Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity
Thursday, February 9th, 2012 4:26PM CST
Categories: Press Releases, Collector's Club NewsPosted by: El Duque Views: 33,903
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Fun Publications has issued the following statement regarding recent suspicious activity on TFCC member's credit cards. Please read their statement below.
We have been receiving feedback that there has been a higher than
usual number of fraud complaints posted on online Transformers
forums.
While we have nothing to suggest that there was an issue with the TCC
and Fun Publications, we look into every concern that is sent to us. All
of your transactions are in a secure socket with the strongest encryption
available to any site on the web. If you have a specific concern about
any transaction with us, please use the “contact us” link located at the
bottom of the TCC page and provide us with as much information as
possible including:
1. The EXACT name of merchant as it is written on your statement.
2. Amount and date of suspect charge.
3. Bank your card is drawn on and if it is a debit or credit card.
4. Device and browser (and version) you used for your last payment
with us before you saw a fraudulent charge (ie, android phone,
computer, iphone, browser and version).
6. Were you on a public computer?
7. Were you on a public wi‐fi network?
8. If you were at home or work, what Internet provider did you use?
9. On your last transaction with us, did you receive any kind of error
message (card declined, 404 error, programming type error)? If you did
receive an error, how many times did you resubmit your information?
It is very difficult to track credit card fraud. With your help, we can see
if there are any parallels between those reporting an issue.
In order to better protect yourself, here are some guidelines:
Never log into a secure site from a public computer, public wi‐fi, or
through android/windows phones. Only use your mobile device on a
mobile app for transactions, never a browser. Turn off your bluetooth
and wi‐fi to prevent people from hacking your credit card information
from your phone/computer.
If you have a card that has an rfid chip, make sure your card is shielded
when not in use.
Always make sure you are using a secure socket (https://) for any login
that requires a password or a monetary transaction.
Never email your credit card information to anyone.
As should be common practice, on a regular basis, be sure to check your
statements and make note of any suspicious activity on your card. If you
see an unauthorized charge, turn it in to your bank or card company, the
charge will be reversed, they will issue a new card for you and the
security system in place will have done its job.
Please also take the time to read the attached article and research credit
card security. We are very aware that security concerns have risen
exponentially in the last couple years and we are doing our part to stay
ahead of the curve.
Can Hackers Destroy The Internet? - Forbes
Credit(s): Fun Publications
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Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345024)
Posted by craggy on February 9th, 2012 @ 4:47pm CST
Posted by craggy on February 9th, 2012 @ 4:47pm CST
whilst it's nice to see them making an effort now, those questions 
if you're the sort of person who puts in your credit card or bank details on a public, unsecured wireless network you're probably also the sort of person who doesn't realise that you're on a public unsecured wireless network in the first place.
if you're the sort of person who puts in your credit card or bank details on a public, unsecured wireless network you're probably also the sort of person who doesn't realise that you're on a public unsecured wireless network in the first place.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345029)
Posted by UltraPrimal on February 9th, 2012 @ 4:57pm CST
Posted by UltraPrimal on February 9th, 2012 @ 4:57pm CST
No. Sorry, FunPub. You are NOT Michael Bay. You can't get away with saying, "Oh it wasn't our fault. It was yours. You must have screwed up somewhere. It certainly wasn't us." Bullshit. It can't be a coincidence that so many people have been reporting credit card fraud after using their store. Especially considering they pulled in a different credit card processing service at the last minute because they saw that their usual one couldn't handle the load. Did they even research this other company? Probably not. They probably were like, "Oh shit! Our site's crashing! How are we going to get our money for these shitty toys? Quick! To Google! ... OK, folks. We're all good now. We've got this new credit card processing company. Apparently it's owned by a Nigerian prince. And you can always trust royalty right? Now let's flip the switch and watch our money roll in! Money, money, money!"
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345093)
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on February 9th, 2012 @ 6:56pm CST
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on February 9th, 2012 @ 6:56pm CST
I never knew not to use a mobile browser to make purchases, but I've never done that and I won't now. But it's worth a mention that FunPubs practices often lead people to use mobile browsers since it's the only browser they have access to, to register for the convention or pre-order exclusives.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345125)
Posted by Cyber Bishop on February 9th, 2012 @ 7:59pm CST
Posted by Cyber Bishop on February 9th, 2012 @ 7:59pm CST
They replied on FB after they pulled the other page down..
Customers with concerns over Credit/Debit card information theft can report their concerns to the TCC at 800-772-6673 or
817-448-9863. You and can also email us at admin2@funpubinc.com .
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345146)
Posted by Vicalliose on February 9th, 2012 @ 9:20pm CST
Actually it's the other way around from what I've gathered. The company which they switched away from was responsible for information being compromised. The company they are now using was suggested by site owner Seibertron, to the best of my knowledge.
Of course, I could be wrong. Was anybody hacked within a 24 hour period of the pre-orders going back up?
Posted by Vicalliose on February 9th, 2012 @ 9:20pm CST
UltraPrimal wrote:No. Sorry, FunPub. You are NOT Michael Bay. You can't get away with saying, "Oh it wasn't our fault. It was yours. You must have screwed up somewhere. It certainly wasn't us." Bullshit. It can't be a coincidence that so many people have been reporting credit card fraud after using their store. Especially considering they pulled in a different credit card processing service at the last minute because they saw that their usual one couldn't handle the load. Did they even research this other company? Probably not. They probably were like, "Oh shit! Our site's crashing! How are we going to get our money for these shitty toys? Quick! To Google! ... OK, folks. We're all good now. We've got this new credit card processing company. Apparently it's owned by a Nigerian prince. And you can always trust royalty right? Now let's flip the switch and watch our money roll in! Money, money, money!"
