Fraud

audiocr381ve

Got a call from our bank today about 3 suspicious charges. Two of them were for around $200 at some school supply store and one was under $100. I go online to check our account and there are 3 more pending charges.. One for $450 for some auto repair shop in NY which was on hold until 6/15, a $120 charge pending, and a purchase from coca-cola in San Francisco. We sat down and came to the conclusion that neither of us got our cars repaired in New York, or needed school supplies for our kids who don't go to school yet, and we definitely didn't drive to San Francisco for a caffeine fix.

The charges that they called about were stopped and my wife's card was shut down. They told us to wait out the remaining pending charges. Do you guys have any advice you can offer me at this point? This is the first time we're dealing with fraud and it's kind of scary to deal with.

toucanet

It would be prudent to consider placing security(aka credit) freezes on your credit bureau files for you and your wife (TransUnion/Experian/Equifax).

You can also request each of your credit card issuers to place a note in their files to request some other form of ID when cards are presented for payment, besides your driver's license that a thief may not be familiar with.

zane77

I has something similar and called the bank. They shut down that card and issued a new one. Haven't had any problems since.

Dennis Gardner

Replace the cards and set up an online only card at the same bank with no overdraft protection on that account, so that anytime you want to buy online, you are required to transfer $$$ into that account to cover the amount and it basically sits without much money in it any other time. With today's phone apps, I move $$$ within seconds to use when I need it.

We have done this since we got our cards hacked over 10 years ago and have never had another issue. I used the same policy for my business accounts too and never had a problem for 5 years too.

fossy

it is scary to know you have been taken advantage of ....... happened to me last year ....luckily for me it was under $100 ....mine was multiple cards ... .... some numchuck payin his bar tab ...all cards canceled ....no more problems .....also mine was local

ZLTFUL

I got lucky...I bought breakfast at 8:15am in Des Moines, IA and then my same card was used to attempt a charge in New Jersey ~7 minutes later. Bank caught it and immediately suspended the card.
I called them, filed a fraud claim and had a new card with a new number 48 hours later.

BlueFox

Same thing happened to me. Don't worry about it. Get a new card, and move on.

cnh

Count me in as well. Had a card hacked last summer. Then a call from one of the Credit Card companies asking me if I were applying for a card I did not have with them (a fraud check which I shut down). Then I received a near $500 charge from one of those boutique stores that have their own cards and probably APPROVE "any" application. They sent me a form to fill out and disclaim that.

I went to my local bank to no avail, the only way they would protect me is if I applied for a LOAN which I don't need.

I was advised to file a Police report so that I'm on record in case someone tries to steal my "identity". So maybe, if you're anxious you might want to do that?

But frankly since the initial activity, right after the hack and the two incidents above, NADA! Fingers crossed!

Remember what happened to 10s of millions of CCs at Target last year? Well, we're ALL vulnerable. You just have to stay on top of it!

cnh

JerryR1verz

Skimmers are sometimes used. The link below is one example and I recently heard of another skimmer in use locally as well... at the same fast food chain.

http://www.kptv.com/story/16997177/former-burger-king-employee-accused-of-stealing-credit-card-bank-information

Skimmers can appear anywhere. Redbox, ATM, etc. Many are not even noticeable unless you are looking out for them.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/04/redbox_warns_of_credit_card_sk.html

dudeinaroom

Skimmers have many different forms, and some even look like the anti skimming devices that are installed on the machines from the factory. It has now gotten to the point that you are just as susceptible to having your Credit/debit card number stolen online, or when you use it in person.

Zentish

Losing a credit card number is a small inconvenience. It has happened to my wife and I a few times and we simply close the card or the bank does it for us.

We never expose our debit cards: don't use them online especially. Your liability is much higher and the damage much greater if you loose control of you debit card and thus the bank account behind it.

You always want to be wary of any activities that indicate something more insidious like identity theft. Credit report hits, credit card applications, home loans, etc. That's the scary stuff. You can't sit back if there's any indication of identity theft, because it can do so much damage to your financial world so quickly.

I would immediately call all the banks and especially the credit reporting companies directly and lock yourself from any credit checks. That will stop a lot of the damage that can be done.

