<p>^^^^@HisGrace…I’m sure your call was fine but I never give info to cards/banks that call me with security concerns. I tell them I will call them back. Then I get my card or bank telephone number and make the outbound call myself and ask for security - some folks have been scammed by having someone call them asking them to verify security info because there was a concern about their cards/bank accounts.</p>
<p>Threeofthree, I was concerned about that too, but when I called back got a routing/service tree that was actually the bank’s. Also talked to a different person than the one that left a voice mail.</p>
<p>I received a notice about a credit card scam. Apparently there is a robocall going around. The call claims your credit card has been frozen (a MasterCard) and to press any button to continue. The friend who sent this to me got this call but does not HAVE a MasterCard. Luckily she did not continue the call. But other unsuspecting folks might.</p>
<p>So…just be very careful how you respond to phone things.</p>
<p>Glad you called them back…my 91 yo mom got a call a year or so ago from her bank about a security concern with her credit card and she was frantic and gave the caller all her security information …she then called me and freaked me out that she did that. Fortunately it really was the bank, but you never know and I tried to explain to her what to do but finally said, just get their info and call me and I’ll help you from there. I worry about the seniors (actually I’m a senior now, ha!), senior seniors!</p>
<p>We had our CC number stolen a number times. The first time some one bought over $4,000 of furniture in Colorado when we lived in Chicago…That one we caught when the bill came. The CC company caught these over the years … Someone bought prescription drugs in New York City, Someone bought groceries at a Publix in Florida. and one time someone ordered a bunch of porn at a hotel! In each case we got new cards and it turned out ok. There are times when we go on vacation and my husband uses his AMEX card at gas stations where they will shut his card down if he uses it in different states in the same day. He has had to call and explain that we are driving from Georgia to Michigan and then they turn it back on… that’s happened at least 3 times. But at least we know they are watching the card purchases. :)</p>
<p>We got a call from one of our credit card companies (useful to have more than one when one needs to be changed) before the Target issue- they blocked an out of town charge and sent new cards- later when the Target story came out I figured we must have been part of it. Thank goodness for a good card co and the second card for the time we couldn’t use the first one.</p>
<p>We have also been questioned at the check out counter- I remember two major purchases one day years ago at a Best Buy where the second one generated the call- the thought must have been abusing a card.</p>
<p>Many years ago I caught a fraudulent charge on our monthly statement (H has never questioned my thoroughness since). We had flown to the Oakland CA airport and picked up our prearranged rental car. H had to show a credit card for possible charges. A couple of months later there was a charge from an airline on our card. I couldn’t figure out any reason my H had to book a ticket (although I did get a tiny bit worried that he would do so without telling me), checked with him and then called the credit card company we used at that time. A lady had booked a flight from Oakland to a different state. They broke up an airport rental car agency fraud ring that took customer credit card numbers. The dumb crook used her name and other personal info to book the flight.</p>
<p>Now- I keep sales slips and H frequently checks online (pays as we go not just monthly)- sometimes I come home and he will ask me what I bought at store X. Retirement spent on the computer… Most of what I buy is for the household, mundane stuff. Pros and cons to keeping close tabs- you find out how much gifts cost.</p>
<p>Catching fraudulent charges is a big reason we load all our transactions into Quicken and reconcile every month. We occasionally have a disputed charge and it all works out. We set up flags on our accounts to notify us if there’s a transaction over $X, and we occasionally get a phone call asking if X is an authorized charge.</p>
<p>USAA lets us do the travel alert online – DH uses that card a lot when he is traveling for work, as it has the lowest transaction fees. When we travel together, one of us carries the MC, the other one the Visa and Amex, so if we are compromised, we still have cards available.</p>
<p>We got a chip-and-PIN on our MC when we went overseas this fall. No problems.</p>
<p>I like having several cards, as we have occasionally had a block on one or more cards for reasons we didn’t inquire about until we got back home. We generally travel with one Visa, one AmEx, and sometimes one MCard. H’s card numbers are different from mine and he generally carries his cards too.</p>
<p>My Amex card has a feature that lets me set an alert to be notified by text and/or e-mail whenever a transaction is made without the card being present (such as online or phone purchases). I caught an unauthorized transaction this way last year - had to cancel the card and get a new one but was happy to have the fraud alert.</p>
<p>When I got the call from the bank, I am sure it was the bank and not another fraud. The person on the phone was able to tell me all my past transactions to the penny on the phone.</p>
<p>Patsmom,
We just started using that Alert feature as well from the credit card company.after we used our card at a local restaurant and some fraudlent charges appeared. </p>
<p>As 2016BarnardMom pointed out, “There have been cases of restaurant servers taking cards and writing down all the numbers to use them later. This can happen at any establishment where they take your card out of your sight”. </p>
<p>I really think I will let the Manager at the establishment know what happened after we used our card there.</p>
<p>^^ learninginprog, funny you should say that. Our fraudulent charges appeared shortly after we used the card at a local diner, too. All my other charges previous to that had been to large online retailers, Costco and Publix. I’ve been suspicious of that diner ever since and have only used cash there after that. Maybe I should speak to the manager, too, although I could never prove anything. But maybe they’ve had similar reports from other patrons.</p>
<p>Happened to D a couple months ago. Probably skimming, probably from a gas station.
Fortunately we noticed it right away. Charges were at a gas station on the other side of the country. H had identity stolen earlier this year, and several accounts were opened in his name. They didn’t even have all info. correct, and some applications were refused. However, some were approved and all the cards (or refusal letters) were sent to our home address, they were never activated, and no one ever charged anything on them. I’m not sure how this could work–maybe if we activated the card and they then changed the address? But we only use one card and know that no one in the house applied for any others. Our credit was frozen for three months. As soon as it was “unfrozen,” multiple applications were made again. So frustrating. I feel that no one should be able to get a credit card on-line. You need to be there in person with all your ID’s, imo.</p>
<p>I hope that young lady with the parents who wrongly used her cards reads this thread.</p>