Actually it's the other way around from what I've gathered. The company which they switched away from was responsible for information being compromised. The company they are now using was suggested by site owner Seibertron, to the best of my knowledge.
Of course, I could be wrong. Was anybody hacked within a 24 hour period of the pre-orders going back up?
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345190)
Posted by Seibertron on February 9th, 2012 @ 11:21pm CST
Yes, some of Seibertron.com's staff members had accounts with fraudulent charges AFTER they placed an order on the new system.
If they went with Authorize.net, that's great. But that doesn't mean their site is secure. They have different plans and programs, they're just the credit card processor ... Authorize.net most likely didn't perform a security test of their website (which would most likely entail some kind of a service fee). The club store, or any e-commerce website that you use, could be storing credit card information locally in their database instead of passing it along to a company like Authorize.net who in turn provides you with a transaction ID or an approval number/message of some sort (I'd have to look at my code from some e-commerce sites from a few years ago) which you use locally on the website end to know that the card is valid and that the payment can go through. The only information that should be stored locally pertaining to a customer order is the shipping information, the billing address is fine, no CC card, no expiration date, no CID, and obviously information relevant to the customers cart/purchase/order/subscription.
We determined that Authorize.net's AIM API method was the best and most secure as it meant that we stored none of the credit card information locally. You can find out more information about how Authorize.net operates by reading about their different API's in the developer section of their website at http://developer.authorize.net/api/. You can see a discussion about the different payment processing methods at http://community.developer.authorize.net/t5/Integration-and-Testing/Which-method-to-use-AIM-SIM-CIM-DPM/m-p/16638#M9371.
Authorize.net's AIM API also required sites to be PCI (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant, which was something that I liked. One of the steps in order to be PCI compliant is no credit card information can be stored in the local database. This is to protect customers. I do not know one way or another if TCC stores credit card information in their order database. It is not up for them to disclose this information either (they shouldn't), but hopefully if they're not and if someone is reading this message they will take the steps necessary to correct that huge oversight.
More information about PCI compliance can be found at the links below:
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/merchants/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Card_Industry_Data_Security_Standard
Posted by Seibertron on February 9th, 2012 @ 11:21pm CST
Vicalliose wrote:UltraPrimal wrote:No. Sorry, FunPub. You are NOT Michael Bay. You can't get away with saying, "Oh it wasn't our fault. It was yours. You must have screwed up somewhere. It certainly wasn't us." Bullshit. It can't be a coincidence that so many people have been reporting credit card fraud after using their store. Especially considering they pulled in a different credit card processing service at the last minute because they saw that their usual one couldn't handle the load. Did they even research this other company? Probably not. They probably were like, "Oh shit! Our site's crashing! How are we going to get our money for these shitty toys? Quick! To Google! ... OK, folks. We're all good now. We've got this new credit card processing company. Apparently it's owned by a Nigerian prince. And you can always trust royalty right? Now let's flip the switch and watch our money roll in! Money, money, money!"
Actually it's the other way around from what I've gathered. The company which they switched away from was responsible for information being compromised. The company they are now using was suggested by site owner Seibertron, to the best of my knowledge.
Of course, I could be wrong. Was anybody hacked within a 24 hour period of the pre-orders going back up?
Yes, some of Seibertron.com's staff members had accounts with fraudulent charges AFTER they placed an order on the new system.
If they went with Authorize.net, that's great. But that doesn't mean their site is secure. They have different plans and programs, they're just the credit card processor ... Authorize.net most likely didn't perform a security test of their website (which would most likely entail some kind of a service fee). The club store, or any e-commerce website that you use, could be storing credit card information locally in their database instead of passing it along to a company like Authorize.net who in turn provides you with a transaction ID or an approval number/message of some sort (I'd have to look at my code from some e-commerce sites from a few years ago) which you use locally on the website end to know that the card is valid and that the payment can go through. The only information that should be stored locally pertaining to a customer order is the shipping information, the billing address is fine, no CC card, no expiration date, no CID, and obviously information relevant to the customers cart/purchase/order/subscription.
We determined that Authorize.net's AIM API method was the best and most secure as it meant that we stored none of the credit card information locally. You can find out more information about how Authorize.net operates by reading about their different API's in the developer section of their website at http://developer.authorize.net/api/. You can see a discussion about the different payment processing methods at http://community.developer.authorize.net/t5/Integration-and-Testing/Which-method-to-use-AIM-SIM-CIM-DPM/m-p/16638#M9371.
Authorize.net's AIM API also required sites to be PCI (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant, which was something that I liked. One of the steps in order to be PCI compliant is no credit card information can be stored in the local database. This is to protect customers. I do not know one way or another if TCC stores credit card information in their order database. It is not up for them to disclose this information either (they shouldn't), but hopefully if they're not and if someone is reading this message they will take the steps necessary to correct that huge oversight.
