Credit Card Fraud

[Headbanger]

My credit card # was used this weekend, by someone other than me or Mrs. Banger. I got a call Saturday morning from the fraud division of my credit card company (Chase). It started off as an automated voice system simply stating the last 5 purchases. If all were wrong press 1, if 1-5 were wrong press 2... So I pressed the correct key and a customer rep got on the phone. I thought they were calling cause an on line cigar company tried to tap it the night before from my purchase. She told me that was on another Chase card and did in fact see it. I told here those special limited edition cigars not found in the USA and were bought by me. Guess I should have let her speak first, seems there was a charge at Walmart in VA the day before to the tune of $650 bucks that we did not make. She verified who I was and even then told me there was another charge that very morning again at Walmart in VA for another $700+ bucks that we did not make. So I was :cursing: mad if you know what I mean. Told her would be almost impossible for us to charge at that time of day and be home to take the call.

She assured me I was not liable for the fraudulent charges. The compromised card would be canceled, all 3 credit bureaus would be notified why the card was canceled and a new card would be issued under the same terms as the old one. This particular card is my primary card and NOT used on line ever.

Nice to know the credit card company had my back on this one. Just an example for everyone to check your statement and keep track of purchases. They caught this extremely fast, but next time might be different.

 

[Fox]

Bummer, Steve. Consider checking your account regularly online. It gives me some peace of mind being proactive.

 

[Poni]

Glad to hear everything worked out. How are these people using #'s with out the physical cards. Sounds like they know someone at that Walmart, wonder if they can find out which cashier the charge was made at.

 

[Headbanger]

Good advise John. They called the next day, so they were really on this.

:dunno: Larry. They have electronic devices that somehow steal your card number credit and card duplication machines to make a dummy card. At Walmart you can just swipe a card with no signature verification or pin number. Chase says an investigation has been started in this matter, as happens every day for unsuspecting people like me.

The credit card companies should work with the stores to fix these problems. There should be pin number as an entry, signature verification, and a photo id for in person transactions IMO. Even one of these would be a step in the right direction. Sure there would be problems like this, but could be lessened by taking those steps.

 

[smokem94]

Credit card companies require merchants to request photo ID when accepting a card. It is becoming more common every day but still not done enough. I always thank the merchant when they request the photo ID...it is a good thing and would stop most CC fraud.

 

[PetersCreek]

Man-oh-man, I know the feeling and commiserate with ya. A couple of years ago, some Eastern European dildo started using my check card number online. Fortunately, I spotted 'em early and got it sorted out in pretty short order.

More recently, my U.S. government purchase card number was used fraudulently several times. I'm scrupulous about its security and how I use it, so I figure one of our vendors got hacked.

This lowlife bought things like airline tickets, domain names and hosting services, and even tried to buy a bloody car for almost $50,000. My daily and per-purchase limits put a stop to that one, though. It took a little while for BofA to sort that mess out. Happened to a few other gov't cardholders, too.

 

[Kingston]

Credit card companies require merchants to request photo ID when accepting a card. It is becoming more common every day but still not done enough. I always thank the merchant when they request the photo ID...it is a good thing and would stop most CC fraud.

Actually, it's specificaly against the merchant agreement (the contract between the merchant and the credit card company) to require photo id.
The signature is enough, that's why they have the fraud protection.
http://www.gofso.com/Premium/LE/06_le_ic/fg/fg-merchants.html
and
http://usa.visa.com/download/business/accepting_visa/ops_risk_management/rules_for_visa_merchants.pdf

I REFUSE to show ID to any clerk, they usually back down.
What's worse:
Somebody using your credit card at walmart - end result the CC company clears you
Some clerk remembers your name, address, DOB, driver lic. number - end result he proceeds to open new lines of credit in your name that are much harder to fix.

In this case since Wal-Mart can't produce a signature (the true authorization method), they eat the cost.
Do you know how easy it is to get an ID with anybody's name on it?
We're not talking about fooling a cop here, just a grocery clerk.
It's a false sense of security.
Asking for ID doesn't protect you, the CC company's fraud protection is what protects you.
The only thing showing your ID protects is the merchant, and that's not my concern. Protecting my personal information is my concern.

In this case, it worked perfectly. He got a call, the CC reversed all charges and a new card was issued.

 

[Wasch_24]

Wow, good for Chase to resolve it...a few months ago we had to clear about $350 in fraudulent charges off of our banks account. Wachovia was pretty painless to deal with for the most part.

 

[Prometheus]

I work for them, and this is not the first time I've heard our fraud division is on top of things. Glad it worked out for you Steve.

I had an experience like that with US Bank the day before Christmas. They asked if I was doing any last minute "power shopping". Turns out these folks really went to town. Deposited 10K stolen check into my acct, took out 1000 in the ATM and spent 1500+ all in a 2-3hr window. What a mess. Worked out though.

 

[tripp]

I never looked at it that way Moon Master.

You way does make sense. Do you think that the people in the store/business/restaruant would be involved in the scam A La' Artie Bucco's place on the Sopranos?

 

[cvm4]

Good to see Chase on top of things here! And good info. Sermid.

 

[Kingston]

I never looked at it that way Moon Master.

You way does make sense. Do you think that the people in the store/business/restaruant would be involved in the scam A La' Artie Bucco's place on the Sopranos?

Happens all the time. They have a little scanner that they run the card through that stores all the info for several thousand cards.
The device is small, non-descript, and fast. Just takes a couple of seconds.
There was a case in San Jose a few years back ( I think) where some servers were busted doing just that.
The CC companies have fraud built into their costs, they usually pass along these costs as higher consumer fees ( over the limit, balance transfer, higher interest rates, etc).
I never get hit with fees, so that doesn't concern me.
If you want to show ID, sign your card and write SEE ID on it. If you don't sign the card:
A. It's not valid
B. If a thief steals it, guess what he's gonna do? Sign it himself.

I for one, only sign my card and rely on the CC issuer's fraud protection.
I don't live in China, Cuba, or North Korea and I don't have to, nor will I, produce ID on demand.

 

[pdonlin]

This reminds me of when I bought something from Russia a few years back. The credit card company called me up (I forget which one it was) and said there was a suspicious transaction because it occured in Russia when I was just using it in the US the same day. Let them know it was me and everything was fine... glad they watch for this stuff.

 

[caudio51]

That sucks Steve

I had my Amex info stolen and they ordered some odd stuff. Like 600 bucks worth of chocolate

 

[cvm4]

That sucks Steve

I had my Amex info stolen and they ordered some odd stuff. Like 600 bucks worth of chocolate

That's a lot of chocolate!

 

[caudio51]

That's a lot of chocolate!

I know.

They had it shipped wherever. However, since my addy was the bill to, I got a free pound of chocolate. I called up to see what they wanted me to do, and let me keep it do to the circumstances.

It was very good chocolate and I have a ton of respect for the company.

http://www.fanniemay.com/

 

[pdonlin]

Mmmmmm chocolate http://www.northerner.com/html/mat-cb_1.html