Had my credit card number stolen!

[Flur]

This afternoon I got a call from Prana about some yoga clothes that I had ordered from them. It seems that my credit card was declined. The woman that called wanted to verify that they had the correct info, and it turns out they did. So I went online and checked on my account and there was a red message stating that my card had been flagged for suspicious activity and to call the company (Citibank). So I called and it seems the card company's computers were down. The woman that answered the phone told me to call back in a few hours...

So this evening I called back and the rep asked me to verify that certain transactions were mine. Things started out well, with the new crankset that I ordered, and then the bicycle race/scavenger hunt that I'd signed DH and I up for, but then the rep started listing FTD.com, roses.com and some jewelry stores, with individual charges up to $400! It seems there had been 48 charges that were either pending or declined for being suspicious!

If everything goes as it's supposed to, I'll be getting a new card in a few days, I'll have to fill out some paperwork, and I'll have to give Prana a new credit card for my purchase, but that's it. Citibank is supposed to take care of the rest. All I can say is I am so, SO glad for Citi's Fraud and Early Warning department! It's nice to know they're looking out for their cardholders.

[Trek420]

That's what tipped them off "She never sends flowers! All her jewelry is made of recycled spoke nipples. This is just plain wrong!"

Glad they caught it

[Aggie_Ama]

I have to say Citicard is pretty good about alerting you. We were traveling in California and they called us after seeing the charges rack up. Once we told them we were on vacation they lifted the block but one of the charges set off a red flag since we were in a strange location.

[Blueberry]

That's cool - although the computer down thing sucks. Chase did that to us - we only had one card at the time, and they locked both of us out *while traveling*. We gave them a heads up - they locked it anyway. Caused a giant problem as we were both traveling for work. I stopped using Chase and haven't gone back.

[KnottedYet]

I keep my credit card maxed out (good red-blooded American!) so anyone who steals my number isn't gonna get very far.

yeah, that's why it's maxed out... really...

[Irulan]

Years ago, someone at the bank suggested we call the CC security department when traveling. This has saved us numerous hours of grief. We just tell them, we are going to XX for this time frame, and it saves the hassle of the phone calls and blocks for the activity. Esp since we never use ours except for travel. I also get a new card/account number when we return: too many of the places we go hand write the numbers down for transactions.

You are pretty well protected against theft with most bank credit cards as long as you report the activity right away or as soon as you see it on your statement. It's debit cards that have issues.

[maillotpois]

I had Amazon call me several years ago because they had discovered some suspicious activity on my card (whose information they had stored w/ my approval). I thought that was pretty nice that they were on the lookout on my behalf.

Chase did that to us - we only had one card at the time, and they locked both of us out *while traveling*. We gave them a heads up - they locked it anyway. Caused a giant problem as we were both traveling for work. I stopped using Chase and haven't gone back.

This JUST happened to my FIL this week! He drove from SF to AZ to buy a trailer, brought one card (which he was going to use to buy said trailer and cover ALL expenses during the trip) and while in the middle of the desert, Wells fargo called and said they were closing down the account! He was SO mad - took a full day and a half to get a new card after several go rounds with people in India as well as the local AZ WF branches. They were ultimately able to get him one, though, and all in all, I think they did a decent job.