mine was VISA.  ne1 else have VISA? no not a citivbank user so that can't b the connection

Same here, for $9.75. Are we all Citibank credit card customers?

I only use this card for one thing, for Equifax account protection (not much protection in this case). Does anyone else have an auto charge for any of the 3 (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian)Credit watch companies? I don't use my card for anything else, except to pay it off.

I can not believe i am not the only one that had this card of my credit card statement.  The bank gave me my money back, and i know it is onlt $9.80, but i just had no idea what it was and now that i have reported it is written down as a fraud.  I think it might have been my brief account on PayPay but i am not sure.

My bank account was charged $9.80 from this company. I filed a dispute & my bank canceled my debit card. When you call the phone number, you get a recording immediately saying "Welcome! We are sorry, no one is available right now. Leave a detailed message & we will return your call soon."

We received a charge on 2-15-08 of $9.75 from the Esta Esta company. I googled the company and they are some Entertainment company in New York. The bank gave me the number 1-866-593-6235. When I called it there is no information, but to leave a message.... I also have a suspicious charge on 2-14-08 from Cmx Productions for $39.09. Neither are something I charged.

I had the same charges to my account on the same day I disputed other scam charges from TLC*GREATEN-  a company I NEVER EVER joined....they had been charging me 11.99 since SEPTEMBER- what a scam.. they could not even tell me what "rebate" I authorized which joined me up to there club (first month free).

I canceled my card but now have no way to get reimbursed from this scam..

Noticed a $9.80 cahrge on 16-Feb. from ESTA 1-866-593-6235. Had bank reverse charge. scam.........

I had the same fricking charge on my credit card. I called the credit card company and they will remove it from my account. I was told to monitor my account to see if any other unauthorized charges appear. She said it was manually keyed in. It showed as an advertising agency.

I also found the same charge ($9.85) on my credit card with the phoone number 866-593-6235. I usually keep careful records so this seemed odd so I googled the phone number and found this site. Thank you to whoever created this website! I called my credit card company and the cancelled my card. What a great big hassle to have to change all of my automatic bill payments but better than getting hit with more charges in the future. I really hope the credit card companies can get it together to shut down this operation.

was charged on 2/15. the only unusual credit card charge I've had recently or  was some check your credit score pop up which I didn't know I signed up for when reading into it so be careful bc I think that's where it came frm bc I use the same charges on that card routinely. is ne1 else enrolled in credit score checking websites?

Bullsh*t Scam! Call your credit card company and dispute!

Same charge on a credit union issued VISA,  no Citibank or Equifax. We canceled our card as all should do... if someone has your account number, there is no telling what they will try with it next. Worth any hassles to be safe.

Same thing except charge was $9.75 on a Visa debit account. Think about how much money these jerks can make on this scam if they get about $10 from hundreds of people. I never use this account so I can't imagine how the number would get out. Very scary. Everyone needs to check their bank and credit card accounts often. Protect yourselves!

$9.85 charged under ESTA for 866-593-6235 NY - called and got it removed from card...so glad I googled this number - obviously a scam...cancelled card to be on the safe side.  Same message as previously reported - "Welcome! We are sorry, no one is available right now. Leave a detailed message & we will return your call soon."

Same story as all the others - saw the charge, called the credit card company - Citi, got the charge removed. Citi does not want to pursue this scam as they feel the charged amount is too small for them to waste any more money and time on this.

Same thing. Citibank account showed a charge of $9.75 by ESTA. Called Citibank; they suggested I should call the vendor number and find out what it was about. I said I couldn't reach the number but the amount wasn't authorized, so they called themselves. Said they got an answering machine asking to leave a message. I said they should follow up on this. They said they would put a note in my account file regarding the issue. I have no clue why Citibank didn't send an internal alert to all their employees if this isn't the first time it happened to one of their accounts, judging from all the entries here. Bogus charge? This is fraud.

I never recieved a phone call (caller ID went back approx 20 days).  I received a $9.75 charge on my Bank of America card posted Feb 12 2008.  Called my credit card co. and they told me that it was an "advertising agency".  I called the number March 1st and it is no longer in service.  The charge appears on my statement as ESTA  8665936235  NY.

DITO!!!  FALSE CHARGE ON MY ACCOUNT TOO!  CALL YOUR CREDIT CARD CO. TO DISPUTE.

Same thing for us but at $9.75 on 1/26/08.  Thank you for this forum.

same story here, i wonder how many people don't check there credit card statement or online info, and how much these low bred scum-bags are getting away with.

I too have been charged $9.80 on my charge card. My bank has had to close the account and I loose access while they issue a new card.  I wonder what we have in common or how we were targeted.

Thanks to this site I have been able to provide this as proof to my bank that it is a bogus charge.

I checked my credit card statement online and noticed a charge for $9.85. It showed Esta and a location of New York and a phone number 1-866-593-6235. I contacted my credit card company and they tried to reach that number and were unsuccessful. They promptly removed the charge from my account.

Same thing.  A charge for 9.80 (I must have gotten a discount!)  Called and got a creepy message on the other end

I didn't get a call - just a charge of $9.85 for Esta.  My bank said it showed Esta was a advertising service. Glad to hear it was a scam and I didn't let it go.

Ditto. Credit Card Statement online showed a $9.80 charge by Esta. Bank said it was for advertising service. NOT! In process of removing charge. The charge as dated 18Jan08. At that time, I google the number and there was nothing found. Google today and found this page. Thank You!

Appears as "ESTA 8665936235 NY" on my credit card statement.  Date of charge was 01/27/08.  I have no idea what it is or where it came from.  I will dispute with credit card company.

My account showed a 1/27/08 transaction for $9.75 from ESTA 866 593 6235 NY Trace #286270.  Tried calling and no answer.  I have already contacted my credit union.  I will dispute with VISA.

Same here, I noticed a charge added on 01-06-2008. I'm going to dispute and find who owns the charge then do the normal BBB + FTC + state attorney general complaints too. I'm going to try to find out who this company is. Everyone else who has any information please post it too.

I am with ESTA, a non-profit Association in New York City.  We are NOT in any way connected with this scam.  We found out about it because we have received phone calls from several of you.  We contacted our credit card company and they confirmed that these charges are not coming from us and the money is not being deposited into our account.  We don’t know if the scammers are using our name on purpose or if it is just a coincidence. Unfortunately, there is nothing that they can do to stop the fraud.  They told us the only way to try and stop this from happening is for you to call your credit card company and request the merchant number of the company processing the charge.  If we have the merchant number, then our credit card company can try to find out who is behind it or you can ask your credit card company to do so.  If any of you are willing to try and get that merchant number, we would be most appreciative.  I can be reached at 212-244-1505.