its not just the elderly, they just took 298 from my bank acct under the same name. im 28 so no one is immune to it ive filed numerous reports to the attorney general, the fbi, local law enforcement, and the bank, ive had to close all my accts due to all of my bills bouncing because of them and another company called dss that took 400 two weeks ago

This group must be an elder fraud company targeting older people.  They just hit my retired 86 year old secretary at her Sun Trust bank account for $298 under the name PS PREVENTION SERVICES with the listed phone number of 1-800-221-2595.  Anyone know who we report this to?  FBI?  Secret Service?

My elderly aunt has been hit with this problem also - twice!!  Once last November and again this year, I think in January.  One time for $298, the other for $299.  

She only recently noticed the strange charges on her checking account, "PS PREVENTION SERVICES" and "TAM BENEFITS" the other (I could be wrong on some of this - I am coming into this now trying to sort out exactly what is what.  Something called "Payment Systems" may also be involved).  

Her bank (Wachovia/Wells Fargo) at first seemed like they would do nothing but *supposedly* now they promised to refund her money (after she threatened to withdraw all her money).  

I am trying to research this fraud now to figure out how her account was hit so she can avoid it in the future.  

I want to mention the following about her case in case this might help anyone else:

(1) She DID receive a phone call from "ID SAFE USA" trying to sell her credit reports/identity protection but she says she told them she wasn't interested because she already is signed up for something called "IDENTITY GUARD".  I never heard of IG but she insists it is legit, although at this point I am suspicious of it.  

(2) A few weeks after the ID SAFE USA phone call she received a letter in the mail congratulating her on joining ID SAFE (despite the fact that she had NOT JOINED).  The letter was mailed from CANADA (!!!) yet had a return address on it from New York of ID SAFE USA, 1176A Main St. #633, Champlain, NY 12919 (probably fake?), and had a phone number for customer service of 1-800-305-7420.  The letter had an "information sheet" attached where they were specifically asking her for more personal information for her enrollment such as name/address/phone/date of birth/emergency contact information. Thankfully she had the sense to NOT fill any of that out and send it back.

They were probably trying to get her d.o.b. to be able to rob her further????  They already had her name/addy/phone though, and obviously enough info to get into her checking account!!!!!

(3) She then called the 1-800# in the letter to tell them she did not want their "service".  She was given a lot of runaround & confirmation #s, additional #s to call, all kinds of b.s.  I am unclear on what actually happened in that conversation.

(4) A few weeks later she noticed the suspicious $298 withdrawal (in November).  Then another again in December or January.  One of the withdrawal records showed the name of PS PREVENTION SERVICES with the phone # of 1-888-221-2595 on it which is how I got turned onto this thread here.

(5) She then contacted her bank & is trying to get her $$ back.  Her account # has now been changed to hopefully prevent further unauthorized withdrawals.  She also called ID SAFE again and argued with them (they were barely understandable Indian sounding people).

(5) From the research I've done in just a few hours on the 'net this really seems like a WIDESPREAD fraud issue.  The people who have posted don't seem to really know who can help them fight this.  Law Enforcement seems unorganized or disinterested in catching the criminals.  I will help her file a report with the FTC, but I don't see it doing any good.  Perhaps if some newspaper, magazine, investigative TV show, or other institution that can give this issue some publicity can help???? I imagine that there must be hundreds or thousands of people in addition to the ones that are posting about this, THAT DO NOT CHECK THEIR BANK STATEMENTS AND DO NOT EVEN KNOW THEY WERE RIPPED OFF!

As far as common threads as to how her banking information was comprised, from talking to her I cannot find any real definitive clues as to how this happened.  She does NOT use the internet, so no paypal access or ebay or anything like that.  She says she doesn't give out her banking info over the phone to anybody.  Although she has what I consider to be strange mail-in magazine susbscriptions (GOLF, TRAVEL, HOME somehting or other) she says that they come via her AMEX card and she pays for them through AMEX, not by check so I don't think her info got out that way (this was one of the things mentioned by "anonymous" back on page 1).  She does have direct deposit from Social Security, as several other people mentioned above.  She did go to a casino up in Canada near Niagra Falls just before all this happened but according to her she did NOT pay by check or debit there for anything other than gasoline.  I was originally VERY suspicious of the casino connection though and still am.

I also wonder if some sort of financial/credit/social security/government database was compromised and that is what the common link is for all the folks victimized by this, which means probably that no one will ever really know how these crooks are doing this.

still going on got hit 01-06-09 for 295.00 been calling 1-800-305-7420 talked to a person using the name kim who was very hard to understand with broken english. i did get a return auth.# said that they could not redepoist the money back in the account that they would have to send a check. still waiting.did not have this problem until i opened a 1 year same as cash with wells fargo. could they be letting this info leak out.i do pay the acct. on line... does anyone else use wells fargo...