More information about PCI compliance can be found at the links below:
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/merchants/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Card_Industry_Data_Security_Standard
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345199)
Posted by Seibertron on February 9th, 2012 @ 11:47pm CST
Posted by Seibertron on February 9th, 2012 @ 11:47pm CST
Here's an error message I'm currently receiving on transformersclub.com's store. On the day I placed my order, I had the secure padlock to the left of the URL. Did some of you not have the secure padlock? I wonder what is prompting the warning message in Chrome? Hopefully the warning message in Chrome is an overstatement and is not related to all of these other supposed issues.
According to Google Support at https://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95617
And here's the same basic error message in Firefox, but way less dramatic than how Chrome states it.
According to Google Support at https://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95617
Google Support wrote:Your connection to the site
Google Chrome lets you know whether your connection is fully encrypted. If your connection is insecure, third parties might be able to view or tamper with the information you provide on the site.
Your connection to the site is encrypted, but Google Chrome has detected mixed scripting on the page. Be careful if you’re entering personal information on this page. Mixed scripting can provide a loophole for someone to take over the page. This content could be third-party scripts or videos embedded on the page.
If you’re connected to the Internet via a public wireless network, mixed scripting is especially risky because wireless networks are easier to tamper with than wired networks.
And here's the same basic error message in Firefox, but way less dramatic than how Chrome states it.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345229)
Posted by gavinfuzzy on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:54am CST
That is all i can say.
Seriously, for the kind of money these guys make, it seems like the site is runned by a team of 5 13-year-olds. Seems to be only 1 customer service agent responding to my questions, and even then it takes over a week to get their response. The site has insanely bad UI and design, and often has coding bugs. This is very disturbing, especially when we are trusting the site with our credit card information. Hasbro better do something about the TFCC division, its ruining the TF name.
Remember the infamous "We would pass on your comments to our marketing team?" Here's a new one from the TFCC Facebook : "I have passed all your suggestions on to the appropriate persons. That's all "I" can do."
Posted by gavinfuzzy on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:54am CST
That is all i can say.
Seriously, for the kind of money these guys make, it seems like the site is runned by a team of 5 13-year-olds. Seems to be only 1 customer service agent responding to my questions, and even then it takes over a week to get their response. The site has insanely bad UI and design, and often has coding bugs. This is very disturbing, especially when we are trusting the site with our credit card information. Hasbro better do something about the TFCC division, its ruining the TF name.
Remember the infamous "We would pass on your comments to our marketing team?" Here's a new one from the TFCC Facebook : "I have passed all your suggestions on to the appropriate persons. That's all "I" can do."
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345230)
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:59am CST
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:59am CST
What kills me is that for all the valid; well thought out and researched complaints, comments, and suggestions, no one will say a peep at Bot-Con
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345232)
Posted by gavinfuzzy on February 10th, 2012 @ 4:03am CST
I guess people are all having such a great time, all of a sudden, they don't blame funpub anymore. Then botcon ends, and people reflect on the amount they spent at botcon, then Funpub's being flammed again.
Posted by gavinfuzzy on February 10th, 2012 @ 4:03am CST
chuckdawg1999 wrote:What kills me is that for all the valid; well thought out and researched complaints, comments, and suggestions, no one will say a peep at Bot-Con
I guess people are all having such a great time, all of a sudden, they don't blame funpub anymore. Then botcon ends, and people reflect on the amount they spent at botcon, then Funpub's being flammed again.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345234)
Posted by Burn on February 10th, 2012 @ 4:14am CST
You're privy to their financials?
Posted by Burn on February 10th, 2012 @ 4:14am CST
gavinfuzzy wrote:Seriously, for the kind of money these guys make,
You're privy to their financials?
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345260)
Posted by KnightStrike on February 10th, 2012 @ 6:50am CST
Posted by KnightStrike on February 10th, 2012 @ 6:50am CST
I have to say I am glad I didn't sign up for TFCC now. I never joined before because I was never that interested in their exclusives, but classics versions of Runabout and Runamuck made me want to sign up. I debated it for a good while and was ready to sign up a few days ago, but then the news of the TF community getting hit with card fraud stopped me in my tracks, especially as it came to look like it is likely TFCC that was the source of the problem. I won't be signing up with TFCC at all now. As it stands, it looks like paying inflated eBay prices for the figures will be still be cheaper than running the risk of unauthorized card charges.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345267)
Posted by gavinfuzzy on February 10th, 2012 @ 7:54am CST
Ok, fine. Maybe they don't earn loads, but they should at least have a decent site, since they are dealing with our credit card information.
Posted by gavinfuzzy on February 10th, 2012 @ 7:54am CST
Burn wrote:gavinfuzzy wrote:Seriously, for the kind of money these guys make,
You're privy to their financials?
Ok, fine. Maybe they don't earn loads, but they should at least have a decent site, since they are dealing with our credit card information.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345269)
Posted by freetouch on February 10th, 2012 @ 8:01am CST
Posted by freetouch on February 10th, 2012 @ 8:01am CST
So... they are deleting comments off of their facebok page now.
They deleted mine where i said: You should really fix this problem before march 16th, because at this point, you are basically holding toys at ransom, for the cost of possible credit card theft.
They deleted mine where i said: You should really fix this problem before march 16th, because at this point, you are basically holding toys at ransom, for the cost of possible credit card theft.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345283)
Posted by F Prime on February 10th, 2012 @ 9:05am CST
Really? That is unfortunate. There are still plenty of negative comments....why do you think yours was singled out?
