Credit card fraud yet again....

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GAMMA RAY

Minister of Fire
Jan 16, 2011
1,970
PA.
Some of you guys may remember when I posted about fradulent charges on my credit card(s) about a year ago. Well I have had some recent problems as well.

I rarely use credit cards. If I do, I pay off the balance the next month.

All my problems started last year when I contacted 2 of my credit cards to inform them I was leaving the country. I did it so I did not have a problem if I made any purchases while on vacation.

I also started an ID alert through one of my credit cards at the time. The ID alert gives your credit score and alerts you of any activity. It was a free trial for so many months so I thought what the hell. I planned on canceling it after the free trial but forgot about it.

I paid off the credit card balance I had the ID alert through and I decided that it was a big waste of money. I called the credit card company and canceled it.

A week later after canceling the ID alert I have fradulent charges on one of my credit cards. The credit card with the charges has not been used in about 2 years. I don't even carry it with me.

Somethings fishy. Ever since I enrolled in the ID alert I have had 10 fradulent credit card purchases....
Coincidence or not?

It just pi$$es me off dammit.
rant2.gif
 
Similar thing happened to us twice. A few years back our debit card info was "gleaned" through some big hacking event that made the news. Our checking account was cleaned out overnight in California at drug stores with small purchases. The other time someone purchased some euro rail tickets in Germany or somewhere on my credit card. The c/c company called me and asked if I was overseas, and stopped that one dead in its' tracks(hee hee). From what I was told, when a debit card is used they should have the pin number, if it used as a c/c, an id should be verified. The store that did not check the id eats the loss for not doing their part. They put a man on the moon, but they can't do a better job making cards secure. The criminals just shift gears and work their way around it.
 
Yup I had the same issue ! We paid for life lock for a while after my wife had somebody try to hack into her bank login. we did not have any alerts for 3 years and no attempts of hacking to our knowledge so we cancelled life lock. The next day we had a attack and they made it to our security questions on our bank account as well as 3 more attempts on various accounts all from south africa. I called life lock and they denied any knowledge at all however after the phone call and my threat of legal action all attempts stopped ! Something is not right with monitoring services in my opinion. I am with you gamma it pisses me off too !! o_O <>. It could be coincidence but then again it is too well timed too tell.

Pete
 
One of our checking accounts' debit card got it twice. I caught it the first time, because I check my accounts constantly. The second time, the bank called with a suspicious charge at a Winn-Dixie in Miami. The bank was great both times, we got all of our money back. Both times it was my debit card, so I told them I didn't want a replacement. Never have had a problem with my wife's card.
 
Oh, and I forgot about this one. My mom had a Hudson's credit card. She died in '89, and we got a bill in the mail a couple of years later. We disputed it. They sent us a copy of a signed receipt from a Chicago store that clearly wasn't her signature, not to mention the fact that she was dead. They said we were liable because we didn't close the account. The early days of widespread credit card fraud....
 
So it appears if anyone has the protection and then cancels it, then it would be best to also cancel that credit or debit card at the same time. Then apply for a new card.
 
The best protection is available on every card and bank website that I know of. You can set alerts for any dollar value you choose. All of our cards and bank accounts have them set and the email arrives within twelve hours max. Well, unless you use a debit card at Walmart. That charge hits your bank before you can get back home.
 
All my cards have the phrase "See I.D." written into the signature area on the back side. Still amazes me at how many never even bother to flip the card over!
A co-worker got an alert from some service he uses about a second chance car finance company in Texas showing somebody with his info but residing in Las Vegas applied for a $25k loan. He has never been to Texas or Vegas. The ironic part of this is that he never uses the internet to do any transactions involving money....nothing, no banking, purchases, bill paying...nothing. Yet, somebody got his info.
 
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