I was hacked!

Like lots of people, I have an Amazon account.  And in that Amazon account I had a credit card listed as for payments.

When I looked at my credit card statement last month I noticed a charge for $299.00.  I did not remember what I bought for $299.00, so I tried to figure out what it was.

I looked at my order history and did not see having purchased anything for $299.00.

Then I tried to call Amazon.  Surprise!  Their phone number is NOT prominently displayed on their website.

I eventually stumbled across an order for "gift cards".  Well I knew I had not purchased any gift cards for $299.00, so I realized that was the fraud.  Turns out someone in Delaware bought a gift card and then used that gift card to buy an Oculus headset and have it delivered to himself.  Ouch.  

(And by the way, Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon, if you're reading this:  It was really not obvious how to find that charge.  As I mentioned, it was NOT in my list of regular orders.  I just tried to re-create the search and I think Amazon erased it.)

When I confirmed to myself that the mysterious charge was fraudulent, I contacted my credit card company;  they very nicely "stopped payment" on the $299.00.  The credit card company cancelled that card and sent me a new one. 

As a backstop, I added to my Amazon account a feature that to complete an order Amazon texts me a six digit number that I must enter in order to complete the purchase.  

So:  Two morals to this story. 

First, look at your credit card statements and track down charges you don't recognize.

Second, promptly dispute charges that you don't recognize.

You can do this yourself, of course, so you don't need to call me about this.  But if I can help with other legal problems, call my office at 320-252-4473.

"Fraudulent Conveyance" -- Sounds scary, right?

 The Bankruptcy Code defines "fraudulent conveyance" as a transfer made within 2 years before the date of the filing of the petition, if the transfer was made with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any creditor, OR if person making the transfer received "less than a reasonably equivalent value" and was insolvent when the transfer was made.  (This is a little abbreviated).  Minnesota law refers to this as a "voidable transfer", which may sound less scary, but the statute of limitations is longer.

The roots of fraudulent conveyance law go back to 1571 -- the time of Queen Elizabeth I of England (really!).  

The classic example of a fraudulent conveyance is that Bob is being sued because his business went under and in order to protect his 40 acres of hunting land in Cass County, he deeds it to his brother Ted without getting any payment.

Another example is that Bob sells the 40 acres of hunting land to his brother Ted for $5,000.00.  On the surface that looks okay, but it turns out that the land was actually worth $50,000.00.  In effect, Bob has made a gift to Ted of $45,000.00.  A bankruptcy trustee (or, outside of bankruptcy) a creditor can go to court and have the transfer reversed.

Fraudulent transfers can a be unintentional.  For instance, in a case called DeGiacomo v. Sacred Heart University, Inc., parents paid $64,000+ to a college to cover the tuition bill for their daughter, who was over age 18 at the time.  A court of appeals held that the payment was a fraudulent conveyance, because the parents were insolvent when they paid the college.  

These situations are why I ask if you have transferred something to a relative or friend in the past.  If I know about the transfer before you file bankruptcy, we can evaluate the situation.

As always, if I can help you deal with your debts, call me at 320-252-4473.