A charge from “Botanic Beauty” on your credit card or bank statement is almost certainly unauthorized and tied to a fraudulent operation calling itself “Botanic Beauty Co,” which runs through the website botanicbeauty-co.com. The legitimate skincare company Botanic Beauty, LLC, whose site is botanicbeauty.com, has publicly disavowed the charges. In its own words: “Please note, it is not us who has charged you. We are not Botanic Beauty Co… We are Botanic Beauty, LLC.” The company urges anyone affected to report the charge as fraud to their bank and file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.1Botanic Beauty. Botanic Beauty Skincare
Why This Charge Is on Your Statement
Unauthorized charges from unfamiliar merchants are a signature of credit card testing fraud. Scammers who hold stolen card numbers push small transactions through shell companies or fake merchant accounts to see which cards are still active, then either make larger purchases or sell the validated numbers to other criminals.2Mastercard. Card Testing Fraud Explained The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency lists small-dollar authorizations as a common warning sign of account probing.3Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Credit Card and Debit Card Fraud
Names that sound like real companies do two jobs for the scammer. They make the line item look plausible when you glance at a statement, and they slow you down when you try to figure out what you bought. Automated scripts can test thousands of stolen numbers at once by running small charges through online merchants, and the amounts are kept low on purpose so cardholders don’t notice right away.4Authorize.Net. What You Need to Know About Card Testing Fraud If the Botanic Beauty charge on your statement is small and you never bought anything from the site, that fits the pattern.
Dispute the Charge With Your Bank
Call your card issuer or bank now. Most will let you open a dispute online, by phone, or in writing, and you’ll need the merchant name, transaction date, and amount. The issuer may freeze the account and send a new card number while it investigates.5Discover. What Is This Charge on My Credit Card
If the Charge Hit a Credit Card
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your maximum liability for an unauthorized credit card charge is $50, and most issuers waive it. To keep your full rights, your written dispute has to reach the issuer within 60 days of the statement date on which the charge first appeared. The issuer must acknowledge the dispute within 30 days and resolve it within 90. You don’t have to pay the disputed amount while the investigation is open.6Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
If the Charge Hit a Debit Card
Debit rules are tighter and the deadlines punish delay. Reporting within two business days caps your liability at $50. Between two and 60 days of the statement, liability can rise to $500. After 60 days, you can be on the hook for the full amount. Banks generally have 10 business days to investigate; if they need longer, they must issue a provisional credit for the disputed amount minus up to $50.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Get My Money Back After an Unauthorized Transaction
Report the Fraud
Two federal channels are worth using after you’ve contacted your bank. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center takes reports at ic3.gov through an online intake form that asks for your contact information, details about the transaction, and anything you know about the merchant. IC3 doesn’t promise individual follow-up, but the complaints feed FBI investigations and are shared with law enforcement partners. The agency reported total losses from internet-related fraud complaints of $16.6 billion in 2024.8FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. IC3 Home9FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. IC3 FAQ
You can also file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Those reports enter the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database, which is accessible to more than 2,000 law enforcement agencies. The FTC does not resolve individual complaints, but it uses the data to spot patterns and bring enforcement actions, and it suggests contacting your state attorney general or local consumer protection agency as well.10Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud FAQ
Check Whether Your Card Is More Broadly Compromised
One unfamiliar charge often signals that your card information is circulating. Go back through recent statements for other transactions you don’t recognize, including very small ones, since test charges can be a dollar or two. Ask your issuer to replace the card number if they haven’t already. Turning on transaction alerts in your bank’s app lets you catch the next attempt in real time.
Lookalike Beauty Brands Are a Known Pattern
Botanic Beauty Co isn’t a one-off. The Better Business Bureau flagged a separate operation called “Beauty Deals Boutique” after consumers reported unauthorized “VIP subscription” enrollments with recurring monthly charges; the BBB couldn’t confirm the business existed at its listed address and pointed victims toward legal counsel and the FBI.11Better Business Bureau. Beauty Deals Boutique Any unexpected charge from a beauty or skincare merchant you don’t remember buying from deserves the same immediate scrutiny you’d give the one that brought you here.