What is the best way to report a hacker??

[Larryburford]

I spent most of yesterday doing damage control from a hacker. They got in my email, I think they did it somehow through Ebay. My Ebay account was hacked, and they changed the password and made fraudulent charges to my credit card and to my PayPal account. They also got on my Wal-Mart account and tried to order two things. I got all my cards canceled. I had to close my Ebay account that I have had for 25 years and also close my Wal-Mart account. I believe I have the person's name that did it. They had tried to send something to an address in Saint Mary's, Ohio and I found the address there and now I have a name. My question is where and who can I report this and would it do any good. If I lived anywhere close to Saint Mary's, OH I would be paying them a visit.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

I would definitely let Ebay and PayPal know.

 

[RoninPA]

You could call the St Mary's OH police (who whichever PD handles that town and report it and see what they say. Agree, pass the info on to eBay, PayPal and Wal-Mart fraud sections.

Edited to say: Also, as was brought up below (which I should have put that in the first time) also report it to your local PD and the FTC.

 

[eveled]

I would make a report to the local police in St Mary. They probably won’t do anything, but if they get multiple victims reporting it. They might.

 

[Larryburford]

I think I will call the St Marys police tomorrow to start with,

 

[kmoore]

You report that stuff to the PD in which you live. That helps the companies believe you're a victim and creates a paper trail. Give your PD the information you have about who you think did it. They can/should follow up and give leds to the agency that you have an address for. I would not hold out much hope the address and name you somehow found are real people or address.
The victims are the companies you listed they have departments dealing with that stuff. You should have contacted them right away.
Your job is to clear your name and credit. You do that by reporting it. The company's job is to investigate their loss and clear your name and credit.
Likely nothing will be done unless they have past knowledge of the people that did this to you. Before I retired in 2011, credit card and banks won't do much except document all the information they get from you until it becomes a loss in the thousands by one person (victim) or one crook.
Let's say the PD and credit company's find/arrest them, you likely will never know. By reporting the crime, you have recovered any loss. The credit card company's/ stores are the victims. They don't need you to go to court etc.

 

[GasGuzzler]

You report that stuff to the PD in which you live. That helps the companies believe you're a victim and creates a paper trail. Give your PD the information you have about who you think did it. They can/should follow up and give leds to the agency that you have an address for. I would not hold out much hope the address and name you somehow found are real people or address.

This is the intended process but not commonly not pursued in the least by your local police. Been there, done that. Never got a return call or an update from the detective assigned to my case. I investigated it myself and got a name and address in PA. Turned that over and still nothing. Bank used their insurance and got my money back but that's it.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Kmoore is spot on. I can't add much more. However, people don't understand how complex these type of investigations can be. It seems simple to them and they feel that if they get a "name or address" they solved it. Not even close. There are typically so many layers to this activity. The average Joe doesn't have the resources available to them to peel the layers back. I know....because I had hundreds of case files over the years. These cases suck because the average Joe thinks you are doing nothing. Evidence is often shared with many different investigators nation wide on the same case. Also received when you are part of another investigators case. Sometimes you get lucky with the small time BGs, such as those that install skim/scan devices at points of sale, or cashiers taking pics of cards/documents, etc... But the majority are very layered/complex and difficult to resolve. Typically once the credit account info is obtained, there is a purchase seconds later across the country. It can be very quick.

 

[Johnnu2]

Report fraud to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) here:

https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
J.

 

[hittman]

On a related note

Thread '~ Caution ~'

Jan 27, 2024

Members dodged a bullet yesterday with a scammer. This is the second time in recent months a long time member was hacked and impersonated here …. and on other forums. Many thanks to the members who pressed the "Report" button.

Your help is needed to avoid such things. Here's what you can do and should know.

~ Change your password often
~ Do not use the same password on more than one site
~ Use more difficult passwords that include upper case, lower case, numbers and symbols
~ Be wary of payments methods like Venmo, Zelle, PP F&F, etc
~ Use caution if a seller wants to communicate outside...

• hittman
• Replies: 20
• Forum: The Lounge

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