Just wanted to share a little story with you guys about my experience with credit card fraud, as well as a few tips on things you can due to cut your chances of fraud probably in half.
First off, I buy a lot of stuff online both for business and personal use. I have many credit cards and constantly sign up for new ones due to the outrageous bonuses they offer (e.g. spend $2000 get $500). 4 cards a year like this would net me an extra $2k for the year, not bad.
I've opened 2 new credit card accounts in the past 6 months. My last card was a Southwest business card, which had a very nice 60,000 bonus miles after spending 2K in 3 months. Right when I got that card, I put a couple reoccurring bills on the card such as a shipping account and advertising account. I also made 3-4 purchases through large reputable merchants such as Amazon, Lowes, Home depot to name a few, as well as a couple local brick and motor stores. Within less than 1 month of that card opening, I noticed online there were 2x $50 charges for a webhosting company in Singapore. I immediately called the card # on the back of my card and they cancelled the card. I requested they expedite me a new card, which they did UPS overnight me a new one. I continued spending on it and all was fine, I hit my 2K goal in 3 months and got my 60K southwest miles.
Onto the next card. Got a Citi bank card with 50K bonus points after a 3K spend in 3 months. I applied for it about 10 days ago, my friend applied on the same day as me. He got his card last Saturday in the mail, its Wednesday today and I have yet to receive my card. I then get an email and text message from Citi reporting suspicious transactions. It was a $6 charge in Mexico. So apparently someone at either Citi or at the Post office stole my credit card out of the mail and sent it to Mexico. I contacted Citi's fraud department and they cancelled that card, and are Fedex overnighting me a new card.
Anyways it is very annoying and quite honestly short of not using a credit card at all, some of these situations are just unavoidable. Check your credit and debit cards regularly and watch out for bs transactions for things you didn't buy.
Also for those of you that regularly use a credit/debit card locally and online here are a few tips:
1) Avoid ever having the card leave your hand. At restaurants for example sometimes people will hand off their card to the waiter/waitress. This is the perfect chance for a skimmer to steal your card number or for them to snap a picture of your card with their phone. Use cash or ask to pay upfront or sometimes they can bring a card reader to your table.
2) When shopping online when possible try to checkout with a 3rd party merchant wallet such as Paypal or google checkout. This insures that the merchant never sees your credit card #.
3) Some credit card companies such as Citi have virtual credit card numbers which you can generate through your online account. These card #'s are only valid for a short amount of time and can only be charged once. So if there is a data breech, the card # is useless.
4) A credit card is much safer than a debit card. Credit cards have better fraud protection, as you are not spending your own money, but the banks money. I had fraud on a debit card a few years back and I had to fill out all kinds of paperwork and even pay and get a notary confirming that I did not authorize those transactions.
5) When possible avoid giving your CC number to someone over the phone. It is usually safer to order online, especially if you can use a virtual CC or 3rd party wallet service.
Anyways this is a lot longer than I intended, but if any of you guys have fraud stories please share. I'm just baffled at how I had 2 cases of fraud 2 cards in a row within a few months!
Just wanted to share a little story with you guys about my experience with credit card fraud, as well as a few tips on things you can due to cut your chances of fraud probably in half.
First off, I buy a lot of stuff online both for business and personal use. I have many credit cards and constantly sign up for new ones due to the outrageous bonuses they offer (e.g. spend $2000 get $500). 4 cards a year like this would net me an extra $2k for the year, not bad.
I've opened 2 new credit card accounts in the past 6 months. My last card was a Southwest business card, which had a very nice 60,000 bonus miles after spending 2K in 3 months. Right when I got that card, I put a couple reoccurring bills on the card such as a shipping account and advertising account. I also made 3-4 purchases through large reputable merchants such as Amazon, Lowes, Home depot to name a few, as well as a couple local brick and motor stores. Within less than 1 month of that card opening, I noticed online there were 2x $50 charges for a webhosting company in Singapore. I immediately called the card # on the back of my card and they cancelled the card. I requested they expedite me a new card, which they did UPS overnight me a new one. I continued spending on it and all was fine, I hit my 2K goal in 3 months and got my 60K southwest miles.
Onto the next card. Got a Citi bank card with 50K bonus points after a 3K spend in 3 months. I applied for it about 10 days ago, my friend applied on the same day as me. He got his card last Saturday in the mail, its Wednesday today and I have yet to receive my card. I then get an email and text message from Citi reporting suspicious transactions. It was a $6 charge in Mexico. So apparently someone at either Citi or at the Post office stole my credit card out of the mail and sent it to Mexico. I contacted Citi's fraud department and they cancelled that card, and are Fedex overnighting me a new card.
