Fraudulent charges?!

[ZA_Survivalist]

So last night I go to buy some laundry detergent.. They said my card had insufficient funds.. Being with the bank Im with I figured they bubblegum my card down for protection purposes.. Because quite a while ago that happened but they caught it weeell before.

So I call my bank this morning..
Some son of a bubblegum spent $333.81 at bestbuy online from Richmond Iowa?!

Boy the blood in me is boiling.. I hope they catch that SOB. Im so incredibly careful with my identification and debit card (no credit card) I dont know how on earth it happened.

Anything like this happen to you guys?
Im sure it has to have happened to someone else. This is the first time its ever happened to me.
Shook me enough to where Im not keeping anythibg but a bare minimum in my account from now on.

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[Joe13]

My brothers had this happen to him. Turned out it was a card reader someone slipped into a gas station pump. Got his number and pin and went on vacation in Florida.

Took a lot of time to get it all straight.

Best of Luck and sorry it happened too you.

 

[spectra]

This happens more than you think.

I had this happen to both a personal card I have and also a work card. They usually start small with the purchases and go from there. Both times there were about 400 charged in total. And if I remember correctly there was this store???? Oh yeah Walmart go figure....

After talking to my CC company I was told this is very common they just run numbers until one works and then go spend....

 

[Siglvr]

Yup. My next door neighbor had it occur to his debit card. Near on drained it. Bank would not replace the funds (although some will at their discretion). Said it wasn't their problem or fault. Turns out that credit cards have extensive consumer legislation behind them that debit cards do not.

I don't own a debit card for that reason. Contact the bank and they should fix it based on your story. Good luck with it.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Yup. My next door neighbor had it occur to his debit card. Near on drained it. Bank would not replace the funds (although some will at their discretion). Said it wasn't their problem or fault. Turns out that credit cards have extensive consumer legislation behind them that debit cards do not.

I don't own a debit card for that reason. Contact the bank and they should fix it based on your story. Good luck with it.

Yeah, I called the bank this morning with my eyes nearly popped out and my blood boiling.
Seeings how it was from another state entirely she said it "should" be refunded.

But this had never happened to me, Im amazed at how easily they can just swipe money from an account I should have known. I mean, I already have a distaste for technology and banks and thought I was playing it safe with just a debit card.. This just pushes me even further to just using cash. Makes me feel a bit naïve as well.. I know it happens quite a bit all around but wow..

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

This happens more than you think.

I had this happen to both a personal card I have and also a work card. They usually start small with the purchases and go from there. Both times there were about 400 charged in total. And if I remember correctly there was this store???? Oh yeah Walmart go figure....

After talking to my CC company I was told this is very common they just run numbers until one works and then go spend....

I wonder if thats how they did it?
I seriously detest technology.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

My brothers had this happen to him. Turned out it was a card reader someone slipped into a gas station pump. Got his number and pin and went on vacation in Florida.

Took a lot of time to get it all straight.

Best of Luck and sorry it happened too you.

Thats it, Im sticking to JUST cash! I had no idea they could do that kind of stuff.. Guess Im far behind the times. Sure shakes your foundation when it happens.. I hate the powerless feeling.. If I had that guy face to face he wouldnt eat with teeth anymore I can tell you that much.

 

[notazombie]

I've been lucky so far. I deal in cash whenever I can. Don't have a debit or even an ATM card. Credit card only gets used when necessary and has a pretty low spending limit (my choice). I'm sure it's just a matter of time. My wife has been hacked twice but the bank took care of it.

 

[spectra]

The last time this happened on my work CC I was laid up in a hospital bed from a work injury. Charges were in the mid west somewhere and it took probably 4 months or more to get it squared away with the bank It was a joke to be honest.

When it happened to my personal card the issue was resolved in a day.....

 

[Riot]

That Target scam hit me...luckily the purchases weren't above a couple hundred dollars...

 

[The Heretic]

I had it happen on a credit card but they flagged it right away and called me; somebody in europe charged something to my card, and they figured I couldn't be in Seattle and europe at the same time. That was a few decades ago though.

I recently got a credit card just for online purchases (I pay it off every month), I no longer use my debit card for anything except in person purchases. I also have them alert me for any expense above $400, but I have noticed it can take up to a week for the alert to get to me. I also check my account every week or so, and I always look at each charge to it and verify them.

My credit union has reissued me a card twice now, both due to data exploits - one at Harbor Freight, another at Home Depot. They were on top of it.

 

[jbett98]

My Chase debit account last summer was hacked for only $5.95.
I noticed a debit charge by someone called 'Linda1955" that was processed through PayPal.
I looked at my PayPal acct and there wasn't any activity showing that e-mail address.
I complained about it to Chase and then had to shut down my acct after reading about it online.
Seems that there was a couple of Romanian hackers in Seattle that got into PayPal and somehow dinged over 5 million private accounts.
5,000,000. x $5.95 = $29,750,000. Not bad for a nights work.

