Consumer complaint received 2020-10-20
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
A notification came on my computer at the bottom of the screen with a very very loud noise. I tried to stop this myself, and then a man.. identifying himself as XXXX XXXX advised me that my computer had been hacked and the a charge of {$5000.00} had been made against my credit card. This unnerved me intensely. He advised me that he would try to stop the noise and then walk me through the necessary steps to correct the charge. He kept me on the line for 2 hrs while he allegedly contacted the credit card company. ( I heard the exchange between them, but later I concluded that was all a complete ruse ). Since it was then XXXX XXXX, he stated that he would contact me in the morning to remedy the charges. 
To " offset '' the {$5000.00} charge, I was told to go to XXXX  's and but 7 {$500.00} Target gift cards. He kept my phone line open and when I returned to the car, he told me to scratch each card and give him the numbers. Then he had me drive to another XXXX 's and purchase 3 more XXXX  {$500.00} gift cards. And I did the same thing in the car ... scratched off the numbers to give him so he could " off set '' the charge. I then had my " aha '' moment ... what am I doing? This just isn't right ... So I immediately called the credit card company. They told me that there was no charge of {$5000.00} made to my account. I was stumped and relieved at the same time. Perhaps what he had said about " offsetting '' the charge was true and I was not the victim of fraud. 
I returned home and spoke to my sister about this, and she called the Attorney Generals office to report the incident. They were no help. I also contacted my bank and the Credit Card company Capital One again ... this time they saw the charge. But they were no help at all. They claim to me that they can not open a case file for this incident because it is NOT " fraud ''. They call it a " scam '', therefore it does not fall into their fraud department for refund. 
I did some research and came across your website where it actually says the following : https : //www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/01/top-frauds-2019 The top frauds of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Associate Director, Division of Consumer Response and Operations Each year, the FTC takes a hard look at the number of reports people make to our Consumer Sentinel Network. In fact, during XXXX, we got more than 3.2 million reports to the FTC from you. Weve read what youve said, and crunched the numbers. Heres what you told us in XXXX. 
* Imposter scamswas the number one fraud reported to XXXX in XXXXPeople reported losing more than {$660.00} XXXX to imposters, who often pretendedto be calling from the government or a well-known business, a romantic interest, or a family member with an emergency. Whenpeople lost money, they most frequently reported paying scammers with agift card. 
ou might wonder what, besides these numbers, comes out of reporting scams and other consumer issues to the FTC. Well, because of your reports, the FTC and its law enforcement partners are able to investigate the people and companies that trick people into paying money. Your reports help build and bring those cases, which also helps us enforce laws that stop scams and other dishonest business practices that take peoples money. 

In fact, during XXXX, FTC law enforcement actions led to more than {$230.00} XXXX in refunds to people who lost money. More than 1.9 million people cashed checks mailed by the FTC. And, in the last four years, people have cashed more than XXXX XXXX dollars in FTC refund checks. Thats real money back into peoples pockets. 

So if youve spotted a scam, keep telling us about it at ftc.gov/complaint. If you need more information about these top frauds, visit ftc.gov/imposters, and ftc.gov/giftcards. 


I have the phone number of this imposter/fraudster. I'm sure it is a track phone and no longer in use. But just in case ... He went by the name XXXX XXXX and the number is XXXX. 

Capital One is trying to deny me the opportunity to refund me money that they could have assisted me to avoid making the charge. I usually spend between $ XXXX per month on my charge card. In one day, in less than 3 hours, I spent {$5000.00}. Why didn't they flag this account? Why didn't I get a text message? An email? A denial of the charge? 
I am an XXXX year old widow living on a fixed income of social security and a small pension from my deceased husband. This could ruin my last remaining years. 
Please help me.. 
XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief