How many times have you had to report credit card fraud? Just reported my first case and it doesn't feel good. Someone racked up four very expensive purchases (including a hotel) before they locked my account. All in India. I'm not liable for any of it, but it's disconcerting to think I got my identity stolen. How do they even do it? Make a fake card? WTF?
Calcutta was wonderful. Thanks. Seriously... I've had my debit card red flagged for unusual purchases in Quebec...I guess someone tried to buy something. Stolen credit card numbers are probably one of the easier type of frauds to pull off.
A few months ago I received a call from a credit card company about a purchase made in Iowa a few hours earlier. Naturally, it wasn't me and they stopped the paymeny, cancelled the card, etc. I learned that the purchase was for about $16 during my discussion with the representative. When I inquired why they flagged that small purchase, she said it was outside of my card useage pattern. I accepted that answer, but the most logical conclusion that I could draw was that there was some sort of typo made when the purchase was made, either the number was called in or the clerk had to manually type the number because the magnetic strip failed to read. The only basis for this thought was the miniscule purchase amount. So I do not think that I've been victimized yet, even with that incident.
There was a story on 60 Minutes a while back about someones identity and credit card info being ripped off and within a half hour purchases were being made somewhere half way around the world...with a 'physical' card. Much of it is done by 'insiders'. Like bank employees and credit card company employees. It's also become a big revenue source for the drug cartels...apparently they are hiring 'the best and the brightest' hackers and cleaning out many big bank accounts. God only knows why people have 'big bank accounts' these days...or put any personal information on their computers.
Did you enjoy yourself? Did you at least buy me something with my own money? Badum-psssh. I meant they stayed at a hotel...dweeb. Yeah, but how do you find out where? That makes a lot of sense. What gets at me is that it took them four purchases in India to get a clue. You got flagged for one $16 purchase in the same country. My bank must suck. Not that I have a huge bank account, but I do not keep my money all in one place. I don't really trust the FDIC enough and am aware there are people that work day and night trying to hack people's accounts.
Aside from the hotel room, what else was purchased? If hookers were involved, it might narrow the suspects to Charlie Sheen and Secret Service personnel.
I have no idea, they just said names of places where the credit card was used. Nothing recognizable save for the hotel. Do hookers even take credit cards? Do you swipe it in their butt? WTF?
I wouldn't know about such things young lady, I wouldn't know. You might find the nearest Marine and ask them. I kid. Understanding your discombobulation having credit cards used without authorization...it's fairly common. Be careful about disseminating personal info on the internet, and make sure on-line transactions are over a secured line...shred invoices and credit card mail...and be careful using a credit card. I mean maintain situational awareness, who might be looking over your shoulder, etc. Other than that, procedures are in place to red flag unusual purchases in locales and/or patterns that differ from your own. Welcome to the 21st century information age... e-criminals take advantage whenever given a window of opportunity. Keep the windows... shut.
You don't. If you've ever used your credit card at a restaurant where you've given it to the waiter/waitress to run while you enjoy an aperitif after dinner, you run the risk of them swiping your card info. If you've ever bought anything over the Internet and used your credit card to pay for it, you run the risk of your credit card info being hacked. If you've ever bought anything in a store and used the credit card, you run the risk of having your credit card info stolen from the merchant you purchased product from. It's so easy to obtain your info, it's not funny! For example... Let's say you have a Bank of America (BoA) Mastercard. You go to a restaurant (Olive Garden) for dinner, and when the waiter brings you your check, you slip your BoA MC in the little check holder, and hand it back to the waiter. Unbeknownst to you, the waiter has an iPhone with the card reader app on it. He scans your card through to pay for your bill, and then scans your card with his iPhone. That night, he takes the info of your card off of his iPhone, transfers it into his home PC, and using a magnetic card writer ( currently <$200 @ eBay.com), scans your card info onto a different card. Using his new credit card, it's time to go clubbin'!. It's so disgustingly simple, it's frightening! In fact, the waiter in the above scenario doesn't even need a blank BoA card to swipe your info onto - any credit card will do, because no one checks! If he has a credit card from United Missouri Bank (UMB), for example, he can erase the info off of that card, and then code your card info onto the UMB card. The merchants are supposed to look at the card numbers and verify that the card number matches the numbers on the sales ticket, but it's safe to say that the vast majority of them don't. You go to Ralph's and buy groceries - do they look at your credit card when you swipe it through the point-of-sale (POS) terminal? Most don't, and don't even bother to look at your card unless there's a problem. And with the advent of self-serve lanes at major retailers (WalMart, Home Depot), there isn't even a cashier to verify the card used at the POS - no interaction with store personnel at the check-out lines is necessary, unless there is a problem. Meanwhile, the Secret Service - who is supposed to investigate credit card fraud - is so busy with other priorities (Colombian prostitutes) that credit card fraud is hardly ever investigated until it becomes apparent that a ring of thieves is operating. The small time credit card thief can, and usually does, fly well below the radar.