Anyways it is very annoying and quite honestly short of not using a credit card at all, some of these situations are just unavoidable. Check your credit and debit cards regularly and watch out for bs transactions for things you didn't buy.
Also for those of you that regularly use a credit/debit card locally and online here are a few tips:
1) Avoid ever having the card leave your hand. At restaurants for example sometimes people will hand off their card to the waiter/waitress. This is the perfect chance for a skimmer to steal your card number or for them to snap a picture of your card with their phone. Use cash or ask to pay upfront or sometimes they can bring a card reader to your table.
2) When shopping online when possible try to checkout with a 3rd party merchant wallet such as Paypal or google checkout. This insures that the merchant never sees your credit card #.
3) Some credit card companies such as Citi have virtual credit card numbers which you can generate through your online account. These card #'s are only valid for a short amount of time and can only be charged once. So if there is a data breech, the card # is useless.
4) A credit card is much safer than a debit card. Credit cards have better fraud protection, as you are not spending your own money, but the banks money. I had fraud on a debit card a few years back and I had to fill out all kinds of paperwork and even pay and get a notary confirming that I did not authorize those transactions.
5) When possible avoid giving your CC number to someone over the phone. It is usually safer to order online, especially if you can use a virtual CC or 3rd party wallet service.
Anyways this is a lot longer than I intended, but if any of you guys have fraud stories please share. I'm just baffled at how I had 2 cases of fraud 2 cards in a row within a few months!
my identity got stolen recently so this prolly will help in a way
my identity got stolen recently so this prolly will help in a way
phobiamy identity got stolen recently so this prolly will help in a way
That sucks. Did someone open a credit card or take out a loan or something similar under your name?
[quote=phobia]my identity got stolen recently so this prolly will help in a way[/quote]
That sucks. Did someone open a credit card or take out a loan or something similar under your name?
dollar whats with you and catching cheaters + thieves?
dollar whats with you and catching cheaters + thieves?
How does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.
How does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.
CHERRYHow does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.
in most US restaurants you give the waitress your card and they take it with them to the register and return with your card and a receipt
slayer is saying not to let them do that
[quote=CHERRY]How does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.[/quote]
in most US restaurants you give the waitress your card and they take it with them to the register and return with your card and a receipt
slayer is saying not to let them do that
I know in Michigan they also require your driver's license be show in order to use a debit card - that caused some embarrassing situations for me in the past (I like to leave my wallet in the car).
I had a credit card at one time, but ultimately I just switched over to purely using my debit card - I just have a checking and savings account, and disabled "overdraw" protection, so rather than sucking money out of my savings to cover checking overuse, it will simply reject the card, and I keep the overall amount of money in the checking account fairly low (usually no more than 100$) unless I plan to buy something really big. So if they want to steal my card, they'll get at most like 30$ to spend or a lot of rejection notices lol. If it's a *really* big purchase I just buy in cash because that usually keeps everything clean - bought a few cars with a bag full of money - it always goes for a good laugh.
I know in Michigan they also require your driver's license be show in order to use a debit card - that caused some embarrassing situations for me in the past (I like to leave my wallet in the car).
I had a credit card at one time, but ultimately I just switched over to purely using my debit card - I just have a checking and savings account, and disabled "overdraw" protection, so rather than sucking money out of my savings to cover checking overuse, it will simply reject the card, and I keep the overall amount of money in the checking account fairly low (usually no more than 100$) unless I plan to buy something really big. So if they want to steal my card, they'll get at most like 30$ to spend or a lot of rejection notices lol. If it's a *really* big purchase I just buy in cash because that usually keeps everything clean - bought a few cars with a bag full of money - it always goes for a good laugh.
dollarlayerphobiamy identity got stolen recently so this prolly will help in a way
That sucks. Did someone open a credit card or take out a loan or something similar under your name?
tried to cash a check with my name :\
[quote=dollarlayer][quote=phobia]my identity got stolen recently so this prolly will help in a way[/quote]
That sucks. Did someone open a credit card or take out a loan or something similar under your name?[/quote]
tried to cash a check with my name :\
owlCHERRYHow does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.
in most US restaurants you give the waitress your card and they take it with them to the register and return with your card and a receipt
slayer is saying not to let them do that
Yeah what I mean is, how can they use it? Are they given PIN too? Or is there not even PIN on those cards and it's like giving her whole wallet to take money from :D Except that this one may be copied.
