【Important】Based on comments on DoC, if you submit a dispute through the AMEX website, there’s a good chance the system handles it automatically, which can lead to the kind of situation described in this post. My recommendation is to call and report it as a fraud charge. Customer service can then remove the charge, replace your card, issue a new card number, and update the expiration date all at once. It’s safer and usually more efficient.

【2021.5 Update】After I filed the first dispute, AMEX denied it. I submitted it again later, and they finally refunded me. Here’s the follow-up:

  • On February 25, I submitted a dispute through the AMEX website, explaining that I had not authorized this charge (details below).
  • On March 1, I received a secure message from AMEX saying they had investigated the charge, determined that it was authorized by me, and would still hold me responsible for it.
  • This evidence was probably obtained after AMEX contacted the merchant coloadtest and requested details about the transaction, as shown below.
  • I was pretty speechless. My dispute reason was “I don't recognize this charge,” and the information they sent still didn’t prove that I personally made the charge. I checked the comments on DoC, and quite a few people got the same response after filing a dispute.
  • I noticed some people said that if you submit the dispute again, AMEX will refund the money. Even though $1.55 isn’t much, I still didn’t want to let it go, so I filed the dispute again and added a note saying that if they handled it the same way again, I would file a complaint with the BBB.
  • On April 20, I received AMEX’s reply: they couldn’t find any additional information, so they credited me back for the charge...
  • AMEX may simply have no reliable way to determine whether an online charge was really made by the cardholder. They can only investigate based on limited information, so they may initially assume the charge was yours. If you object and the amount is small, they may decide it isn’t worth spending more resources to keep investigating.
  • I still recommend that if you see an unfamiliar charge like this, contact customer service right away and dispute it. No matter what the initial result is, keep following up. The major banks usually resolve these issues fairly well.

About this wave of mysterious charges

A few days ago, I saw DoC’s post about unexplained charges from coloadtest.com, so I decided to check whether I had been affected too. My method was to open a platform like personal capital (or mint) that aggregates transactions across all of my cards, so I could quickly review recent activity. To my surprise, I had one too.

I had barely used this Delta card after completing the welcome bonus. Then last year I received an offer to upgrade from Delta Gold to Delta Platinum, and I used it a bit on Amazon, but I don’t think I had used it at any physical stores. I immediately logged into my AMEX account to confirm whether the charge was there, and sure enough, it was.

Why this kind of charge happens

Generally speaking, a small charge like this can be a warning sign that your card information has been compromised. Usually, whoever stole the card data obtained a large batch of card numbers through some method. They won’t necessarily start with a large purchase right away. Instead, they first test the card with a small charge. If the small charge goes through and you don’t notice it or replace the card, that suggests you may not watch that card closely. Then larger charges may follow. By the time you discover it, there may already have been several fraudulent transactions.

After thinking it over, the only places I had used this card were Amazon and card-linked cash-back apps like Drop. I’m not sure whether one of those apps may have had its information compromised.

What you should do

Don’t ignore it just because it’s a small amount. If you do nothing, larger fraudulent charges may follow.

Dispute Charge

The best first step is to dispute the charge, meaning you tell the bank that it is an unauthorized charge. There is an option for this on the transaction detail page. Note that if the transaction is still pending, you won’t be able to dispute it yet. Customer service will also usually tell you to wait until it posts, but you can still request a replacement card beforehand, and that part is not affected.

After clicking it, you’ll need to answer a series of questions.

There are many possible dispute reasons. In this case, I should have chosen the first one: “I don't recognize this charge.” You can also look through the other options, which cover the most common reasons.

Next, AMEX will show you some transaction-related information and tell you that you can try contacting the merchant first. Of course, you can ignore that. If the transaction was not authorized by you, it’s usually fastest to resolve it directly through the bank. So just select No.

You can then upload supporting documents if you have any. For example, if the charged amount differs from your receipt, you can upload the receipt. In my case, I had never even seen this transaction before, so I had nothing to upload.

After you finish, you’ll receive a reference number. The processing time is 24-48 hours, which is relatively fast compared with many other services. Fraud needs to be handled quickly, otherwise the losses can grow.

Replace the card

My personal recommendation is that if you’ve had a fraudulent charge, it’s best to replace the card with a new one. When requesting the replacement, make sure to tell customer service that it is due to fraud. Otherwise, if you simply request a replacement, you might receive a card with the same card number, which is less secure. With AMEX, you can also do this online by selecting “replace a card.”

When selecting the reason, there didn’t seem to be an option specifically for a dispute-related replacement, so I just selected “stolen card.” Note that lost card, stolen card, and never received will all get you a new card number. Replacing a metal card will not.

Of course, you can also call customer service or use online chat.

Follow-up

At this point I have already filed the dispute and replaced the card. If there are any additional developments, I’ll update this post here. In the meantime, check your accounts to see whether you were hit with a coloadtest.com charge too!