Credit Card Fraud: Both wife and I

[ludawg23]

Last week, my amex card got dinged for some unusual charges for $400 through amazon.com.  Amex took the charges off and I tried to get more info from the person who used it through amazon but they refused to tell me.

This morning, wifes amex (not the same card as me) got dinged for $2,000K at some Sony store in Europe.

Now i'm freaking out because this happened in the same week.

My computer has the latest Norton virus with all updates.

We've changed all our passwords to our log-ins and also email.

Is there anything else we should be doing? Credit monitoring necessary now?

Thanks guys

[Anonymous]

I would get credit monitoring service. I would also lock up those credit reports. Now you got me watching my Amex lol. I wonder if someone inside Amex is connected to this ??? MY neice also had some fraud charges from Amex overseas. I haven't used my card online and don't think I will now.

[Walt_K]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would get credit monitoring service. I would also lock up those credit reports. Now you got me watching my Amex lol. I wonder if someone inside Amex is conected to this ??? MY neice also had some fraud charges from Amex overseas. I haven't used my card online and don't think I will now.

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I think you're overreacting a bit.  I wouldn't jump to conclusions that there's some inside leak at Amex, and you're perfectly fine using your cards online.  I've had fraudulent charges show up a few different times on my credit cards.  For me it's always been a painless process.  Tell them it's fraudulent, they remove the charges, and you usually have to sign an affidavit they send to you.  Not really a big deal.  Would be worse if it were a debit card (although depending on the bank, that might not be so bad either).

[Anonymous]

It does seem like there is an unusual amount of Amex fraud lately...makes you wonder if they had a breach they haven't announced.

[Anonymous]

Yea you're probably right Walt. I never use my debit card. I hear Amex is very good about removing the fraud charges. I've never had any fraud on any of my cards. I'm glad to hear it's painless if I do.

[ludawg23]

AMEX is VERY good at the fraud protection.  Very simple and painless process as they reverse the charges and overnight a new card right away.

But now it has my wheels spinning...hopefully this is it.

Looking into some credit monitoring services now...

[LS2982]

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@Walt_K wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would get credit monitoring service. I would also lock up those credit reports. Now you got me watching my Amex lol. I wonder if someone inside Amex is conected to this ??? MY neice also had some fraud charges from Amex overseas. I haven't used my card online and don't think I will now.

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I think you're overreacting a bit.  I wouldn't jump to conclusions that there's some inside leak at Amex, and you're perfectly fine using your cards online.  I've had fraudulent charges show up a few different times on my credit cards.  For me it's always been a painless process.  Tell them it's fraudulent, they remove the charges, and you usually have to sign an affidavit they send to you.  Not really a big deal.  Would be worse if it were a debit card (although depending on the bank, that might not be so bad either).

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+1

[bichonmom]

If you're concerned, you should put a fraud alert on your CRs. That is free (unlike the freeze, which costs money to unfreeze). The fraud alerts requires the identity of anyone getting credit in your name be verified.

A CMS isn't really going to help, because they just let you know of changes a few days *after* the fact. It doesn't stop anyone in the act.

My main concern would be canceling the acct # w/Amex and getting a new one, so that the thieves can't keep using the CC number.

[LS2982]

Also putting security freezes on your reports stops all new credit activity on your reports.

[Anonymous]

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@ludawg23 wrote:

This morning, wifes amex (not the same card as me) got dinged for $2,000K at some Sony store in Europe.

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Not asking for any number details here but are the numbers similar?  I ask because my spouse and I have different number but only slightly different.  Ultimately, my experience has been that the bulk of the fraud is not from direct access to your PC but rather access to either transaction information from the retailer or from just card number generators.

BTW, the card companies will not normally give you any information on the fraud beyond the amount and location.  They are not looking for you to investigate the issue beyond letting them know it is not your tranactions and possibly signing some paperwork.