[quote=owl][quote=CHERRY]How does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.[/quote]
in most US restaurants you give the waitress your card and they take it with them to the register and return with your card and a receipt
slayer is saying not to let them do that[/quote]
Yeah what I mean is, how can they use it? Are they given PIN too? Or is there not even PIN on those cards and it's like giving her whole wallet to take money from :D Except that this one may be copied.
CHERRYowlCHERRYHow does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.
in most US restaurants you give the waitress your card and they take it with them to the register and return with your card and a receipt
slayer is saying not to let them do that
Yeah what I mean is, how can they use it? Are they given PIN too? Or is there not even PIN on those cards and it's like giving her whole wallet to take money from :D Except that this one may be copied.
credit cards can usually just be used with a signature
debit cards require a pin
[quote=CHERRY][quote=owl][quote=CHERRY]How does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.[/quote]
in most US restaurants you give the waitress your card and they take it with them to the register and return with your card and a receipt
slayer is saying not to let them do that[/quote]
Yeah what I mean is, how can they use it? Are they given PIN too? Or is there not even PIN on those cards and it's like giving her whole wallet to take money from :D Except that this one may be copied.[/quote]
credit cards can usually just be used with a signature
debit cards require a pin
Yeah I bought a 97 miata for a little under 2k with a ripped up paper bag with "munny" written crudely on the side in crayon
Yeah I bought a 97 miata for a little under 2k with a ripped up paper bag with "munny" written crudely on the side in crayon
owlCHERRYowlCHERRYHow does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.
in most US restaurants you give the waitress your card and they take it with them to the register and return with your card and a receipt
slayer is saying not to let them do that
Yeah what I mean is, how can they use it? Are they given PIN too? Or is there not even PIN on those cards and it's like giving her whole wallet to take money from :D Except that this one may be copied.
credit cards can usually just be used with a signature
debit cards require a pin
This just seems so wrong, I thought it was long in the pas :o
[quote=owl][quote=CHERRY][quote=owl][quote=CHERRY]How does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.[/quote]
in most US restaurants you give the waitress your card and they take it with them to the register and return with your card and a receipt
slayer is saying not to let them do that[/quote]
Yeah what I mean is, how can they use it? Are they given PIN too? Or is there not even PIN on those cards and it's like giving her whole wallet to take money from :D Except that this one may be copied.[/quote]
credit cards can usually just be used with a signature
debit cards require a pin[/quote]
This just seems so wrong, I thought it was long in the pas :o
pm if u wanna make cash i can make 200 into 2000!!!!
pm if u wanna make cash i can make 200 into 2000!!!!
I heard that the US was going to start a major shift away from magnetic credit cards but AFAIK it hasn't really taken off
I heard that the US was going to start a major shift away from magnetic credit cards but AFAIK it hasn't really taken off
Chrom3w0lfpm if u wanna make cash i can make 200 into 2000!!!!
didnt really emulate e finessers well and youve never been accused of scamming someone so im not gonna let this shitpost slide. Please edit it into something funny.
[quote=Chrom3w0lf]pm if u wanna make cash i can make 200 into 2000!!!![/quote]
didnt really emulate e finessers well and youve never been accused of scamming someone so im not gonna let this shitpost slide. Please edit it into something funny.
we can charge debit cards with just signature in sweden, we're supposed to ask for id but i never do. neither do clubs with id at entry (and theres never a pin machine in clubs) so when i've lost my card i've instantly blocked it, even though i got it back within 24 hrs twice. this is all a concern in europe as well, the only real difference is that credit cards are way less common
we can charge debit cards with just signature in sweden, we're supposed to ask for id but i never do. neither do clubs with id at entry (and theres never a pin machine in clubs) so when i've lost my card i've instantly blocked it, even though i got it back within 24 hrs twice. this is all a concern in europe as well, the only real difference is that credit cards are way less common
dollarlayer3) Some credit card companies such as Citi have virtual credit card numbers which you can generate through your online account. These card #'s are only valid for a short amount of time and can only be charged once. So if there is a data breech, the card # is useless.
iirc paypal lets you do this for free with any card
PhunkI heard that the US was going to start a major shift away from magnetic credit cards but AFAIK it hasn't really taken off
I think I remember hearing that they are making chip and pin a requirement sometime this year
[quote=dollarlayer]
3) Some credit card companies such as Citi have virtual credit card numbers which you can generate through your online account. These card #'s are only valid for a short amount of time and can only be charged once. So if there is a data breech, the card # is useless.
