Credit Card Fraud

[PSC_Pats_Fan]

I got a voicemail today from my credit card's fraud control office... I called them back and learned that someone in Florida was using my credit card. (I'm in New Hampshire and haven't been to Florida since I was 8 yrs old)

The strange part is, I haven't lost my card and it wasn't stolen. I was holding it when I called in to them.

Luckily, they had a feeling this wasn't me and won't hold me responsible for any of the purchases and are issuing me a new card and taking care of things with the credit bureau's.

They have no idea how the crooks might of gotten my card information.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? And how do you think they most likely got the info?

 

[Fully Tilted]

Did they ask you for your 3 or 4 digit security code on the back of your card after your signature?

 

[Bushy]

Don't know but I had the same thing happen a few years back. Purchases made against my card in both Florida and Texas on the same date. BTW, don't count yourself "lucky" that the CC company didn't hold you responsible for the charges. IMHO, it's their responsibility to assign to you only those charges that you legitimately incur. If a CC company ever said to me "Somehow your # got stolen but we're holding you accountable for the charges" I'd have a lawyer on their ass faster than Andy Reid eats a cheesesteak. Everybody loves to talk about how much they hate lawyers (hell, I'm one of them) but it's also true that without them every time a big company said to us consumers "jump" we'd be stuck with "how high?"

 

[PSC_Pats_Fan]

Did they ask you for your 3 or 4 digit security code on the back of your card after your signature?

Nope.

But I called the company's main 1-800 #, so it wasn't like I was giving card info to a possible fraudster.


Is "fraudster" a word or did I just invent one?

 

[Moebius]

possibly dumpster diving (though less likely) or snagged from a site hack.

 

[Fully Tilted]

Nope.

But I called the company's main 1-800 #, so it wasn't like I was giving card info to a possible fraudster.


Is "fraudster" a word or did I just invent one?

Cool-your post sounded like a case of fraud itself. Good for you for being a smart consumer and calling the 800 #.

Re: Fraudster

I subsrcibe to your theory!

 

[mikiemo83]

Has this ever happened to anyone before? And how do you think they most likely got the info?

only thing I ever did was renew my license on line and I got hacked into one atm card - my fun money one - I did some research myself and tracked a few packages were sent to wisconsin and even had the address but could not find anything more out - the Police looked into it but nothing and the Bank reinstated all my funds once I gave them a police report.

A pain in the ass as I had to redo all my accounts with new numbers for fear of the others being hit next - it was on year ago this month - If I every found the little sh!t who did it I would Jack Bauer his candy ass and take out a knee

 

[southcarolina]

You should get Steven "Fraud Monitoring" Neal to look into it. Or was he Zero Liability? I dont remember.

 

[harrisonhits]

<<
And how do you think they most likely got the info?
>>

There are several ways they could have gotten this info. One as mentioned above is the traditional dumpster diving going through your trash. You should always shred that sort of thing before throwing it away.

Most likely you used the card online and a company you ordered through was either hacked or had an employee who stole cc info. Or a local store where an employee stole the info or someone dumpster dived there when they did not properly dispose of info.

Often you see reports in the news of companies that have been hacked into and cc info or personal info on anywhere from hundreds of thousands of people to millions is stolen. There is a subculture on the net that buys / sells stolen cc and personal info. That info is sold for as little as $2 a head and goes on 24/7. Much of this has been traced to eastern Europe and Africa.

Two of my three cc's have only $250 and $300 limits. Those are the ones I normally use to order online. If the info is stolen, they can't get too much out of the cards. I am generally do NOT use my debit card and the card I have with a much higher limit to order online.

 

[JD10367]

Not to scare you, but it's still possible you got frauded. (Is that a word?)

My wife just got a Capital One credit card. It arrived here in RI two days ago. However, her mom called from NJ and said that FOUR days ago someone from the "Capital One Fraud Division" called their house in NJ looking for my wife. They left a 1-800 number.

I told my wife, not to call this supposed 1-800 number, but to call Capital One directly via the number on the back of the card. After 15 minutes and three different operators, she determined her new card was fine, there were no charges on it, and no one at Capital One had any freakin' clue what we were talking about.

