Had my credit card number stolen!

[Geonz]

Alas, usually it's the merchant that gets stung. Merchandise sent... charge canceled.

[MyLitespeed]

We are with B of A and they called my husband regarding some suspicious purchased on his debit card. Apparently someone had ordered a bunch of Bibles. My husband mostly orders biking stuff, maybe the person who did it thought we wouldn't notice because it starts with a B. Since B of A found it first that was great, they took off the charge but for the wrong purchase. We finally got it all straightened out and now I use my credit card instead of his debit card. If you use a debit card, they can pretty much clean out all the money you have in your account.

[Flur]

We are with B of A and they called my husband regarding some suspicious purchased on his debit card. Apparently someone had ordered a bunch of Bibles. My husband mostly orders biking stuff, maybe the person who did it thought we wouldn't notice because it starts with a B. Since B of A found it first that was great, they took off the charge but for the wrong purchase. We finally got it all straightened out and now I use my credit card instead of his debit card. If you use a debit card, they can pretty much clean out all the money you have in your account.

We actually have a system for our debit cards, where we keep most of our $$ in accounts that we don't carry cards for. The cards we carry are for our "fun" accounts - buying lunch and coffee, happy hours, etc. - the convenience stuff. They never have more than a couple hundred in them, and usually have a lot less, and we just transfer $$ into them as needed. That way we can debit stuff and have easy access to cash, and our theft risk is relatively low.

[Grog]

Had a thought for you Flur this morning as I was awoken by the CIBC (one of the Canadian banks) Fraud Prevention service on the phone, asking me whether I had spend $258 at an Online Casino, $50 at some computer store in Luxembourg and $1 on iTunes. The computer store and the iTunes things actually had received automatic approval because they're not unlike my usual purchase habits. But the Casino stuff raised a red flag, so they did not authorize that one without calling me first. Not a bad system. Sometimes Big Brother works well for the Little Guy.

The answer, of course, is no, so they're canceling my card (my husband's card on the same account is fine) and I'll have to sign a paper confirming that I didn't buy that stuff in Luxembourg nor that song on iTunes, and everything will be fine.

Interesting that the thieves proceeded exactly as explained in an article I read recently: they have big lots of credit card numbers which they run to make small purchases (like one iTunes song). If the number works, then they proceed to make bigger purchases.

[maillotpois]

I'm a little irked at Citibank's fraud detection right now.

They called me last week and wanted to ask about a "suspicious charge". Ok. The charge they asked about was the $80 in conference call services I was billed last month. A charge that I incur EVERY month in some amount or another. Me: "That's fine. Is there ANYTHING else??" Them: "No."

Today I receive a suspicious package - a trial subscription of dead sea spa treatment cr@p I never would have ordered. So I go online. I estimate there's $7000 in charges on there that I didn't authorize.

You think when they were asking about my stupid $80 in conference call charges they might have asked about the $500 to "airasia"?? The $817 to some company in TURKEY???? The $800 to itunes (all in $200 increments)??? The Skype charges to a Luxembourg account???

No, it was the $80 in conference call charges that gets flagged.

Someone signed up for NetZero using my name. I received CD ROMs designed for 3 year olds. It's all VERY creepy and I am VERY ticked off.

[Geonz]

That don't make no sense. Sounds like they've outsourced their thinking.

[maillotpois]

yeah there was so much random international stuff on there that is is crazy. so obvious.

then I call the nice educational company that made the "letters and numbers" CDs and told them it was fraud, card canceled, etc. and do they want their CDs back? he says I should return them insured mail or I might get charged $75.

what about "the card has been canceled" don't you people understand????? oy!!

[Grog]

Wow, I am NOT impressed with your bank there.

Mine seems to have its meter to "super sensitive" and they often call me to check for legitimate (but unusual) charges. But I really wonder how those frivolous things might have been authorized sight unseen!

What I don't understand is what's the point for the thiefs to be using your credit card to send YOU things?!

**


On a separate note, when my # was stolen it was used to open up an account with some online gambling web site. I received a letter by (post) mail from the UK thanking me for opening the account and blablabla. I wrote them back by email saying that the account was opened by someone who stole my credit card number and that I requested that it be closed immediately or I would be in touch with the British authorities. The gambling service wrote right back telling me that they had closed the account and how sorry they were for what happened to me. Under the circumstances, I thought it was not bad.