Posted by F Prime on February 10th, 2012 @ 9:05am CST
freetouch wrote:So... they are deleting comments off of their facebok page now.
They deleted mine where i said: You should really fix this problem before march 16th, because at this point, you are basically holding toys at ransom, for the cost of possible credit card theft.
Really? That is unfortunate. There are still plenty of negative comments....why do you think yours was singled out?
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345324)
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 10th, 2012 @ 10:42am CST
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 10th, 2012 @ 10:42am CST
My GF went to use the card today in a store keepin in mind it hasnt been used since paying for TCC and the card was declined
Then went to use the cash machine and the same happened so she poped in the bank to see what was wrong and there was a caution on the acount
At the bottom of the the statement dated 7th feb funpub had been taken out
2 days later on the 9th feb an unknown company name called M*TAKEMORE based in South Korea there had been fraudulant actions
So the bank got on the the fraud squad and things are been takin care of, just a heads up for anybody else as this only happend yesterday.
Then went to use the cash machine and the same happened so she poped in the bank to see what was wrong and there was a caution on the acount
At the bottom of the the statement dated 7th feb funpub had been taken out
2 days later on the 9th feb an unknown company name called M*TAKEMORE based in South Korea there had been fraudulant actions
So the bank got on the the fraud squad and things are been takin care of, just a heads up for anybody else as this only happend yesterday.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345408)
Posted by Burn on February 10th, 2012 @ 2:21pm CST
Posted by Burn on February 10th, 2012 @ 2:21pm CST
I spent the first five years subscribing to this club, and every year they had trouble with my card because their provider couldn't handle international cards properly.
After I got my crappy combiner I quit the club, didn't care. But Runabout and Runamuck ... do want. So I have to re-join, and if I do, I think i'm going to use a pre-paid credit card. Just not worth it after all this.
After I got my crappy combiner I quit the club, didn't care. But Runabout and Runamuck ... do want. So I have to re-join, and if I do, I think i'm going to use a pre-paid credit card. Just not worth it after all this.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345450)
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:49pm CST
Mate its not worth the hassel this is my first time joining TCC and the experience has been shit
Sweatin buckets for a couple of days incase i didnt get one then to pay through the roof for the bastard and then me card gets hit
Its a toy for gods sake some times a think av lost the plot in fact i know i have i get to obsessed collecting these transformers sometimes.
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:49pm CST
Burn wrote:I spent the first five years subscribing to this club, and every year they had trouble with my card because their provider couldn't handle international cards properly.
After I got my crappy combiner I quit the club, didn't care. But Runabout and Runamuck ... do want. So I have to re-join, and if I do, I think i'm going to use a pre-paid credit card. Just not worth it after all this.
Mate its not worth the hassel this is my first time joining TCC and the experience has been shit
Sweatin buckets for a couple of days incase i didnt get one then to pay through the roof for the bastard and then me card gets hit
Its a toy for gods sake some times a think av lost the plot in fact i know i have i get to obsessed collecting these transformers sometimes.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345451)
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:51pm CST
Mate its not worth the hassel this is my first time joining TCC and the experience has been shit
Sweatin buckets for a couple of days incase i didnt get one then to pay through the roof for the bastard and then me card gets hit
Its a toy for gods sake some times a think av lost the plot in fact i know i have just get to obsessed collecting these transformers sometimes.
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:51pm CST
Burn wrote:I spent the first five years subscribing to this club, and every year they had trouble with my card because their provider couldn't handle international cards properly.
After I got my crappy combiner I quit the club, didn't care. But Runabout and Runamuck ... do want. So I have to re-join, and if I do, I think i'm going to use a pre-paid credit card. Just not worth it after all this.
Mate its not worth the hassel this is my first time joining TCC and the experience has been shit
Sweatin buckets for a couple of days incase i didnt get one then to pay through the roof for the bastard and then me card gets hit
Its a toy for gods sake some times a think av lost the plot in fact i know i have just get to obsessed collecting these transformers sometimes.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345452)
Posted by F Prime on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:53pm CST
Posted by F Prime on February 10th, 2012 @ 3:53pm CST
It sucks that so many people have had such negative interactions. I joined the club on day 1 and have had no regrets. I love the figures, I love the bi-monthly "magazine", and the club-only figures I have purchased have been top notch with little to no hassle in purchasing.
I realize I am in the minority and I am in no way trying to dismiss peoples' negative experiences, but despite the problems I will still be a member of TFCC for the foreseeable future.
I realize I am in the minority and I am in no way trying to dismiss peoples' negative experiences, but despite the problems I will still be a member of TFCC for the foreseeable future.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345510)
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 10th, 2012 @ 6:26pm CST
Im over the moon i got the figures but i cant help feel it was a bit of a pain in the arse then to have fraudulant activity, youve got to think for a moment is it worth doing again and at the moment no its not its gonna have to be something out of this world unmissable next year for me to get excited
This shit shouldnt happen over a toy its pathetic.
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 10th, 2012 @ 6:26pm CST
F Prime wrote:It sucks that so many people have had such negative interactions. I joined the club on day 1 and have had no regrets. I love the figures, I love the bi-monthly "magazine", and the club-only figures I have purchased have been top notch with little to no hassle in purchasing.