[/quote]
iirc paypal lets you do this for free with any card
[quote=Phunk]I heard that the US was going to start a major shift away from magnetic credit cards but AFAIK it hasn't really taken off[/quote]
I think I remember hearing that they are making chip and pin a requirement sometime this year
im in the US and just got 2 new cards which are both chip and pin/signature ready
im in the US and just got 2 new cards which are both chip and pin/signature ready
dollarlayer
First off, I buy a lot of stuff online both for business and personal use. I have many credit cards and constantly sign up for new ones due to the outrageous bonuses they offer (e.g. spend $2000 get $500). 4 cards a year like this would net me an extra $2k for the year, not bad.
How do you net yourself an extra 2k if you're paying interest on the original balance?
Thanks for the tips, it's always good to be reminded about security, one day you think "can't happen to me" then next day, it happens. Never be complacent.
[quote=dollarlayer]
First off, I buy a lot of stuff online both for business and personal use. I have many credit cards and constantly sign up for new ones due to the outrageous bonuses they offer (e.g. spend $2000 get $500). 4 cards a year like this would net me an[b] extra $2k for the year[/b], not bad.
[/quote]
How do you net yourself an extra 2k if you're paying interest on the original balance?
Thanks for the tips, it's always good to be reminded about security, one day you think "can't happen to me" then next day, it happens. Never be complacent.
Hildrethdollarlayer
First off, I buy a lot of stuff online both for business and personal use. I have many credit cards and constantly sign up for new ones due to the outrageous bonuses they offer (e.g. spend $2000 get $500). 4 cards a year like this would net me an extra $2k for the year, not bad.
How do you net yourself an extra 2k if you're paying interest on the original balance?
Thanks for the tips, it's always good to be reminded about security, one day you think "can't happen to me" then next day, it happens. Never be complacent.
you don't carry a balance.
[quote=Hildreth][quote=dollarlayer]
First off, I buy a lot of stuff online both for business and personal use. I have many credit cards and constantly sign up for new ones due to the outrageous bonuses they offer (e.g. spend $2000 get $500). 4 cards a year like this would net me an[b] extra $2k for the year[/b], not bad.
[/quote]
How do you net yourself an extra 2k if you're paying interest on the original balance?
Thanks for the tips, it's always good to be reminded about security, one day you think "can't happen to me" then next day, it happens. Never be complacent.[/quote]
you don't carry a balance.
Yeah as long as you pay the bill in full on time you don't pay any interest on it, its pretty much an interest free loan.
People that paid their bills on time used to be scrutinized for taking advantage of the system, because they never paid anything back into it.
Yeah as long as you pay the bill in full on time you don't pay any interest on it, its pretty much an interest free loan.
People that paid their bills on time used to be scrutinized for taking advantage of the system, because they never paid anything back into it.
arcadiadollar whats with you and catching cheaters + thieves?
LOL, idk they fascinate me. Maybe I should have become a detective or something...
Marxistbought a few cars with a bag full of money - it always goes for a good laugh.
Next time you buy a car with cash you should walk in with a brief case handcuffed to your hand like how they do it in the movies. They will know you mean business!
CHERRYHow does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.
IMO it is pretty ridiculous to have that be the standard to hand the waitress your card and let them walk away with it for a couple minutes to process the transaction. Then you write a tip on the receipt. What's keeping them from adding an extra 0 on the end of the tip amount you write? $5 becomes $50? The way things are done only encourages fraud. It seems like the major CC companies would want to prevent fraud!
Also depending on the card/merchant most places do not require a signature for credit card transactions <$20. I know American Express at costco for example doesn't even require a signature if its <100 or <200 forget the exact amount but its a fair amount.
Gas stations also don't require a signature, just a billing zip code, which could be pretty easy to guess or know if you were trying to commit fraud on a stolen card.
deetriirc paypal lets you do this for free with any card
Paypal used to offer a virtual mastercard number which you could generate and use on websites that didn't accept paypal. They discontinued that a couple years ago.
HildrethHow do you net yourself an extra 2k if you're paying interest on the original balance?
