Watch your bank alerts!!

M

Muskrat

Senior Member
Location
Mainly arizona
Thieves in California got (who knows how) my credit card info and went on a spree yesterday. Without a decline from my bank alerting me of activity the thieves could of had quite a ride. As it was they managed to pass three transactions before they did something suspicious enough to trigger a decline…which the bank notified me of. I have disputed the charges and the bank killed the account. Unnerving.
 

It was an attempted purchase to Dicks sporting goods. I only have one card…it is in my possession. Only person on the account is me. So purchases were delivery or door dash…prepaid without physical card. The sporting goods store purchase triggered the decline…I do know why that declined…but the others did not…
 

I'm sure it is very unnerving Muskrat. Sorry that happened to you, but good thing it was a credit card, not debit card. If the fraud department caught it, you shouldn't even have to dispute the charge. It's their responsibility to take care of that for you. A couple of years ago, my primary bank notified me of fraudulent activity. They are really on the ball. The charge wasn't even for that much.

Over a decade ago, I had a Bank of America credit card. Somehow my number was used, first for a $10 charge at a gas station in Pennsylvania, then to try to buy airline tickets with a Caribbean airline, after which BOA caught it and notified me. Of course the card was canceled. I never had to start a dispute in either of those cases.
My son is "co" on my credit cards. Every now and then the bank will reject a charge he's trying to make. He'll call me and at the same time I get a text from the bank. I just click that I recognize the charge and it goes through his second try.
 
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You need to watch these credit card companies. I didn't pay off the full amount last month, so they hit me with an interest charge, which is to be expected, but I made a payment three days ago and it still hasn't gone through, which means I'm paying interest on the full balance, even though I paid it.

The system is all automated. Somebody added some code to delay processing just so they could scam users. Apparently, it's all perfectly legal.
 
RambleTamble said:
You need to watch these credit card companies. I didn't pay off the full amount last month, so they hit me with an interest charge, which is to be expected, but I made a payment three days ago and it still hasn't gone through, which means I'm paying interest on the full balance, even though I paid it.

The system is all automated. Somebody added some code to delay processing just so they could scam users. Apparently, it's all perfectly legal.
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Call them and ask to have any extra interest charges taken off. You'd be surprised how much doing that works.
 
Fidelity has a feature where you can lock down any or all transfers from your accounts. I had it so well locked down it took me an hour to figure out to take my RMD, but it is all good.
 
Muskrat said:
Thieves in California got (who knows how) my credit card info and went on a spree yesterday. Without a decline from my bank alerting me of activity the thieves could of had quite a ride. As it was they managed to pass three transactions before they did something suspicious enough to trigger a decline…which the bank notified me of. I have disputed the charges and the bank killed the account. Unnerving.
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People have card readers so if you use a debit card without RFID protection you only have to be within 3 ft of the reader.

I had mine burgled like that as well as my phone number got stolen once as well.
 
RambleTamble said:
You need to watch these credit card companies. I didn't pay off the full amount last month, so they hit me with an interest charge, which is to be expected, but I made a payment three days ago and it still hasn't gone through, which means I'm paying interest on the full balance, even though I paid it.

The system is all automated. Somebody added some code to delay processing just so they could scam users. Apparently, it's all perfectly legal.
Click to expand...
If you paid the charge on time, even if it isn't showing up, there should be a record of the pay date. If you get charged interest, call the bank and ask them to remove the charge. I'd be surprised if they decline to do so.
 
I agree with what is said here alerts on the card make a lot of sense. There are options for freezing any cards you are not using at the moment.
I get alerts on any purchase on one card, and the other is any purchase that card is NOT present.
Easier to call asap then trying to review after the fact.
Too many count of banks etc to stop things, but we are our own best defense.
 
Thieves often start with small test transactions, usually at gas stations, to see if the highjacked number works. Often just for <$10. My husband’s card was caught when they used his at an airport. It’s weird because we are sometimes at the Toronto airport. They track us well.

Credit cards are more secure for the user. I won’t use a debit card unless I have no choice. It doesn’t have tap on it.

What happens when stores accept a credit card payment that’s later declined. Some charges are quite large. Do they have insurance for this.
 
Jules said:
Thieves often start with small test transactions, usually at gas stations, to see if the highjacked number works. Often just for <$10. My husband’s card was caught when they used his at an airport. It’s weird because we are sometimes at the Toronto airport. They track us well.