I wouldn't put it past the frauders to now direct people through a legitimate 1-800 number.

The key is what they ask you. Do they want the three numbers on the back of your card? Do they want your WHOLE Social Security number, or just the last four digits? Do they need your WHOLE address, or just your zip code?

I think it was Abe Lincoln who said, "Trust none of what you hear, and only half of what you see." If my MOTHER called me and wanted my credit card info, I'd have to think twice about it.

 

[CleatMarks]

I was victim of it a few years ago. Mine was my bank card which doubles as a Visa though. I was on vacation and someone from Spain was purchasing gifts over several days until they drained my checking account of 8,000 dollars. This was the checking account so think about that. I had checks bouncing for my Mortgage, car loans, electricity, etc. I was also on vacation in Florida and my cash funds ran out. Luckily I had taken out money before the vacation.

I eventually straightened it out but it was a big mess with my bills and I had to have the bank contact people to get late charges cleared.

My advice to people using a Visa bank card is don't use it as a Visa. If you've got it attached to your main checking account like I did and you get nailed (like I did) you'll have a real mess on your hands (like I did).

 

[AllWorldTE]

ID Theft

This happens all the time. Make sure you report this incident to your local police dept. so there is a report on file if you need it. The local PD can't do much about it but the report will protect you in the future. Usually the CC companies will send you an affidavit to fill out and send back with a copy of the police report. This absolves you from any responsibility and makes the cc company the victim instead of you.

You should put a fraud alert on your credit through one of the credit bureaus (Transunion, Equifax, or Experion). You should also get a current copy of your credit report and check it to make sure nothing fraudulent is on it and follow-up with your PD if you find something that shouldn't be there.

It sounds like it was only your existing credit card that was compromised but you want to check you credit history to make sure your SS# wasn't compromised and used to open other lines of credit also.

 

[Moebius]

And also leave us not forget Phishing emails. For anyone who hasn't had much experience with them, they'll look like they're coming from a bank, or Ebay, or a CC company (Chase is targeted alot). The email would look pretty much identical to one you might get, asking you to verify some fraud detection or what-not, with a link to do so.

The resulting page would also look identical to the company's site, collect your info, thank you for submitting and all that. But you weren't on the company's site.

One of the nice things about IE7 is that they're maintaining an active phishing search these days, so if you do click a link, odds are good IE would pop up a warning. The easiest way to check is to watch the URL (if it's an image in the email look in the status bar at the bottom of the window to tell you where it's going. If the URL doesn't end with company.com, steer clear. They'll put in stuff to try and trick you, so you might see http://security.chase.it-secure.com If Chase ain't the last thing before .com, it ain't Chase.

 

[bideau]

And also leave us not forget Phishing emails. For anyone who hasn't had much experience with them, they'll look like they're coming from a bank, or Ebay, or a CC company (Chase is targeted alot). The email would look pretty much identical to one you might get, asking you to verify some fraud detection or what-not, with a link to do so.

The resulting page would also look identical to the company's site, collect your info, thank you for submitting and all that. But you weren't on the company's site.

One of the nice things about IE7 is that they're maintaining an active phishing search these days, so if you do click a link, odds are good IE would pop up a warning. The easiest way to check is to watch the URL (if it's an image in the email look in the status bar at the bottom of the window to tell you where it's going. If the URL doesn't end with company.com, steer clear. They'll put in stuff to try and trick you, so you might see http://security.chase.it-secure.com If Chase ain't the last thing before .com, it ain't Chase.

My general rule of thumb is to never click on a link supplied by an email. I have the links to my various investment/banking sites saved.

I recently read a scary story of a new scam. Many of our sites have created some markers to ensure us that we're at the real site. Many times, we're asked to select a picture which will be displayed when we log onto the site. The assumption is that the fake site won't know what we selected.

With this new scam, when you click the link in an email, you think you're going directly to the official site of the bank/investment company. In fact, you end up on the real site. What you don't know is that there's another site sitting between you and the real site. The link brought you first to the scam site which then forwarded you to the real site. Now, all data transmitted between you and the real site is captured by the middle site.

Again, safest practice is to never click an email link, especially if you have even the slightest suspicion. Go to the site directly or call the company to verify the email.

