Chain Reaction Cycles - Fraud alert !!!!

[nammynake]

If you have purchased anything through Chain Reaction Cycles recently, then I would suggest checking your statement very carefully for fraudulent transactions.

I recently had some fraudulent transactions on my bank account (debit card), including a couple of £2 transactions to T-Mobile, two £15 top ups to O2 and an attempted purchase at John Lewis for over £400. I was alerted to the latter by Barclays fraud detection.

First thing I did was to google "chain reaction cycles fraud", since I've only recently started using their site for purchases. Lo and behold there is a lot of discussion in various cycling forums saying similar things, although Chain Reaction are not admitting fault yet:

http://road.cc/content/forum/32203-chain-reaction-...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=168...

[Trevelyan]

I can back this up. I got a new credit card about six weeks ago. I'd only used it half a dozen times in the same supermarkets and petrol stations I've been using for years with no problem. I then used it once on line at Chain Reaction. Two days later I got a call from my card issuer's fraud department asking if I'd made a couple of transactions through Google checkout within the previous couple of minutes. I hadn't, and as a result my card has now been cancelled. I can't prove anything but it's hard to see where else my card details had been taken from...

[Rich_W]

Glad I used Wiggle recently instead. I was only as CRC didn't have one of the items I wanted (and I couldn't be arsed to do 2 separate orders) in stock that stopped me.

[JontyB]

Oh crap....just used them this morning...fingers crossed!

[davesmith84]

My card got done last week and I used them the week before. Noticed with a vodafone top up and im on O2. Though it might be a petrol station, didnt think of them.

[Arj256]

Ooh, thanks for the heads up.
Had been wondering how my credit card had been fraudulently used, and looking at the dates it would tie in with a CRC purchase.
Interesting that so many people have had issues to.

[Parrot of Doom]

I buy loads of things from them but always through Paypal, who send you an email for each transaction.

No problems here.

[boolay]

Bugger, used them a couple of weeks ago. Need to check CC statement. Thanks for the heads up.

[donfisher]

I bought a few bits from them on the 22nd and the 25th Feb. The last CRC payment was debited on 01/03 and 2x£15 O2 debits appeared on 02/03

It's lucky it was the start of the month and I was keeping an eye on things as I managed to cancel the card between the first transaction and the one where they empty your account. Got rid of my credit cards a while back so was foolishly using my debit card.

It's the first time I've ever had this kind of thing. Looks like it'll be back to using a CC for all on line transactions in the future.

As an aside, Barclays were very good about this. Card cancelled, new card recieved and debits cancelled in two days.

[frontbum]

Long thread on STW about this too. I was done for 2x£15 o2 top ups a day after buying from CRC

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/crc-se...

[donfisher]

frontbum said:

Long thread on STW about this too. I was done for 2x£15 o2 top ups a day after buying from CRC

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/crc-se...

It's quite amusing. Either the MD or someone posing as the MD of CRC's ecommerce partner registered and logged in to post on that to deny all knowledge and blamed us all for looking at too much grot.

[The Walrus]

Just be done and I knew about it, in hindsight I should have cancelled my card but I will get the money back so not to bothered if a little annoyed as I was doing the shopping tonight.

[craig_s]

Every cycling forum I've visited recently has had rather long threads about this. Almost everyone that's been done has started with small PAYG top ups to check the card is active, then the bigger payments come.

At first I thought it might be a bit unfair to be pointing the finger at CRC right away but it does seem to be too much of a coincidence considering the number of posts that are cropping up.

[Mr Whippy]

You can see why CC co's are wanting to use verified by visa type stuff now.

But how long till they get your password for that?


PayPal seems to have embraced web tech so much better, since if you are on the web, you have email, so notification of purchase via email makes sense for internet stuff!

Seems on the internet, their site is leaking data somewhere?

Dave

[tjdixon911]

Off to check my statements now...

[Accelebrate]

Just been back over my statements, used them in Jan and Feb, card details stored on their site, thankfully nothing suspicious afterwards.

[The Walrus]

i used them over 1 week ago and the fraudulent payment only just showed up today, it is up to you if you want to take the risk just keep checking.

[wades]

Thanks for the warning. Mrs. Wades used them last week to order some pedals for me... Bugger.

[Accelebrate]

Annoyingly I can't find anywhere to manage my stored card details on the site. Looks like it'll be other suppliers or PayPal from now on.

[The Walrus]

For info I did not have my cards stored and they still got me.