Consumer complaint received 2026-01-27 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA
State: RI

Complaint narrative:
Here is information I have provided on multiple occasions. I am supplementing it with the update, which I already separately provided a month ago to the card issuer, that in addition to the IC3 report I filed with the FBI, I reported the fraud to my local police department. 

As background, I am a former cyber prosecutor and this is such an obvious case of fraud I am astonished at the continued outcome. But even if the merchant does not concede that this was fraud, the card I used has its own Zero Liability Protection that the issuer will not even tell me how to invoke. They just keep putting me through the same dispute process and telling me each time that the merchant keeps saying the purchases are legitimate. 

Note that the card number provided in this system is not the same as the card number that was fraudulently used, because we changed the card number after we discovered the fraud. 

XX/XX/XXXX Update In addition to everything set forth below, I have also submitted a report to the XXXX, XXXX XXXX  Police Department dated XX/XX/XXXX, at the suggestion of a Goldman Sachs representative. 

XX/XX/XXXX I am writing to inform you again that XXXX transactions made using my credit card number were made fraudulently. I have been submitting and resubmitting this complaint for close to XXXX year. I have provided sworn statements and evidence supporting the report, but the merchant, XXXX, continues to insist that these XXXX transactions were not fraudulent ( although it acknowledged that XXXX similar purchases made during the same time period were fraudulent ). At this point, if XXXX will not acknowledge the fraud, I am requesting that you fulfill the Zero Liability Protection in my card agreement. That commitment states that I will not be held responsible for unauthorized transactions if I used reasonable care in protecting [ my ] card from loss or theft and promptly reported loss or theft to [ my ] financial institution. I have done both. 

I am sorry to have to include such a long and detailed explanation of the fraud below, but I have tried explaining this over the telephone and gotten nowhere. I investigated and criminally prosecuted cyber crime for a long time, and I just can not understand your repeated refusals to acknowledge that the charges under dispute are fraudulent just like XXXX nearly identical charges you have already acknowledged are fraudulent. 

This is such an obvious case of fraud that I am stunned that my credit card company is not simply removing the charges from my account. It is such a disappointment that if you do not honor the XXXX XXXX XXXX pledge, I will have to seek compensation in court and potentially file a complaint with the FTC. 

You may wish to conduct additional investigation. I will help you however I can, but I do not want to wait until another round of surface-level investigation is completed before finding myself in the same position yet again. I have listed out at the end of this letter the information associated with each of the XXXX transactions under dispute, based on documentation you provided. If my sworn statements, your own records, anomalous activity, and small dollar amount relative to my total spending are not enough, if your investigative team wants to really investigate, an obvious step would be to compare the information associated with the XXXX transactions under review with the information associated with the XXXX transactions you have already agreed were fraudulent and the XXXX attempted transactions that were declined after we reported fraud and changed our card number. 

I am providing greater detail below. Again, the last thing I want to do is spend time on this, but I just can not go through another round of telephone calls about this. 

Please note that my statements on the card during the XXXX months these charges totaled {$6400.00}. My spending on the card during calendar year XXXX was over {$42000.00}. I am contesting {$590.00}. It is completely unreasonable to think that I would spend the time and effort to falsely try to avoid paying this amount. 

In support of this claim, I have submitted a sworn complaint to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center under penalty of law, and I have provided that report to you previously. This is an obvious case of fraud based on : My sworn statement, made under penalty of prosecution. 
The use of different names and email addresses to make the purchases. 
The association of IP addresses that, according to records you provided, correspond to internet service providers that we do not use. 
The CVV response code CRB in each transaction. 
Your acknowledgment that XXXX out of XXXX similar purchases made in the same time period were fraudulent. 
The fact that XXXX purchases were attempted and declined after we reported the fraud and changed our credit card number, which indicates that the fraudster continued to try to use our card. 
The anomalous use of the card to make purchases at XXXX ( there are XXXX legitimate purchases on this card at that merchant ). 
The small dollar amounts I am contesting compared to my overall spending on the card. 
The well-documented fraud technique known as brushing, which according to federal law enforcement involves fraudsters purchasing goods in order to submit validated online reviews. 
I have reported this fraud multiple times and spent hours on the telephone and online trying to get this situation resolved. I have reviewed the transaction information that you and XXXX provided and summarized it below. You have resolved XXXX out of XXXX fraud complaints involving the same card, the same seller, similar dollar amounts, and within the same date range in my favor but still refuse to resolve the remaining XXXX. 

The purchases at issue were made from XXXX. We have never purchased anything from XXXX using this card. We have never purchased anything at all from the online marketplace sellers referenced in the supporting documentation you provided and have never purchased anything like the items listed in the order details in that documentation. The charges were made fraudulently by people unknown to us without our authorization. 

Based on the supporting documentation you provided, the names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and internet service providers associated with each transaction are not ours. We have never used the names, email addresses, telephone numbers, internet service providers listed. 

XXXX included boilerplate statements in response to each dispute that the card holder participated in the transaction ; note the AVS and CVV Response Codes support card presence at time of purchase. The card could not have been present at the time of sale, because we did not have a physical card. Moreover, the purchases were made online, as evidenced by the associated IP addresses, the fact that they were made at XXXX, the involvement of sellers through XXXX online marketplace, and the fact that goods were shipped. The CVV code associated with each transaction is CRB. This is a common abbreviation for XXXX XXXX XXXX and indicates possible fraud in a transaction. Walmarts statements are demonstrably false. 

