Fraud on my Sallie Mae!

[Anonymous]

This weekend someone went to town on my Sallie Mae card, about $800 total in charges.  On Sunday I had attempted to make a purchase and was declined, so I used another card, then went to my car and attempted to call Barclays at the number on the back of my card, but got a message saying that they were doing account maintenance and that the mobile app was down, so I assumed the denial had something to do with that.  An hour later, I got two text messages alerting me to possible fraud and to respond 1 or 2 if a legit purchase or not.  I texted back immediately, then received another text that gave me a number to call.  I called immediately, and the rep and I went over all purchases in the last two days and I confirmed all of the fraudulent ones.  She then told me she had closed my card and I would be receiving a new one shortly.  This was my first experience with fraud, and I think Barclay's handled it well.  It's amazing how fast they catch fradulent purchases!  I think less than 24 hours had passed since the last time I checked my balance and all was well...all of a sudden, 3 Target purchases, 2 Walgreens purchases, 3 Safeway purchases, and a couple others!

[galahad15]

Very sorry to hear about the fraudulent activity occurring on your SM card, but glad to hear that Barclay was able to help you so quickly and efficiently there in resolving it.

[Anonymous]

So, after my phone call with a Barclay rep yesterday, when we went over the transactions, I logged into my account today (which is now closed) and I saw more fraudulent purchases that were showing as pending transactions.  I called today and the rep said to call the merchants directly and have them cancel the transactions from their end.  Is this normal, or should I wait for them to post and then call Barclays back to have them remove the charges?  Does it matter if the charges are pending or posted for the CC company to mark them as fraud?  I've called the merchants and am waiting for them to call me back after they find the transactions I reported to them.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So, after my phone call with a Barclay rep yesterday, when we went over the transactions, I logged into my account today (which is now closed) and I saw more fraudulent purchases that were showing as pending transactions.  I called today and the rep said to call the merchants directly and have them cancel the transactions from their end.  Is this normal, or should I wait for them to post and then call Barclays back to have them remove the charges?  Does it matter if the charges are pending or posted for the CC company to mark them as fraud?  I've called the merchants and am waiting for them to call me back after they find the transactions I reported to them.

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With most issuers, you can't technically dispute a charge until it posts. They may not be able to take it off until it posts perhaps.

[Peteyglad]

Over the years I have had several fraud cases. None of which did I have to contact the store. The credit card companies handled it all. I have never had a fraud case on my Barclay though so I don't know what is standard operating procedure for them though. 

[Man-Of-Steel]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So, after my phone call with a Barclay rep yesterday, when we went over the transactions, I logged into my account today (which is now closed) and I saw more fraudulent purchases that were showing as pending transactions.  I called today and the rep said to call the merchants directly and have them cancel the transactions from their end.  Is this normal, or should I wait for them to post and then call Barclays back to have them remove the charges?  Does it matter if the charges are pending or posted for the CC company to mark them as fraud?  I've called the merchants and am waiting for them to call me back after they find the transactions I reported to them.

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I'll be curious to see if anyone else has been asked to contact the merchants and ask them to cancel the fraudulent transactions.  I've never heard of that before and that sounds like a big hassle to me.  Fortunately, I've never had fraud on any of my credit card accounts yet (knock knock on wood!), so maybe this is to be expected.  Regarding the Sallie Mae card, my account is not quite 2 years old and I'm already on card #3 (third new account number), due to a proactive response from Barclays.

I'm still surprised to hear that they asked you to contact the merchants directly.  It almost sounds like they are having you do their job for them.

[Anonymous]

I think it may be a case of an improperly trained rep.  The merchants I spoke to were able to locate the transactions, but told me there was nothing they could do to rescind the charge.  I called Barclays for the third time, and re-confirmed the remaining fraudulent transactions that were still pending.  Rep #3 informed me that they had been flagged, so I will log in again tomorrow and see if the charges have been removed.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

This weekend someone went to town on my Sallie Mae card, about $800 total in charges.  On Sunday I had attempted to make a purchase and was declined, so I used another card, then went to my car and attempted to call Barclays at the number on the back of my card, but got a message saying that they were doing account maintenance and that the mobile app was down, so I assumed the denial had something to do with that.  An hour later, I got two text messages alerting me to possible fraud and to respond 1 or 2 if a legit purchase or not.  I texted back immediately, then received another text that gave me a number to call.  I called immediately, and the rep and I went over all purchases in the last two days and I confirmed all of the fraudulent ones.  She then told me she had closed my card and I would be receiving a new one shortly.  This was my first experience with fraud, and I think Barclay's handled it well.  It's amazing how fast they catch fradulent purchases!  I think less than 24 hours had passed since the last time I checked my balance and all was well...all of a sudden, 3 Target purchases, 2 Walgreens purchases, 3 Safeway purchases, and a couple others!

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I wouldn't be impressed at all... We have the most fraud prone and ancient banking system in the world, especially when it comes to cards. At least the banks are starting to come around a little while merchants drag their feet like always on their end. 

[Anonymous]

Sorry it happened, but glad everything has worked out for you.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

This weekend someone went to town on my Sallie Mae card, about $800 total in charges.  On Sunday I had attempted to make a purchase and was declined, so I used another card, then went to my car and attempted to call Barclays at the number on the back of my card, but got a message saying that they were doing account maintenance and that the mobile app was down, so I assumed the denial had something to do with that.  An hour later, I got two text messages alerting me to possible fraud and to respond 1 or 2 if a legit purchase or not.  I texted back immediately, then received another text that gave me a number to call.  I called immediately, and the rep and I went over all purchases in the last two days and I confirmed all of the fraudulent ones.  She then told me she had closed my card and I would be receiving a new one shortly.  This was my first experience with fraud, and I think Barclay's handled it well.  It's amazing how fast they catch fradulent purchases!  I think less than 24 hours had passed since the last time I checked my balance and all was well...all of a sudden, 3 Target purchases, 2 Walgreens purchases, 3 Safeway purchases, and a couple others!

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I wouldn't be impressed at all... We have the most fraud prone and ancient banking system in the world, especially when it comes to cards. At least the banks are starting to come around a little while merchants drag their feet like always on their end. 

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Just curious, how are the merchants dragging their feet?

They make small USB card readers that can be used on computers. I would love to see those introduced for online shopping. Want to shop online, you have to buy a reader. They shouldn't be too expensive. I have seen military contractors using them on a laptop to read their govt ID. With these, there would never be a need for using a card without it being present.

OP, I'm sorry for your ordeal. At least it is being handled. I have been lucky. I have had my card shut down for attempted fraud and I have had test charges on pending charges but nothing that ever went through. When I was shut down, it was my debit card before I started rebuilding. DH went to use the card at a bar we regularly frequent and it was declined. Luckily they knew us well or he would have been screwed! I called and found out it was shut down due to an attempted $800 western union transfer. I was a little peeved that they didn't bother to notify us that they cancelled our cards, but very glad that they cought the fraud.