. How is something not being done about this company.
mine is still pending, as well. my bank said they will dispute it after it goes through, and I will get my money back, so hopefully it all works out. I just don't understand how they can do this again...i thought I was in the clear when it happened to everyone else, I kept checking mine, and it never happened. UNTIL TODAY. I recommend if anyone ordered from there to go ahead and save themselves some trouble, cancel your card anayway, and get a new one. -Brianne
My card got charged once from Digital river for $117.00 And they've attempted 4 more times but my bank account stopped them! Thank goodness!
I just got two charges on 11/01 from Digital River for $191 each! My bank froze my card and once posted I'll be disputing them. What's strange is that there was also a charge for $1 from Bed Bath & Beyond (Even though I don't shop there) ?? Think I'll be getting one of those prepaid debit cards!
Wow! I just did a google search for digital river scam and I found this list of posting. Our account was charged $97.10, twice, last week and I couldn't figure out how they got out info. I just got it refunded today and canceled the card. I'm glad I found the answer to how they got our info. I was scared that someone was hacking into our personal info or something.
On Nov 4, Digital River has charged me twice for $190.12--I have contacted my credit card company, but have yet to reach a real person.
Digital River accessed my account Sunday, Nov. 1st. I called my card people. I got a call from Mastercard asking if the charges were authorized. I said no. Today I get an email from my account people saying my dispute was DECLINED. That I didn't prove that I didn't make the purchase. How can these people not know that this is a scam yet? Any ideas? I have already told them but they just aren't listening. :(
I was scamed 0n 11/23 for 3 times 111.39 ( 334.08 total ) by a company named DIGITAL RIVER LUXEMBURG LU, as appears in my credit card pending transactions. I called the credit card company and they aid they'd have an investigator call me. I also contacted LiveLock customer service .
They said if the credir card company doesn't take care of this, they will.
I have no idea how they got a hold of my credit card number, I always shred papers that have any information of mine before putting it in the trash can ...
This week digital river charged my credit card twice for$152.92 and twice for $233.20 but I NEVER ordered anything from them, or the bakeware company, or ANYthing for these amounts!!! I did some Xmas shopping on line last week and it must be one of these companies is working this SCAM! Be CAREFUL if you get charged by them & call your credit card company & cancel your card. This company even had my security pin # from the back!
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