Has Pluto charged your credit card without you knowing?

Credit card customers nationwide caught a charge from a company they have never heard of, and authorities have opened an investigation into the charges, WVIT-TV in Hartford, Conn., reported.

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Among your credit card purchases, you might not notice this one: $29.99 from a company called Pluto Data with a toll-free telephone number.

"I called the number and it was in a heavy foreign accent and you couldn't hardly make out what they were saying. So, then I got really suspicious," said Jamey Roe, a fraudulent charge victim.

Roe spotted the fraudulent charge on his credit card account two weeks ago. So did Christa Clark.

"It's scary now, too, because you think if they can get that, what about your Social Security number and stuff?" Clark said.

The victims appear to reside in virtually every state, using many different banks and types of cards, WVIT reported.

The Web site Broadband Reports lists comments from hundreds of scam victims wondering the same thing: What company is this?

The Secret Service and the FBI have opened a joint investigation into the charges, but they refused to comment on how widespread the fraud may be.

"People's first reaction is, 'Oh well, it's all that shopping you do online,' and this and that. But you're encouraged to do online banking. Everyone's information is out there somewhere," said Nancy Elizabeth Pellegrino, a fraudulent charge victim.

Neither Visa nor MasterCard could explain how the mystery company managed to get so many working credit card numbers. A Visa spokeswoman said they were aware of the problem.

Roe's bank, like most, did not hold him responsible for the bogus charge because he reported it immediately.

"Within a few minutes, they had the account canceled and started the process of issuing a new number and a new card," Roe said.

WVIT reported that they did not find any similarity between the victims -- some people shop online, some don't. Experts recommend checking credit card statements carefully.