I just want to also let any of you that use paypal know to be VERY careful.  I use paypal to pay my city utilities.  That is all I use it for.  I get a confirmation of payment email from them.  It says Dear Candace Garcia...... I got one on monday that said Dear Paypal Member, your paypal account has been charged $190.00 payable to Identity Protection Services.  If you want to dispute this charge please clink on this link.  The link takes you to a page that looks like a paypal page (IT IS NOT) it asks you to enter your credit card information to verify your identity.  DO NOT ENTER YOUR INFO!!!! Its a Phishing email.  They get you to enter your card info and now they have your info and here come the charges.  They also have your authorization because you entered the info.  I contacted Paypal.  They know about it and are investigating and taking steps to stop this.  They were great.  Everyone just be real careful and suspicious.

I was checking my account online yesterday and noticed a e-check for $295.00.  I immediately called my bank (Chase) and filed a dispute.  I was told that the money would be credited back to my account, but if the other bank (central Bank, enid ok) refused to reimburse that they would pull the money back out of my account.  That's CRAP.  I withdrew all the money out of my account, IMMEDIATELY!  I have had this account for 22 years.  I am PISSED.  I went to another bank and opened a new account.  Now I have to have my direct deposites changed and everything.  As soon as the $295.00 is credited back I'm going to withdraw that money also.  Once my direct deposites are changed I'm closing this account.  The bank told me that its under $300.00 so there will be no investigation.  What really gets me is that the information on the e-check was all wrong or way outdated.  My name was incorrect, I haven't lived at the address they listed for three years, and to top it all off they had my bank being "BANK ONE".  Chase hasn't been bank one since what the 90's.  How can the banks let these obviously fraudulent checks get posted to peoples accounts.  I'm going to call Central National Bank and see why they are allowing someone to use there bank to perpetuate frauds on people.  I'll let you know what they say.

The same company withdrew $295.00 from my account on 1/6/09.  I do auto bill pay on line and constantly monitor my account.  I was shocked to see a check for $295.00 especially since I don't write checks!  I quickly called my bank, B of A and they gave me a reference number and a toll free number of 1-800-305-7420.  I called the number and someone answered the phone "hello."  I had to ask for the name of the company before she gave said PS Prevention Services.  The woman was obviously from India (as I'm sure the call center is located) and she asked for my name and then stated that someone ordered the service on line from my computer.  When I told her I had not ordered anything on line from this company nor would I ever give my checking account over the internet and was going to file a complaint for fraud if money money wasn't immediately returned, she placed me on hold for nearly 15 minutes.  When she returned she stated that they would research the problem and would issue a refund by check.  She then asked for my mailing address.  How can a company sell a product and not have the correct mailing address.

When I insisted that the charge was fraud and asked whap IP address the order was placed from, I could hear someone prompting her in the background to say we will send a full refund in the mail.  I refused to give my mailing address for fear they would attempt another scam via the mail and hung up.

I immediately called B of A's fraud department and explained everything.  Although they did credit my account back the full $295.00, they suggested that I close my account to prevent anything like this from happening in the future.  I have maintained this account for 15 years and all my bills are paid automatically from this account.  Why should I have to be inconvenienced because of someone faceless preditors trolling the internet!

To make matter even worse, when I asked the B of A rep if they would conduct a further investigation of the matter, I was told they would not. The person I spoke to could not even recommend an agency to file a complaint with.  

I really think that this merits some kind of class action.  Does anyone know the name of a good attorney?

MY FATHER-N-LAW JUST HAD THIS DONE TO HIM.  WHILE CHECKING HIS BANK STATEMENT HE NOTICED A CHECK # WITH FIVE DIGITS, HIS CHECKS ARE ONLY FOUR. HE WENT TO HIS BANK TO FIND OUT WHAT THIS WAS. THEY GAVE US THE INFO  I CALLED TV CHANNEL 12 (ON YOUR SIDE) AND THEY ARE COMING OUT TOMORROW 1-6-09. IF ANYONE LIVES IN OUR AREA PLEASE CONTACT CHANNEL 12. AT 804 233-1212

Lost 298.00 on 12-03-08. Somebody is really cleaning up, this scam is all over the Internet. It's just a shame our families have to suffer for so long to get reimbursed by the banks!

They took $298 out of my elderly mother's account last week and she went to the bank (Wells Fargo) and they re-deposited the money and opened a fraud investigation.

I just want 5 minutes with each of the people behind this scam. Vigilante justice should be okay in this type of situation.

OK everyone I've had this done along time ago and I've called this number EVERY DAY, spoke w/a Ryan, Joseph, Shirley, Anthony, Tony...you name it I've talked w/them...been told they would investigate the withdraw and get back to me, gave me a reference ## which DOES NO GOOD....but then am told they've mailed me a check...they withdrew money  back in July...I've called and called, left messages...oh and TODAY I get put on hold, but actually was not, and heard every word they said, my phone ## has been blocked and they dont' seem to want to talk to me anymore and are not giving me my money back and they told him to just hang up on  me...how RUDE and unprofessional can you be, I'm not sure what type of company this is other than a SCAM one which we all know that...but don't expect any funds to be coming back from them.

