YOW! ATTEMPTED THEFT!!

[Ματθιας]

in 2014 I made two purchases from two well known internet sellers in one day of about $100 a piece. About three or four hours later I get a call from my CC asking me if I made a purchase of $12K for marine batteries. I said no, and then they said well we OKed an earlier purchase of $14K worth of marine batteries from another vendor. I had a $30K limit and just paid it off. I literally had to sit down - I was in shock.

To make a long story, short, it took me about six months to clear everything up, but I didn't have to pay anything.

When I asked why the fraud Dept why they OKed a purchase when they know my spending habits, I got silence. I did a little bit of internet searching and found out, that, at the time, they were in transit to a port on the East Coast and that they could probably catch the fraudsters if they called the local authorities. They said they'd handle it

They' sent me a bunch of paperwork to sign and I never did find out what ultimately happened.

Now I have it where a purchase attempt of more than $500, it gets flagged and I get a call.

 

[ancient-one]

I ordered a bed skirt from a manufacturer in PA and used my CC. In a few days I got a call from my CC Co. asking if I had been in NH. Someone tried to buy $999.99 TV at Walmart but it didn't go through.
What hacked me off is that I knew someone where I bought the bed skirt
was the card thief but the CC Co. didn't even want the info. Tore up my old card and got a new one.

 

[yaktamer]

Lesson learned is you need to have both a bank and CC company that will immediately put any suspected charges on hold (i.e. not pay them) without verification from the you that they are legit. Years ago I had a CC company that would actually call the clerk at the check out line to verify that I was actually the one making the purchase. I traveled a lot so making a $20 purchase at a store 500 miles from home would have the CC company make a phone call to the clerk. A real PIA but it protected me. The clerk would have to hand me the phone to verify it was really me.

Business would routinely at the drop of a pin send me overseas. The bank would not approve the expenditures until I confirmed that yes I really was in Spain, France England or where ever.

If your bank or CC doesn't do this you need to find one that will.

I had this happen when I purchased some artwork in Guatemala. Bad phone connection and a bunch of hoops to go through,which was a pain, but I was glad they were looking out for me.

 

[pluspea]

My brother in law had like twenty five thousand unauthorized while walking the streets in Italy but was headed off by his bank somehow, my bank called me once and asked about a purchase in France, I let them know it was not me and it was taken care of. After reading all this I just updated my discover credit card account and plan on using it instead of my debit tied to my bank, better safe I guess. I have a pay pal mastercard and a little leary about using it since I don't know about having to dispute a charge with them.

 

[riverrat38]

Bad checks and bad credit card scams cost us all! No enforcement is a big problem in my opinion. I would increase prison populations for a lot of crimes if given the opportunity. Wouldn't be easy time for any crime.

I think that we could outsource prisoners to South of the Border under the terms of NAFTA.
The "host" country could charge $3 USD a day, and realize a $2. profit.
Most of the time, a 30 day sentence would get the job done!
Win, win.

Best,
Rick

 

[wood714]

I always used a debit card until my bank told me how much safer a credit card was.

It's so safe the first time I went to Ohio to visit family they cancelled it, due to out of state gas purchases. Now I call them every time I travel, to tell them what states I'll be using it in.

Wish I'd switched to a credit card sooner. I pay it off every month, and the bank pays me to use their money in cash reward points.

 

[paulh]

I noticed each time my debit/cc was hacked there was always a $1.00 charge before the big one. Testing it out I guess.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I noticed each time my debit/cc was hacked there was always a $1.00 charge before the big one. Testing it out I guess.

That's how it works when you scan your card, especially at a gas pump. They authorize a small amount, usually $1, to make sure your card will work. Then you pump gas, and it sends the full amount to the card company. It will usually go through even if you're over limit, because the card company/bank likes that. Then you'll see the $1 go away . . .

 

[paulh]

Never use the debit card for gas, only on line(mostly vitamins) and at StopNShop for groceries.

