Credit card charge

QuickSilver

SF VIP
Location
Midwest
Got a call this morning from my credit card company.. A $2.00 charge was made this morning on my card.. it was for some internet subscription or whatever. Point is.. I didn't make that charge.. I haven't lost my card.. so obviously someone lifted my number.. Anyway.. the card was cancelled and I'll get a new one.

I guess what thieves do is attempt to make a very small purchase on a stolen credit card number.. if it goes through then they make very large purchases. Fortunately my Credit card company caught it immediately. I wonder how they knew it was a fraud.. I wonder how some crook got my number.. It's a scary business.. Ever happen to anyone of you?
 

Yes. It has happened to me twice and both times the credit card company caught it. Having the card cancelled and replaced is a nuisance. I have no idea where the criminals would have obtained my card numbers, but there you have it...
 

Over here one of the things they try is a small donation to charity. If that works they go to town.

The cc companies are quite good. Last week I topped up my mobile phone on line using my card. It's something I haven't done for a year and the transaction was immediately refused and my card blocked. I had to call them to reset it.

Last year when my wife finally became incapable of using an ATM I started drawing her cash for her. Within three withdrawals the camera, face recognition had registered the discrepancy and the card was blocked.

One major thing is never let your card out of your sight. In a restaurant make them bring the machine to your table, don't let them take your card to the machine. In a bar make sure the machine is on the bar, not under it. A card is read and cloned by simply swiping, just like a genuine transaction.
 
QS, Two cards of mine have been duplicated in the past 6 weeks, used for menial purchases in gas stations, McDonalds, etc. The Fraud Rep for the 2nd card finally was someone who had a clue, and we discussed it at length. Somewhere, they are making duplicate cards, even including the mag info on the back, and selling the cards to poor risk folks who are willing to pay a hundred bucks or so for them. The info off the card in my wallet had to have been "read" somewhere, by someone's machine, who is involved in processing such info to the duplicators.

They immediately cancelled my old account numbers, and mailed new cards. A small inconvenience. About 10 years ago, back in MO, a fraud guy called from one of my cards, asked if I hat attempted to purchase a Hoveround wheelchair, for $4800! Told him hell no! No charge incurred. At least yours was only two bucks! imp
 
My CC Company is very good at picking up unusual charges. Someone in Europe attempted to use my card at a restaurant. They detected it immediately and sent me a new card.
 
It's big business over here, with gangs being taken down with many hundreds of stolen or cloned cards.

One thing still prevalent over here, though not so much as it was, is a skimming device fitted over the front of an ATm. Not as obvious as you might think, they're very sophisticated. They skim your card details and use a pinhole camera to record your pin.

Your account will then be emptied in minutes.

Rumanian immigrants are a bit prone to this, that;s not racist - police and court records bear it out.

One quick and dirty way of checking the authenticity of an ATM is check out the flashing light over the card slot, normally green, before you put your card in. It appears this is not so easy yo duplicate on a skimmer.
 
I've had one charge that I didn't make. I saw it when I was looking over my bill and checking the charges. I called the bank and told them that was not my charge. I received a new card very quickly and the charge was removed.
 


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