So I'm sitting here and get an email from Cap 1 saying that a charge was declined because I didn't have enough credit. I look at it and it is for a car wash in Chattenooga, TN -- about 300 miles from here -- for 20 bucks on my Sony Card. One advantage of having your credit card maxed out is that it was useless to whoever got my number (glass half full?!)
So called up Cap 1 and they are sending me out a new card.
Last month, I got a letter from my CU saying that they have re-issued my debit card because it had been involved in a retailer breach. Of course, I get the card and promptly put it away with other mail until this past week when they shut down my old card.
I had another Cap 1 card that had been compromised via Amazon a couple of months ago so yet another new credit card...
I'm sooooooooo fed up with all the fraudulent activity. It isn't like I hang out on sketchy (porn) websites... my online activity is primarily limited to Amazon though have been using eBay and Etsy over the holidays. I don't click on phishing emails... Credit reports have been on ice since EQ and even if they weren't, they don't have my full CC number anyway. I don't use Apple Pay or anything like that.
I could understand if the fraud was limited to online activity only. But how the heck did some idiot get my number in Chattenooga presumably at a brick and mortar car wash?
There has to be something credit card companies can do -- I thought there was some company that would allow you to use a one-time use credit card number for online purchases.
I remember the brouhaha when Target was breached. Now -- breaches don't even get a news mention... instead, banks just fire up the CC printing press and fire off another card.
In the case of my debit card, I was lucky because I got my debit card BEFORE they shut off my old one. But in the case of credit cards, you are without your credit cards for 10 days -- unless you want to fork over money for expedited shipping (which is Bull anyway since I have had physical possession of the card the entire time so why should I be inconvenienced and without the use of my card?!).
This is partly a vent but a serious question:
WHAT THE HECK can be done to avoid having to cancel all your credit cards every month and having them reissued just to try to stay ahead of the crooks.
Thanks in advance and sorry for the rant!
I hope it isn't a skimmer... I don't use parking deck machines or ATM machines in a parking lot -- the only ATM I use is the one mounted on the wall of my CU.
so probably a gas station ... GRRRRRR
@Anonymous wrote:
Atm at bank/credit union can have skimmers... They have more cameras but aren't any less susceptible...
I'm surprised nobody mentioned bars and restaurants... Servers and bartenders get busted for this all the time
Funny you should mention restaurants. I was looking at my last transactions to see if there was anything out of the ordinary.
A few weeks ago, I tried Door Dash (a restaurant delivery service) for the first time. While I can't prove it was them, if you do a google for Door Dash and credit card numbers being stolen, their platform is apparently notorious for being hacked and others have posted about their credit card numbers having been stolen after using Door Dash.
I'm also going to look into virtual credit cards for online purchases and set up Apple Pay. I had set it up once after my puppy had eaten my debit card on a Friday night so I was without cash or a means of extracting cash from the bank for an entire weekend. BAD PUPPY! (and BAD MOMMY for leaving it to where he could get it!)
Thanks for the responses. I thought I had read that Apple Pay was insecure because people in close proximity could be hacked by stealing the token. However, upon googling, it looks like this is only really true if you are on public (insecure) WiFi.
Two quotes about the vulnerabilities of Apple Pay:
It is possible for hackers to steal the Apple Pay “payment token” using public Wi-Fi, or a fake Wi-Fi hotspot that asks users to create a profile. “From this point they can steal the ApplePay cryptogram [the key to encrypting the data].”
And Apple Pay makes it easier to use a stolen credit card without having to manufacture a physical card. They can just add the credit card number to their phone.
Apple Pay’s security problem has nothing to do with Touch ID, NFC, Apple’s secure element, or stolen iPhones. All of that is locked down as tightly as Apple advertised. The problem, according to an unconfirmed report from DropLabs, is that Apple Pay is so easy to use, fraudsters don’t even have to create a physical fake card anymore.
Include bank’s or Cu’s outside (attached to the CU building) ATM’s as well. This happened to me and fortunately, my CU was on top of it and promptly notified all their account holders and issued new cards. I only used the atm (never used my card at merchant’s, gas stations, et al, as this was a debit card for a savings account), and it was always during the day (not that it would make any difference). Just goes to show you, a crook will use whatever means to get what they want.
Starting Score: 784
designated_knitter glad you took the time to spell out fraud/skimming situation(s)! Good to know. The modern world and we can trust nobody!!! Sad. What I will never understand is how I got a new credit card in the mail (reissue for expiration date) and it wasn't ever used and fraud shows up? How??? Amazing I say and the bank immediately reissued. Got'ta wonder? 