Just for a Heads Up - Check your CC rewards points
Gadabout
Posts: 1,072
Just for a quick heads up, take a few minutes today and check your credit card statements and rewards points. I know some of you hate CC's and rarely use them. That's even more of a reason to go check your cards occasionally.
What prompted this is I got 2 emails from Amex today. The first one:
Reading another email from AMEX:
In talking with the representative, as it is now if they have your card number they can request the PIN be reset. They don't need any other information. Once they reset my PIN, they changed the password to my online account. I'm assuming they did this all via phone. Most personal information is partially hidden on the account. Nothing was changed in my personal information.
The Amex folks cancel my existing card, activate a phone password for call in service, reset my password for the online account. Once I can get online, I don't see any charges that I didn't make. I asked myself why they would go to all this effort, and not do anything. That's when I went and looked at the rewards statement. Just today, someone removed 60,000 rewards points and traded them for $500 Home Depot gift card and a $100 Zappos card.
So, everything is back to normal. I'll have a new Amex tomorrow morning. The reward points have been reinstated. A fraud investigation is opened so they can try and catch the folk(s) that did this. Just thought I would post as a reminder. Go check your CC statements today and look at charges and reward points. Even if you don't use them very often. Take a few moments and just make sure everything is OK.
Scott
What prompted this is I got 2 emails from Amex today. The first one:
We recently received a request to reset your Personal Security Key "Security Pin" for your Card account ending in XXXXX. If the request to reset your Personal Security Key was made by you, no further action is required.
Reading another email from AMEX:
Did you recently verify your User ID or reset the password that you use to manage your American Express? Card account online? If so, you can disregard this email. To help protect your identity online, we wanted to be sure that you had made this request.
In talking with the representative, as it is now if they have your card number they can request the PIN be reset. They don't need any other information. Once they reset my PIN, they changed the password to my online account. I'm assuming they did this all via phone. Most personal information is partially hidden on the account. Nothing was changed in my personal information.
The Amex folks cancel my existing card, activate a phone password for call in service, reset my password for the online account. Once I can get online, I don't see any charges that I didn't make. I asked myself why they would go to all this effort, and not do anything. That's when I went and looked at the rewards statement. Just today, someone removed 60,000 rewards points and traded them for $500 Home Depot gift card and a $100 Zappos card.
So, everything is back to normal. I'll have a new Amex tomorrow morning. The reward points have been reinstated. A fraud investigation is opened so they can try and catch the folk(s) that did this. Just thought I would post as a reminder. Go check your CC statements today and look at charges and reward points. Even if you don't use them very often. Take a few moments and just make sure everything is OK.
Scott
Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. ..... Frank Zappa
Post edited by Gadabout on
Comments
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Sorry to hear about this happening to you. This just goes to show how diligent you need to be when dealing with these kinds of things.
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Sounds like a flaw in American Express' system. I lost my pin number for my Visa card. They wanted a lot more than just my CC number to reset it, and even then, they would only mail it to my billing address. They would't give it to me over the phone. And with my Visa card, pin numbers are only used at ATM's, and can't be used for anything online.
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Interesting little scam there... They're banking on folks not being quite as observant with their rewards balances, as opposed to their credit balance. Nice catch, but sure makes me wonder how much they've already gotten away with. I'm also wondering if the CC companies are truly obligated to reimburse fraudulently claimed rewards. However, I'm sure all the big players will do just as AMEX did.
