WellConnected Duchess Birthstone Bracelet ordered,confirmed and charged to my credit card. I still do not have the bracelet and looks like they left town with my money. El Paso Texas

Joe - hopefully a credit card WAS used as the charges can be reversed through the credit card company. You are protected by your credit card company for any fraudulent charges as long as you report them to the credit card company on a timely basis.

Using a credit card is the best way to pay for anything, especially online due to this protection. Big deal, a bad person gets your card number. Call the credit card company and report it - they will not charge you for any charges that are not yours and overnight you a new card.

Everytime you hand your credit card to a waiter, retail clerk, etc you are giving up the number someone could use - don't be afraid of using it over the internet - it provdes you the most protection and no less secure than using it at a gas pump.

Sending a money order, cash, check, or wiring funds is the absolute worst thing you can do and you can kiss your money good bye as there are NO recourses to dispute it and get it back. Turning it over to law enforcement, or making it a federal crime, won't put the money back in your pocket.

Using a credit card will never take the money out of your pocket in the first place if services or goods are not delivered and you report it to the card company on a timely basis. You have generally 30 days after the charge appears on your card to dispute it - check your card company's policy on this. If you get sucked into a scam that drags out the process past this reporting period then you probably need to pay the price of the lesson.

IF you live in one state and these scam artists live in another, federal laws pertaining to Interstate Commerce apply.

You need to take all the paperwork and take it to the FBI.

You did something I tell EVERYBODY NOT TO DO OR THEY TILL GET RIPPED-OFF and that is, you ordered something online AND I can only hope you didn't put a credit card number online too because now they REALLY have something they can use!

You can contact your State's Attorney General as well and maybe their cybercrimes unit will be able to help you.

You can also consider it an expensive lesson.

You do NOT know for sure who you are doing business with on the Internet.

IF you REALLY want something badly enough to have to deal with someone on the Interet, you need to get a REAL ADDRESS located in a "mortar and bricks" building and you need to pay for it with a U.S Postal Money Order available at the POST OFFICE.
That way, if something goes, wrong you can get the US Post Office on them and they are FEDERAL and they can really get some charges put on them and do time without the possibility of parole in a federal prison if they get convicted!

On the Internet, who knows where this guy goes.

You might get someone to got after the Internet Service Provider --he had to pay someone to maintain and put up the and host the web site that he used in his scam and chances are, you are not the only person he ripped off! They can probably be charged too for allowig this came to operate form their site.

GOOD LUCK!