Debit Card Compromised

[jcj]

Someone somewhere is enjoying some quality merchandise on my dime.

At some point in the last 3 days my Visa debit card # was stolen. I make it a habit to check my bank account online fairly regularly. When I checked tonight I was in for a shock. Completely wiped out in virtually no time!

My last two (legitimate) online purchases were from Lauer Weaponry and AIM Surplus. That's not to say that either are responsible since it is conceivable my card # was in the hands of the evildoer for longer than the past few days.

This person apparently really needed some new clothes. A lot of new clothes...

I contacted VISA as soon as I found out (bank is closed at this hour) and they were kind enough to block the card for me. Tomorrow I get to wander down to my bank and see what I'm in for there...

[Dolomite_supafly]

At a bare minimum you are going to have to file a police report in order the the bank to take it seriously.

Also, contact all three reporting agencies to report a possible identity theft. Just because they are only using your debit card for clothes doesn't mean they aren't lining up to buy that new motor home they always wanted.

I have had my info stoen on a couple of occassions now. First time it happened I was really worried but now I keep tab on my accounts and credit reports and stop anything as it gets started. My banks is pretty easy going about replacing the money so long as I file a police report.

I can say one of the biggest indicators that something is getting ready to happen is a small purchase or attempted purchase. For me it is normally a Itunes purchase for $1 or maybe a dontation to a charity for $1 that starts the process. When they see that they have the correct inof then they either use or sell the info to anyone who wants it.

It isn't that big of a deal if you have a decent bank.

Dolomite

[Punisher84]

Just had a new debit card issued to me due to a similar situation. I caught it early though. They did what dolomite described and charges $4.97 to a front company. According to the bank it's a front for the Russian mob. Lucky me!!

So I'll be checking my credit report shortly.

[daddyo]

Seems to be a lot of this going on lately. I had to have my VISA card canceled and a new one issued. I've talked to several others who have had it happen to them within the past two weeks.

[Punisher84]

Seems to be a lot of this going on lately. I had to have my VISA card canceled and a new one issued. I've talked to several others who have had it happen to them within the past two weeks.

I'm seriously considering getting one of those reloadable walmart debit cards to buy stuff online from now on.

[tnhawk]

I had this happen in Feb 2010. I saw an Itunes charge another small charge on my phone bill and debit card. Then several charges for clothing stores over the internet. A call to the bank, police department and several interviews with police detectives and bakd investigators got the funds replaced in my account and a new card issued. I use cash a lot more often now.

[DaveTN]

I don’t use debit cards. I use a MasterCard credit card. If I didn’t sign for; I don’t pay it.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Call the issuing bank. There's a liability limit and they

will block the cards further use. Get a list of the charges

and contact the vendors. I don't recall exactly, but I think

you may have only lost $50.00. It can be dealt with.

That's what I had to go through on my First Tennessee

debit card.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest m14man]

heres what visa says its no liability

Zero Liability | Personal | Visa USA

[Guest mikedwood]

I had my number a couple of years ago and it was a nightmare. The bank said that as long as it was under 10k and I didn't do it myself they would just write it off. No big deal.

I called the company all the charges were to and they (ebay's half off.com) and informed them. They said they had no control but would inform their sellers. After a time all the sellers credited the charges back (all told $1700). Also they wouldn't tell me who or where it was shipped to due to privacy reasons. Using my debit card as a credit card and they have privacy protection! That's awesome! Cause I darn sure didn't!

As far as how it gets taken. These guys that do it probably aren't getting your number from one transaction online.

They go after numbers, they want the daily or weekly number roll (and they get them) from Wal-mart, Target, Kroger's any of those big places. They hack the places and get roles of names and cc numbers OFTEN way more often than you hear about.

Or it's possible if you go out to eat or to a store and they swipe you card all they need is a picture of the front and back with a cell phone would be enough to buy at some online stores.

Or they can capture that deep tone you hear when you swipe it. That's your info and you can buy the stuff to put that info on a rechargable phone card or gift card.

[Armed Aviator]

I had noticed a charge for $457 from some company I never heard of. I contacted the company. It was for a portable Massage chair. I caught it just after the item was shipped and before it arrived at the delivery destination. I was able to identify the perp's name, and delivery destionation. I contacted FED EX, the police department local to the delivery destination. The perp was caught in the act as the item was delivered. Also I was reimbursed.

[Reservoir Dog]

Personally, I would never use my debit card for an online purchase. I always use a credit card. I usually just use my debit for the ATM and some local purchases like Wally World or Walgreens. With a credit card, you can catch the fraud before you pay. With a debit card, your money is already gone out of your bank account, and you have to jump through the hoops to get it put back. No-brainer IMHO.

Although, I have been buying stuff online for 15 years, and I have had only one fraudulent charge. A couple of years ago, my Mastercard was charged $80 at an Old Navy store on Long Island, NY. It was handled fairly quickly with the CC company.

[Guest Drewsett]

They go after numbers, they want the daily or weekly number roll (and they get them) from Wal-mart, Target, Kroger's any of those big places. They hack the places and get roles of names and cc numbers OFTEN way more often than you hear about.

<This is very true>

Or it's possible if you go out to eat or to a store and they swipe you card all they need is a picture of the front and back with a cell phone would be enough to buy at some online stores.

