Something weird happened yesterday

[LennG]

 I have to run this by some of you because I have absolutely no answer for this.

I got a text last evening from someone who said they were shopping for me at a Walmart store. I had no idea what they were even talking about so I ignored it thinking it was meant for someone else. Around 6:30 PM I got an email saying my delivery was late at my front door. I opened the email and sure enough, there were 3 packages at my front door, left there by whomever shopped for this order. It said in the email, my credit card was charged for 2 orders of about $130 + each. I immediately went to my credit card page and sure enough 2 charges were pending from Walmart.com. I called the credit card people and canceled the card and told them these charges weren't mine.
I then went to the Walmart link and sure enough, there were 2 orders from my account there and more stuff in my shopping cart. Of course, I called Walmart and told them this wasn't me and to cancel this account, which they did.

OK, but here is the part I still do not understand. Someone obviously got into my Walmart account, used the credit card on the account, and ordered all sorts of groceries and other stuff, but why did it come to my house?
I am dumbfounded by this. If my account or card is hacked, who is benefitting from this if it is sent to me?

I have asked several people about this and all are basically dumbfounded by it.

Any suggestions?

[Ed Vette]

I think their intent was to pick up the packages before you did and they screwed up.

[T200]

Clearly someone got into your account.

If you haven't already done so:

1) Change your password
2) Remove any payment methods from your account

I like to get creative with my passwords but they all feature the same root:

For example, I take a phrase like, "All Hail The New York Giants" and turn it into an acronym:

AHTNYG

Since typical password requirements are 8-10 upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, I also add in those:

ahtNYG-4xChamps-    (this would be my root password)
3L1-M@nn1ng-4246-   (just thought of this as I was typing lol)

MMYYYY -MMYYYY would be the month/year I created this particular password. Add it to the end of your root password.

ahtNYG-4xChamps-122023
3L1-M@nn1ng-4246-122023

It may be a lot but it's almost required nowadays to have for your online accounts. And, if you make your own, it's easier to remember than some of these password generators!

[Jolly Blue Giant]

The big scam going on right now is "Porch Pirates", who follow delivery trucks/vans and if no one comes out of the house to pick up the items, they snatch the goods and run. In California, they are holding up Fedex and UPS trucks like the old stagecoach robberies. They hold the driver at gun point while a crew empties the contents of the truck, even though they have no idea what's in there

It's possible that someone hacked your card and assumed you were still out of the country and figured they could snatch-and-grab, and you wouldn't know what happened until you returned. That's my best guess. Definitely change your card and accounts like Walmart that use that card as a default

I despise low lives who scam good people...@$@!$#(   

[Bob In PA]

One possibility: you got to the boxes before the crook.

One question: did the items purchased seem to be something you might have ordered for yourself or Doris or were they just "random" items?

Bob

[Ed Vette]

The big scam going on right now is "Porch Pirates", who follow delivery trucks/vans and if no one comes out of the house to pick up the items, they snatch the goods and run. In California, they are holding up Fedex and UPS trucks like the old stagecoach robberies. They hold the driver at gun point while a crew empties the contents of the truck, even though they have no idea what's in there

It's possible that someone hacked your card and assumed you were still out of the country and figured they could snatch-and-grab, and you wouldn't know what happened until you returned. That's my best guess. Definitely change your card and accounts like Walmart that use that card as a default

I despise low lives who scam good people...@$@!$#(   

Porch Pirates would make a good reality show. Would have to be underground. lol

[LennG]

One possibility: you got to the boxes before the crook.

One question: did the items purchased seem to be something you might have ordered for yourself or Doris or were they just "random" items?

Bob

No Bob there was nothing I would have ordered. There were 6 jars of children's gummies vitamins. 5 boxes of Bonnie and 7 boxes of nasal strips.

[Bob In PA]

No Bob there was nothing I would have ordered. There were 6 jars of children's gummies vitamins. 5 boxes of Bonnie and 7 boxes of nasal strips.

Lenn: Hate to go here but, do you have a housekeeper or cleaning service, etc., by any chance? 

Assuming it's just the two of you at home, and since yuu guys travel a lot, does someone watch your house while you're away? 

I am now out of nefarious ideas.... so, if you know a cop, ask about the scenario.  They know more scams than I do.  Even if you don't know a guy, maybe you should report it.  Also, it goes without saying that you need to cancel/freeze, etc., whatever method of payment was used to make the purchases.

Bob

[squibber]

I had something kind of weird happen on my new Lowes Visa Card.

I went to Lowes to buy a new toilet. A worker on the floor helped me out. Then he told me that I can save 20% on my purchase today if I open up a new Lowes Visa Card so I went for it. He had a handheld device in his hand and he asked me a bunch of questions. When he was done, he printed out a "temporary card" that I could use immediately. I checked out at the register and everything was fine.

On the first day of the third billing cycle there was an online purchase at Lowes for $259. Luckily I check my credit card activity once in a while. I called the number on the card to tell them what happened. She closed my card and she said a new card will be mailed to me. I asked her what was purchased and where was the item shipped to? She said she couldn't tell me.

I'm sure it was an inside job. Perhaps the worker with the handheld device printed out my card info to use later.  I think whoever did it waited a couple billing cycles until he/she made the purchase to make it less likely to tie the purchase to him/her but also wait until I let my guard down and not notice the purchase.

I didn't activate my new Lowes card and I never will. Their security is suspect in my eyes.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Never trust handheld devices, is a good rule of thumb. I went to the NYS Fair last year and when parking, cash is no longer used. Everything is electronic to minimize cash on hand. It's best to buy a parking pass on-line, then show the code on your phone to one of the dozens of parking lot attendees...otherwise, a person (many actually) with handheld devices, swipes your card and lets you in. I did that and when I got home, I happened to check my account and noticed that while I was at the fair for the day, I had numerous purchases on my card including a monthly subscription (40.00 a month) for access to a bogus website that I never heard of. I couldn't even cancel the subscription because the site was "unavailable". Took me a week to clear everything up with my bank and getting a new card and having to change all my data on places like PayPal, Amazon, etc

Whenever someone has a handheld device to scan your credit card...be wary, very wary

[MightyGiants]

Lenn,

I am the tip of the iceberg type of guy.   I would suggest something like Lifelock (Identity theft protection).  If they got into your Walmart account, you have no idea what else they could have hacked.

[LennG]

Lenn,

I am the tip of the iceberg type of guy.   I would suggest something like Lifelock (Identity theft protection).  If they got into your Walmart account, you have no idea what else they could have hacked.

Because there was a breach in my wife's UFT organization they gave everyone a 2 year security check account. I'm not sure if it's LifeLock but similar. I have checked all our other cards and as of now all is well.

I did cancel the affected card and notified Walmart of the problem.

[Bob In PA]

Because there was a breach in my wife's UFT organization they gave everyone a 2 year security check account. I'm not sure if it's LifeLock but similar. I have checked all our other cards and as of now all is well.

I did cancel the affected card and notified Walmart of the problem.

Lenn: Thankfully, it appears at this time you didn't come out of it with a loss, and it actually could be traced back to the UFT situation, IMO.  Bob