OT-Credit Card Fraud

S

StephanieF

Cathlete
Also should be titled "I didn't think it could happen to me!"
Today I found out that somehow, someone has intercepted my credit card number and gone on a nice little shopping spree lately, mainly ordering things online. Since my card hasn't been stolen, the card company assumes they were able to get the info from one of the places I've used it online.

Let me stop here & say I've ordered online here--with a different card--and have had NO security concerns. This site is one of the few places I'll continue to order from.

I don't post here very often, I'm just very upset about it.
I shop online quite a bit. I'm very careful about my information and ordering from secure & reputable sites. At least, I thought so.
The card company suggested that if I want to continue to shop online that I open an account specifically for that with a very low limit. Has anyone else had this happen to them? I welcome your input/suggestions.
Anyway, thanks for "listening" to me whine.
Stephanie
 
This has not happened to me, but I know 2 people it did happen to. My husband and I have a credit card with only a $200 limit that we use online. This way if someone does get our number, that is all they can spend. (Or at least I assume this would be true, I've never really checked into it.) I am sorry this happened to you. I imagine it feels very violating.--Jeanne
 
I am so so sad to hear this has happened to you it is one of the most upsetting things to have happen when you realise someone has stolen from you.

You are not whining and it is a pity that the card company could offer you no more consolation than the suggestion of using another card.

I can't suggest anything more because it sounds as if you did everything right it so annoying but we have to remember that there are people out there ready and waiting for us unsuspecting consumers and we really do need to be careful where we use our cards on the net.

We do need to be careful and this is a good reminder that we have to be careful in which sites we trust our cards to. I agree about Cathe I also like the fact that it does not store your card number unlike some sites.

Babs
 
I am very sorry this happened to you. It makes one feel so vulnerable and violated.

I don't think it necessarily follows that the theft came from on-line use, and I'll tell you why.

My husband and I do NOT share credit cards. He has is own and we have different last names. He has NEVER been on-line, so needless to say he has never ordered on-line. Recently he saw charges on one of his credit cards for items he did not purchase.

Because he selectively uses his credit cards based on type of purchase, we were pretty certain that the thief had been an employee of a restaurant where he had charged a meal. He disputed the charges, the credit card company issued him a new card and he did not have to pay for the items (this was really a small amount) The credit card company knew that the purchases that were not his were done through catalogs. They never said if they followed up to see where the items were delivered. I doubt it because of the small amount of money (a couple hundred dollars)

I think whoever copied his number and exp date may be getting a few things from each card # he/she pilfers hoping it will go unnoticed. It would be an easy way to supplement your income a few hundred dollars at a time.
-joy
 
It can be scary when something like this happens. I had a charge for luckily only $25 from some Russian online store. I did a charge back and the store never got back to my cc company about the charge. I have found that calling your cc company and doing charge backs are the best way to handle frauds. But, just don't forget the times when you do use it! I process cc's for car insurance payments and one of our customers did a charge back for a date range when his card was being used illegaly in Mexico. One of the dates was when he called to pay his insurance.

Beth
 
I would get a copy of my credit report from all three credit companies and make sure there has not been anything else going on. Identity theft is a very fast growing crime. I believe people get your social security number, then get credit in your name, etc. I don't know much about it, but again, I would check my credit history if I was you.
 
If you get copies of your credit report from all 3 companies, does it look bad for you? I have always heard that it does. by the way, how much does it ususally cost?
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-23-02 AT 10:02PM (Est)[/font][p]It's not supposed to be bad if you get your own credit report, but that is something I've wondered about too. Coincidentally, I got a notice in with my car insurance that I could get a free report and I had already checked one of the others. (So far, so good)

One of the things that really concerned me was that they signed up for a cell phone with my card. When I got my phone, I had to apply for it, so I was afraid they had opened a cell account in my name. :-mad My statement came today, with about half of the charges. It was like getting punched in the stomach.
However, I am focusing on the positive. It could have been much worse. I feel like ordering some DVD's to make me feel better.;-)
Thanks everyone. I appreciate your responses more than you know!
 
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This is rampant. I just had my identity stolen and someone opened a directv account in my name. I filed a police report, did directv’s identity theft affidavit and get this, they said I had something to do with opening the account. Even though the email address and phone number on the fraudulent account weren’t mine. And there was never a appointment to install the satellite dish. In fact they used my mailing address which is at a private mailbox service similar to the ups store. I had to escalate this all the way to the office of the AT&T president and I got ahold of a wonderful lady who is going to close the account and reverse the termination fees. And we already have AT&T Uverse service at our house, so there would be no reason to open another TV provider account. It was maddening, because I told the lady from the President’s office , what more do I have to do to prove this is fraud. Thankfully they didn’t get my SSN and all on my credit report looks fine. I even put in a 7 year fraud alert with all 3 credit bureaus to be safe. This took hours of phone calls and a lot of frustration to finally resolve.
 
I've had in the past where someone tried to use my credit card but my card company notified me right away to see if it was me. They keep track of what my spending habits are and they stop anything strange. Now I've also had it where they questioned something I tried to order, but I'm fine with that because better safe than sorry. I did however have someone about 5 yrs ago, get my debit card info and was able to gain access to my online account and took $2,500 dollars out of my checking account. Now I've always been very careful about where I use my debit card, only at my bank ATM machine. That is how they got it, from my banks ATM machine. Since then, I lock my debit card and take out cash by going into the bank from now on. I use credit cards only since they seem more secure than my bank. I took about 2 weeks to get everything straightened out and had to change everything, all my accounts with that bank. I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I also have a ID protection from AAA with Protect My ID. But I also have it with 2 of my credit cards that give it to me for free. So, no matter what, I am now covered. It's just a pain when it happens to you. Best of luck and take care.
 
ashaw said:
This is rampant. I just had my identity stolen and someone opened a directv account in my name. I filed a police report, did directv’s identity theft affidavit and get this, they said I had something to do with opening the account. Even though the email address and phone number on the fraudulent account weren’t mine. And there was never a appointment to install the satellite dish. In fact they used my mailing address which is at a private mailbox service similar to the ups store. I had to escalate this all the way to the office of the AT&T president and I got ahold of a wonderful lady who is going to close the account and reverse the termination fees. And we already have AT&T Uverse service at our house, so there would be no reason to open another TV provider account. It was maddening, because I told the lady from the President’s office , what more do I have to do to prove this is fraud. Thankfully they didn’t get my SSN and all on my credit report looks fine. I even put in a 7 year fraud alert with all 3 credit bureaus to be safe. This took hours of phone calls and a lot of frustration to finally resolve.
Click to expand...
I did they same thing with setting up fraud alerts with the credit bureaus too.
 
A few years ago, I had someone steal my credit card details after an online transaction. I think they somehow managed to intercept it. Anyway, I check my credit card details daily and noticed a strange purchase in a currency I didn't recognise, which turned out to be from a sex shop in Hungary. Luckily once I informed my bank, they were straight onto it, cancelled the card, issued me with a new one, and reversed the charge. It is a bit scary though, as you just don't know what else they have got their hands on, and you have to monitor everything to make sure there is no ongoing fraud or theft.
 
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