I realize I am in the minority and I am in no way trying to dismiss peoples' negative experiences, but despite the problems I will still be a member of TFCC for the foreseeable future.
Im over the moon i got the figures but i cant help feel it was a bit of a pain in the arse then to have fraudulant activity, youve got to think for a moment is it worth doing again and at the moment no its not its gonna have to be something out of this world unmissable next year for me to get excited
This shit shouldnt happen over a toy its pathetic.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345540)
Posted by Vicalliose on February 10th, 2012 @ 7:57pm CST
Posted by Vicalliose on February 10th, 2012 @ 7:57pm CST
Just received a call from my CC company. And wouldn't you know it, a few small charges in other states and one $48 charge in some other country.
Ah, I see. There for a minute I was worried it may be BBTS at fault. Though their CC processor could still could be at fault in some cases, but this definitely tells me it was TFCC's fault that this happened to me. Forget my membership, I'll be getting Runamuck through ebay or BBTS.
F**k you TFCC. F**k you for keeps.
As for everything else. I've cancelled my old card and am having a new one expressed to me. But I think I'll look into getting a prepaid card set up for any hobby related pre-orders in the future.
Seibertron wrote:Here's an error message I'm currently receiving on transformersclub.com's store. On the day I placed my order, I had the secure padlock to the left of the URL. Did some of you not have the secure padlock? I wonder what is prompting the warning message in Chrome? Hopefully the warning message in Chrome is an overstatement and is not related to all of these other supposed issues.
Ah, I see. There for a minute I was worried it may be BBTS at fault. Though their CC processor could still could be at fault in some cases, but this definitely tells me it was TFCC's fault that this happened to me. Forget my membership, I'll be getting Runamuck through ebay or BBTS.
F**k you TFCC. F**k you for keeps.
As for everything else. I've cancelled my old card and am having a new one expressed to me. But I think I'll look into getting a prepaid card set up for any hobby related pre-orders in the future.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1345670)
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 11th, 2012 @ 9:38am CST
I know how ya feel am in the same boat we had to cancel our card to, so no cash for a couple of days. TCC should be ashamed and you know what the worst thing is they dont give a f*ck!
Posted by Genocide G2.0 on February 11th, 2012 @ 9:38am CST
Vicalliose wrote:Just received a call from my CC company. And wouldn't you know it, a few small charges in other states and one $48 charge in some other country.Seibertron wrote:Here's an error message I'm currently receiving on transformersclub.com's store. On the day I placed my order, I had the secure padlock to the left of the URL. Did some of you not have the secure padlock? I wonder what is prompting the warning message in Chrome? Hopefully the warning message in Chrome is an overstatement and is not related to all of these other supposed issues.
Ah, I see. There for a minute I was worried it may be BBTS at fault. Though their CC processor could still could be at fault in some cases, but this definitely tells me it was TFCC's fault that this happened to me. Forget my membership, I'll be getting Runamuck through ebay or BBTS.
F**k you TFCC. F**k you for keeps.
As for everything else. I've cancelled my old card and am having a new one expressed to me. But I think I'll look into getting a prepaid card set up for any hobby related pre-orders in the future.
I know how ya feel am in the same boat we had to cancel our card to, so no cash for a couple of days. TCC should be ashamed and you know what the worst thing is they dont give a f*ck!
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1346697)
Posted by Diem on February 13th, 2012 @ 10:45am CST
Posted by Diem on February 13th, 2012 @ 10:45am CST
You can add me to the list, some joker tried to shop from Best Buy on the other side of the country with my card.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1347687)
Posted by xRotorstormx on February 15th, 2012 @ 12:16pm CST
Posted by xRotorstormx on February 15th, 2012 @ 12:16pm CST
I just logged into my bank account and had 4 charges from England and Canada for almost $300 
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1347718)
Posted by Maldroth on February 15th, 2012 @ 1:47pm CST
Posted by Maldroth on February 15th, 2012 @ 1:47pm CST
I also have some fraudulent charges and had to open a police report. It looks like TFCC is collecting information on the issue if you contact them.
Looks like I'm going to have to create temporary CC numbers from my bank when working with TFCC, they don't know how or what was comprimised. That does not leave me confident in giving them more of my money.
Looks like I'm going to have to create temporary CC numbers from my bank when working with TFCC, they don't know how or what was comprimised. That does not leave me confident in giving them more of my money.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1347737)
Posted by xRotorstormx on February 15th, 2012 @ 2:23pm CST
Posted by xRotorstormx on February 15th, 2012 @ 2:23pm CST
I just contacted the TFCC. As annoyed as I am about this whole situation, I'd like to help them fix this.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348156)
Posted by faustx on February 16th, 2012 @ 1:21pm CST
Posted by faustx on February 16th, 2012 @ 1:21pm CST
Hey all,
We really need to be doing more to raise an outcry at how this situation is being handled by the TFCC. I've spent more than 10 years in web development and this whole thing reeks of irresponsible web site management.
Let's review the facts:
1) For more than 2 weeks the TFCC has been aware that their system is compromised.
2) As early as today members continue to have their cards stolen.
3) Just to be sure I personally used a card I never use and sure enough this morning I got the call from the fraud department at my bank outlining the multiple charges the thieves tried to bill to my card the day after Fun Publications processed my order.
There is only one solution when you know your site is not secure:
TAKE IT OFFLINE! THIS SITE SHOULD NOT BE LIVE RIGHT NOW!
