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A WOMAN has been left baffled after she was hit with unexpected Starbucks charges that were in the thousands of dollars.
Lisa Schwartz, from Colorado, was left stunned when she discovered the fees on her American Express credit card bill.
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Schwartz believes she was hacked after realizing that funds on her app were loaded several times a day, as reported by the Denver CBS affiliate KMGH-TV.
Receipts, seen by the network, showed items bought at locations as far as California.
She was charged with items bought from Starbucks coffeehouses in different states,
She has claimed the charges have reached $2,000.
Schwartz said she uses the auto-reload feature, which links the coffeehouse’s app to her credit card.
This allows shoppers to keep topping up their accounts.
Schwartz said she was hit with the charges – even though she doesn’t drink coffee.
“I usually get a chai latte,” she claimed.
Schwartz has been trying to get to the bottom of the issue.
She contacted Starbucks, and a representative reportedly told her it was a banking issue.
However, an American Express representative claimed it was a Starbucks problem.
An investigation is underway, and Schwartz said that she had been temporarily credited $550.
She received a letter and was told that if she didn’t hear from the company by February 16 of next year, then she could assume it had been resolved.
“We regret any inconvenience you may have experienced,” the letter concluded.
Bank tips for avoiding scams
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:
- Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
- Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
- Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
- Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
Following her ordeal, Schwartz warned others to keep a close eye on apps they enter their credit card details into.
“I don’t want other people to have this happen to them.”
The U.S. Sun has approached both American Express and Starbucks for comment.
Security experts have offered tips on how users can protect themselves when using apps to buy items.
This doesn’t just apply to coffee fanatics who love collecting Starbucks points.
Shoppers should use different passwords for their accounts.
Strong passwords are often combinations that are difficult to predict, and a mixture of characters is used.
They are also lengthy and don’t contain any personal information.
Cybersecurity expert Teresa Walsh from the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center has warned of the risks of using the same password.
“If one password becomes compromised, suddenly a cyber-criminal can potentially access the full spectrum of your financial information,” she told Bankrate.
She explained that it’s harder for cybercriminals to guess a 16-word password than an eight-character combination.