MY ACCOUNT WAS ALSO DEDUCTED $298.00 I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THIS COMPANY MAY BE.  BUT THIS NEEDS TO BE STOPPED.  IT NOT ONLY IS COSTING US MONEY BUT IT IS ALSO COSTING THE BANKS MONEY IF THEY DECIDED TO PUT THE FUNDS BACK INTO YOU ACCOUNT.

I got an overdraft notice from my bank for a $298.00 check recently. I knew I didn't write it as the check # was 37000-something, which is about 36000 higher than any check I've had. So I went to my bank and lo and behold, the electronic check was written to PS Prevention Services, a company I have never heard of. Same phone number, though on the photocopy my bank had it was blurry and the '9' looked like an '8' and the '5's looked like '6's. It had my name and address and everything on it so the "maybe a collection agency clerk made a typo" hypothesis my banker suggested for the origin seemed unlikely.

I thought this was impossible because I never throw away ANYTHING unshredded.

As for commonalities, I have a Paypal account (supposedly very secure). I have given my bank account number (knowingly) to no other company. Could this be where our information is stolen from?

I got hit on Friday, didn't find out til Monday. My Bank (CitizensBank) says they'll investigate and reimburse me in 2 weeks. So much for Christmas shopping.
I never got a call from these bozos. I checked my bank statement and there was the electronic check. Wish I could find these people and issue some 'street justice'. I guess I'm more than a little upset.

My wife and I just had 298.00 taken out of our bank account on 11/20/08 - looks like a big fraud...

They did it to me too. Check dated for 11/17/08 it came out of me account 11/22/08. Called the number busy. Nothing on caller ID

Brandy  you must bank with idiots because this is fraud and that is agianst the law. My bank told me there fraud department was all over it, I called 2 hours later and was given a case number and also told that within two weeks of investigating I would be reimbersed. Sorry your bank is not helping you.

PS Prevention servics took $298.00 from my us bank account on 11-6-08 the check was made out for 11-4-08. It was a 3 year old address. I am working with my bank to get my money back. I would like to help stop these THIEVES, from getting any one elses money.

Add me to the list.  Apparently the banks don't know about this group yet...

This company is not just targeting older people, I'm 39 and they did the same thing to me on Nov.11,2008. The same dollar amount.

Same thing happened to me folks, 298.00 taken out from PS Prevention Services!
 Working with my bank to get it resolved.

I just got taken for $298 also.  I never even heard of this company.  I called the toll free number and got a recorder then my husband looked the information up on line and I see I am not the only one hit by this company.  I am 36 and I don't know where they go my info.  Is there anyone out there that knows how they are getting our information?

I work for a bank and see fraud like this all the time. Finding a common denominator would be great! I had a customer with a check that posted last night from PS Prevention Serv and we were able to return it because of the 24 hour time frame. Shes elderly and said she plays pogo online, does payday loans online and orders magazines thru the mail. She gets a lot of pop-up boxes when shes online playing games and when she does her loans. My fraud dept said that some of those pop up boxes will actually enroll you for "services" if you do not accept or decline the pop up boxes - just exiting them off does not work. The companys "assume" you want the service if you do not accept or decline the offer. Somehow the pop-up boxes are linked to the website you used to pay for your games online and apply for these payday loans and thats how they have your acct information. Also had a customer that got an offer for a "free" sample of face cream in the mail and sent a check in for shipping and handling. Next thing you know she got hit with a scam similar to this one. The company used her info on the check she mailed in for her shipping and handling and started running thru bogus checks.  I'm also very curious if these victims are also getting scammed from some of these mail in magazine orders.  Seems like a lot of the victims I see are elderly ladies and most of them order magazines thru the mail. Hope this helps!

I didn't get a call or text, don't play online games, don't do payday advance, didn't get any free samples, I am 42 yrs old, and I don't do mail in magazine orders.  They (PS Prevention Services)took $298 straight out of my checking account, and the 1-888-221-2595 was on the electronic check.  I called it and of course didn't get through to anyone.  The 24 hour time frame will fix it all I believe, because I monitor my account.  I have researched and I do have state medical insurance, but still don't know who they are.

A DRAFT FROM THIS NUMBER AND THEY STOLE $298.00 FROM MY ACCOUNT.

I did not get a phone call from them.  A charge of $298.00 from PS PREVENTION SERVICES (ref #421117) and phone #888-221-2595 showed up on my bank statement.  It was taken out of my account on 10/22/08; check was dated 10/17/08.

My bank has tried calling the phone number and there is no answer.

i didn't get a call or anything. went to pay bills and found out i had less money than expected. researched it and found same people and number on a check for 298.00 which sank my account. bank says there is nothing they can do.

I just got hit too by the same company for $298!!! Disgusting people!!!

I'm 26 years old and this just happened me too!! So they're not just targeting the elderly. Same number 1-888-221-2595 from PS prevention services for $298!! Where can we report this??

I just got my bank statement yesterday and an Electronic image check for $298.00 was withdrawn from my checking account, check # 31703 on November 3, 2008, (which I did not authorize, and I have no check number in that denomination) I called my bank immediately to have a Dispute order placed upon it. The small writing that was on the check (according to the bank service rep) was to  PS Prevention Services or System, difficult to decipher.