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Project administrators:
On Saturday and Sunday, 2/10 and 2/11, I placed a couple of orders through the Project Administrator web interface. In fact, I did this partly because project members were reporting that they could not make transactions, or that their credit cards were getting declined. On Monday, 2/12, FTDNA confirmed that they were having such problems, although presumably they resolved it shortly thereafter.
Yesterday, I placed another such order, and promptly got a call from my credit card company asking me to verify the charge. They said that they had seen some credit card fraud with "this kind of company" (presumably, DNA testing companies). I confirmed the charge, but thought it a little odd.
Today, I was reconciling my credit card statement, and noticed that the days of 2/11 and 2/12 show, in addition to the FTDNA purchases I actually made, two additional purchases for the unusual amount of $25.12. (Note that FTDNA purchases on my credit card are typically dated one day later than the actual day I placed the order.) These two $25.12 charges do not correspond to any purchases I made. I called FTDNA, who verified that a short time ago, they detected bogus project "donations" occurring through the Project Administrator interface. (The criminal's purpose, presumably, was to "test" the credit card number before using it on something larger or selling it to the underworld.) They promised to have their accountant call me back.
In the meantime, I have asked my credit card company to close that number and issue me a new one, etc.
In short: Any project administrator who placed any orders through the GAP interface on 2/10 through 2/12 should examine her/his credit card statement to ensure that no bogus charges appear.
This has happened to me several times over the past several years with other Internet-orderable companies and other credit cards--e.g., Walmart.
On Saturday and Sunday, 2/10 and 2/11, I placed a couple of orders through the Project Administrator web interface. In fact, I did this partly because project members were reporting that they could not make transactions, or that their credit cards were getting declined. On Monday, 2/12, FTDNA confirmed that they were having such problems, although presumably they resolved it shortly thereafter.
Yesterday, I placed another such order, and promptly got a call from my credit card company asking me to verify the charge. They said that they had seen some credit card fraud with "this kind of company" (presumably, DNA testing companies). I confirmed the charge, but thought it a little odd.
Today, I was reconciling my credit card statement, and noticed that the days of 2/11 and 2/12 show, in addition to the FTDNA purchases I actually made, two additional purchases for the unusual amount of $25.12. (Note that FTDNA purchases on my credit card are typically dated one day later than the actual day I placed the order.) These two $25.12 charges do not correspond to any purchases I made. I called FTDNA, who verified that a short time ago, they detected bogus project "donations" occurring through the Project Administrator interface. (The criminal's purpose, presumably, was to "test" the credit card number before using it on something larger or selling it to the underworld.) They promised to have their accountant call me back.
In the meantime, I have asked my credit card company to close that number and issue me a new one, etc.
In short: Any project administrator who placed any orders through the GAP interface on 2/10 through 2/12 should examine her/his credit card statement to ensure that no bogus charges appear.
This has happened to me several times over the past several years with other Internet-orderable companies and other credit cards--e.g., Walmart.
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