Strange occurrence with contribution to Georgia Senate campaigns

[BassWrangler]

A few days ago, I made a $100 contribution each to the campaigns for the Republican Senate races in Georgia (Loeffler and Perdue). I made these via the campaign web sites. I got a confirmation/thank-you email for one of them, so I know at least one went through.

Yesterday, I got two email confirmations from "ActBlue". The ActBlue contributions were for $100 each, and were two the campaigns of the Democrat opponents (Warnock and Ossoff) of the two candidates to which I had just contributed. There was also a third contribution, also for $100 via ActBlue, that was split equally between Warnock, Ossoff, and "Fair Fight, Inc. - Federal".

It gets stranger. The person doing this obviously used my email address in the contribution form. They also used my last name and first initial. (So if my name was "Bass Wrangler", they used "B. Wrangler"). The zip code they entered for the contribution is in New Jersey (I am in Washington State).

Anyone have a theory on what the heck is going on here? I guess it could just be a coincidence. I do have a few people with same last name and same first initial that like to use my email address when signing up for stuff. Maybe that's all this is. But it seems a really strange coincidence that they effectively cancelled out my contribution the day after I made it.

[mystery-ak]

Did you stop payment on the $100 donation to *Act Blue*?

[The_Reader_David]

Check your credit card and bank statements.  It could be actual identity theft.

[BassWrangler]

Did you stop payment on the $100 donation to *Act Blue*?

@mystery-ak @The_Reader_David
It doesn't seem to have been made with my credit card. The receipt shows the last 4 digits, and it doesn't match any of my cards.

[mystery-ak]

Hmmm...

[BassWrangler]

I did file a report with actblue using the link they have on their web site. We'll see what the say.

[Wingnut]

Damn if Gibbs rule #39 isn't getting a workout this season
@txradioguy

[txradioguy]

Damn if Gibbs rule #39 isn't getting a workout this season
@txradioguy

It sure is.

I'd also say that with the recounts...Gibbs Rule #35 in applicable too.."Always watch the watchers"

[Cyber Liberty]

@mystery-ak @The_Reader_David
It doesn't seem to have been made with my credit card. The receipt shows the last 4 digits, and it doesn't match any of my cards.

It's weird.  The Point of Contact that is important is your CC.  Watch it closely for a few days, you can dispute the charges if the ActBlue garbage shows up.  Chew ActBlue up when an opportunity presents itself.

[Mesaclone]

It's weird.  The Point of Contact that is important is your CC.  Watch it closely for a few days, you can dispute the charges if the ActBlue garbage shows up.  Chew ActBlue up when an opportunity presents itself.

It may be that some “entity”, perhaps a foreign donor, is using your local ID to cover up their own illegal donation. They are also matching what you donated snd then exceeding it to ensure a fiscal positive for the two Dem candidates.

[BassWrangler]

It's weird.  The Point of Contact that is important is your CC.  Watch it closely for a few days, you can dispute the charges if the ActBlue garbage shows up.  Chew ActBlue up when an opportunity presents itself.

I will definitely do that, thanks!

[BassWrangler]

It may be that some “entity”, perhaps a foreign donor, is using your local ID to cover up their own illegal donation. They are also matching what you donated snd then exceeding it to ensure a fiscal positive for the two Dem candidates.

That was my initial thought, but I would think the physical address would be the most important info to validate it's a domestic donor. They're not using my physical address. My address is in Washington State, but here is what they used:

Billing Address
1615 Park Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712

Also there's a section on Employment Info:
Employment Info
Nurse
Meridian

So it seems like the most likely scenario is that this is someone whose last name and first initial is the same as mine, but who either has a very similar email address and mistyped it, or deliberately entered what they consider a bogus address to avoid spam. Now I have a number of people (maybe 3 in the US, and one in Australia) that use my email address to sign up for stuff. I'm thinking this is just one of the repeat offenders. I don't remember them being in New Jersey, but maybe someone moved, or maybe it's a new one.

[BassWrangler]

So I did a reverse address look-up on the address and discovered it's an apartment complex and there is a woman there with the same first initial and last name as me. So it seems like it's just one of these people that likes to use my email address.

[BassWrangler]

Got a reply from "ActBlue" (the company that collects the money for Dem campaigns). They apologized and said that they refunded the money "back to your card". Now, this is going back to the person who made the contribution, not me. Hopefully she won't notice until the runoff is over.

[Cyber Liberty]

Got a reply from "ActBlue" (the company that collects the money for Dem campaigns). They apologized and said that they refunded the money "back to your card". Now, this is going back to the person who made the contribution, not me. Hopefully she won't notice until the runoff is over.