Check your bill carefully

When I read this article in NY Times todayWho Charged This? You, That’s Who, I felt I should share it with all my fashionista friends. We do so much online shopping these days, it is too easy for companies to dupe us into paying for things that we don't even know that we bought!

The writer was telling the story where she discovered a monthly $10 charge on her credit card bill that she had no idea where it came from, and that she had been charged for 16 months without knowing it!

"I could picture my husband buying tickets online. I could imagine one of those annoying direct-marketing offers popping up. I could even picture him clicking on it. But I couldn’t see him entering a credit card to subscribe.

It turned out he didn’t have to. Tempted by a $10 cash-back award offer (“Good for your next Fandango purchase!”), he had typed in his e-mail address.

Unfortunately, he skipped over the fine print: “By entering my e-mail address as my electronic signature and clicking yes, I authorize Fandango to securely transfer my name, address and credit or debit card information to Reservation Rewards for billing and benefit processing.”

She even contacted the company and they gave her all sorts of "reasonable" explanations on why she could've been unaware of this for so long and why just by entering an email address could authorize the company to charge her card so easily.

I personally don't think companies should be authorized to charge anybody's credit card based on an email address.

Dears, be sure to read your credit card bill carefully and call the company asap if you see something suspicious. “Ignore all pop-ups,” Professor Sawhney said. “And be vigilant when the statements come. All it takes is getting on the phone and canceling.”