 

[JD10367]

I was victim of it a few years ago. Mine was my bank card which doubles as a Visa though. I was on vacation and someone from Spain was purchasing gifts over several days until they drained my checking account of 8,000 dollars. This was the checking account so think about that. I had checks bouncing for my Mortgage, car loans, electricity, etc. I was also on vacation in Florida and my cash funds ran out. Luckily I had taken out money before the vacation.

I eventually straightened it out but it was a big mess with my bills and I had to have the bank contact people to get late charges cleared.

My advice to people using a Visa bank card is don't use it as a Visa. If you've got it attached to your main checking account like I did and you get nailed (like I did) you'll have a real mess on your hands (like I did).

I preach this all the time. I would NEVER use my checking account ATM card as a credit card (or as a debit card even). It's one thing to have someone steal a CC number, it's an entirely different thing if they gain access to your actual cash. Even something innocuous is a pain in the ass. My mom went to Wal-Mart and bought something for fifty bucks, but the cashier accidentally punched it in as 500 and my mom didn't notice, and the next thing you know her checking account is short 450 bucks and she's got to go work it out with Wal-Mart.

Credit cards are so easy to get. They're a dime a dozen. Why risk your checking account?

 

[O.Z.O.]

A couple years ago I had my Amex card get zapped to the tune of $1500. My wife also had her PayPal check card get whacked as well.

Use a shredder.

 

[PatsFanDan]

Identity theft is a huge and growing problem in our society. I have not been affected personally by it to date (knock on wood), but I work in the financial services industry and I've seen and heard all of the horror stories.

Some facts people might not be aware of:

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S.

27.3 million people in the U.S. have been victims of it.

The avg victim spends $1500 and 600 hours trying to clean up his/her credit report.

In 2003, business in the U.S. lost an estimated $50 billion to identity fraud cases.

If you do any kind of banking/financials online, you need to be wary of spyware and phishing and take all necessary precautions.

And you should check your credit report regularly obviously. That is a no brainer.

A couple of years ago, I called my CC company to check my balance and the rep asked me if I had recently changed my address. I said "Huh?".

About 2 weeks earlier, the address on my account had been changed from my home address in NH to a CT address. The CC company did a fraud investigation but never gave me an answer on what happened. It could have been human error I suppose but my gut tells me someone was up to no good.

This is one of those things where you don't expect it's going to happen to you but unless you live in a box with no contact with the outside world, you are at risk.

 

[JD10367]

And also leave us not forget Phishing emails. For anyone who hasn't had much experience with them, they'll look like they're coming from a bank, or Ebay, or a CC company (Chase is targeted alot). The email would look pretty much identical to one you might get, asking you to verify some fraud detection or what-not, with a link to do so.

Through my work e-mail, I literally get three or four a day from "Fifth Third Bank", "Ebay", and a few others. It's funny 'cause I don't even have accounts with them. It's not funny 'cause I'm sure there's some poor schmuck out there somewhere who's getting conned.

I don't understand why the government can't do something about it. Shut down their sites, trace them and arrest the mother&**#ers, or something. Hell, I'd settle for some computer expert who has the ability to hack in, find out who's running the scam, hack THEIR credit info, and then we can use their own credit info to scam them back, LOLOL.

 

[JD10367]

And you should check your credit report regularly obviously. That is a no brainer.

Does anyone know a good way to do this? I'm hesitant even to use the supposed legitimate places like FreeCreditReport.com, because when you go to their site you have to give them EVERYTHING (name, address, SS#, mother's maiden name, etc.,.). Basically, everything that a hacker would need to #&*( you.

Is there any place you can do it the old-fashioned way, by walking in and getting it? How much would it cost? I'd rather pay 20 bucks to get it in person than risk my info online to get it free...

 

[harrisonhits]

<<
Does anyone know a good way to do this? I'm hesitant even to use the supposed legitimate places like FreeCreditReport.com, because when you go to their site you have to give them EVERYTHING (name, address, SS#, mother's maiden name, etc.,.). Basically, everything that a hacker would need to #&*(
>>

There are numerous provider sites you can get your report through. I have used mycreditkeeper.com. For any of them however you do have to enter that personal info.