Have you received an unauthorized charge of $29.95 from Trackthevin on your credit or debit card? Beware! you’re a victim of a monthly subscription scam. This article shed a light on What Trackthevin is, why you’ve a charge from them, and how to cancel subscription/membership
What is Trackthevin?
Trackthevin or Track The Gene is a payment alias by scammers who operate a scam vehicle history report for $1 sites. These scammers have a bunch of websites; VinHistoryUSA.com, Vinhistorygo.com, Vehicleanalyze.com, autoextreamlab.com, etc. In the pay $1 checkout section they have a faint greyed section that says “$1 initial report $29.95 every 2 weeks” and they charge you $1 then moments later a second transaction for the $29.95
How The Trackthevin Scam Works
Promises Vehicle Report for $1
The scam starts with the scammers claiming to offer car history reports for just $1. Often times, they pretend to be a car buyer, then direct car sellers to the website to get the car history reports. If the seller refuses to get the report from the site, the scammers would insist it is a trusted site, and even compare it to Carfax.
Traps Customers With Its Professional Looking Website
The scammers set up the various websites to look authentic. The professional design and user friendliness of the website is just part of the scam to make people trust the site. 80% of vehicle owners who visit the site always complete the transaction as the website looks legit.
Sends Fake Vehicle Report or Nothing at all
In this part of the scam, the scammers have successfully gotten what they want – your money and credit card details. They either send fake Vehicle History Report that lacks sufficient data or nothing at all.
Steals Your Credit Card Info & Scams You
This is the awful part of the scam. Aside failing to deliver the vehicle report, the scammers steal people’s credit card and then proceed to charge them $29 monthly. Even to the extent of wiping out the entire money in people’s credit card.
Why are You Being Charged by Trackthevin?
You’re being charged by Trackthevin because you submitted your credit card details on a fraudulent website posing as a car history report site. The websites involve in this fraud are too numerous to mention; Vinhistoryusa.com, vinhistorygo.com, vehicleanalyze.com, etc.
The Payment aliases used by this scam are; TRACK THE GENE, TRACKTHATREPORT, TRACKTHEVIN,VINHISTORYUSA, etc.
How To Completely Stop Trackthevin Charge on Your Credit Card
Trackthevin has a contract with VISA so they’ll continue charging you even if you get a new credit card. The only way to outsmart the scammers is to do this –
- Call the bank and report the charges.
- Report your card stolen and ask the rep to stop account updater services when issuing a new card.
- There is one way to escape it – when you re-issue card (make a new one), you need to make it on the OTHER payment system. If old one was Visa, make Mastercard and vise versa. They do not update between different systems.
There’s something credit card companies use called the Automatic Account Updater Service, that keeps alive every subscription in old cards when new numbers are issued. They basically inform the merchants of changes in the account. It’s something “convenient” so that you don’t have to go back and change the numbers on all your apps. This is exploited by scammers that subscribe you to recurring charges on the card that you just lost.
Your card issuer has no right to insist that you ask the company taking the payment first. They have to stop account updater services if you ask them to.
What To Do If You’re a Victim of Credit Card Fraud:
Inform Your Credit Card Issuer
Immediately contact your bank and inform them of the fraudulent transaction. You could do this by either reporting the fraud in their app or on their website. If fraud is confirmed, the issuer will likely cancel that card and issue you a new one with different numbers.
Update Your Passwords and Enable Two Factor Authentication
The second step you should take is updating your passwords. Make sure you check all of your other credit card accounts to see if they’ve also been compromised. It’s important to note that, even though only one card may have suspicious charges, you can’t be sure how the fraudster got the information. So make sure you change all of your passwords and PINs just to be safe.
Report the Fraud To Relevant Authorities
Report the scam to relevant authorities and organizations. This includes:
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): If you are in the United States, you can file a complaint with the IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov/.
- Your Local Consumer Protection Agency: Contact your local consumer protection agency or the equivalent regulatory body in your country.
- Better Business Bureau (BBB): File a complaint with the BBB if the online store is based in the United States.
Ways To Prevent and Outsmart Credit Card Fraud
- Always Use Secure Websites. Whenever you’re entering your credit card info online, look for “https://” in the web address. The “s” means it’s a secure site.
- Stay Alert from Phishing: Don’t Click on Links in Suspicious emails.
- Keep your PIN and passwords super secret. If you must share them, change them after the person is done using them.
- Be careful with public Wi-Fi when making online purchases or bank transactions. It’s safer to use a secure network.
- After shopping or banking online, make sure to clear your browser’s cache. It helps keep your info safe.
- Sign up for fraud alerts with your credit card company or bank. They’ll notify you if something fishy happens with your account.
- Before tossing important papers, like bank statements, shred them or burn them to protect your info.
- If you notice your card missing, tell your bank or creditor ASAP. They can help secure your account.
Here’s How To Outsmart Vehicle Report Scammers Disguised as Car Buyers
- Go to one of the genuine agencies and purchase a report yourself. (You might pay as little as $10 and up to $50 for a detailed report)
- You can offer it as an incentive as part of your ad. (You’re more likely to attract serious buyers that way — and no scammer is likely to ask you for an alternative report)
Final Thoughts
If you’ve a $29.95 charge from trackthevin (trackthatcharge, VinHistoryUsa, TRACK THE GENE, etc) It means you’re a victim of an ongoing car history report scam. I have provided a guide on how to get a refund and completely stop the charge.
Beware of car buyers who insist that you get your vehicle report from a particular website. Meanwhile, if you’re thinking about using a vehicle history reporting company you don’t know, then check out their reputation online. Just use their name and words like “complaint” or “scam” in a browser search to see if anyone else has encountered problems with them.
See Also; 506 PBC charge on Credit Car