Credit Card Security

[falconman]

I recently noticed a suspicious credit card charge on my Master Card for $375.00 from an online merchant. This charge came one day after using the card at the Loves gas station in Buckeye, AZ. Follow up with the merchant and my card issuer confirmed a fraudulent transaction. So, how does one protect themselves at these places?

[Redsky]

The chipped cards that require a pin have been available for more than a decade in Europe but in the USA only one of our 5 credit card issuing banks has this and it is not usable as 99% of the merchants have not bought the new card readers that are required. One exception is Wal-Mart but we will never do business with a company that treats its employees so badly and flouts the laws continuously (more than 30 states attorney generals have suits filed against Wal-Mart).

[Harvey51]

webslave wrote:
Actually, those "chips" make stealing your credit card information easier...they are "broadcasting" type chips and where, without them, a person has to physically have your card and scan the magnetic strip, someone with an RIF reader can just walk by you and take the information without ever having contact

I had one of those cards with remote reading so I could just slap my closed wallet on the reader at the gas pump. Sadly, that convenience is gone with the chip cards. The card has to stay inside the reader for many seconds for encrypted information to pass between card and bank computer.

[Ski_Pro_3]

OpenRangePullen_Ford wrote:
I check my online statement everyday.

Ditto
I use Quicken and log on during the evening news. Works great but makes the DW grumpy when I mention the $35 pedicure she got at WalMart while grocery shopping... You will know every transaction on every account with the click of a button using Quicken.

[DE88ROX]

Youngest Daughter just got married this past February in Mexico. Of course the wife and BOTH my girls had to have a spa day prior to the wedding to get hair, nails, and whatever else women deem necessary during these type of events. Anywho, about a month later we got a call from the CC company (citi) asking about the last few charges on the card. the most recent was at a wal-mart in Ky.

Through some investigation work, we figured someone from the spa stole the number and sold it. Friends wife had her card # lifted as well, and that was used at best buy in Ca.

I always use credit card when traveling. The protection from fraud is 2nd to none. If I used my bank card (debit) I would be on the hook for the 347.00 someone tried using at walmart.

[monkey44]

We each have two cards -- one we use, one is "zero" balance -- we use one at a time, each. IF we get one compromised, we each have another to use until a replacement gets to us ...

In all our years of CC use (40+ years), we've never once had a fraudulent charge. We always watch the transactions (don't give it to hold at gas stations)... We check our CC websites often, just to see the transactions.

We tell our banks if we're traveling - and they monitor any large out of area transactions and notify us, or even shut off the card if they can't get us on the phone and ask, unless we tell them ahead of time we're traveling.

We believe it happens to people -- we just never have, and are careful but use it like we need it - that's why we have them. we once lost a card, they got us a new one in two days via overnight mail - and later, we found it, so not stolen, just 'misplaced'.

[NYCgrrl]

JJnLilly wrote:
"Every time I've reported a fraudulent charge on my debit/credit card the bank has IMMEDIATELY cancelled that card and " they will send a new one out by mail within 2 weeks" which means I am without credit for that long and it's a SUPREME hassle as EVERYTHING is set up to come out of that card: utilities, phone, reoccurring payments, insurance, etc.

I can't IMAGINE how frustrating that would become if I were on the road and suddenly had no CC for gas, emergencies, etc. for up to 2 weeks. Don't your banks cancel the CC in question?"

The very reason we carry two different cards and we each (DW and I) have separate ones that go to same account from our bank. That way if mine gets hacked, stolen or lost we have hers to use.

Last year just before I left on a camping trip I realised my wallet was missing. No fraud involved just gone with the wind. We were leaving on a Wednesday morning and I notified my c/c companies and bank on Tuesday afternoon. American Express mailed my new cards to the campground's office and called me when it was received; took about 2 days.
My MC and bank card (both issued by same bank) were available for pickup Wednesday morning from a local branch so I left my home area w/ them in hand. Could've had my Visa card delivered to a near the campground post office and picked up via General Delivery after showing proper ID. Opted out on this option since I rarely use the card so they mailed it home.

