Tips to purchasing VIs safely?

on9987 said:

Hi there, first post here.

I just started working and got a credit card last Summer so I went on a VI shopping spree these few months. That's basically the sole purpose of my card.

Today I received a message of my credit card authorised a transaction of 130GBP in... Westminster City Council??? Coincidentally, I just purchased from audioplugin.deals yesterday.

My questions are, if you always pay with credit card, how often do you face situations like this? How do you keep it safe, like using PayPal?

I'm still eyeing on some VIs but my GAS is so killed by this. Thanks

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Generally if not always I use PayPal,I don’t want my credit card info exposed on the internet.

kgdrum said:

Generally if not always I use PayPal,I don’t want my credit card info exposed on the internet.

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Paypal charges actual highway robber fees for currency conversion. My cards are all between 0.something-2% coversion fees. Paypal is 5%.
Before I switched to using entirely all credit cards I realized I have paid paypal at least 3grand in currency conversion over the last 3-5 years.


Have you used the card anywhere else for anything but plugins? It might help to list the websites you purchased from in case some are known scam sites and one of the members here recognizes it.

All my IRL payments are handled by a third party like PayPal so these shouldn't be a problem.

These are the websites that I had purchased on using the card directly these few months:

eclipsedsounds.com
amazon.com
orchestraltools.com
acousticsamples.com
vstbuzz.com
pluginboutique.com
dlsite.com
bestservice.de
pulse.audio
virharmonic.com
audioplugin.deals

I received legit products from them all so the problem should be either one of these sites got data breach or my internet connection isn't safe.

timbit2006 said:

Paypal charges actual highway robber fees for currency conversion. My cards are all between 0.something-2% coversion fees. Paypal is 5%.
Before I switched to using entirely all credit cards I realized I have paid paypal at least 3grand in currency conversion over the last 3-5 years.


Have you used the card anywhere else for anything but plugins? It might help to list the websites you purchased from in case some are known scam sites and one of the members here recognizes it.

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I regularly use PayPal but ask to be charged in local currency (you can choose this option so my credit card bank will do the FX).

erc13a said:

I regularly use PayPal but ask to be charged in local currency (you can choose this option so my credit card bank will do the FX).

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I only realized this when JRRShop only accepts PayPal, if i knew this all along I would have only used PayPal

timbit2006 said:

Paypal charges actual highway robber fees for currency conversion. My cards are all between 0.something-2% coversion fees. Paypal is 5%.
Before I switched to using entirely all credit cards I realized I have paid paypal at least 3grand in currency conversion over the last 3-5 years.


Have you used the card anywhere else for anything but plugins? It might help to list the websites you purchased from in case some are known scam sites and one of the members here recognizes it.

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Frankly I don’t care,the last time I used a site with my cc (debit) # exposed & it was hacked and I had to replace the card.
Security is more important for me.

No sample lbrary sites, that i know of, see or process card payments. They all use a payment processor such as stripe. So even though it looks like you're giving your details to the seller, you're not.

So unless the seller's site has been compromised - in which case there will be a lot of people affected - it's more likely some other site or your browser or computer is compromised.

on9987 said:

My questions are, if you always pay with credit card, how often do you face situations like this? How do you keep it safe, like using PayPal?

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Never happened to me. I use a debit card tied to a separate account, so the maximum amount of money at risk is limited and within my control. I usually have less than 1000$ on it.

A friend of mine once had credit card fraud happen to him where an Uber driver was paid for with his card in another country and given an 80$ tip. He suspected that it might be some kind of scam run by people inside the company.

d.healey said:

No sample lbrary sites, that i know of, see or process card payments. They all use a payment processor such as stripe. So even though it looks like you're giving your details to the seller, you're not.

So unless the seller's site has been compromised - in which case there will be a lot of people affected - it's more likely some other site or your browser or computer is compromised.

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Good points, but I prefer to blame it on others because I would consider myself to have good cyber security practices (before this), I know how to identify a scam site, doesn't install software with unknown origin, etc.