I'm also dealing with an unrelated, but equally disturbing situation involving someone claiming to be a Navy O-5 and threatening some guys and me from one of my prior units. Whoever they are, knows a lot of (*)(*)(*)(*) about us and is really off the deep end. I hate the modern world. Disturbing. I'm going back to cash.
Which works, until... My daughter got married this weekend. I've maxed out the credit limit on my credit card - which is no big deal because I'll pay it off next billing cycle - but... We needed to rent a car this weekend. My wife had errands to run the day of the wedding, as did my grandson and I. If you go to Enterprise and attempt to rent an automobile, you need to have a credit card with enough of an open line of credit to have the transaction approved. If you don't, and plan on paying with cash or a debit card, you need to bring in two forms of ID that show you live at the address on your drivers license (utility bill, cable bill, bank statement, etc.) - which must be originals, not copies. Additionally, the debit card requires an additional $100 deposit, and the selection of automobiles that Enterprise will rent you is severely limited - not everything in their fleet (Escalade) is available for cash/debit card users. How this is solved is by going to the bank and withdrawing cash, going to WalMart and Moneygraming the $$ to Capital One, then calling Capital One, giving them the transaction ID number, and having them post the $$ immediately to your account. This now gives you an available line of credit, enough to rent the stinkin' Escalade. If I feel the need to buy something over the Internet, I'll go to WalMart and buy a prepaid debit card. If someone steals the credit card number, they won't get much - maybe $10 at most.
Goodness, Spotty, I had no idea it was that easy to steal a credit card! I have heard about the tiny cameras they use to get your card number, but I never considered something like an iPhone.
Good post - good info....... You're right on about the waiters - that's why I always make sure I have cash when eating out. Another thing to be on guard about - if the department stores have the mchine under the counter where you can't see how many times they swipe your card. If that's the case, I learn over the counter and watch....... Several yrs ago I watched a "Dateline" show about a case of ID theft. This guy had an A-1 credit rating. He got sick w/cancer and during his hospital stay, the bills started coming in for purchases he never made..... he finally left his hospital bed and started digging, not stopping until he finally found out who had stolen his ID - it was a medical technician in his hospital........
Back in the day. it was even easier. You'd give your card to the waiter...they didn't phone in anything then..they'd put your card in a machine and physically copy the imprint onto a blank form (remember, you old timers?) Then they'd fill out the information by hand and bring it to your table to sign...all on paper with carbons....Nothing stopped them from swiping a few extra forms, leaving them blank for later use somewhere else, and pocketing them. Hardly anyone asked for ID back then, so they'd have their buddy at some other restaurant or market or department store use the pre-imprinted form that they ripped off instead of one from whatever establishment they were committing their scam in.
On the other hand....as disturbing as it is....consider two things: a) Our credit card laws protect us the consumer. I find that amazing that the banks haven't changed that to push the liability on the consumer rather than ourselves. b) The banks fraud units are pretty good- the one time it happened to me, we were called within a half hour after the charge was made. Oh and believe me- if consumers were liable for the fraud, banks wouldn't have such efficient fraud units.
Spotscat information is correct. Every time that you use a credit card you assume a low-level risk. The more times you drive, the more times you are likely to get in a car accident. If you really want to increase your odds, drive drunk at 1 am on a Saturday morning. Similarly, the more times that you use a credit card, the more likely that you will encounter an unscrupulous employee. Use you credit card with businesses that have a high employee turnover and you are doing the equivalent of driving drunk at 1 am on a Saturday morning.
Very good posts spotscat. I am a cash user, mostly. But I have made a few on-line purchases and occasionally use a credit card at stores. I guess I'll pare down some more. The thing that I will never do is get one of those phones that transmits your credit card information merely by being near a reader. I know the horror stories are true that require some sort of physical access to the credit card, but to have a radio beacon sending it out in the air sounds about three kajillion times more likely to be abused.
Twice to me. On one debit card then the new one a couple of months later. The banks are responsible for making up the loss (I am in a credit union).
I can see over the phone credit card fraud but not when actually physically handing over a card and then swiping.Unless the pad that took the swipe was outdated and old and not managed correctly. Don't use a credit card at some place that doesn't seem up to date on it's credit card machine/device.
I had an invalid charge against my card a couple of times. The most recent was amazing, I got a call within minutes of the questionable charge. Naturally it wasn't mine and the card was in my hand. The card company immediately invalidated the charge, cancelled the card and sent me a new one. I didn't have to do anything but tell them the charge wasn't mine when they called me. Credit card companies have a strong vested interest in catching fraud quickly, so they have better systems in place to do so than most law enforcement agencies.