JimKellyfan

We had this happen with our debit cards and we no longer use them for anything except going to the banks atm for cash.
We keep our credit reports frozen at all times.
If applying for a car loan or otherwise, just place a temporary lift.
In SC it is free, most states will have a 10-25 dollar fee to freeze, lift or unfreeze, but well worth it.
During a time in question, you are entitled to a free credit report from the 3 agencies, as well as once per year free.
For every purchase, we use rewards cards only, or as much as possible anyway.
In doing so, I tracked the rewards for a year and a half on normal every day items we bought anyway.
We got 1200 cash back from multiple rewards cards on stuff we buy anyway.
Like next quarter, one rewards card is 5% back on gas, 1% back on everything else.
There is monitoring on our end, each transaction, as people will try and steal the numbers every now and then (haven't seen it since it happened those two times back in 08, I believe)
In SC, the IRS was also hacked, so there, we closed the account altogether.
We make sure to have 2 checking and 2 savings at all times, but only really use the one.
The other becomes the back up.
The rewards cards we use can be PM'd if interested.
Good luck and be patient, these are messy and the banks are slow to make sure you keep your money.
That is why we use rewards cards and pay off every month, because they care about their money, banks don't really care about yours, really.

WilliamM2

Never understood the value of Debit cards at all. I use credit cards for everything, and pay them off at the end of the month. No risk that way, plus I get cash back.

I've been told the most common way credit card numbers are stolen, is when you give them to a waiter/waitress, or any other service where they take the card out of sight. They just write everything down, including the security code.

Dennis Gardner

JimKellyfan wrote: »

Good luck and be patient, these are messy and the banks are slow to make sure you keep your money.
That is why we use rewards cards and pay off every month, because they care about their money, banks don't really care about yours, really.

You do realize that credit cards are bank cards too? Their isn't some magic credit cloud that holds all the credit card money separate from debit card money. A credit card is a bank account just like a debit card account, the difference is that you are choosing to have a negative amount in that account with a credit account, that you are required make payments and pay interest on or pay off each month, where I choose to have and operate from a positive amount in the debit account. Same principle, except that I never owe myself at the end of a month and have less risk.

WilliamM2

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

You do realize that credit cards are bank cards too? Their isn't some magic credit cloud that holds all the credit card money separate from debit card money. A credit card is a bank account just like a debit card account, the difference is that you are choosing to have a negative amount in that account with a credit account, that you are required make payments and pay interest on or pay off each month, where I choose to have and operate from a positive amount in the debit account. Same principle, except that I never owe myself at the end of a month and have less risk.

Except with a credit card, no one can empty out my bank account, and I'm not responsible for any fraudulent charges. And I get paid for using it.

Dennis Gardner

WilliamM2 wrote: »

Except with a credit card, no one can empty out my bank account, and I'm not responsible for any fraudulent charges. And I get paid for using it.

Noone can empty mine either as I only deposit what I spend. Oh yeah, and I never owe a bill. I just don't see the fascination with using other peoples money that I have to pay back unless you don't have enough of your own.

WilliamM2

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

Noone can empty mine either as I only deposit what I spend. Oh yeah, and I never owe a bill. I just don't see the fascination with using other peoples money that I have to pay back unless you don't have enough of your own.

I have enough of my own, all bills are paid with the card, and then I only have one bill to pay each month, the credit card. No interest, and anywhere from 1% to 4% cash back. And no need to keep only some of my money in an account to protect it.

villian

OP - Was this on your credit card, or bank card? Each has varying degrees of responsibility when it comes to fraud. CC (Credit cards) are required to deal with fraud without impacting your finances (Since it's technically their money that was misused) whereas a bank is required to do nothing (Since it was your money used). Some banks will actually tell you to just deal with it (Which means you take the fraudulent party to civil court on your own to try and get back what was stolen), while others will try and recoup the money as a courtesy..but legally..banks are not required to do anything to recoup your onw money that was stolen from your account unless it's a revolving credit account (Credit card).

Furthermore, was it a personal or commercial account? That has major implications on responsibility.