Zynga Games Zinging Facebook Users...

If you are a Facebook user, you've heard of the ever-so-popular Mafia Wars, YoVille and Farmville, just three of many games offered to FB users by Zynga Games. Though I kind of hate to admit it, I was a Farmville user until about two months ago. Now, I am thanking my lucky stars that I chose to opt out of the Farmville and Mafia Wars (and other) Zynga game apps and here is why...

My mom called me yesterday (Sunday) morning to talk to me about a charge she found to one of her credit cards. The charge was issued by Zynga Games and was in the amount of $125!?!?! 

If you aren't a FB user, you may not understand what these games are. So, what is Farmville, YoVille and Mafia Wars? It's all part of a booming market called virtual goods, which has grown into an estimated $1 billion business in the United States. Interestingly enough, these games became popular in Asia more than ten years ago, so they aren't by any means "new." The idea refers to any sale or trade of a digital item that exists only online, everything from clothes and homes for virtual world avatars to weapons, rewards and tools for games. The sites and games are free, but players can buy items with real money to personalize their experience or better equip themselves to compete. The real concern is the completely unethical way that games like Farmville and Mafia Wars are going about achieving success. A wide variety of “offers” are available where [Users] can get in-game currency in exchange for lead gen-type offers. I found the information Wikipedia provided about Zynga to be very helpful in understanding more about  the company. Since spring of 2009, when Zynga CEO, Marc Pinkus, admitted to Zynga's scamming in a YouTube video and the December of 2009 filing of a class action lawsuit against Zynga and Facebook, alleging that “most, if not all” of the advertisements presented in Zynga’s social games are scams Zynga has had the spotlight shining on them but it hasn't slowed them down.

Now, my mother may be a closet-gamer (I see the way she plays Mario on her DS and it puts the young 'uns to shame), but she is not an idiot. She has never and would never provide credit card information over Facebook OR to Zynga Games OR for the outrageous charge of $125.

The sad news is that this random charge is not unusual and it is a slew of these types of fraudulent transactions that have placed Zynga Games on a "hot list" to be watched for "unethical monetization strategies."  Also, extremely concerning is that the majority of consumers who have fallen victims to Zynga have been "zinged" by them multiple times. On one blog, a single mother reported multiple charges totaling $300 and multiple comments in the thread offered similar complaints--- multiple charges for varying amounts of money.

In reviewing the thousands of pieces of information available on the Internet regarding Zynga and fraud, it sounds as though it is most common for Zynga to "tap" a card for $1 once, twice or even three times and then, if there is no dispute for those charges, they zing the card $125, $150 or $200.

Back to my mom and her "Zynger..." More disconcerting yet is the fact that the charges my mother was zinged with were to a credit card she opened strictly for a balance transfer and never used for purchases. Not suprising or suspicious enough??? Well, months ago, she received the new card for that account and never activated it! You heard me correctly, the card was never activated and she'd NEVER made a single purchase with it. So, how the hell was her account used? And why did her bank allow a charge to be made on a card which was never activated??

The typical explanation of hijacked Visa numbers (by online users) doesn't work in this scenario for two reasons. The actual card itself was never used for a purchase and it was never activated. There is no way a phishing program could get the information from her computer--the card number had NEVER been entered on the computer.

Though it is likely, we will never learn exactly how my mom's card information was "hijacked," the bottom line is that the card data was stolen and the charges made to the card are fraudulent and must be treated as such. What does this mean? Well, first and foremost, contact all creditors involved in the transaction (in this case *Visa*) and ask them to close the account and issue new cards and new account numbers. Understand the laws that protect us(as consumers), especially the Fair Credit Billing Act, which applies to open-end credit accounts (i.e. credit cards) and other revolving accounts and covers dispute settlement procedures for billing errors, such as unauthorized charges. Federal law LIMITS your responsibility for unauthorized charges to $50. To take advantage of the law's consumer protections, you must:

1. Write to the creditor at the address given for billing inquiries and include your name, address, account number and a description of the billing error (unauthorized charge).
2. Include copies of ANY documentation that supports your position and keep a copy of your dispute letter in your files.
3. Deliver your letter so that it reaches the creditor within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you.
4. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so that you have proof the creditor received your letter.

The creditor must acknowledge your complaint in writing within thirty days of receiving it, unless the problem has been resolved. The creditor must resolve the dispute in writing withing two billing cycles (but no more than 90 days) after receiving your dispute letter.

So, do I stop using Facebook? Well...No. Nothing I've read indicates that Facebook is actually responsible for what Zynga is doing, although, I am certain that they've had knowledge of it and weren't proactive about stopping it (which just irritates me to no end!). However, I've made sure to delete all Zynga applications from my FB account--- farewell Farmville and YoVille friends. Additionally, I am paying much more attention to my credit card/PayPal statements and advising my FB friends (particularly the Zynga app users) to do the same.