Fraudulent Amex transaction - any link to Google Pay?

itm2

I have 3 payment cards linked to my Google Pay account - Amex, Mastercard and a bank debit card. On Saturday I got an alert from Google Pay regarding an Amex payment to a US company (in US dollars). I didn't recognise the payment or the company "BMC PHO EL MONTE", but the amount of the payment was exactly the same as a genuine US dollar payment (monthly subscription) which was due on my Mastercard around that time. The other US supplier had actually sent me a notification a few days earlier, advising me that my registered Mastercard had expired, so I had just updated the details on their site (they have collected the payment today).
It seems very coincidental that the fraudulent transaction was identical in value and currency to a legitimate payment which was due at that time from another credit card. I'm wondering whether it could be anything to do with the fact that both cards were registered to my Google Pay account, since I don't know of any other place where details of both cards would have been registered. Any views???

born_again

Cancel the payment via google.
Or you could ask Amex if they have any further details on the retailer.

Do the retailer names match?

System

itm2 wrote: »

I have 3 payment cards linked to my Google Pay account - Amex, Mastercard and a bank debit card. On Saturday I got an alert from Google Pay regarding an Amex payment to a US company (in US dollars). I didn't recognise the payment or the company "BMC PHO EL MONTE", but the amount of the payment was exactly the same as a genuine US dollar payment (monthly subscription) which was due on my Mastercard around that time. The other US supplier had actually sent me a notification a few days earlier, advising me that my registered Mastercard had expired, so I had just updated the details on their site (they have collected the payment today).
It seems very coincidental that the fraudulent transaction was identical in value and currency to a legitimate payment which was due at that time from another credit card. I'm wondering whether it could be anything to do with the fact that both cards were registered to my Google Pay account, since I don't know of any other place where details of both cards would have been registered. Any views???

My GPay sometimes displays Amex payments even if they aren't made via GPay.

This doesn't happen with any of my other card issuers.
Sounds like the case here.

itm2

born_again wrote: »

Cancel the payment via google.
Or you could ask Amex if they have any further details on the retailer.

Do the retailer names match?

I don't know whether the payment was made by Google. When I phoned Amex to report it as fraudulent they couldn't give me any more information about the transaction - just said that they would cancel it and issue a new card. It was from a completely different retailer - not one that I had ever heard of.

Ben8282

Heng_Leng wrote: »

My GPay sometimes displays Amex payments even if they aren't made via GPay.
.

Unless you have consented to this I would say it was totally unacceptable for GPay to be accessing your Amex account in this manner, extracting information from it and displaying it to you.

Ben8282

I thought Google Pay was a way to make payments by using your mobile phone in the manner of using a contactless card.
I am at a loss to understand the involvement of Google Pay in transactions obviously not made in this manner with merchants in the US. The subscription on your Mastercard, about which presumably the merchant contacted you directly, was presumably a CPA and not something that Google Pay would have been involved in.
How the charge to the Amex card by this unknown merchant happened to be for an identical amount or how Google Pay found about it is quite beyond me.
Are you using Google Pay in some sort of open banking manner allowing them access to your accounts?

itm2

Actually I am more than happy for GPay to alert me with all of my card transactions as they happen (even the ones not transacted using GPay). It was this feature which allowed me to spot the fraudulent transaction virtually immediately and report it to Amex. I would otherwise not have seen it until the next time I checked my Amex statement, which could have been weeks later. It was also interesting that the transaction did not appear on my online Amex account until a day or so later, so GPay is actually giving me more timely information about my account than Amex.
I haven't opted in to an "open banking" option in GPay - I'm using whatever their standard service is.
Yes the Mastercard subscription with the other supplier was set up independently of GPay, although the Mastercard in question is one of the cards that I have registered with GPay.

itm2

I've contacted Google Pay about the incident - maybe they can offer some reassurance or insight

born_again

Maybe unlink you amex card from Gpay.

Ben8282

I really don't like this idea of Google Pay apparently being able to see every single transaction made on any card linked to them irrespective of whether Google Pay was involved in the transaction or not. Big Brother really is watching.

born_again

I would think it is highly unlikely that Google Pay can see any transactions made direct between a retailer & your card provider on any card, even if this card is linked to your Gpay account.
If it is only showing other Amex transactions, then I would think there is a Amex issue.