Credit card horror

[jadebox]

Last month on my Visa Credit card there were 3 charges for $9.95 by Zooba.com. Looked it up and it is a book club which I had never heard from. I emailed them and was told they had no account with my name and address. I researched and did not find any complaints so gave them my CC number and they found an account with that cc #. They credited my account for the 3 charges of $9.95. They told me I had to go to the police and have them request the name on the account.(Will go to Sumter Sheriff's office on Monday). THEN I went on the internet to check my Citizens FB account. There was a charge on my Debit card for $9.95 and three other weird charges. One to Grant Consultant Pro one to Crossings and 2 to Zooba. Total a little over $36.00. I went to the bank and we are cancelling that Debit card. No one has been in my house that I have not known for years and never was anyone been alone in a room with my purse or my husbands wallet.The Grant Co has lots of complaints against them. I do not use my debit card for things bought on the internet. SO how did this happen? I am so glad these are small amounts and hope this is the end of it.

[redwitch]

You may have been one of the unlucky ones that got caught in the Sweet Bay interception. Sadly, once they get a number, it is easy to do fraudulent charges. The only real protection we have is to be vigilant and check our statements carefully. Good for you for catching this and taking steps to clear it up -- many just decide the total isn't worth the effort (that's what makes it worthwhile -- $20-40 on a lot credit cards adds up to a very tidy sum).

[Sidney Lanier]

A week or two ago we discovered quite by accident that we had overdraft protection applied to one of our checking accounts at our small local bank in upstate New York with only a handful of branches where we live. I contacted the bank and learned that two checks (one small, the other fairly substantial) had been written against that account by some nonexistent company in Des Moines, Iowa to some nonexistent person and signed by a rubber-stamped signature that no one had any idea who it was.

The manager I was speaking with immediately recognized that this was fraud, arranged for all the charges to be reversed (including the charge for overdraft protection, of course), and as a legal formality sent me a form that I must sign and get notarized (on Monday) saying that I know nothing about it. But the zinger was when he explained to me that he pulled copies of the two checks and THEY WERE PREPRINTED WITH THE BANK'S ROUTING NUMBER AND OUR CHECKING ACCOUNT NUMBER!!! Talk about 'how can this happen?' Pretty sobering thought....

[gfmucci]

Just goes to show, while there are lots of warnings about internet scams, this occurs quite often with any other banking and credit card medium.

[Sailor17]

:)

We have one credit card that we use for online purchases only, which I check regularly. Last month there was a charge for $9.25 that was not made by us. I called BOA and they gave me the telephone number of of the party. I called for two days and only got an answering machine that gave me no information at all. The bank said they would handle it, credited our account and as far as they were concerned the issue was closed. Well, I have become even more deligent checking this account.......you can never be to careful.

Phyllis

[Sidney Lanier]

I honestly think that there are computer programs designed specifically to go trolling for credit card numbers online or in databases. Even people who never use a credit card online deals with a bank that maintains its credit card numbers in databases that theoretically can be accessible to hackers. I just had never pictured this with checking account numbers, as in our case (cited earlier in this thread), and especially not a national/international bank but a small, local bank! Credit card bills should be checked diligently!!!

[Mikitv]

I have one credit card I use but I am on line checking and watching the balances all the time. For years my credit card company contact me immediately when they see something that seems out of the ordinary activity on the account. I also check my checking account on line for any problems. I have been lucky so far and no problems yet. Scary today how easy it is for the hackers to get your information.

[KathieI]

This is not a credit card horror (as yet, I hope) but more of a checking account fraud issue:

When I was returning home from TV in November, I lost my drivers license in one of the airports showing it to security I guess. I immediately replaced it but the night before I was leaving for TV in February, the most unbelievable thing happened.

I received a phone call around 6pm at night from a the manager of a branch of my bank, not near my house, telling me that a person with my name and identification (drivers license) was in the bank trying to cash a check for $1500 but thankfully the teller became suspicious and went for managements approval.

They in turn called me and how could I be at the bank when I was home?? They immediately put a "stop" on my account so that no more money could be withdrawn and reversed the withdrawal from my account and they recommended that I go to the nearest branch the next morning to open a new account. Well, the next morning at 7am, I'm on a flight to Orlando. So the manager said she would put out an alert to all the branches in L.A. to alert anyone trying to withdraw money from my account, using my forged license Needless to say, I was very concerned as I needed money for my trip. So everyday while in TV I monitored the account on line to make sure nothing strange was happening.

Of course, I thanked the branch manager for being so diligent and protecting my account and that I was glad to be doing business with such a reliable organization. It is amazing to me how these people can go to extremes to forge a drivers license, putting their picture in place of mine but having all the same information on it. If she hadn't misspelled my name on the check, she never would have been caught.

This is a very frightening time we live in!!