 

[500SNW]

I think that we could outsource prisoners to South of the Border under the terms of NAFTA.
The "host" country could charge $3 USD a day, and realize a $2. profit.
Most of the time, a 30 day sentence would get the job done!
Win, win.

Best,
Rick

Or, just post the identity thieves name, photo, drivers license, address, phone, DOB, social security number and any other personal information...post it all on the internet. Sort of a what comes around goes around type punishment.

 

[susieqz]

the charge on my card was $41.25, kinda high for pizza hut.
the bank said either my card got scanned or an online purchase
was with an untrustworthy company.

 

[NYlakesider]

For me no Debit Cards.

I do have 2 credit cards and tend to keep a close watch on them. Years back we did a lot of ocean cruising which many times included a couple of previous days on land in the area the cruise departed from. LA, San Diego, a few cities in Florida and i always gave my card company our itinerary so that if a "funny charge" was made there or at a port call they had a good idea what was OK.

 

[mtgianni]

I got a phone call last week from mine along with a text and email. Our truck has been running about $70 for a fill up. I pushed it low and it hit $80 + a car wash ran it over $90. I was glad to hear my card was frozen until I fixed it.

 

[TheHobbyist]

I think they will stop a card too if it is deemed a larger purchase and 'out of the ordinary'. When I went to buy my wife an engagement ring, the jeweler came back and said my debit card was declined. I was shocked because I had been saving up and had the money in the bank. Called the bank and they said it just seemed unusual; so I am thankful they were looking out for me.

Back to the OP's question, unfortunately, there is so much of our information online now it is crazy. Companies may or may not take more active security or privacy roles than others; and sometimes the threat is new and even the best cannot be protected.

Not to sound old...but it is a strange world we find ourselves in.

 

[Kiwi cop]

My debit card has been hacked 4 times in the past 18 months . Luckily mu CU keeps close tabs on accounts . They did get sneaky the last time , went to gas stations and charged less than $50 . I found them cause I check my accounts every 1-2 days . My CU always reimbursed me , no questions . There is a pet specialty store close by , and for some reason it struck a cord . Talking to the owner , the new thing is get a wireless card reader , sit outside stores , and suck in all the numbers . My second one was from a local gas station . I do not pay outside , always go inside . It sucks that this is the world we live in , just wish the people doing this stuff would hurry up and go to the big house .

It's time for a new wallet, one with a built in FRID function.

If, like me, your wallet is also your badge/ID holder, then RFID card holders can be bought for around 6 holders for under $10 NZ. A bit of a pain each time you need to take out a card but well worth it.

 

[TX-Dennis]

A couple weeks ago the wife and I ordered some porcelain tile at Lowe's.

I shoved my debit card in, and it was declined. Had to use the credit card. Probably should have anyway, because I get reward cash back on that. It went through right away. Called the bank next day and found out my debit card has a limit per transaction of $5000. Anything over is automatically rejected no matter how much you have in the account. This was only a few bucks over the limit.

Of course it's "for your protection," they said. Hmm . . . really for their protection, I think.

 

[Broke Hoss]

I been stuck on light duty this week. Prolly half the reports I've taken were fraud/forgery. We had someone using skimmers on a couple of local ATMs over the weekend and Monday was nothing but Debit Card Abuse reports. I'm truly amazed at the amount of thefts via fraud. And you're right, there is not a lot of follow up on most of these cases. But our 4 man Fraud Div is still busier than they need to be. They pretty much just work dope cases and tack on fraud/forgery for punishment phase.

 

[nicky4968]

At 5' 7" and weighing 1/8th of a ton, there was no way I would have fit in the clothes I bought at Tilly's.

 

[susieqz]

i told the bank no charges over $1000 unless i call.they got the new card in the mail a few minutes ago.

 

[El Biblioitecario]

At 5' 7" and weighing 1/8th of a ton, there was no way I would have fit in the clothes I bought at Tilly's.

But if the credit card companies put the customer's weight on their cards they would lose all their female customers.