beckiwoo

So yesterday I discovered I was a victim of CC fraud.

It was only through checking my credit balance online and discovering it was $500+ lower then it should have been as the transactions were not available to view yet.

So I contacted the bank and they told me about two transactions: one at Timmys at 6pm on Friday and one for Tesla Motors for $590 at 10:30 am on Friday.

The Timmys one was legit but I know I was working at my organizations youth drop in at the time so there is no way that was me and I have no interest in cars!!!!

What is weird is before the Tim Hortons transaction I hadn't used the card in about 2 weeks so I don't know where someone has managed to get my information.

The card is cancelled and its gone to my banks fraud department but I am concerned for the future and if there has been some ID fraud as well.

I am usually so careful as well and I have never had this happen before

Any advice for me for the future?

BristolUK

Some time last year I got an automated phone call out of the blue about c/c transactions. I couldn't believe that the bank would say "hello, this is about transactions on your card number" and then say the number immediately as if I would instantly recognise it as mine.

I concluded it was a scam call but I checked the online account just to make sure.

There were two transactions (about $30 each, relating to some software purchases) of which I knew nothing. But they were on the card I'd had issued for my wife and the transaction dates were both well after she died and the last legit use had been a couple of years earlier.

There had been no new card issued so either the card had been cloned with one of those gizmos or someone got details some time in the past and just sat on them or they'd got them more recently from hacking some site (or it was an employee) that had retained them from some time back.

Between the dates and the discovery, there would have been ample opportunity for other uses.

It's a puzzle that more wasn't made of the details by whoever got hold of them. It makes me wonder if it happened by accident...a couple of digits transposed or something, although one expects that a non matching name might highlight that.

Can it be that if an online order recognises a legitimate c/c number it doesn't check other details 100%?

R I C H

I had over $15,000 worth of flights booked on my credit card a couple of years ago, 20 short haul in total, all booked from Houston airport. I was in Europe at the time and RBC very efficiently got me a new card couriered out to Italy within 48hrs and cleared the charges against the account.

No clue as to how/why the card got used or compromised.

Aviator

Cards can be scanned while they are still in your wallet then replicated. I had this happen to m on an overseas trip some years ago. This is a problem with RFID.

Credit Card Skimming and Scanning Fraud Protection

I now have a shield over my cards in my wallet.

Flossie and Jim

Happened to us once in the UK - bank called to tell us police had picked someone up with a load of credit cards in his pocket and one of them had our number on it. They had been to London and cleaned out our bank account (it was a debit card!) in less than a day at Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nicks! Got it all back in the end. The police said they couldn't prove it but thought that our card had been cloned at our local petrol station as a few other local people had their cards cloned too and that was one of the common purchases on our receipts.

Apparently a common pattern is that they will try one or two low value transactions first - the first couple on ours were some gas and some supermarket shopping - before hitting the big time.

Happened twice here to my other half's credit card too. Someone spent loads at Toys R Us in Saskatoon (never been to Saskatoon!). Another one it was smaller amounts. My theory is again those self serve gas pumps - never use them any more. Despite these incidents we are pretty careful with our cards but you wouldn't think it!

My big pet hate here and more so in the states is that they like to take your credit card away with them when you pay for a meal out. We would go with them to the terminal and do the transaction there rather than let it out of our sight. Those portable terminals are becoming more common here now though.

MarkG

I have one card with a low credit limit that I use anywhere dubious, so they can't get much if they hack it. I only ever used a debit card once, and that was because the company gave me fifty quid off for not using a credit card.

Stinkypup

Snoop protects all her cards with RFID blocking sleeves. I have always taken the p:$$ out of her as it is a right pain in the ass to return them to the sleeves but having read this I take it all back

beckiwoo

I also hate that in the USA. I thought it might have been from when my partner and I went to a restaurant in Birch Bay, WA in April but I paid with a different credit card.

I did purchase something of off Groupon recently and I know they store your card info. I need to check that as usually I don't allow websites such as amazon and the likes of to do that.

beckiwoo

I read the link that you posted. That's crazy!

I'm going to look into that. I noticed it said to place cards on top of one another so I might try that although with my debit cards I already do that as my wallet is exploding right now through lack of space lol

snoopdawg

We once had a debit card copied plus they used our address for several other credit cards- all with unpaid bills.
It all happened when we were out of the UK on holiday for 3 weeks.
The debit card was linked to a total equity bank account- many thousands disappeared to all sorts of places from that.
The bank thought something was wrong but instead of emailing us they sent out numerous letters asking us to phone. They could see and I had told them we were in the Caribbean using other cards.
The bank paid it all back when we got back but were not interested in taking further.
I had only used my debit card twice in many months- once in Debenhams when their credit card machine was playing up- but they did not have my address.
The other was in a very well known and much loved store that also has a bank whose food is very nice!
I had used the debit card to withdraw travellers cheques and money. They needed to know our address and whilst she was arranging it- the very nice older lady was chatting about when we were going and how long. Odd that was the exact time frame all the transactions took place! Still the RBS were not interested- I suppose more money than sense!
Just as annoying were all the credit cards from other companies which were all unpaid and yet were so easily switched to our address.
I had to put a watch on our address which was a pain when taking out loans etc.
Now I'm very careful
I do have the RFID blockers, but they are a pain so I'm looking at whole wallets which block which will be easier- good ones aren't cheap ( for a wallet) plus I'm looking for passport sized ones too.
I have set up alerts on all my cards via my bank. I rarely use ATMs and check our accounts all the time.
I trust no-one!

BristolUK

When you have a card cloned or whatever and someone spends a lot on it but your bank credits the amount fraudulently obtained, I wonder if your credit score goes up.

Pizzawheel

Seems to happen to me every few years, HSBC calls, confirms a couple of weird transactions, cancels them and I get a new card in a weeks time. C'est la vie moderne.

Davita

If I get any transaction on my HSBC credit card account I get an instant sms on my phone as to the transaction.
My wife hates it as I can see where she is and what she's buying.

Geordie Lass

A few weeks back I got a call from my CC card company asking if I had tried to make a purchase at the Microsoft store at a cost of $4000 the night before. I'm like err no.

Apparently the transaction was tried 22 times and Microsoft (bless their cotton socks) refused it each time.

1) I don't know how on earth they got my card details
2) Don't know how Microsoft knew to refuse
3) How would they get stuff delivered to an address (That's not mine) without getting caught

The mind baffles to these things... had a new card delivered within 48 hours. Awesome service by the bank.

Aviator

It is doubtful they did. Card details get entered into the payment system and then is referred the CC authorization centre remotely, this is where it is approved or declined.

Different authorization protocols are placed on transactions depending on the likelihood of fraud for a particular vendor or product group.