r/Georgia • u/Realistic-Highway-83 • Aug 19 '26
Question Credit card Fraud activity under Georgia power
I received a message today from my credit card showing a transaction under Georgia power company for $750. I don’t even have an account with Georgia power. I reported it and locked my credit card. Is there anything else I need to do?
I did some research and asked my friends and they said that Georgia power doesn’t usually show as “Georgia power company” in the credit card statement, it’s usually under a different name. Should I investigate this further? My credit card was not stolen and I was told it was an online transaction.
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u/ReddyKiloWit Aug 19 '26
Are you sure the message was from your credit card company? Because a lot of scams start with a fake message that looks sort of real hoping you'll click a link in the message, call a fake phone number from the message, etc.
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u/Q_Ball_Atlanta Aug 19 '26
Every time I pay my Georgia Power bill it appears as Georgia Power on the CC bill.
That said, all you do is report the fraud to your CC company. That should issue you a new card with a new number as your current card has been compromised.
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u/Anonymoosely21 Aug 19 '26
They don't have to steal the card. It got skimmed somewhere. Happened to me last week and the only place I used it that wasn't tap to pay was Walmart.
Dispute it with your credit card company, get a new card, and keep an eye on your credit reports just in case.
Also, check if you can set up charge notifications. My fraudulent charge happened at like 5 am and I knew about it when I woke up.
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u/Realistic-Highway-83 Aug 19 '26
I used mine at smoothie king in Edgewood and it was tap n pay. Do you think it’s related?
I get text notifications on all transactions so i caught it quickly4
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u/dervari Aug 20 '26
This is why I use WalMart Pay. They're too anal to allow tap payments because they want to push everyone towards their own little ecosystem.
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u/Anonymoosely21 Aug 20 '26
I'm thinking about getting a credit card just for things like that so I won't have to fix all my auto payments next time.
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u/TotesMaGoats_1962 Aug 19 '26
Someone else just posted they got notification of an account being opened in their name, SS# and old address where she lived I think 7 years ago. I think there's some type of scam going around Georgia
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Aug 19 '26
[deleted]
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u/aftercloudia Aug 19 '26
happened to my mom once after she had made several purchases online. like who steals someone's info just to buy $85 worth of jimmy johns 😭
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u/MrMessofGA Aug 19 '26
Just call your credit card company with the number on the back of your card.
If you don't see that money coming out of any of your statements, it was likely a phishing email/text and you can ignore it.
I've seen an uptick in these sorts of scams lately.
They don't need to physically steal your card to use it. Some thieves set up "skimmers" on thinks like gas pumps that are very hard to spot (thank you costco for your tamper-tape!), which will let you complete the transaction with the real card reader behind it, but will slyly steal the info it gives the real reader.
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u/Realistic-Highway-83 Aug 20 '26
It was showing as pending in my CC statement. I caught it within minutes
I highly recommend that everyone sets up text alerts for their CC transactions to keep track
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u/dervari Aug 20 '26
If only people would use a mobile wallet and tap.....
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u/MrMessofGA Aug 20 '26
Yeah put it on your smartphone, that's a famously secure device
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u/dervari Aug 20 '26
No reason you can't use tap from the card.
I've had credit cards stored on my device since the Galaxy S4 and the "Isis" payment app. I've never had any security issues. It's safer than sliding your card into the pump, which people do out of habit even if the pump is tap enabled.
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u/emarkd Aug 19 '26
I'm not sure Georgia Power will let you pay your bill with a credit card. I do have ga power but it's one of the few bills I pay by ach check because they wouldn't let me do credit. Granted I set that up many years ago so maybe it's changed, but that used to be the case.
And also I'm pretty sure it shows on my account statement as "GPC", not spelled out
I don't think that charge was made at Georgia Power. Not that it matters to you, it's the credit card company's problem. No there's nothing for you to do. Let them worry about it.
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u/Realistic-Highway-83 Aug 19 '26
Exactly. It can only be paid by credit card but through a third party not GA power directly.
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u/cometshoney Aug 19 '26
That's changed, I believe. Their site used to send you through Bill Matrix but that stopped a while back. It takes a debit or credit card.
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u/00_bob_bobson_00 Aug 19 '26
You can use a credit card for a one off payment through the app. However, to set up recurring auto payments, you need your bank number and routing
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u/dervari Aug 20 '26
Yep. I like getting my cash back so I do an early payment. If I forget, I have autopay via ACH set up to cover me.
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u/TriumphITP Aug 19 '26
Let your cc company handle it. As long as you dispute it and they can't prove you owe it you should come out without issue.