We just received a call that DD’s debit card was used across the country at a gas station. I was just wondering how that was possible as the card is still in her possession. Even if the thief had a copy of the card wouldn’t they need a pin or zip code to complete a transaction?
Most of the gas stations in Oregon just swipe the debit card without me needing to be at the pump (we are one of those full service-only states). Costco is the only place that I have to get out of my car and go to the pump to put in my pin.
It was in NJ which might explain things. IIRC NJ is also a full service state.
D had s similar thing happen recently. Turned out that there was a skimming device placed on an ATM in her neighborhood and many people had their account numbers and pin’s stolen (there was a posting on a neighborhood Facebook page). So while the info was stolen at the nearby ATM, it was actually used in another location. She worked with the bank to recover the $$$. And, of course, got a new debit card asap.
Debit cards are easily hacked and fake cards with a strip can be made quickly. When ours was breeched and big purchase attempted across the country, police discouraged us from using debit cards anywhere but a secure ATM. Unlike a credit card, debit cards are direct access to account. Thieves will start with small purchases and see how far they can go. Good luck. I think we are all going to spend a lot of time trying to stay ahead of the hackers.
We were on a road trip to drop D off at the start of the semester. Stopped for gas and the visa got denied, then a few minutes later received a call. Turns out about 10 minutes after our previous gas stop the card was apparently hacked and somebody tried to use it at a different gas station. Weird stuff, I don’t know how they get into use so quickly but I’m glad our bank catches these things so quickly.
Oddly enough we have two visas from different banks. One gets hacked regularly, like once or twice a year. The other has only been hacked once in the past 10+ years.
Anyway back to the OP’s point, a colleague of mine had her debit card hacked and it was a big mess to clear up as she was overseas at the time and her bank account was cleaned out. She stopped using debit cards after that and switched to credit cards.
The use of magnetic credit / debit card skimmers at ATMs and gas station pumps is very common. Always be on the lookout for signs of tampering with these card swipe devices. They capture the magnetic strip info and many have cameras on them to capture the PINs.
Here is an excellent blog article about the practice. It’s downright scary.
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/09/tracking-a-bluetooth-skimmer-gang-in-mexico/
We had a family member with a debit card hacked as well. His card could be used like a credit card (I think many debit cards can be used that way). Thankfully the bank froze the account.
Just saw this across my Facebook scroll. Obviously not the same thing.
I do not have a debit card as I am wary of the lack of protection.
D1’s debit card was hacked in Vietnam. Her credit union reimbursed her for most of the fraudulently withdrawn funds.
My cc, and two of my kiddos debits cards were all hacked. None of the cards ever left our possession, and I always tell my kids not to use a pin under any circumstance unless at an ATM.
When my daughter’s debit card was hacked (see above), it happened at an ATM. She still had the card afterward. It appeared that the machine itself had been hacked.
^^ It’s a card skimmer. Some are very hard to detect.
I wonder if ApplePay or similar methods are more secure, or just not quite as hacked yet?
people who work for the credit card processing companies, banks or contractors steal millions of numbers at a time.
it is much less likely in 2015 to be a waitress or a hotel clerk (they do it too, but that is peanuts compared to people in the banking system who steal and resell the numbers by the boatload)
son’s debit card was skimmed at a gas station. he didnt have much money in his checking account so when someone tried to use it for a very large purchase at a grocery store 1500 miles away it was denied. He replaced the card of course, but now regularly monitors his accounts to keep the balance in checking small.
strongly suggest that people that usually use debit cards use a credit card instead
Yes, debit cards don’t have the protections of federal law that credit cards do. Many banks give extra protections to debit cards, but they don’t have to and when your account is drained you don’t have the money during the dispute period. With a credit card you do.
I have rarely ever used debit cards–tried it to see if it worked and then used twice it in Canada. Tried it again to be sure it would work if I needed it in Korea (but didn’t need it there).
We’ve had a credit card be fraudulently used 3 times in the past 2 months! There was no card swiping device - apparently someone is running computer programs that just guess the numbers and then they use them for online purchases.
The problem with debit cards is that young people use them to access their checking accounts. It’s impossible to just get a bank ATM card anymore, it’s always a debit card. Young people establishing their credit may not have a cc to use instead.