Watch Out: Free Think Logic Scam

There's a scam going on that's hitting bank accounts $29.99 at a time. I know about it personally because my girlfriend was devastated when she came home from our Christmas vacation to find an overdraft notice from her bank.

She had been so careful, watching her account to make sure that she didn't overdraw during the holidays. She couldn't figure out what had charged her with an electronic check for $29.99. The fact that it registered as a check was the first flag. She never pays with an electronic check.

Then we took a closer look. The bank let this transaction through even though it listed a completely incorrect address under my girlfriend's name. That never should have happened. The company collecting the $29.99 was "Market Billing (355) on behalf of Free Think Logic."

We did some research and it turns out that other people have been hit by this Free Think Logic scam. It happens just the same way, getting $29.99 drawn out of your bank account and billed to an incorrect address. Free Think Logic posts the same faulty 1-800-397-5761 phone number on every fraudulent check. They list a website - www.mbillingsupport.com - which doesn't work.

The worst part is that this overdrafted her account. That means ridiculous fees for something that she never bought. Working out the issue with the bank was difficult because we received two different sets of instructions over the phone. When we went in person to the bank, we filed a dispute. But that could take weeks to resolve and it could mean more headaches.

Check your statement for this charge. Post any comments here on this blog with your Free Think Logic stories. The more information we get about this scam, the quicker it can get get snuffed out.

UPDATE 01.09.2008: First off, I want to thank everyone that commented on this post. There's a lot of valuable information here in these comments that can help people out so they don't get taken advantage of (or at least, if they do get tricked, they know they're not alone).

As for my girlfriend, she submitted her fraud dispute to the bank and they reversed the charges. They restored all her money - including the overdraft fees - within a reasonably short about of time. I still can't believe the charges ever went through with a false address on the e-check.

It looks like people here have actually gotten in contact with Market Billing. I'd be curious to see what happens if someone confronts Market Billing and accuses them of running a Free Think Logic scam. I wonder what they would say...

UPDATE 02.22.2008: It appears that Free Think Logic is no longer the only company name Market Billing is using to steal money from people. Recent company names such as ArtNet, Bremen Media, Tel Media, Rhino Systems,and DFSN Systems have all been mentioned in comments on this post. Watch out for these companies as well.