Credit cards are more secure for the user. I won’t use a debit card unless I have no choice. It doesn’t have tap on it.

What happens when stores accept a credit card payment that’s later declined. Some charges are quite large. Do they have insurance for this.
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if it went thru the CC issuer eats the loss not the store.
 
Georgiagranny said:
If you don't have an RFID sleeve for your card, get one! Anybody with the know-how can scan your card right smack through your billfold, pocket, wherever. The RFID protectors can be had from Amazon, Walmart...and they are usually only about $5-$6.
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I ordered a pack of these and shared some with my son. I have all of my cards sleeved, even my driver's license. 😄 Can't hurt.
 
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Muskrat said:
It was an attempted purchase to Dicks sporting goods. I only have one card…it is in my possession. Only person on the account is me. So purchases were delivery or door dash…prepaid without physical card. The sporting goods store purchase triggered the decline…I do know why that declined…but the others did not…
Click to expand...

Before my Mom passed, someone had gotten her cc# and was trying to make purchases out of state at an Adidas store. That was their mistake. My mom, of course, was elderly and only ordered from Ebay and Amazon. She only used her card in person at Walmart. The Adidas store was somehow suspicious. The purchase attempts were blocked and I was notified by her cc loss prevention dept. I had a long conversation with them where they asked questions and confirmed her habits.

I told them that after the theft attempt, I found out that we had left her card# saved in her Wmart account and I removed it. I searched online and got a result from Wmart that if you suspect that someone has stolen your cc info from your acct to delete it and report it. From the search results, it seemed like this is happening a lot through Wmart accts, though we are not sure how her cc# was obtained.

I don't save any of my card#s in any online accounts. I take the time to enter them at each transaction.
 
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OneEyedDiva said:
I'm sure it is very unnerving Muskrat. Sorry that happened to you, but good thing it was a credit card, not debit card. If the fraud department caught it, you shouldn't even have to dispute the charge. It's their responsibility to take care of that for you. A couple of years ago, my primary bank notified me of fraudulent activity. They are really on the ball. The charge wasn't even for that much.

Over a decade ago, I had a Bank of America credit card. Somehow my number was used, first for a $10 charge at a gas station in Pennsylvania, then to try to buy airline tickets with a Caribbean airline, after which BOA caught it and notified me. Of course the card was canceled. I never had to start a dispute in either of those cases.
My son is "co" on my credit cards. Every now and then the bank will reject a charge he's trying to make. He'll call me and at the same time I get a text from the bank. I just click that I recognize the charge and it goes through his second try.
Click to expand...

Years ago, I made my son an authorized user on my card before I had moved back to FL, where he lives. Never had a problem. Thinking about making him a co but not sure if it would be a good move. Don't want him to be stuck with any of my charges that may be left when I pass. I guess I could buy some sort of payoff insurance that they offer but not sure if I want to do this.
 
Rest easy, my friends. RFID signals need to be within 1-2" to be read, so RFID skimming is rare. Also the data transmitted is usually encrypted, so the cards arequite secure.

CC identity thieves have easier ways of stealing one's CC info. Hardware skimmers (like on gas pumps), online purchases where you divulge your CC and other info on non-secure sites (HTTP instead of HTTPS), and in-store or restaurant purchases where someone else handles your card are the usual suspects.

For more info:
RFID Credit Cards: Should You Worry About Protection? | Bankrate

What does emit radio waves that can be picked up and used by theives? Modern vehicles' keyless-entry keyfobs.

I keep my purse (and keys) in the center of my house rather than near any doors or exterior walls, dramatically minimizing the likelihood of my fob's signal being stolen at home and amplified by a would-be car thief. My husband's fob for my car is kept in a Faraday box when he isn't using it.

Over the holidays I bought fob sleeves to block the signal when I'm not at home. The package arrived during one of my bake-a-thon moments and I stashed it somewhere. Do you think I can find it? I can not. Sigh...
 
StarSong said:
CC identity thieves have easier ways of stealing one's CC info. Hardware skimmers (like on gas pumps), online purchases where you divulge your CC and other info on non-secure sites (HTTP instead of HTTPS), and in-store or restaurant purchases where someone else handles your card are the usual suspects.
Click to expand...

When I worked in the ticket services office at a performance arts center, one of my co-workers was fired. We took phone reservations for theatre, symphony and concerts. He started using the cc#s he took over the phone to make purchases for himself. 🙄
 

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