You've Got a Bogus Account With AOL!

What it doesn't talk about is this: What chance do we have when AOL itself is a participant in, or at least a beneficiary of, the fraud?

That's the question implicit in the story I'm about to relate.

About a month ago, a couple of suspicious charges appeared on my American Express card statement. AmEx informed me that the vendor was AOL. This was odd: I hadn't signed up with AOL. In any event, I use the card in question -- a corporate card issued by The Times -- for business expenses and travel only. American Express obligingly suspended the charges and opened an investigation.

Meanwhile, I started my own inquiry by calling AOL. After much wasted time and effort (I believe that trying to speak to AOL by telephone was originally devised as a torment for mortals in purgatory), I was able to inform a phone rep that my credit card number had been used fraudulently and that I wanted the online account closed. She asked for my account number and screen name. When I replied that the whole problem was that I didn't have an account number or screen name, she refused to take any action. Instead, she gave me a number for AOL's fraud department.

Considering that the fraud guys, if they're doing their jobs properly, will cost AOL money by weeding out improper accounts, it's hardly surprising that they're very hard to reach. The first time I called, I spent 53 minutes on hold, at which point the battery of my cordless phone expired. Moving on with my life, I didn't try again for another three weeks. This time I was on hold for 57 minutes, but the cordless held out. The live representative I finally reached took down my credit card number, scrutinized the account and terminated it on the spot. The following conversation ensued:

Me: "Can you tell me how this happened?"

AOL: "Somebody had your card number."

"Who?"

"We couldn't tell you."

"Why not?"

"You'd have to subpoena the records."

"I'm going to need a subpoena to know who stole my card number? How do I go about getting a subpoena?"

"Well, you could contact your district attorney's office."