<p>Be sure to watch your online account statements this season. I just found out that two of my accounts have been compromised yesterday and today.</p>
<p>Any suspicious charges? Call the bank or card company, immediately. </p>
<p>The interesting thing about one of these accounts is that I haven’t used it in more than 6 months, I get online statements only and I have a mac, which is much more resistant to viruses and hacking.</p>
<p>So where did they get that account number? </p>
<p>Don’t wait till you get your statements in the mail. Check your balances online and notify them right away!</p>
<p>I will NEVER give my credit card to anyone in a restaurant again…never. They take it in the back and can write down the numbers and use the card. Both DH and I had our cards shut down to to the CC company detecting fraud (thank goodness). In both cases, neither of us uses these card. Mine went on a trip with me in April and I DID use it at a restaurant. It’s the only place where my card was out of my sight. </p>
<p>Restaurants need to bump up to using those scanners like they have been using in London for years. They scan your card AT the table and print out the receipt in front of you. Until that happens here…I’ll pay cash…or eat at home.</p>
<p>My card got canceled 8 days before Christmas…GREAT timing!!</p>
<p>Thumper, several years ago we were double charged at restaurant. I really believe that it was in intentional, but we caught the double charge and then they were apologetic and gave us a voucher for a free dinner for our family. I wonder how many times this restaurant got away with double charging before they had to close their doors.</p>
<p>I suppose it is only a matter of time until I get hit. I use my debit and credit cards all the time in retail stores, restaurants, ATMS, gas stations, etc… I have money pulled straight from my checking account for the electric bill, drinking water, mortgage, insurance, gas bill, telephone bills, etc… I’ve never had a problem, and it’s too inconvenient to switch back to cash and checks. </p>
<p>Are there any statistics to show that this problem is getting worse or more widespread?</p>
<p>Thanks for the reminder, littlegreenmom. I checked my statements online today to make sure all was well.</p>
<p>I think that this is a bigger problem in Europe than in the US but I do think that it is getting worse. I’ve heard that security systems are more stringent in Europe but crooks more brazen in what they do. I’m all for keeping a small financial footprint so as not to attract attention. Even there, some pretty low-tech stuff can result in fraud like stealing out of mailboxes.</p>
<p>Macs are more virus-resistant, but virtually any computer can be hacked without the proper security settings. In fact, just a little while back a bunch of hackers put a “poisoned” image onto Target’s web site, so that everyone who visited said web site got the virus. Make sure your internet and computer security settings are as high as they go.</p>
<p>I was a victim of identity theft last Sunday. Someone used my card to make online purchases and my CC company caught on instantly and shut it down. In retaliation, the thief went online and signed me up for all kinds of services – my phone ran off the hook for days with insurance agents, online colleges and more (you can get someone’s address and phone number online – google yourself and see.) I managed to find the hotmail account they created in my name and MSN shut that down. They created the account in my name with my home address and phone number (which all the people who called me had.) But I was lucky – they didn’t have my birthdate, license number of SS number. Still, a major inconvenience and I totally agree about swiping cards in restaurants the way they do in England.</p>
<p>I was a victim a couple of weeks ago. I discovered the fraud when I got some paper doll clothes in the mail from Amazon that I didn’t order! The thieves also ordered some books from “Your Baby Can Read” and had them shipped to my house! They signed up for music and game websites, too. Sigh. Visa was great about it, but it was a pain. I pay a bunch of monthly bills online with that card, so I’m having to notify each company about the changed account number.</p>
<p>In the last year one of my cards was hacked twice…my daughter and my brother also both had a card that was hacked…all caught early … (although best I remember the 2nd time my card account # was stolen someone got a $800 tv in texas…it was at a best buy…curious thing is…I had used that card at a best buy in a different state the week before…it was never out of my site)… that one took a couple of months to get back off my bill. Some of these times an actual fake card was used (we still had all of ours…but a card was swiped when the purchase was made).</p>
<p>I had an instance at a home improvement chain where the clerk asked for my credit card to punch in the last 4 digits (a common request) and then immediately punched keys on his cell phone!! I complained, hoping my account wasn’t compromised, and felt like I was banging my head against the wall, trying to convince somebody in the store (corporate ignored me) that this was unacceptable and was a problem!!</p>
<p>Needless to say, I will never set foot into any one of their stores again.</p>
<p>Some of those home improvement stores have self-service checkout. I use those whenever possible. I still use cash if the purchase isn’t too big.</p>
<p>Ok, someone mentioned being happy their birthdate was not discovered. My dad would always say for signing up for various things and Facebook to use a fake date of birth and I never understood why and always forget to ask him. You share your birthday with thousands (millions) of people, why does DOB matter?</p>
<p>If he had known my birth date, then I would have been far more concerned that he might also know my SS number. When he used a fake birthdate to sign up for stuff, it seemed like a good sign that he didn’t have it.</p>
<p>We got nailed a few weeks ago (see my earlier post) on my DH’s debit card. He rarely uses the card and it was in his wallet at the time. Someone tried to use it online to purchase large ticket gift certificates. It got caught and shut down right away. The only charges that went through were two smaller ones at an actual Sears. I called the Sears and informed the manager that he had an employee issue. Someone in his store took a purchase without the card or the card holder present. He was thankful for my call. Of course, because it was a debit card and fraud is so huge right now my bank says it will be about 10 days before the money goes back in my account. Hugely grateful we didn’t need the money for food, mortgage, gas.</p>
<p>You don’t want to give out your date of birth for FB, etc. Lots of places use it as a way, along with your SS to identify you. The banks have finally gotten smarter and now ask for DOB, SS and a code word.</p>
<p>The week before Christmas I caught a $3000+ charge on my credit card for a resort in Thailand. I probably wouldn’t have noticed a smaller amount but I rarely use that card and pay it off monthly. I had made 2 purchases from online companies and had also ordered a memory card through the Dell tech when my son’s computer was out of memory. Luckily, my card is through USAA which gives great service and they removed the charges, opened a new account, and FedExed me a new card in two days. They also added another layer of security to my account and will notify me if any charges over $500 are made. I now check my online account every day or so.</p>
<p>There’s enough evidence here to indicate that this is widespread - I wonder if there are some teen websites out there telling store workers how to do this.</p>