Check with your c/c companies and bank for lost/stolen procedures before ya go so you and avoid longterm problems w/o a card.

As for fraudulent use of c/c, like some others, I use American Express almost exclusively and they are great at contacting me if needed or when I dispute a charge.

[bigdogger]

Lets see, have your credit card compromised and the maximum amount you can be responsible for by law is $50.00, and it is almost universally accepted that the card company will eat that $50, so you are out zero. The alternative to credit cards is to carry cash and if you are robbed, your liability is however much you had in your wallet and you aren't getting any of that covered by your bank. On top of that, no one has ever been beaten, stabbed or shot by someone who steals your card information with a card sniffer. I'll stick with cards, thank you.
BTW, it would be highly unlikely that the theft the OP suffered started with the gas station. There are tens of millions of stolen credit card numbers available on the internet black market. Once someone uses your number there will always be a the last transaction before the theft on your card, that is a certainty. One minute your card wasn't compromised, the next it was. The gas station being the last good charge was just an inevitable coincidence.

[pitch]

Not to hijack, but do any of you allow merchants with those phone readers to use your card? I see a lot of sellers at flea markets and street vendors using these things. I am not technologically savvy,but it seems as though the risk of fraud goes way up.

[JJnLilly]

"Every time I've reported a fraudulent charge on my debit/credit card the bank has IMMEDIATELY cancelled that card and " they will send a new one out by mail within 2 weeks" which means I am without credit for that long and it's a SUPREME hassle as EVERYTHING is set up to come out of that card: utilities, phone, reoccurring payments, insurance, etc.

I can't IMAGINE how frustrating that would become if I were on the road and suddenly had no CC for gas, emergencies, etc. for up to 2 weeks. Don't your banks cancel the CC in question?"

The very reason we carry two different cards and we each (DW and I) have separate ones that go to same account from our bank. That way if mine gets hacked, stolen or lost we have hers to use.

[Dutch_12078]

Bucky Badger wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I'm guessing that you didn't use the card to pay at the pump at Loves. Once you hand your card to a clerk, waitress, etc., it only takes a dishonest one a second to swipe it into a small concealed device, often attached to a smart phone.

Actually thieves put "skimmers" in pumps. Been on TV numerous times

Yes, if you don't pay attention to the card reader at the pump and notice the bogus reader head, you can get bit that way. The more common in person card number theft method is still the small portable swipers though, that do not require any installation or return visits to collect the data. The crook doing the swiping also has an opportunity to see and note the security code on the back of the card. A small reader that attaches to a smart phone only costs about $10. Add the appropriate software and you're in the card theft business.

[2oldman]

pnichols wrote:
Chances are you won't have any fraud on it so your auto-deductions never have to be re-set up again.

Nope, just changed when the card expires.

Good idea.

[pnichols]

What I think works for auto-deductions against a credit card for regularly occuring bills is to keep a credit card just for those and leave it home in a secure place. Chances are you won't have any fraud on it so your auto-deductions never have to be re-set up again.

Carry other credit cards with you if you wish, but never carry the auto-deduction credit card with you.

[2oldman]

happybooker1 wrote:
I can't IMAGINE how frustrating that would become if I were on the road and suddenly had no CC for gas, emergencies, etc. for up to 2 weeks. Don't your banks cancel the CC in question?

Yes, they do cancel it.

I suppose with only the one card you could work out an overnight delivery.. depending on your location. But, I'm pretty sure you've had thoughts about how having just one card is kinda scary sometimes. I carry 6.

As for the auto-deducts, I really don't know how that's handled, other than your attention to when the deduction is made. I'm sure at some point you'll be visiting those sites and inputting the new card number.

[Dave_H_M]

just relax. It did not cost you anything. We all pay for the losses. :W