Internet identity fraud is very real. And I have just been hit for the second time. The first incident took place during senior year of college. I was charged $800 for a flight from Bumblef*ck, Africa to Europe. I took all the appropriate measures to resolve that charge, including filing fraud reports with the credit reporting companies and canceling my credit card. It was never quite clear on how that information was stolen, but probably from a minimally-secure, legitimate company I had bought something online from (because I'm obviously not stupid enough to click links in Nigerian Prince phishing scams).
This time around, I was charged 50 Euros through PayPal to a company called Betamax GmbH & Co.KG. I googled this company, and there is a plethora of complaints about them stealing from PayPal accounts. Apparently it is a real German VOIP company, but has a shady history in terms of fraudulent charges. I've gone through the appropriate measures of response, but I plan on canceling my PayPal account upon the resolution of this incident.
Common Since: Here is my word of warning - make your internet accounts as secure as possible. Even if you think they're secure, they may not be. Cancel any accounts you don't use frequently (like PayPal for me). The threats against my financial security on the internet have me more scared than I was of the Boogeyman when I was 4.
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