Seriously, I cannot begin to express how irresponsible it is to keep taking orders when there is so obviously a clear and present problem. This is especially annoying to me because at least three times over the years I have offered to redesign/fix the site for them and bring it into the 21st century. There are plenty of us on these boards that could do so at reasonable cost and do it right.
The bottom line is that until they fix this NONE of us should be placing orders. If you do, be prepared, your card is almost certain to be stolen.
Note to the editor: This topic should be bumped to the top of the news page IMHO, this is not a coincidence anymore, it is a certainty.
We really need to be doing more to raise an outcry at how this situation is being handled by the TFCC. I've spent more than 10 years in web development and this whole thing reeks of irresponsible web site management.
Let's review the facts:
1) For more than 2 weeks the TFCC has been aware that their system is compromised.
2) As early as today members continue to have their cards stolen.
3) Just to be sure I personally used a card I never use and sure enough this morning I got the call from the fraud department at my bank outlining the multiple charges the thieves tried to bill to my card the day after Fun Publications processed my order.
There is only one solution when you know your site is not secure:
TAKE IT OFFLINE! THIS SITE SHOULD NOT BE LIVE RIGHT NOW!
Seriously, I cannot begin to express how irresponsible it is to keep taking orders when there is so obviously a clear and present problem. This is especially annoying to me because at least three times over the years I have offered to redesign/fix the site for them and bring it into the 21st century. There are plenty of us on these boards that could do so at reasonable cost and do it right.
The bottom line is that until they fix this NONE of us should be placing orders. If you do, be prepared, your card is almost certain to be stolen.
Note to the editor: This topic should be bumped to the top of the news page IMHO, this is not a coincidence anymore, it is a certainty.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348167)
Posted by KnightStrike on February 16th, 2012 @ 1:37pm CST
Posted by KnightStrike on February 16th, 2012 @ 1:37pm CST
More I read about this the more I feel like I dodged a bullet by waiting to join TFCC. Once this started happening I decided not to even risk it. I just feel bad for all the people on here who are having to go through this.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348179)
Posted by F Prime on February 16th, 2012 @ 1:58pm CST
Posted by F Prime on February 16th, 2012 @ 1:58pm CST
Beyond this being a pain in the ass, has anyone really been screwed over (meaning, has anyone had charges put on that the credit card would not remove or fought about removing)? When this happens to me I usually get a phone call and they just remove the charges. Maybe I am lucky, though.
And to be clear, even if it is easy to remove the charges no one should have to worry about that when purchasing online from TFCC.
And to be clear, even if it is easy to remove the charges no one should have to worry about that when purchasing online from TFCC.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348206)
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on February 16th, 2012 @ 2:50pm CST
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on February 16th, 2012 @ 2:50pm CST
My membership expires March 4th and I'm trying to figure out how to renew without getting screwed on the card end.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348218)
Posted by faustx on February 16th, 2012 @ 3:23pm CST
Posted by faustx on February 16th, 2012 @ 3:23pm CST
No way of knowing since they still haven't figured out what is wrong or even admitted that anything is. I would call the office, complain, refuse to provide your card info and ask to be put on a list to be processed once the situation details come to light.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348224)
Posted by F Prime on February 16th, 2012 @ 3:30pm CST
Your credit card has not admitted anything is wrong? Best of luck....it is super tricky when your card is not on your side.
Posted by F Prime on February 16th, 2012 @ 3:30pm CST
faustx wrote:No way of knowing since they still haven't figured out what is wrong or even admitted that anything is. I would call the office, complain, refuse to provide your card info and ask to be put on a list to be processed once the situation details come to light.
Your credit card has not admitted anything is wrong? Best of luck....it is super tricky when your card is not on your side.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348225)
Posted by faustx on February 16th, 2012 @ 3:32pm CST
Posted by faustx on February 16th, 2012 @ 3:32pm CST
No, you misunderstood, I was responding to the guy above about how to renew. It's TFCC I said won't admit anything is wrong.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348237)
Posted by F Prime on February 16th, 2012 @ 4:13pm CST
Gotcha. They know something is wrong but they are being obtuse about it saying "While we have nothing to suggest that there was or is an issue with the TCC, we look into every concern that is sent to us"....which is not very helpful.
They are a little more open about it on their Facebook page (trusting that the Transformers Collector's Club (Official) is actually them). Essentially, they say they are confused about what is happening, that they are trying to figure out how to proceed, and that they welcome comments.
The most they said about the delayed contacting of members was this on February 10: " Brian Savage has been out of office for the past two days dealing with the estate of his late parents, both of whom passed away in 2011. Brian is the person who sends the mass emails from the Club. We are addressing this today now that he is back in the office. This situation has only existed for a few days and we have been trying to address it without making too many missteps due to a lack of information. This is a difficult time and we appreciate your patience. We highly value our members and hope that over the years we have built up enough trust, that when there is a potential problem, you will stand with us while we weather the storm."
And as for "taking the blame" they had this to say: "Yes, at the heart of this, someone out there is stealing from good people and casting aspersions on the Club. The members are not to blame and the Club is not to blame. There is a culprit SOMEWHERE who is making all our lives difficult. We REALLY appreciate your help as we try to help this situation come to a conclusion as soon as possible. The reason we are asking for fraud details is to look for anything common that might indicate or dismiss a possible problem. So far, we have found nothing that shows where any card information could have been compromised, but we are still investigating. This is a process and we take this situation VERY seriously. Together, we can beat this. Thank you."
