[Blueblaze]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Every time you make an online credit card purchase, you are providing the merchant with all the information needed to make fraudulent purchases on your card, or to sell the information. That is why I have a reloadable VISA debit card to use occasionally when doing business with an unknown merchant. I also use it for a streaming service that will only accept autopay. It is a "MyVanilla" VISA card that I got at Walgreens.

And yet, it's becoming impossible to use cash.

Just this weekend, I checked my credit card online and discovered that my new dentist (Smile Design in Mulberry) had hit my card for $25 twice on the same day, AFTER I'd already paid the agreed $55 at the desk on the day of service. They just used the number and helped themselves. This was after last week, when they sent a bill demanding payment for the insured amounts (about $300). When I called to ask what the deal was, they told me to ignore the bill (that said they'd charge a late fee if I didn't pay it), and wait 3 weeks to verify that insurance paid it. But they refused to send a corrected bill (I guess, so they can help themselves to a "late" fee using my unauthorized credit card number again).

Everyone you deal with these days is a crook. Just look at your next insurance statement if you need proof. The cops refuse to investigate crime unless it's to shake down normal folks for breaking an absurd speed limit. And, as I mentioned earlier, I've already discovered that even ID protection insurance is just another scam.

This country has become so corrupt that we make Mexico look like a bastion of virtue. At least in Mexico, you can bribe a cop to do his damned job!

[ffresh]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

And yet, it's becoming impossible to use cash.

Just this weekend...

This country has become so corrupt that we make Mexico look like a bastion of virtue. At least in Mexico, you can bribe a cop to do his damned job!

I wish I could say that I totally disagree with your pessimism, BUT

Fred

[MrFlorida]

Keep a copy of your medical records, they are always trying to double bill, or bill for services that you didn't have.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by TedfromGA

My credit card information was stolen from the Circle K gas station pump on March 30. This is the Circle K at 466a on the Lowes/Publix side of the road.

I used the "tap" feature - where you hold the card next to the black box with the tiny green lights that light up when your card communicates with the pump. Previously I thought this method was safer than inserting the card into a slot.

Thank goodness I get an alert every time the credit card is used. April 1 at 6:48am the card was used to charge $170 at Country Inn and Suites. This is clearly a fraudulent charge. I called the card issuer and canceled the card.

So be careful out there the crooks seem to be smarter every day.

Thanks for the heads up; seems Florida is a prime target for criminals who attach those to pumps, and a lot of the articles in the news mention Circle K stations. Don't know if they check for "skimmers" less often that others or why this could be so ? B.J.'s pumps also seem to be connected to a lot of this type of thing...and they always have attendants out and covering the area. As you commented, the more technology advances, the more criminals refine their "skills" ! Thankfully, most credit cards do have safeguards for the card holders.... that's US....LOL !

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

Fact check: True

fact checking guy

I've always been a "glass half full" type personality. No longer, and I don't blame "age" for this change, perhaps in a way, as experience does depend on age, but the "FACT" that "nobody cares" (maybe better said, "few care", there are a "few") has spread to every aspect of our society. When people go to vote, nobody really cares about the important offices like JUDGES, nobody really has an inclination to do all the hours of research needed to find out the philosophy and past judgments of those up for election/to retain, definitions of accepted concepts and individual words change monthly now (Orwell's "newspeak"), people have actually been dismissed from the jobs, or their classrooms because they "mis-pronoun" another individual. Great example, "mis-pronoun" is a word most adults in their 30's were never taught, so we/they are bound to make mistakes ! Very low tolerance for mistakes, people are quick to assume the WORST of others. The whole virus scenario seems to have just given impetus to the trend toward "nobody cares" ?
Serious thought here, has there been a major, and permanent, shift it the collective American psyche ? Interesting to ponder !

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by defrey12

So true. We NEVER use our bank card anywhere but our bank to get cash (we don’t even go to other banks) and they still lifted our card numbers…BOTH OF THEM. Pay attention, folks.

This thread will will serve to bring the extent of this to people's minds, but what needs to be posted is: THE SOLUTION. What is the solution ? Pay attention is not the answer to this, but is a "skimmer proof" credit card possible with today's technology ? What about all the online forms that "store" your C.C. numbers (many even when you check the "do not save" box !) It's a major problem that does not seem to be decreasing !

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by kansasr

I seriously doubt they got your card information there.

Contactless cards: How safe are they? (EMV security)

Why ? Just asking, not challenging ! Have read so many articles on this is various papers; Tampa, Gainesville, Orlando, about the state's actions in trying to check pumps for "skimmers", Circle K (for some reason ?) seems to be a prime target for these criminals ! Articles frequently name Circle K as a victim of this. Again, NOT challenging your comment, just wondering why that would not be a prime suspect since it is well know this chain is a frequent target ... could it be they have more locations than Freedom, Shell, etc. etc. , so it would follow they would be victimized more often ? WHY are gas stations more susceptible than other businesses (yes, restaurant employees have been found to steal CC numbers too), is it because it's easier to place skimmers than to accomplish "inside jobs" ?

[Villages Kahuna]

Just call your bank — the number on the card. They’ll cancel your card and send you a new one, probably overnight.

Don’t keep.using the old one. Your number has been stolen and is “out there”. Call your bank and get new card.

[rothbear]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Tap.

Swipe reads the numbers off the swipe and allows for the possibility of skimming.

Insert uses a supposedly one-time encrypted token but since the card moves past the swipe reading heads there is still the possibility of skimming

Tap uses a supposedly one-time encrypted token with no chance of skimming.

Unfortunately there are still way too many places that don't accept the "tap" method. Nor do they accept Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, etc. It's amazing how many times I hear "Oh, we don't do that here". I routinely use Samsung Pay everywhere I can. But believe it or not, WalMart doesn't accept any thing unless it's their own WalMart Pay. At least that's what they told me when mine didn't work.

