<p>Yesterday our bank called. They had a call from JC Penney regarding someone trying to charge a gift card to my DH’s debit card (which he rarely uses). We cancelled the card immediately. The card has not left his possession. We think that the number was compromised but we don’t know how as he generally uses it only to get cash from a bank branch ATM.<br>
Anyway, today two fradulent charges showed up on our online debit account. I called the bank to dispute them. They told me that because of the economy and the holiday season the ATM dispute department is backed up like crazy and there could be some delay in getting the funds back in our account.<br>
Wanted to let all my CC friends know, check your accounts online daily if possible. Don’t wait for your credit card bill or for your checking account to be drained.</p>
<p>Good idea to post a heads up on this. I saw a segment on our local news last night where there’s a ring going to different cities and attaching a “skimmer” to bank atm machines to get card numbers. I only saw the tail end of the explanation but apparently the thing to look for is anything loose on the atm machine - some sort of loose attachment I guess or anything that wiggles or moves. They said even though the banks have surveillance cameras, it may be a several week lag before the surveillance film is reviewed without any type of report being made. Scary because of all machines, you’d think the bank ones would be safe.</p>
<p>I do check my credit card charges regularly online. Your post highlights why I don’t use debit cards - although they have been made safer over the years, the money comes right out of your account and may take a while to get back. I do sometimes use my ATM card at banks, though, which makes it somewhat vulnerable. I would never use an ATM that is not at a bank, as I don’t trust those at all.</p>
<p>“he generally uses it only to get cash from a bank branch ATM”</p>
<p>A skimmer? The bank needs to check that ATM. Thanks for the reminder!</p>
<p>However, one has to take into the account that this is the holiday season… My story has a somewhat happy ending! I checked my online credit card statement and almost had a heart attack - there was a ginormous, I mean ginormous, charge from a posh depratment store (that shall stay unnamed) where we don’t shop! I was about to call Amex and yell “fraud” (H was in a meeting so luckily I did not call him), but then I saw that the charge was for designer shoes (or something like that). And it hit me - H must have done some online shopping :eek: Several weeks ago we had a discussion on how women manage to walk in 4-inch heels, and I sent H a link to a pair of boots jokingly saying that “if Santa were rich, he’d give me these so I can practice my catwalking skills” The charge is for the %^&@ boots!!! I’ve never returned gifts given to me by my H, but I’m not sure about this one - too expensive and too impractical.</p>
<p>I’ve had credit card data stolen from a card that never leaves my desk and is used only online at which I think are trusted sites (like Amazon). I also had to close a checking account because somebody used the information on a legitimate check I had issued to get an ACH withdrawal. I now try to check both every day or two. I have learned that you generally have about 30 days to dispute charges (from when you get your statement), so I also always scan statements as soon as they arrive, even if I’m not balancing the checkbook or paying the credit card bill immediately.
Also, watch for small charges you don’t recognize. Some thieves figure that it is easier to steal $9.95 from a zillion folks than a big pile from a few.
On skimmers - never use non-bank ATMs - they can be a big source of trouble. When yo use a bank ATM, just look at it first. If the slot looks odd in any way, particularly if it looks as if it could have been attached and is not molded in, you probably should walk away (and notify the bank). Put something concealing above your hand as you enter your PIN - some thieves install cameras to steal PINs.</p>
<p>thanks for the headsup. Not that I am a huge fan of B o A, but they let me choose all kinds of email alerts: I get an email every time wife makes an atm withdrawal or son (we have a joint account) uses his debit card.</p>
<p>I have added new feature to my credit card where I get a text message every time there is a charge greater $X. My phone buzzes when I get a text, so I feel like I am getting zapped every time I use my card.</p>
<p>H got notified by AmEx about a small charge (>10$) eminating from a Russian source.It was a “test” so to speak.If the charge goes through, then they charge something bigger.Luckily AmEx seems good about keeping track of these things.</p>
<p>After I had used a card online to Walmart.com recently for two fairly big ticket electronic items…maybe bigger than usual but not huge , I got a fraud inquiry call from that bank.I was happy they were checking and happy to verify the charge.</p>
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<p>My credit has an ATM in my office and it’s pretty close to the only ATM machine that I use.</p>
<p>Discover Card (owned by Citi) allows you to generate one-time-use credit card numbers and I use those for online purchases. Any of the online companies can get hacked and I just like a little more security for online purchases.</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^I love the idea of one time credit cards for online shopping. Do you know of any other cards that do this? We only use Mastercard and Amex.</p>
<p>Discover can do it because their customer base is small relative to their range of allocated credit card numbers.</p>
<p>Bank of America also has the limited time credit cards for online shopping.</p>
<p>In the past month we had our American Express attempted to be used in India. Now how does that happen? Are people selling credit card #'s over the internet?</p>
<p>Also, we got a phone call from VISA today because there had been a lot of activity on my account. Glad they are checking.</p>
<p>“Now how does that happen? Are people selling credit card #'s over the internet?”</p>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p>“check your accounts online daily if possible”</p>
<p>If this is what ends up as being normal in our modern life I am moving back in time. </p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>This happened to me this year too. I think I mentioned that they did direct debit to my Bank of America. Don’t have a lot of money in your account.</p>
<p>Bank of America’s one time credit card program, Shopsafe, issues temporary credit card numbers with user defined credit limits and expiration dates.
[ShopSafe</a> Service: Safe Online Shopping from Bank of America](<a href=“Privacy & Security Center at Bank of America”>Privacy & Security Center at Bank of America)</p>
<p>Discover’s secure online credit card program issues unique credit card numbers that become tied to the merchant of the initial transaction.
[Online</a> Security & Protection - Online Account Numbers : Discover](<a href=“Credit Card Benefits: Discover Card Rewards | Discover”>Credit Card Benefits: Discover Card Rewards | Discover)</p>
<p>The only protection against identity theft is a credit freeze placed at all three credit reporting agencies – fraud alert and credit monitoring do not work.</p>
<p>This is why I almost never use my debit card outside of ATMs (doesn’t eliminate the risk, but at least greatly reduces the frequency of those details being passed around various people and computer systems). Technically fraudulent purchases/transactions made on a debit card should not be the responsibility of the cardholder, but it still creates a huge headache for the victim. </p>
<p>With a credit card, paid off in full each month, at least it’s ‘fake money’ being put on the card. ie If someone steals the details and makes illegal charges it just goes against the credit limit and I wouldn’t have to pay the amount while investigations take place etc… with a debit card it’s ‘real money’ in my bank account that I then lose access to.</p>
<p>My husband used our debit card at a grocery store and they accidentally swiped it twice. It was a pain in the neck to get the money back into our account. I agree with rocketman, we only use credit card now for purchase at stores.</p>
<p>That is what is so puzzling here.DH only uses at bank ATMs to get cash and infrequently at that. Almost all of his purchases are on business credit cards.</p>