CuriousDebt
New Member
So I'm facing a situation with potential debt collectors and I'm not sure if they are valid or not, or if they will even ever confront me with a collections agency. It deals with online gaming with a casino/sportsbook located offshore in the Caribbean.
I was in the hospital for nearly a week in early September. When I got home I realized that on my debit card I had 4 transactions that were not mine. So I called my bank and had them reverse the charges because they weren't mine. I received a phone call a few weeks later from the casino asking why I had returned the charges. I asked for the name of the casino, and after learning it, said that I had never heard of it and wasn't sure what they were talking about. I put it together later that they were related. Then I realized an email from them saying that it would remain under investigation with them and that if they determine I was at fault, I would be reported to credit agencies and a master database of credit card processors. So I shrugged it off as thinking that they'd ultimately conclude I wasn't at fault.
Then I got an email 3 weeks later saying that the transactions were made from my computer, with my digital computer fingerprint and were made by me. Additionally, in light of my negative response to resolve the situation they were discharging my debt ("fraudulent transactions/chargebacks" in their opinion) and I will be contacted by their collections agency and/or their agents. In addition, they said:
"Please be advised that in compliance with the Wire Fraud Act, your name is now flagged, your Credit Report/Credit Score will be flagged and affected and the complete personal and commercial data has been forwarded as a preventive measure against future online fraud to the Web Fraud Control Data Bank that powers the master World-Wide Pro-Unitary International Online Card Fraud Negative Data Base, which is shared by the sports industry, online sports sites, merchants, shopping sites, online credit card processing companies, banks, acquirers and clearing houses who service not only ours but many other online industries and online companies in the Internet and that could be subject to the same type of wire fraud."
I guess my question is first - what the heck? Can they really try and collect on this? I did some research on online gaming and it's currently illegal for people to accept bets online. They're not located within the United States - so what impact does that play?
Should I be scared for my safety since they're saying "our collection agency and/or their agents".
I tried to explain my situation and how it couldn't possibly be me, but I feel like to them the situation was already closed.
I was in the hospital for nearly a week in early September. When I got home I realized that on my debit card I had 4 transactions that were not mine. So I called my bank and had them reverse the charges because they weren't mine. I received a phone call a few weeks later from the casino asking why I had returned the charges. I asked for the name of the casino, and after learning it, said that I had never heard of it and wasn't sure what they were talking about. I put it together later that they were related. Then I realized an email from them saying that it would remain under investigation with them and that if they determine I was at fault, I would be reported to credit agencies and a master database of credit card processors. So I shrugged it off as thinking that they'd ultimately conclude I wasn't at fault.
Then I got an email 3 weeks later saying that the transactions were made from my computer, with my digital computer fingerprint and were made by me. Additionally, in light of my negative response to resolve the situation they were discharging my debt ("fraudulent transactions/chargebacks" in their opinion) and I will be contacted by their collections agency and/or their agents. In addition, they said:
"Please be advised that in compliance with the Wire Fraud Act, your name is now flagged, your Credit Report/Credit Score will be flagged and affected and the complete personal and commercial data has been forwarded as a preventive measure against future online fraud to the Web Fraud Control Data Bank that powers the master World-Wide Pro-Unitary International Online Card Fraud Negative Data Base, which is shared by the sports industry, online sports sites, merchants, shopping sites, online credit card processing companies, banks, acquirers and clearing houses who service not only ours but many other online industries and online companies in the Internet and that could be subject to the same type of wire fraud."
I guess my question is first - what the heck? Can they really try and collect on this? I did some research on online gaming and it's currently illegal for people to accept bets online. They're not located within the United States - so what impact does that play?
Should I be scared for my safety since they're saying "our collection agency and/or their agents".
I tried to explain my situation and how it couldn't possibly be me, but I feel like to them the situation was already closed.
