I learned today that I have been incurring fraudulent charges on my credit card since January 2013. Oh, yes. You read that correctly… I have been duped for the past 22 months!
I know that many other “young” adults in my generation (and the generation after mine) are terrible with money. Emphasis on TERRIBLE. I am no different. I’m working to change my ways, and this new journey to financial security/freedom requires a long, cold walk through the depths of my student loan debt and what little credit card debt I have accumulated.
I’m learning just how oblivious I am/was in terms of my own money! Let’s set aside the wasted spending at the gas station and lunches out with friends for another day so we can focus on the topic at hand…
TWENTY-TWO MONTHS of fraudulent charges? I’m embarrassed for a number of reasons:
- I obviously haven’t read a credit card statement in nearly two years.
- I have paid more than $250 in charges I did not incur.
- The fraud continued despite a recent credit card number change.
- The look on HOS’ face when I told him how many charges have hit my account…
I pray that you are all far better at managing your money than me. If not, then I beg you to at least read your credit card and bank statements! Don’t just give away your money like me!
Here are a few tips to avoid being a credit card fraud sucker:
- Request both paper and email statements, so you’ll see at least one version.
- Review all transactions to verify authenticity.
- If a transaction is suspicious, call your credit card company right away! My card card provider, Chase, offers 24-hour customer service.
- If you see a $12.97 charge from *IC FREESHIPPING.COM, cancel your card immediately, and call your fraud department. This is the group that got me!
- Do your research. In my case, a quick Google search shows *IC FREESHIPPING.COM fraud complaints going back as far as 2010! This is a good way to learn more about the vendor when faced with the possibility of fraud.
- Stop buying things online. Ok, so I know this is nearly impossible, but it’s the best way to prevent issues! If you’re going to continue shopping online, vette out retailers you’ve never used before.
Take it from me – the dummy who let an old trick get the best of her for nearly two years – pay closer attention to your money! If you’re not watching your financial back, who will?
One last note and an unsolicited plug – use a trustworthy credit card provider. Chase was awesome on the phone today. They were kind and understanding, while still inquisitive to make sure I truly was experiencing fraud. In the end, they paid me back for all the fraudulent charges and are sending a new card. What would your credit card provider do for you?
This Side of the Rainbow 
Hi Angie,
Had you only called the phone number listed next to the charge this would have been easily taken care of. They would have cancelled the membership and refunded you back the charges after explaining how you came to be a member.
Freeshipping.com has member benefits that are fantastic for the frequent online shopper. Benefits that can total $3,000 a year. You can claim shipping and return shipping rebates, get price protection, and 10% cash back. Not bad for the price of $12.97 per month!
Yes, you have to file claims for the shipping and return shipping, but the cash back is automatic as long as you purchase through the links on the site. There are over 1,500 of the top merchants as part of this program.
They are not a scam, they help you make and keep your money!
angie I,ve been rippedoff for almost $300.00 I have only just found out they are connected with fragrances.net. I spoke to them and they wont help icfreeshipping.com are just crooks….
I’m sorry to hear you had a similar experience! I still don’t know where my charges originated. When I first posted this blog, I received a comment I refuse to share. The author of the post talked up the benefits of icfreeshipping and basically said I was the one at fault. A quick google search of the user indicated it was written by a marketing professional representing icfreeshipping. I will not share the post because the marketing group failed to disclose their relationship. It furthered my feelings about the entity and solidified my knowledge that it’s nothing more than a scam. Fool us once, right? It won’t happen again!
My name is Lisa and I just recently found out that for the last 3 months $12.97 has been deducted from my checking account by ID Freeshippin. I had no idea who they even were. Plus the fact nothing was being delivered or shipped to my home. I have the bank checking into this for me. I am just glad I caught it sooner than some. Definately a scam
Hi Angie, I just received a new card from Discover with a new card number so I went to the Discover site to register and then began to review my transaction for the past month and I found a charge of $12.97 for both August and September. Went on line to find out who this IC Free Shipping was and found out what a scam it is. For some unknown reason Discover had put the phone number of these crooks on the statement so I called the number, 1-800-515-9185, and told IC Free Shipping to cancel my (so called) membership. The fellow was polite, took my info and then told me I was canceled. Then I went back to Google and found your page and took your advice and called my card company, Discover, and told them I had been scammed and not to pay them anything more. Believe it or not they had already put in for another payment which was pending but that payment was put on hold and all three would be disputed. As I told the woman from Discover Card, I don’t know how I got involved with this company but if I did it was because they misrepresented what they were and that they were going to charge me every month for the rest of my life. As I went over the account I saw I had ordered something from WalMart on line and possibly that is how I got taken in by their scam. I definitely will be sending my friends and family an Email with your site and Google Search warning of this scam and to check their Credit Card Statements Closely.
Thanks for posting your bad experience it helped me and I hope you card company filed a Dispute against IC Free Shipping for the past payments. I am going to fire a complaint with My Ohio State Attorney General’s Office and see what they can do to put these crooks out of business.
I glad you got your money back from Chase…I was not so lucky…the guy on the phone basically told me I should have been more careful and was ready to connect me with yet another person….just to be told the same thing. Very disappointed with Chase and have cancelled my card…they did nothing to help me get my money back…I was ripped off for over a year if not more!! When I called IC *FRESSHIPPING.COM they cancelled it but only offered one months credit!!! One Pissed Off Woman!!!!
Angie when I called wells Fargo to check my balance I couldn’t understand the recording so I had to speak to a real person to tell me what the heck is this company. I Googled it and sure enough exactly $12.97. I called wells Fargo back and got a new card. Thanks for the heads-up. How can we stop these bastards?
I have also been scammed by this company. They refunded me two withdrawals from my debit card and on the same day took another $12.97 and when I called two different numbers they told me that no other charges were taken out and I explained I was sitting here looking at my bank account online and there was another charge. Please think twice about this company before joining do your research.
There is a man starting a class action suit against Freeshipping.com.
Anyone that has been victimized by this website is encouraged to join.
Please email raychandler@msn.com to become a plaintiff againt this scam site.
Let me ask you this. Were you getting People magazine during the period of time you were being charged?? I was and I didn’t order that either. The People magazines stopped when I finally noticed charges to my credit card and called ic shipping to cancel…..after 6 months by the way, don’t feel bad.
I didn’t have any random magazines show up.. I never found out how it happened. I know there are times when you can be opted in to a service like this at checkout online. If you aren’t paying attention to all the pre-selected boxes, you’ll find yourself receiving things (or being billed for things) you weren’t aware of.
I want to know how to stop this $12.97 charge every month!!!! Don’t even know where it came from!!!
Hi Randall! I went through my credit card company and filed a dispute. Chase was extremely helpful! They canceled the card and reversed the charges. I recommend starting with the cc provider.