Military fraud alert

  • Published
  • 48th Fighter Wing Legal Office
RAF LAKENHEATH, England --  It's not a scam. Well, at the very least, there's a good chance it's not a scam. If you are one of 30 million other Americans that received a rather bulky piece of junk mail in the last weeks for a "CCF settlement", you may be entitled to a small amount of money. Honest. 

A class action lawsuit was filed by the plaintiffs (all of you) against the defendants (Visa, Mastercard and Diner's Club among others) alleging that these companies overcharged when converting foreign transactions into dollars and didn't disclose all fees associated with foreign transactions with the cards. The lawsuit looked at conversion fees - often up to 3 percent of transaction values - on credit cards and debit cards, as well as on other cards used to tap automated teller machines for periods between Feb. 1, 1996 and Nov. 8, 2006.

The letter explains that you'll have three settlement options to choose from: a simple $25 refund recommended to those individuals that traveled infrequently during the aforementioned time period; a "total estimation refund" of 1 percent of estimated foreign transactions; or an annual estimation refund of 1 to 3 percent of documented foreign transactions. Option three, while potentially the most lucrative, might make you a little queasy- those with extensive purchases can provide actual transaction estimates for each year, which will then be verified by the card issuers. This option requires the consumer to provide card numbers and bank account information for the bank issuing the card. 

How do you know if you're junk mail might be valuable? In response to a deluge of emails on the topic, MSN Money examined this case and has provided consumers with advice on how to proceed: 

It's possible, even probable, that crooks are trying to use the settlement as a way to "phish" for your personal information. Safeguard yourself by: 

· Ignoring e-mails regarding the settlement. These will almost certainly be scams. 

· Checking the return mailing address on your paper packet, which should be Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 290, Philadelphia, PA 19105-0290. 

· Ensuring that if you file a claim online, your browser address window reads "https" (indicating the data will be encrypted) before you submit any form with your name, Social Security number or credit card information. 

Still unsure what to do? You'll have until May 30 to file a claim-more than enough time to make it to the legal office to have the materials reviewed by an attorney. And, if you don't want to claim your settlement, that's fine too. We're sure the attorneys in the case would be more than happy with a bigger pool of money to take their fees from!