*Again, this is assuming that this FB page is really from the TFCC......
Posted by F Prime on February 16th, 2012 @ 4:13pm CST
faustx wrote:No, you misunderstood, I was responding to the guy above about how to renew. It's TFCC I said won't admit anything is wrong.
Gotcha. They know something is wrong but they are being obtuse about it saying "While we have nothing to suggest that there was or is an issue with the TCC, we look into every concern that is sent to us"....which is not very helpful.
They are a little more open about it on their Facebook page (trusting that the Transformers Collector's Club (Official) is actually them). Essentially, they say they are confused about what is happening, that they are trying to figure out how to proceed, and that they welcome comments.
The most they said about the delayed contacting of members was this on February 10: " Brian Savage has been out of office for the past two days dealing with the estate of his late parents, both of whom passed away in 2011. Brian is the person who sends the mass emails from the Club. We are addressing this today now that he is back in the office. This situation has only existed for a few days and we have been trying to address it without making too many missteps due to a lack of information. This is a difficult time and we appreciate your patience. We highly value our members and hope that over the years we have built up enough trust, that when there is a potential problem, you will stand with us while we weather the storm."
And as for "taking the blame" they had this to say: "Yes, at the heart of this, someone out there is stealing from good people and casting aspersions on the Club. The members are not to blame and the Club is not to blame. There is a culprit SOMEWHERE who is making all our lives difficult. We REALLY appreciate your help as we try to help this situation come to a conclusion as soon as possible. The reason we are asking for fraud details is to look for anything common that might indicate or dismiss a possible problem. So far, we have found nothing that shows where any card information could have been compromised, but we are still investigating. This is a process and we take this situation VERY seriously. Together, we can beat this. Thank you."
*Again, this is assuming that this FB page is really from the TFCC......
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348248)
Posted by xRotorstormx on February 16th, 2012 @ 4:43pm CST
Nope, It was a pain in the butt just for the fact that my bank is back in CT but i just got the one piece of paper they needed and I should have a new card and all the money put back into my account within the next week or two.
It stinks but I don't think its something to get extremely worked up about, you're right, at least they were charges that you know had not been authorized and the CC company was fighting you on it. It would have been a lot worse if the company had refused to fix it.
Posted by xRotorstormx on February 16th, 2012 @ 4:43pm CST
F Prime wrote:Beyond this being a pain in the ass, has anyone really been screwed over (meaning, has anyone had charges put on that the credit card would not remove or fought about removing)? When this happens to me I usually get a phone call and they just remove the charges. Maybe I am lucky, though.
And to be clear, even if it is easy to remove the charges no one should have to worry about that when purchasing online from TFCC.
Nope, It was a pain in the butt just for the fact that my bank is back in CT but i just got the one piece of paper they needed and I should have a new card and all the money put back into my account within the next week or two.
It stinks but I don't think its something to get extremely worked up about, you're right, at least they were charges that you know had not been authorized and the CC company was fighting you on it. It would have been a lot worse if the company had refused to fix it.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348502)
Posted by Prime Evil on February 17th, 2012 @ 10:21am CST
Posted by Prime Evil on February 17th, 2012 @ 10:21am CST
I just got hit today. I was part of the 2nd batch of orders. I was hit with a Walmart purchase for $452.91 and something for Kaenon Polarize in the amount of $23.19. On the phone with my bank's security service now. Just gonna have them decline the purchase. I work at where I bank so I can just generate and make my new card once I'm off the phone. I'll have a new card in hand in 5 minutes.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348521)
Posted by Delicon on February 17th, 2012 @ 11:19am CST
You are lucky, my friend. Well, lucky in the sense that you were unlucky but then lucky. A lot of people were just plain unlucky. What was I saying again?
Anyway, I am 100% sure that the Club wasn't behind trying to rip anyone off, but the way they have been dealing with the aftermath is still extremely crappy.
Posted by Delicon on February 17th, 2012 @ 11:19am CST
Prime Evil wrote:I just got hit today. I was part of the 2nd batch of orders. I was hit with a Walmart purchase for $452.91 and something for Kaenon Polarize in the amount of $23.19. On the phone with my bank's security service now. Just gonna have them decline the purchase. I work at where I bank so I can just generate and make my new card once I'm off the phone. I'll have a new card in hand in 5 minutes.
You are lucky, my friend. Well, lucky in the sense that you were unlucky but then lucky. A lot of people were just plain unlucky. What was I saying again?
Anyway, I am 100% sure that the Club wasn't behind trying to rip anyone off, but the way they have been dealing with the aftermath is still extremely crappy.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348966)
Posted by joevill on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:01pm CST
Posted by joevill on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:01pm CST
I just got a call from my credit card company letting me know I have $1,086.81 in fraudulent charges that just went through this weekend. They denied the $874.51 for www.walmart.com but the $212.30 for www.kaenon.com went through. This is the credit card I use for... the
www.transformersclub.com
www.transformersclub.com
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348967)
Posted by Delicon on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:09pm CST
Didn't you hear what the TCC said? It's not their fault, silly you!