I wish our illustrious credit card companies (or govt) would require that restaurants must bring a handheld to the table when you wish to use a CC, like they do in Europe. If they can't bring one, you must go to the register to pay. Your card never leaves your hands. There are some with the table check-out but it is not even chain wide much less system wide. I know of one chain where you can actually pay through your phone. That is nice.

Unfortunately my hubby isn't techy to the point that he can use the phone pay, and he often has trouble with the touch so it just frustrates him and he uses the chip slot.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by kansasr

I seriously doubt they got your card information there.

Contactless cards: How safe are they? (EMV security)

I read the same article. Not trying to be contrary, this discussion is an important one, but why would we trust this French company (Thalesgroup) for the definite answer to our questions about the safety of our credit cards, or any cards ? One company with a LOT at stake in convincing the "public" of the safety of the developing the card technology. Nope, call me a skeptic, but while seek to read all available "perspectives" on any topic, this posted one from Thalesgroup, is just another perspective from a company that has a LOT to gain from taking this stand on "safety"...LOL !

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

I’m thinking may need to go back to using cash again - especially at gas stations.

Agree, but in reality.... it's difficult to do of course. You can not make a flight or hotel reservation without one. My mother was one of THE very last holdouts concerning credit cards. She refused the entire concept for years, what took her over the cliff was the day she tried to book a flight to Texas and was unable to do so. She called me to make the reservation, then finally relented and was "forced" by the times to get one credit card ! I know growing up my parents we EXTREMELY "old fashioned" people. They paid cash for everything, EVERYTHING. Nothing was purchased if there was not enough to pay for it ! That included automobiles if you can believe that ! For an automobile they paid by check, not cash, but never until the total price had been "saved up". It's amazing how they lived, tried to explain to the grands. One grandson could not understand HOW they could get FOOD without a credit card ! It was like trying to explain a corded phone and what a "typewriter" was.....lol !

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

Make sure when they reissue a new card, they give you a new number.

Question: Isn't that just routine ? Do you actually have to ASK that you be issued a different number ? Ridiculous... defeats the whole purpose of letting them know you lost your card. Are you sure you have to request that ?

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by Pairadocs

This thread will will serve to bring the extent of this to people's minds, but what needs to be posted is: THE SOLUTION. What is the solution ? Pay attention is not the answer to this, but is a "skimmer proof" credit card possible with today's technology ? What about all the online forms that "store" your C.C. numbers (many even when you check the "do not save" box !) It's a major problem that does not seem to be decreasing !

Everything has risks, even carrying cash.



Credit Card Safety - Keep Your Accounts Safe

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

Think that's bad?

Someone at Chase Bank created their own Debit Card on my bank account and then ran up $4,000 in small charges at Amazon (apparently the only place that accepts an UNACTIVATED debit card with NO PIN).

How do I know it was someone at Chase? I don't. But who else would bother to make one small charge, wait 90 days (until the Chase liability window closed), and then start hitting Amazon three times a day for a year? Who else would have access to the account, to know that it was a small business account used almost exclusively for doing business as an Amazon seller, where they knew the charges would go unnoticed for months?

Chase even admitted that they paid the charges on a card that had NEVER BEEN ACTIVATED. They still refused to repay the $4,000 in fraudulent charges that they should never have allowed in the first place.

I had 133 Amazon order numbers against my card but Amazon refused to reveal the name or address of the thief to anyone except law enforcement. So I called the Marion County Sheriff. I had a Lieutenant literally refuse to even call to get the name, claiming it was out of their jurisdiction. I said I at least needed a police report for my identity theft policy. So two cops stood in my livingroom and acted like I was putting them out to write a police report; like it was my fault that someone created a fake debit card to steal my hard-earned cash. When I complained about their attitude, the head cop just closed his book and they walked out without even finishing the report. Then the identity theft policy company (Zander) reneged, claiming they didn't cover business accounts (which they didn't disclose or discover for months, until all other excuses for not paying ran out).

We live in a completely lawless society. You are at risk at all times. Nobody cares. I could also tell you about the time I found two burglars in the livingroom of my rental, stealing my TV. I called the Sumter County sheriff, and they refused to get involved because the burglars were the same people I'd just bought the place from, who used a key they were supposed to have turned in at the closing, to attempt to steal a TV clearly listed in the inventory.

I'm telling you, this isn't the same country we grew up in. Literally no one cares about crime anymore but the victims. The only thing saving any of us is that the ratio of crooks to citizens is still relatively low (unless you count all of your neighbors who scammed a free roof out of their insurance company, and thereby doubled your rate last year).

I realize your last sentence was just an "extra" sarcastic jab, but I do totally agree that we "foolish ones" (as my brother in law called us when he got his "FREE new roof" and predicted we would be the ones to ultimately pay for "his" new roof, no he's not evil, he's a great guy, but he tried to tell us we'd be "sorry" we didn't agree to a false claim), are the last ones in the Ponzi scheme. I often wonder why, when we lived in other Florida towns, our neighborhood was not obsessed with new roofs, and never had "door knockers" offering free ones ? Surely this happens in Ocala, in Gainesville, in Vero Beach .... right ? ?

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by bowlingal

ALWAYS pay cash.....or go inside to use your cc. How many times have people been warned about this? Do not feel sorry for you.

But, do you realize just how difficult this can be ? I know, I know, people used to do it and somehow managed, but now we are all so conditioned that the thought of leaving your dog in the care for only a minute to "run in", or the thought of taking your baby out of the car seat to "run in" to pay for gasoline in a driving rain storm, people really are too conditioned to go back to a cash, in my personal opinion many would not even know HOW to do that, logistics wise, LOL !