I spoke with a XXXX XXXX XXXX associate and a supervisor on XX/XX/XXXX. They could not identify any of the disputed transactions in their system based on the order numbers or purchase dates and amounts listed in the supporting paperwork you provided. 

To the extent that fraudulently ordered merchandise was shipped to our house, we previously explained that for a short period of time, strange packages were arriving at our house, addressed to unfamiliar names at our home address. This was before we saw any unauthorized charges and had no idea that our credit card had been used to place these orders. We did not open most of the packages. Several ( but not all ) were from XXXX, but we did not know that our credit card had been used to make any purchases. We did not look at any receipts or order slips because these packages were not for us. 

At XXXX point, we brought XXXX package to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, which was the shipper for # XXXX ) to try to return the package, but XXXX XXXX told us they could not do anything. We left the package there. From that point on, we disposed of packages we did not recognize. Looking at the order details you provided, the items that were ordered appear to come from XXXX sellers on XXXX online marketplace. We do not shop from such sellers and do not purchase items like those listed. For example, the orders appear to include dog beds. We do not have a dog. 

As a former cybercrime prosecutor, XXXX likely explanation is that someone obtained our Apple credit card information and used it to make fraudulent purchases associated with a brushing scam, which the XXXX government has described at this link : https : //www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/brushing-scam. This is a report by the XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, which is a federal law enforcement agency. Those scams specifically involve fraudulently placing orders, which get delivered, so the fraudster can post validated purchaser reviews. In other words, having the goods delivered to the identity theft victims house is an integral part of the scam. 

Please note that after we changed our credit card number, XXXX additional fraudulent purchases were attempted. No transactions with XXXX were completed, and no strange packages have arrived at our house. The only reasonable conclusion, particularly considering that there have never been any XXXX purchases on our card at any other time, is that someone stole our credit card number, used it to make fraudulent purchases, and continued to try to make such purchases after we changed the number. 

Based on records you previously provided, the following information is associated with each transaction : XXXX. 
Order Number XXXX Order Date XX/XX/XXXX Amount {$280.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Email XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Payment & Last XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Response CRB IP Address XXXX Geolocation XXXX, XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Type Cable IP Routing fixed Device ID XXXX Purchased XXXX XXXX  Dog Bed Customer ID XXXX Marketplace XXXX XXXX Marketplace Phone ( XXXX ) XXXX Marketplace Email XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX hotmail.com Marketplace Address XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX, RI XXXX XXXX. 

Order Number XXXX Order Date XX/XX/XXXX Amount {$180.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Email XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Payment & Last XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Response CRB IP Address XXXX Geolocation XXXX, XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 
IP Connection Type Cable IP Routing Fixed Device ID XXXX Purchased Ointment, Soap Customer ID XXXX Marketplace Gombot ( Seller removed from site due to quality concerns ) Marketplace Phone [ none ] Marketplace Email [ none ] Marketplace Address XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX, RI XXXX XXXX. 
Order Number XXXX Order Date XX/XX/XXXX Amount {$120.00} Ship-to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Email XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Payment & Last XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Response CRB IP Address XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Connection Type Mobile Wireless IP Routing Mobile XXXX Device ID XXXX Purchased Ointment & Soap Customer ID XXXX Marketplace XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX 
Marketplace Phone ( XXXX ) XXXX Marketplace Email XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Marketplace Address XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX, XXXX  XXXX Those are only XXXX of the Walmart.com-related charges to our account. After fraudulent transactions # XXXX and # XXXX above, XXXX additional transactions took place. ( We later submitted disputes for those XXXX, and the disputes were approved. ) Fraudulent transaction # XXXX then took place. Immediately after # XXXX took place, we reported the fraud and changed our card number. After that, XXXX additional purchases were attempted, but were declined because we had changed the number. 

Date Amount Status XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Under Review XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Under Review XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Dispute Approved; Credit Applied XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Dispute Approved; Credit Applied XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Under Review XX/XX/XXXX FRAUD REPORT NUMBER CHANGED XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Declined ; Card Number Replaced XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Declined ; Card Number Replaced Note that the transactions all triggered a CRB CVV response, indicating fraud. The name XXXX XXXX is associated with purchases XXXX and XXXX, and the name XXXX XXXX XXXX is associated with purchase XXXX. We do not know anyone by that name. 

The ISP used for purchases XXXX and XXXX was XXXX XXXX at what appears to be a fixed location. The ISP used for purchase XXXX was XXXX. We have never used either XXXX. 

Similarly, purchases 1 and 2 use the same telephone number and email address, and purchase 3 uses a different telephone number and email address. We have never seen any of those before. 

We never received the underlying documentation for the XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX purchases because our disputes were approved, and we do not have any details of the XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX attempted purchases because they were declined due to our report of fraud. Again, I would like you to remove the charges from our account immediately but to the extent you wish to investigate further, it would make sense for you to check whether either of the charges you already concluded were fraudulent, or either of the charges you declined, used any of the same information associated with the currently disputed transactions.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief