BoA Fraud declines

[longtimelurker]

Tried making some purchases today with my FIA Fidelity card and they were declined.   When I called, they had blocked it for suspicious purchasing behavior.  They told me was a $1 pending charge from Google (setting up Android pay) followed by a several hundred dollar charge from Homedepot.com, which follows one of their testing/fraud patterns

And that's fine, even though these were made by me.   What I found surprising is no attempt to contact me (and she confirmed my cell phone contact number when she cleared the hold on the card) She said that they would have eventually phoned or "sent a letter".

Is that common for BoA?   I would have expected a fraud alert call at least soon after the blocked attempt. 

(This is only my 2nd block with them.  They don't mind me buying $4K of Amex Gift cards from Amex online, but buying a $500 one at CVS was blocked and I guess I had to call about that too).

[Callandra]

I'm surprised they didn't call you -- fiance banks with them and they have called him and let him know about potential fraud/compromises right away (this happened with his debit card so maybe it's a different divison?). However, it took quite a long time for them to send him a new card even though they called him right away. 

[Anonymous]

I am a bit surprised also they didn't bother to call. I am not a fan of BOA so hopefully everything is squared out for you @Longtimelurker.  Horrible service.

[Anonymous]

I bank at Bank of America and they are very sensitive to charges. I finally signed up for text alerts and that has worked fine. Sometimes it is a pain, but on the other hand I like that they watch my spending and question anything out of place.

[CreditScholar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I bank at Bank of America and they are very sensitive to charges. I finally signed up for text alerts and that has worked fine. Sometimes it is a pain, but on the other hand I like that they watch my spending and question anything out of place.

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+1. I used to push a decent amount of money through my BofA cards, and their fraud detection can be overly-sensitive at times to say the least.

After awhile it stopped happening as often, and I'm guessing that had to do with their computers getting accustomed to my spending patterns.

[B335is]

BoA put a fraud alert on my Cash Rewards card once when I swiped at the gas pump, then ran inside to buy a water. When I called the first CSR was oblivious. Then I had to wait almost 20 minutes for the fraud department to pick up. I guess they're a busy department over at BoA.

[CreditScholar]

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@B335is wrote:
BoA put a fraud alert on my Cash Rewards card once when I swiped at the gas pump, then ran inside to buy a water. When I called the first CSR was oblivious. Then I had to wait almost 20 minutes for the fraud department to pick up. I guess they're a busy department over at BoA.

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When I spoke with a BofA CSR ages ago, I was told that certain series of transactions triggered fraud alerts in their system.

For me it was a gas station, McDonalds, then a pharmacy. Apparently that's a very common usage pattern after a card is stolen.

[Open123]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

Is that common for BoA?   I would have expected a fraud alert call at least soon after the blocked attempt. 

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In my experience, it's been the case.  

In general, I find FIA/BofA's fraud algorithms far too sensitive.  It seems as if any "out of the ordinary" purchase is flagged.  So, aside from Serve and some non-Amex purchases, I've pretty much stopped using FIA/BofA cards.; this calling in and answering questions to clear things just isn't my cup of tea.  I'm not even sure if I bothered clearing the last fraud alert on my Cash card.

[longtimelurker]

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@Open123 wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

Is that common for BoA?   I would have expected a fraud alert call at least soon after the blocked attempt. 

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In my experience, it's been the case.  

In general, I find FIA/BofA's fraud algorithms far too sensitive.  It seems as if any "out of the ordinary" purchase is flagged.  So, aside from Serve and some non-Amex purchases, I've pretty much stopped using FIA/BofA cards.; this calling in and answering questions to clear things just isn't my cup of tea.  I'm not even sure if I bothered clearing the last fraud alert on my Cash card.

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I don't (particularly!) mind occasional fraud alerts and I have only had them twice on this card, so not over-sensitive for me.  

My complaint is merely not telling me, and maybe planning to send me a letter!   That's the bit that gets me.    It's surely in their interest to get the issue resolved ASAP, so either I can continue charging on the existing card if there was in fact no fraud, or sending me a new card that I can charge on  if the old one was compromised.  But apparently not.....

[Wovenyarn]

BoA used to drive me crazy with their fraud blocks.  I have to say that now they have moved into a more progressive process where their automated system can text you information that you can verify to release the hold.  The last time it took less than 3 minutes for me to get one removed.