An investigation is underway in New York that could give consumers more confidence in the way their credit card data is handled when they make online purchases.

The state’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, has announced an investigation into 22 major online companies that he accuses of helping to deceive customers into fee-based membership programs that place monthly fees on their credit cards for little in return. In many cases, these online vendors actually shared their customers’ credit card data with the marketing companies in question.

Previous federal data has found that millions of consumers have been affected by these monthly charges, which often show up mysteriously on their credit card statements under the guise of “rewards programs,” discounts and other such things. This is one more reason why consumers should always take great care to read the fine print when making online purchases, since in many cases they have to specifically opt out of such offers in order to avoid the monthly charges.

Worse for consumers, those who have tried to have the charges stopped have reported that it can be extremely difficult to do so.

“This online scheme has impacted the finances and tried the patience of tens of millions of consumers nationwide. Well-known companies are tricking customers into accepting offers from third-party vendors, which then siphon money from consumers’ accounts,” said Cuomo.

Specifically, Cuomo has subpoenaed the companies, many of which are nationally known, for information about their knowledge of deceptive marketing procedures, the sharing of account data and the compensation they received for handing over customers’ credit card data.

The companies in question have maintained that they have cleaned up their business practices to shield consumers from unexpected credit card charges. However, they have also drawn considerable fire from some members of the U.S. Congress for their activities. Until the matter is resolved, the best bet for online shoppers is to continue carefully monitoring their monthly credit card statements for any unexpected charges.

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Paying attention to monthly statements can catch unwanted charges before they add up.

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