[jadebox]

[quote=KathieI ]
This is not a credit card horror (as yet, I hope) but more of a checking account fraud issue:

Right, it is not Horror yet. Your situation was much worse. I check our credit card and bank accounts just about everyday so found both real quick. Tomorrow I find out if it was my debit card or my husbands so we can cancel the one being used. I will hold off on the credit card and watch it close because the company refunded the money. I will go to the sheriff to get them to see if they can get a name for me. It is just such a pain and irritating that it is on 2 cards.

[travelstiles]

I am adding the following to this thread - I had posted this information earlier last week when I was in the process of cancelling my debit card and closing my linked checking account due to recent fraud.
It's highly unlikely that it was coincedental that the only place I have used my debit card since we moved to The Villages in January was Sweetbay...management of the store should at the minimum be providing their customers with the following information, as should local banks, since many residents have their accounts there.
As a retired banker, I am diligent about checking my accounts online daily and would not want to wait to find out about unauthorized activities when I receive my monthly statement.
Please share this with as many people as you can. Most credit card companies do monitor activity, but that may not always the case for debit purchases, though that is changing. Liability may be different - check with your card issuer.
Below are some guidelines and informative links to for both credit and debit card info:

From bankrate.com - http://www.bankrate.com/bos/news/check_card/debit_card_tips_a1.asp
Best practices:
1. Keep receipts, and note debits in your checking register.
2. Check your account balance frequently either online or through the bank to avoid overdraft.
3. Beware of bank overdraft policies and fees. Customers can decline the bank's "convenience" coverage for overdraft, which could cost high fees if they overdraw their accounts. Instead, sign up for overdraft protection that is covered by a savings account.
4. Most debit cards now have "zero liability" protection that exceeds what the federal laws call for, so security is a lesser issue. Still, consumers should check with their banks to see how debit transactions are processed. Only those going through the Discover, MasterCard or Visa networks may be covered by zero liability.
5. PIN transactions are more secure than signature transactions, although most don't qualify for reward points.
6. If consumers pay off their credit card balances each month, they're better off using a credit card with better rewards for purchases than a debit card or check card.
7. Find out what the bank's daily limit for usage is for your checking account.
8. If a cardholder's balance is low, it's best not to use debit for purchases such as gas, where a hold of $50 will be placed on the card.

http://www.dolans.com/banking/debit_card_warning.html
http://www.dolans.com/credit_smarts/traps_tricks/report_identity_theft_quickly_to_minimize_damage.h tml?cc=forward

[Muncle]

Don't know how much truth there is in this, but thought you'd know if anyone does-----

I've heard that when one uses a debit card on some transactions like a gas pump where the total is open-ended when the card is first processed, there is a hold put on an amount of money that would exceed the normal transaction, e.g., maybe $75.00 on a gas purchase. In an ideal world, as soon as the transaction is completed, actual amount of the purchase would be posted and the hold would be released. I've been told, however, that often the hold remains in effect for a period after the transaction and that those funds are then unavailable to you, in some cases leading to an overdraft.

Any truth at all to that? ???

[travelstiles]

In answer to the question raised in the previous post, it depends on the financial institution and what specific type of account you have. Give a call to confirm the terms and conditions of your particular account and any overdraft protection available.
Also important to know - all consumers should check their credit reports at least once a year. One of the few websites that truly offers this for free is:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com

You do not need to pay for the FICO score unless you have a reason to think that your account has negative information or you will be applying for credit (or you are just curious), as you can tell from the credit report if there is suspicious activity or not. I would suggest that since there are three reporting agencies, and you are entitled to one free report from each once a year that you rotate checking your report every four months. For example, in January check through Experian, in May through Equifax and in September through TransUnion. Check out the website for more info.
Hope this is helpful.

[Mintjulep]

We got a notice from our bank last week that our debit card was 'compromised' at TV (we assume at Sweetbay) and they replaced both our cards with new ones.

Have been checking our charges (my hubby is a banker so fastidious about checking anyway), and haven't had any debits come thru that we didn't make.
But I guess if you even just used your card there during that time, our bank is replacing them.

[SteveFromNY]

I just finished notifying my bank (and having my ATM card canceled to prevent further occurrences) about a number of small transactions appearing on my card. The transactions happened at movie theaters 3,000 miles from my home, and the PIN number was used to complete the transactions! So not only was my acct number compromised, someone recorded the PIN as well.
The bank can tell from my transactions I was never at the movie theaters, and they are refunding the money.
Given the only use was at movies in the San Diego area, I figure it must be some kids that did it. Weird that someone would risk jail to go to the movies!
I never heard from anyone that the card was compromised. Like i said the new one is on its way!

[barbjim]

Another thing to look out for is using your debit cards in locations that give cash back. Often the cashier will ask do you want cash back and you say no, they hit yes on the machine and hit you up for an additional charge of 10 to 20 dollars.
They are the cashiers that always appear to be friendly and want to help you out on operating the machines. None of those machines are the same from store to store. It can get confusing for some folks.
I am still working, and this came to my attention from the company I work for. We have cashiers that have been caught and since became customers. Unfortunately, unless a customer complains, we don't know how many times that took advantage of a customer. Just something to think about when you are using a debit card in the stores.