They were caught, but the money had already went to Romania, and from there it was funneled to South America were I presume the Romanians bought drugs with the loot, and more then likely tripled their earnings.
Chase then went after PayPal for my $5.95 and PayPal then went after a guy who I had bought some auto parts from.
He had nothing to do with the scam, just happened to be the last purchase I had made on PayPal and they refunded me my payment to him. I repaid him with the gift option just so PayPal wouldn't ding him again.
eBay, which owned PayPal at this time, is now selling off PayPal.

 

[The Heretic]

I keep a minimum in PayPal - maybe $50 now - and I do not link bank accounts or credit cards to it.

I don't like how PayPal handles their business with regards to such issues. I hear nothing but complaints, so I do the minimum of business with them.

 

[IronMonster]

I have had this happen to me a number of times, All with credit cards though not Debit. I run a lot of money through my business credit card, $75-100K a year, so I suppose I have a higher risk of fraud than most simply because the card gets used a lot and often for online purchases. The last time they where pretty clever. They had the billing address for the card, my name and the card info. They even set up a fake email address using parts of my name to make it look authentic. They bought several thousand dollars worth of stuff online, all shipped to Pennsylvania even though the billing address on the card is in Washington. I caught it within the first day, All the charges where reversed within a couple of days and I had a new card in less than a week. There was one charge, from Filson, that the company disputed that it was fraud. They provided all the info the crooks used to my bank and said "See, this is a legitimate charge" and it looked good too, that's how I found out about the email address. They even had the stuff shipped to "me" (my name) at the address in PA.

ZA_Survivalist you should get a credit card, pay it off every month. Debit cards are a direct line to your cash with very few protections in place. Credit cards on the other hand you can dispute the charges and the charges are reversed to the vender and they are required to prove you owe the money. They are much safer with much less risk of getting stuck with fraudulent charges. My bank pays me to use my credit card. I get between $750-$1000 a year as a kick back from them for using the card (1%) plus its the safest way to make business transactions.

For my own personal life I dont keep money in the bank. I really dont keep much money period. I put my money in "things" because I dont much trust the currency and would rather have tangible items than paper money. I have to keep ten grand or so in the bank for business needs, Anything over that I try and do something with it so its not sitting there vulnerable.

My feeling is if you buy something right its better than money in the bank anyway.

 

[Member 5605]

I've had this happen a few times. Mostly when I was teavelling across the nation.

I've always had fantastic results with our Credit Union. I've had the money back within 3 days most of the time and a new card within 5 days.

They reverse the $$ before I sign the fraud paperwork. That's how good they are.

Now my buddy who banks at Bank of America just had this happen. They said within 3 months they will see the funds reversed. Only after they investigate.

Police do nothing now days. There are so many cases of it, even when they ship goodies to a known address. They still don't do anything.

The bank/cu just write it off as a loss and moves on. That's how much it happens.

 

[The Heretic]

Most of the fraud is interstate or international, so only the feds can do anything about it.

Some stores, like Winco, Costco and some gas stations won't take credit cards, but will take debit cards.

 

[timac]

I've went and bought a Visa $500 re-loadable gift card, I use online only. Debit I use locally and while traveling.
I also get alerts from my bank for any transactions over a dollar on my accounts.

 

[NoFlinch]

I started using CASH ONLY for daily transactions, and use CC for a few auto pay accts, and once in a while when I'm short of cash on hand.

NEVER use a debit card for anything!!!.

If you can't qualify for a CC, talk to your bank/CU about a secured CC.
After a year or so, they will usually refund your deposit if pmts. have been timely.

And it helps to rebuild your credit

If you can't do that, get one of those high interest secured cards advertised on TV.

NEVER be late on a payment, the interest is about 25-35++ %!!

But it helps rebuild your credit.

Now, I have to go. I HONESTLY missed a call from Jamacia this AM.

I must be on the list for a direct deposit to my accounts from King Aboto Kizwanza.........

Soon I'll be the only member of NWFA living in the Caribbean

Never use a debit card.............

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Lots of good advice here.

I like the reloadable visa idea, Ive honesty never tried it.

I have credit cards and a debit for the business and Im quite surprised its never been hacked far more cash/credit laying around in those accounts .. But my personal account of all things.. Its got me thinking..

Yep, cash only from now on and perhaps that reloadable visa with a small amount on it for online pay.

 

[eighthnerve]

I had 4 debit cards in 2014 , thanks to hackers ( best buy , target and the home depot x2). I got lucky and the bank cancelled the card each time it was compromised. but you look like a fool and feel like a idiot when your at a store and your card doesn't work.