Sample library sellers and retailers are my prime suspects because their website are likely more vulnerable than bigger sites I used my credit card on like Amazon. Ample Sound website literally got defaced the second day I bought from them, but I bought them through their Taobao storefront so I don't suspect them.

But nowadays there is no way to know if someone had been spoofing on my internet connection, just if that is the case, it should have happened way earlier imo. I am quite glad this happened only now, it would have been 5k instead of 130.

Day limits on bank accounts and phone number confirmation 2-tier security on all transactions. If Im not on my own computer I'd be even more careful. Have had scammers from other side of world targeting, bcs they got my email and name when using overseas hotel wifi system. With sophisticated tricks to get more details. Wouldn't use credit card abroad (meaning 'far east' etc) anymore - only cash. Websites? never for certain countries (are we allowed to name them?)

This is getting quite tricky. Ive been waiting for years now some developer that does reasonable business suddenly empties 10.000 credit cards and disappears. Anyway, nothing compared to what is being done in Colombia, check 'devils breath'. Btw, that's the flower in my profile.

IIRC, in the US and barring gross negligence on your part, $50 is your max exposure for loss resulting from credit card fraud.

But I use PayPal anyway.

on9987 said:

Hi there, first post here.

I just started working and got a credit card last Summer so I went on a VI shopping spree these few months. That's basically the sole purpose of my card.

Today I received a message of my credit card authorised a transaction of 130GBP in... Westminster City Council??? Coincidentally, I just purchased from audioplugin.deals yesterday.

My questions are, if you always pay with credit card, how often do you face situations like this? How do you keep it safe, like using PayPal?

I'm still eyeing on some VIs but my GAS is so killed by this. Thanks

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If you can't pay with paypal or don't need their buyer protection, maybe try to find if your bank has a virtual cards service. These virtual cards are very handy to pay for online goods and services so you don't leave your actual card number everywhere. If you can get single use virtual cards, it's even better as these cards are automatically scrapped as soon as the payment is done. If your bank doesn't offer such service, you can subscribe to it somewhere else.

Paypal preferable, just less hassle.

Mr Greg G said:

If you can't pay with paypal or don't need their buyer protection, maybe try to find if your bank has a virtual cards service. These virtual cards are very handy to pay for online goods and services so you don't leave your actual card number everywhere. If you can get single use virtual cards, it's even better as these cards are automatically scrapped as soon as the payment is done. If your bank doesn't offer such service, you can subscribe to it somewhere else.

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Yes, this. If not PP, virtual cards are a great second choice because they only will work at that site, so if hacked they won't work elsewhere. You create a card for each place. Single use are even better. But your credit card company has to offer this service.

on9987 said:

Today I received a message of my credit card authorised a transaction of 130GBP in... Westminster City Council??? Coincidentally, I just purchased from audioplugin.deals yesterday.

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Did you approach APD?

babylonwaves said:

Did you approach APD?

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I haven't cause I can't and can never be 100% sure how my card got leaked. Are you suggesting I should email APD about my situation?

on9987 said:

I haven't cause I can't and can never be 100% sure how my card leaked. Are you suggesting I should email APD about my situation?

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on9987 said:

Coincidentally, I just purchased from audioplugin.deals yesterday.

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Well, you've said "coincidentally", and you indirectly connect them and the issue you're facing. I think you should contact them and see what they have to say.
You could also contact your bank and try to reverse the transaction. Learn how the purchase was made. If the purchase was made without a CVC you have a pretty strong case.

I generally use PayPal where available or a virtual card elsewhere. I learnt that lesson after a fraudulent transaction of $3000 on Champagne, Jet Ski parts and Hotel reservation. TBH, the opportunities for somebody to skim a card during your daily routine are many: drive throughs, restaurants etc.

It's certainly worth reaching out to APD to have them double check, but in my experience a fraudulent transaction generally happens weeks after the info was skimmed.

LynxUK said:

It's certainly worth reaching out to APD to have them double check, but in my experience a fraudulent transaction generally happens weeks after the info was skimmed.

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That makes sense, maybe I should contact other vendors I bought from recently as well? I never used my card physically so I just really hope it's not my computer or network that is compromised, cause then I am pretty screwed.