You’re scrolling through your credit card transactions on a Tuesday night, and there it is. A random, vaguely cryptic line item that says 405 Howard Street San Francisco charge. It’s usually for a subscription-style amount—maybe $15, $30, or some weird increment that doesn't look like a lunch bill. Your brain immediately goes to the worst-case scenario. Did I get hacked? Is this some ghost in the machine? San Francisco is expensive, but you don't even remember being on Howard Street lately.
Wait.
Don't cancel your card just yet.
If you see this address, you aren't actually being billed by a physical office building for "existing" in the SoMa district. 405 Howard Street is a massive, glassy high-rise known as the Orrick Building. It’s a tech and legal hub. Most importantly, it is the registered headquarters or a major billing outpost for several massive software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies and financial platforms. When you see that charge, it’s basically the digital equivalent of a return address on an envelope. The building isn't charging you; a tenant inside it is.
Who exactly is billing me from 405 Howard?
The most common "culprit" behind the 405 Howard Street San Francisco charge is Fitbit. Even though Google acquired Fitbit and has been moving things around, 405 Howard has long been the primary address associated with their billing infrastructure. If you recently renewed a Fitbit Premium subscription or bought a new charger or band from their site, this is almost certainly what you're seeing. It’s funny how we use these gadgets every single day, strapped to our wrists, yet the moment the billing department uses their legal address instead of the "cool" brand name, we freak out.
It isn't just fitness trackers, though.
Other companies that have called this address home or used it for payment processing include Workday, BlackRock, and various legal firms like Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. However, those usually show up with more distinct identifiers. If the charge is small and monthly, think about your apps. Honestly, many payment processors (the tech that actually moves the money) use San Francisco as a hub. Sometimes, a smaller startup using a "virtual office" or a coworking space in that vicinity will show up on a statement with the master building address. It's a quirk of how merchant banks categorize SoMa-based businesses.
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Why doesn't it just say the company name?
Merchant IDs are a mess. Basically, when a company sets up their merchant account to take your money, they have to fill out a bunch of paperwork. Sometimes, the person in the finance department who sets it up uses the legal corporate headquarters address rather than the "Doing Business As" (DBA) name.
It’s annoying. I know.
You’d think in 2026, every transaction would come with a high-res logo and a map, but the banking backend is still built on ancient rails. If the merchant name field is left blank or defaults to the address field, you get the 405 Howard Street San Francisco charge. It’s especially common with recurring billing cycles where the "handshake" between your bank and the company's bank is automated.
Common amounts and what they mean
If the charge is around $9.99 or $14.99, you’re almost certainly looking at a monthly Premium subscription for a health or productivity app. If it’s a weird number like $106.43, check your email for a "shipment confirmed" notification. You probably bought hardware.
How to verify this without calling the bank
Before you sit on hold for 45 minutes with your bank's fraud department, do a little digital detective work. It’s faster.
First, open your email and search for "Receipt" or "Order Confirmed" and filter for the date the charge appeared. Check your "Spam" and "Promotions" folders too. Often, the email will come from the brand name (like Fitbit), while the bank statement stays stuck on the address.
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Second, look at your app store subscriptions. If you’re on an iPhone, go to Settings > [Your Name] > Subscriptions. On Android, it's in the Play Store menu. If you see a subscription that matches the price and the renewal date, you’ve found your ghost.
Third, check if anyone else in your "Family Sharing" plan bought something. San Francisco-based tech companies love family plans. Your spouse might have upgraded their storage or their workout app, and because you're the "Family Organizer," the 405 Howard Street San Francisco charge landed on your desk.
What if it really is fraud?
Look, it’s possible.
Bad actors sometimes use "generic" looking billing descriptors to hide in plain sight. They figure you'll see a San Francisco address and think, "Oh, just another tech thing I signed up for." If you’ve done the searches, checked your apps, and asked the kids, and you still have no clue what it is, then it’s time to act.
- Lock the card. Most bank apps have a "freeze" button now. Use it.
- Contact the merchant first. If you suspect it’s Fitbit or a similar tenant, go to their specific support page. They can usually look up a charge via the last four digits of your card and your zip code.
- Dispute it. If the merchant can't find you in their system, tell your bank the charge is unauthorized.
Don't just let it sit there. Small "test" charges are often followed by much larger ones once the scammers know the card is active and you aren't paying attention to the statement.
The SoMa factor
San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) district, where Howard Street sits, is essentially the world's clearinghouse for digital transactions. There are blocks where every single building contains thirty companies that might be billing you for something. 405 Howard is a prestigious spot. It's right near the Salesforce Transit Center. Because it's a "Class A" office space, the companies inside are usually legitimate, high-revenue entities.
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You're rarely going to find a "fly-by-night" scammer renting a physical floor at 405 Howard Street. The rent is astronomical. That’s actually a bit of good news—it means the charge is likely from a real company with a real customer service department, even if their billing descriptor is confusing as hell.
Actionable steps to clear this up
If you are staring at this charge right now, do this:
- Check Fitbit/Google accounts. This is the 90% likely candidate. Look for "Fitbit Premium" or Google Store purchases.
- Search your inbox for "405 Howard" or "San Francisco." Sometimes the address is actually in the footer of a legitimate invoice you received.
- Look for "Orrick" or "Workday" in your professional history. If you’re a business owner, this might be a legal or HR software fee.
- Compare the date. Did you travel to SF recently? If you used a digital kiosk or a high-end vending machine in the SoMa area, it might be a delayed "batch" charge from a local merchant.
- Match the cents. Scammers usually use round numbers. Legitimate tax-calculated charges often have random cent values (like $15.82). If there's tax included, it’s almost certainly a real purchase you made.
Dealing with cryptic bank statements is a modern tax on our sanity. But usually, the 405 Howard Street San Francisco charge is just a case of a big company having a boring legal address. Check your subscriptions, find the culprit, and if you don't use the service anymore, cancel it so you don't have to do this whole dance again next month.
Identify the Merchant: Log into your primary email and search for the specific dollar amount shown on your statement. This almost always reveals the brand-name receipt associated with the Howard Street address.
Audit Your Subscriptions: Use a tool like your banking app’s "Subscription Manager" or manually check your Apple/Google Play billing history to see if a recurring fee aligns with the date of the charge.
Update Your Records: Once you identify the company, add a note in your budget or password manager so that you recognize the "405 Howard" descriptor when it appears next time.