Posted by Delicon on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:09pm CST
joevill wrote:I just got a call from my credit card company letting me know I have $1,086.81 in fraudulent charges that just went through this weekend. They denied the $874.51 for http://www.walmart.com?wmlspartner=FYAGeMjDX6c&=&affs=p&wid=5b6b4213e4b0bcb699adeb9f&u1=&oid=223073.10006940&sourceid=37141976172661509211&affillinktype=3&veh=aff but the $212.30 for http://www.kaenon.com went through. This is the credit card I use for... the
http://www.transformersclub.com
Didn't you hear what the TCC said? It's not their fault, silly you!
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348968)
Posted by joevill on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:10pm CST
That's right... it is my own fault.
Posted by joevill on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:10pm CST
Delicon wrote:joevill wrote:I just got a call from my credit card company letting me know I have $1,086.81 in fraudulent charges that just went through this weekend. They denied the $874.51 for http://www.walmart.com?wmlspartner=FYAGeMjDX6c&=&affs=p&wid=5b6b4213e4b0bcb699adeb9f&u1=&oid=223073.10006940&sourceid=37141976172661509211&affillinktype=3&veh=aff but the $212.30 for http://www.kaenon.com went through. This is the credit card I use for... the
http://www.transformersclub.com
Didn't you hear what the TCC said? It's not their fault, silly you!
That's right... it is my own fault.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348970)
Posted by joevill on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:15pm CST
Posted by joevill on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:15pm CST
Delicon,
Don't you think it is very interesting that me and Prime Evil have fraudulent charges from the same two online stores?
Don't you think it is very interesting that me and Prime Evil have fraudulent charges from the same two online stores?
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348971)
Posted by Delicon on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:24pm CST
Obviously some very bad stuff is going on here.
Posted by Delicon on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:24pm CST
joevill wrote:Delicon,
Don't you think it is very interesting that me and Prime Evil have fraudulent charges from the same two online stores?
Obviously some very bad stuff is going on here.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348973)
Posted by Prime Evil on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:40pm CST
Posted by Prime Evil on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:40pm CST
Oh, I think our card info was compromised when initially ordering from the club store. I tried over and over again. So I think that's when it happened. And yes, I definitely think this all happened during the club toy order. Joe and I don't shop anywhere similar other then BBTS and the club store. BBTS doesn't have the card info that was compromised. And I only pay them via paypal. The card I used to hold preorders is a different card.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348974)
Posted by joevill on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:43pm CST
I checked the club forums to see if there was a thread on this topic but did not see one. Interesting...
Posted by joevill on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:43pm CST
Prime Evil wrote:Oh, I think our card info was compromised when initially ordering from the club store. I tried over and over again. So I think that's when it happened. And yes, I definitely think this all happened during the club toy order. Joe and I don't shop anywhere similar other then BBTS and the club store. BBTS doesn't have the card info that was compromised. And I only pay them via paypal. The card I used to hold preorders is a different card.
I checked the club forums to see if there was a thread on this topic but did not see one. Interesting...
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1348978)
Posted by Prime Evil on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:53pm CST
It's how they do "Damage Control"
Posted by Prime Evil on February 18th, 2012 @ 4:53pm CST
joevill wrote:Prime Evil wrote:Oh, I think our card info was compromised when initially ordering from the club store. I tried over and over again. So I think that's when it happened. And yes, I definitely think this all happened during the club toy order. Joe and I don't shop anywhere similar other then BBTS and the club store. BBTS doesn't have the card info that was compromised. And I only pay them via paypal. The card I used to hold preorders is a different card.
I checked the club forums to see if there was a thread on this topic but did not see one. Interesting...
It's how they do "Damage Control"
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1349603)
Posted by mooncake623 on February 20th, 2012 @ 1:06pm CST
Posted by mooncake623 on February 20th, 2012 @ 1:06pm CST
Just ordered the Botcon set yesterday. And today i got informed by Chase that there was a fraudulent activity in my account. this is what I got from Chase
"Transaction for $89.95 at RKNETHELP.COM was declined on or around 02/20/2012 in MIAMI BEACH, FL United States."
It is observably TFCC that is being hacked.. literally ordered last night and got that message this morning.....
"Transaction for $89.95 at RKNETHELP.COM was declined on or around 02/20/2012 in MIAMI BEACH, FL United States."
It is observably TFCC that is being hacked.. literally ordered last night and got that message this morning.....
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1349838)
Posted by Geoff on February 21st, 2012 @ 6:04am CST
Posted by Geoff on February 21st, 2012 @ 6:04am CST
heads up! my credit card has just been cleaned to the tune of near £3000 with the first unauthorised transaction happening 17th february so we are still not out of the woods as far as fraudulent activity is concerned.
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1350023)
Posted by Counterpunch on February 21st, 2012 @ 3:10pm CST
Posted by Counterpunch on February 21st, 2012 @ 3:10pm CST
People are still getting hit as they update their club memberships.
Shameful
Shameful
Re: Fun Publications Statement Regarding Recent Suspicious Credit Card Activity (1350025)
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on February 21st, 2012 @ 3:13pm CST
I'm going to transfer the money to pay pal use my pay pal debit card and call them to renew.
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on February 21st, 2012 @ 3:13pm CST
Counterpunch wrote:People are still getting hit as they update their club memberships.
Shameful
I'm going to transfer the money to pay pal use my pay pal debit card and call them to renew.