I pay it off in full every month. I have auto pay setup on all my accounts. If you are lazy and never check your account, this is a bad idea as you may end up auto paying for someone's fraud transaction on your account. But as long as you check it at least every month or two, you should be fine.
In addition to the sign up bonuses, most of my credit cards give me cash back % on everything I buy. Right now I have a card that gives me 2% back on everything I buy, and 10% off on Amazon. I have some that give me 5% off on gas. It's nice and the savings add up.
---------------------------
One other tip I have about credit cards is a website called creditkarma.com. It might be just for US customers, not sure. But anyways this site allows you to track your credit score for free, and also you can link up all your credit accounts so you can see all your transactions on one list, without having to sign into 5 different online accounts.
[quote=arcadia]dollar whats with you and catching cheaters + thieves?[/quote]
LOL, idk they fascinate me. Maybe I should have become a detective or something...
[quote=Marxist]bought a few cars with a bag full of money - it always goes for a good laugh.[/quote]
Next time you buy a car with cash you should walk in with a brief case handcuffed to your hand like how they do it in the [url=http://www.vicsocotra.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/security-drivers-handcuffed-briefcase-112214.jpg]movies[/url]. They will know you mean business!
[quote=CHERRY]How does it work with giving waitress your card? In Europe they have to bring card reader, cause all cards at least require entering PIN. If it's contactless (and I don't think you can get traditional cards anymore) they are not supposed to take it either, you read the value entered by them from the screen and hover card over reader yourself if you agree.[/quote]
IMO it is pretty ridiculous to have that be the standard to hand the waitress your card and let them walk away with it for a couple minutes to process the transaction. Then you write a tip on the receipt. What's keeping them from adding an extra 0 on the end of the tip amount you write? $5 becomes $50? The way things are done only encourages fraud. It seems like the major CC companies would want to prevent fraud!
Also depending on the card/merchant most places do not require a signature for credit card transactions <$20. I know American Express at costco for example doesn't even require a signature if its <100 or <200 forget the exact amount but its a fair amount.
Gas stations also don't require a signature, just a billing zip code, which could be pretty easy to guess or know if you were trying to commit fraud on a stolen card.
[quote=deetr]iirc paypal lets you do this for free with any card[/quote]
Paypal used to offer a virtual mastercard number which you could generate and use on websites that didn't accept paypal. They discontinued that a couple years ago.
[quote=Hildreth]How do you net yourself an extra 2k if you're paying interest on the original balance? [/quote]
I pay it off in full every month. I have auto pay setup on all my accounts. If you are lazy and never check your account, this is a bad idea as you may end up auto paying for someone's fraud transaction on your account. But as long as you check it at least every month or two, you should be fine.
In addition to the sign up bonuses, most of my credit cards give me cash back % on everything I buy. Right now I have a card that gives me 2% back on everything I buy, and 10% off on Amazon. I have some that give me 5% off on gas. It's nice and the savings add up.
---------------------------
One other tip I have about credit cards is a website called creditkarma.com. It might be just for US customers, not sure. But anyways this site allows you to track your credit score for free, and also you can link up all your credit accounts so you can see all your transactions on one list, without having to sign into 5 different online accounts.
Just a little update to the OP. Today I got my original citi credit card in the mail (the one that never arrived and had fraud on the account before it was activated or received by me). Since it is a high end card it was sent in a fancy box, not in a letter envelope. The box was still factory sealed. This leads me to conclude there are only 2 possibilities for how my credit card number was obtained:
1) Internal fraud from a Citibank employee
2) An external hack on a Citi bank database
Although it is encouraging that USPS was not to blame for stealing my card out of the mail although they are to blame for it taking 2-3 weeks to arrive instead of 2-3 days (Priority Mail). To me though it is even more scary that some internal or external force is stealing credit card numbers from Citi bank.
Just a little update to the OP. Today I got my original citi credit card in the mail (the one that never arrived and had fraud on the account before it was activated or received by me). Since it is a high end card it was sent in a fancy box, not in a letter envelope. The box was still factory sealed. This leads me to conclude there are only 2 possibilities for how my credit card number was obtained:
1) Internal fraud from a Citibank employee
2) An external hack on a Citi bank database
Although it is encouraging that USPS was not to blame for stealing my card out of the mail although they are to blame for it taking 2-3 weeks to arrive instead of 2-3 days (Priority Mail). To me though it is even more scary that some internal or external force is stealing credit card numbers from Citi bank.