Is Identity Theft a Risk When Submitting Orders Electronically Through PP3?

[chefsteph07]

Has anyone ever heard of a consultant getting hacked due to electronically submitting orders over PP3?

I have a consultant who did not turn in in the month of November who has turned in EVERY month for over a year. I got concerned because it was unusal for her so I gave her a call. She emailed me that last month she was hacked into her business account w/ PC and had over 3k taken from that account that was to be taken out for her shows, then she had money taken from her personal account, which was linked to her PC account so she could make tranfers if she needed to. She obtained a lawyer who told her that he suspects since the hackers hit her business account first (there was a week in between her business account and personal acct) the hackers got her info through the electronic submission from the program. I am mortified and scared now!

My consultant said that PC has not been cooperative with her at all during this time. She had a big month in sales (over 3k) and she informed PC right away of what was going on. They do not care. They want their $ and in turn took all of her commission from her sales in October to cover what was lost. She said that PC does not have investigators to look into a potential hacking situation and that she would have to hire her own. She then asked if there had been problems in the past of hacking incidents and they said they could not tell her that information.

My girl is so upset by all this, she said she thought she was working with an ethical company, people who would help her, a company who would protect her, and now she is quitting. I don't blame her. I just wanted to warn everyone out there that there IS a potential to have this happen. Oh, and she also said that the lawyer suspects since it takes PC so long to debit the funds out of our account that gave the hackers additional time to do their work and that companies should NOT take that long to take our funds once orders are submitted.

I'm not trying to bash PC, and while there is no concrete PROOF (YET) that it was due to electronic submittal, it sure sounds fishy to me. Esp since they hit her PC account first.

 

[BethCooks4U]

Did she talk to the financial or legal department at HO? Sounds like she talked to the wrong people. I would call again to get help. PC does support us and would not take such a thing lightly. I'd also send an email to them copying your sales manager, NED and Jean Jonas.It is possible that it has nothing to do with P3. They could have hacked her business account through other means and then when that worked went back to the other account.

 

[Sheila]

I've never heard of the electronic submissions being an issue. And I can't see how it's possible for a hacker to go from her PC account to her personal account unless it was happening on the bank end. If her PC account & personal account are with the same bank, I'd say she needs to start THERE first. If they have a lot of issues going on with customers, there's her source of the problems.

 

[babywings76]

Was she submitting shows from her home? Is her internet protected at home? I only submit shows while I'm at home on my internet which is password protected. I just don't understand how it got hacked?

 

[wadesgirl]

Did she talk to the financial or legal department at HO? Sounds like she talked to the wrong people. I would call again to get help. PC does support us and would not take such a thing lightly. I'd also send an email to them copying your sales manager, NED and Jean Jonas.

It is possible that it has nothing to do with P3. They could have hacked her business account through other means and then when that worked went back to the other account.

My thought too was to include her upline, sales manager and try other's at HO.

But my gut tells me it may not have anything to do with P3. If she was using the PC debit card, she actually wouldn't be transmitting her own personal account information through P3. There are a lot of different ways people can get your personal information to access your accounts.

 

[chefsteph07]

She said her business account and her personal account are linked so she can make tranfers if she needs to. I have the same setup with my bank with my personal checking accoutn and my savings account if I need to transfer savings into checking.

I realize it could have nothing to do w/ P3...I just worried that since she said she only used her business account to transmit orders that's the only thing they came up with. She does NOT use that account for anything else so that is where they are starting.

 

[chefsteph07]

Yes, she only submits from her home on her personal computer.

 

[NooraK]

If she was using the PC debit card, she actually wouldn't be transmitting her own personal account information through P3.

^^This.

The information we submit to HO must be encrypted. We are sending over credit card information, PC can't just let that kind of stuff be transmitted without any kind of protection. Our personal banking information is not submitted, that's why we're assigned a debit card.

I also second the suggestion of reaching out to the finance department, and emailing up the line.

This kind of fraud can be very upsetting, and frustrating to deal with, but I doubt it is from P3. The criminals that deal with this kind of stuff are very sophisticated, and have many ways to compromise information. Does this laywer she's contacted specialize in banking fraud? What kind of experience does he have in this kind of a situation? It just doesn't seem to me like he knows that much about the ins and outs of banking fraud.

 

[Sheila]

P3 & HO have no access to her personal account. It's impossible for a hacker to tap into her business account & then "see" her personal account info from there. She either has automatic overdraft protection where the criminals were still taking money from the business account & money was automatically being transferred from the personal account to the business account to cover the charges ... or it's another source for the problem. There's no way that they could hack into the business account from P3 & then say, "oh, look ... there's another account we can take money from ..."

 

[almondfarm]

How was the money taken out of her account by the hacker? Her financial institution is obligated by Regulation E that if it was taken out via ACH (electronically not paper check) they must provide her a provisional credit and investigate the issue. They also can return those transactions as unauthorized within 60 days from the date of the transaction.

I really think this is not a PP3 issue... I believe it is something to do with her bank.

 

[chefsteph07]

I understand and tend to agree. I just wanted to bring up something that was told to her about how this could have happened. I did ask her if she was submitting orders through our debit card or with her own personal info and she said it was through the debit card from PC. I had wondered how our information could have been leaked when our card that we use has other numbers attatched to it that have nothing to do w/ our own bank accounts. How exactly does that work? We transmit w/ our debit card number 1234567 and then that goes to HO who only has our "real" account # and they take out from there?

 

[NooraK]

I understand and tend to agree. I just wanted to bring up something that was told to her about how this could have happened. I did ask her if she was submitting orders through our debit card or with her own personal info and she said it was through the debit card from PC. I had wondered how our information could have been leaked when our card that we use has other numbers attatched to it that have nothing to do w/ our own bank accounts. How exactly does that work? We transmit w/ our debit card number 1234567 and then that goes to HO who only has our "real" account # and they take out from there?

It couldn't have. Personally, I think that lawyer is just trying to tell her something to make her feel better without knowing all the details.

 

[esavvymom]

P3 & HO have no access to her personal account. It's impossible for a hacker to tap into her business account & then "see" her personal account info from there. She either has automatic overdraft protection where the criminals were still taking money from the business account & money was automatically being transferred from the personal account to the business account to cover the charges ... or it's another source for the problem. There's no way that they could hack into the business account from P3 & then say, "oh, look ... there's another account we can take money from ..."

That was what I was going to say- P3 does not have your bank information stored at all....just our PC Card number- which is then linked.

it is more likely she used her regular card or bank, or her bank in general were hacked and found her that way. It would not be linked through P3, so rest easier on that. besides, what would a lawyer know?? If she logged into her bank online from her computer (at a coffee shop, or even at home, if her internet is not properly secured and firewalled), someone looking or "sniffing" could have grabbed info.

It's critical to have properly secured internet at your home- no matter what. Yes- some aspects of our submissions are encrypted, but that doesn't mean it's secure, nor does that protect other aspects of your privacy in your home. My husband does cyber-security. We've literally SEEN attacks on our home network where outside entities are trying to breach his firewall, etc. It's scary. SO it could have been any number of ways.

Chances are, her BANK was hit, not her personally....in that they obtained access some other way. Stinks though, and yes- I'd continue pounding on PC for some leniency. She probably called the wrong people. Hopefully she has a police record as well. (definite must!)

 

[ShellBeach]

I also suspect, either her home network isn't properly protected or her bank's database got hacked.