If you order groceries online, here’s something you should know: Scammers are hoping you won’t notice fraudulent charges tucked alongside your other purchases.
Walmart customer Colleen German tells us her account was compromised by scammers who placed more than $2,000 in unauthorized grocery orders.
The compromised account was used to change German’s account phone number and submit two separate grocery orders for store pickup in Florida. German had routinely used the Walmart app for weekly grocery orders without prior incident.
German immediately contacted Walmart after discovering the fraudulent activity.
“We used it every week. Whenever had a problem until this time,” German said. “I immediately called Walmart fraud department, told them they were not mine. Please stop the orders before they were picked up to prevent anything from happening.”
Despite assurances from Walmart that the orders would be halted, German received pickup notifications shortly afterward. “Maybe 45 minutes later, I received two more emails saying thank you for picking up your order,” German said. Store records listed Isael Ogando as the person who picked up the groceries.
Walmart instructed German to dispute the charges with her credit card company as fraud. Her bank initially issued a temporary account credit but later reversed it after Walmart informed the card company that someone had picked up the orders using a proper barcode. The reversal left German responsible for the full amount.
“We don’t have $2,000 just to fork out, you know. This is a hardship for us,” German said.
After a Florida sister station of Channel 11 News contacted Walmart about the incident, the retailer reviewed the account and officially marked the orders as fraudulent. Walmart instructed German to submit another dispute with her credit card company to recover her money.
“I just really want my money back. That’s it, you know,” German said.
Reports of similar fake grocery order scams have appeared on social media from consumers across the United States and Canada. Walmart recommends that any customer who notices unauthorized charges immediately change their password through the retailer’s account security webpage or mobile app settings.
A Walmart spokesperson sent the following statement: “We care about our customers, and we are committed to helping prevent fraud and working with law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable.”
After another appeal to her credit card company, Colleen says she just received a full refund.
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