<Not as true, no server would last long who did that sort of thing. In my 8 years in the restaurant biz I have seen only 1 case of cc fraud. The server was found and terminated after the first offense>

Or they can capture that deep tone you hear when you swipe it. That's your info and you can buy the stuff to put that info on a rechargable phone card or gift card.

I can't speak to the tone capture, but there are devices that thieves can place in the cc reader at your convenient "pay at the pump" station and skim numbers with. If you ever see a cc reader at a gas station that looks odd or appears to have been tampered with DO NOT USE IT.

Also, the cards that have RFID chips (nearly all of them these days) can have the numbers skimmed from them by a thief with a rfid skimmer and he only has to walk within a few feet of you. He can get all the pertinent info without the card ever leaving your wallet.

[Guest bkelm18]

My Visa debit was compromised yesterday as well. About $300 were charged to Xbox Live. Luckily the card company nuked the card pretty quick. Wonder if it's connected to Bud's Gun Shops issue a couple weeks ago.

[LI0NSFAN]

I got my card # captured at a gas station, they got a couple of hundred from me. I went to the bank and they put the money back the same day. I was told that if after the investigation they found it to be legitimate transactions they would notify me and I would have 60 days to pay back the money. I have friends that work at other banks in the fraud dept and they said that anything under 2000 is put back in same day. If you use a CC not attached to a bank account they have 90 days to credit your account and you still get interest on the charges. I checked into using prepaid cards for online, the down side is that part of what online charges need to have is the name on the card and the billing zip code, you don't have a billing address on a prepaid. I asked my bank what was the best thing to do, the said to attach a second account that a debit card can be used on and transfer over just the money you plan on using for your online purchase. I have done this way with zero problems.

[RobertNashville]

I don’t use debit cards. I use a MasterCard credit card. If I didn’t sign for; I don’t pay it.

Actually, Visa and Master Card debit cards have the exact same protections as a "credit card". Banks who issue debit cards sometimes have to be "reminded" of this rather forcefully (i.e.with a lawsuit) but the protections are there nevertheless.

Other than food, I buy about 90% of my things online but I generally use a third party for the transaction...I have also used "one time" Visa numbers where the number is only good for that one, single purchase and then is never available again/tied to any actual account of mine.

That said, as has been mentioned, ID Theft is the much bigger problem and we can thank our "online" society and most especially, the never ceasing push of providing credit quickly and easily for much of this problem...in making it easy for us to go into debt (i.e. our credit reports being easily obtained in seconds) and for the sake of convenience, we've also made it very easy for scum to pretend to be us. The sad part is, so much of our information that we consider "private" is in the public domain and is now available online to any/all who know how to find it meaning that there is very little we can really do to avoid that exposure.

I use Lifelock to provide some protection but like my security system at home; it's a deterrent but not a perfect shield - we have to constantly monitor our records/reports to ensure we aren't a victim/respond quickly if we have been victimized.

[peejman]

I don’t use debit cards. I use a MasterCard credit card. If I didn’t sign for; I don’t pay it.

+1 The only place I use my debit card is at the ATM. I know the debit card has the same protections as a regular credit card, but it's not directly linked to all my bank accounts. My mortgage is on auto-draft so I'd hate for someone to empty my bank account the day before my mortgage payment.

[jcj]

Interesting thread started by my misfortune. Lol. I'm actually at the bank now working on sorting it out.

My card stealing Nemesis was very busy in the past couple of days. Dickies, Old Navy, Hostelbookers.com (booking a stay I imagine).

[CQB Elite]

I checked into using prepaid cards for online, the down side is that part of what online charges need to have is the name on the card and the billing zip code, you don't have a billing address on a prepaid.

That's not 100% true. The Wal-Mart prepaid cards have your name and address on the account. When you buy one the card is only good for 14 days. You go to the card's website or call in and they get your name/address and send you a new card. I use one all the time for online purchases and in restaurants.

I've investigated a few identity theft cases. Of the 5 people arrrsted, 3 got the credit card info from restaurant employees. Next time you go to a restaurant and use a credit/debit card watch as your server puts it in their pocket. Then watch as they walk around for several minutes as they wait on other patrons or go back to the kitchen area and bring out food. If you think about it your card is out of your control (and sight) for longer than it takes to snap a picture of the card # and exp date.

[CQB Elite]

Online purchases are really very secure if you use credible sights. There are 100's of easier ways for badguys to get your personal info. I know of a NFL player down in Florida who's identity was stolen. They racked up MAJOR purchases. Subsequent investigation showed that an employee in an American Express call center was stealing customer info and selling it. Also, just recently we had a woman in Atoka, TN, that was arrested for ID theft. She was using the info from deceased store credit card customers. She started using the info after relatives called in to cancel the cards.

[Guest KimberChick]

Online purchases are really very secure if you use credible sights. There are 100's of easier ways for badguys to get your personal info. I know of a NFL player down in Florida who's identity was stolen. They racked up MAJOR purchases. Subsequent investigation showed that an employee in an American Express call center was stealing customer info and selling it. Also, just recently we had a woman in Atoka, TN, that was arrested for ID theft. She was using the info from deceased store credit card customers. She started using the info after relatives called in to cancel the cards.

There was a case involving customers of the Olive Branch, MS Walmart. I don't think they ever figured out how the numbers were being swiped, but some think it's because they use wireless networking at all the registers there. They got hundreds of people in that and the charges were being made worldwide.

[gnmwilliams]

My Visa debit was compromised yesterday as well. About $300 were charged to Xbox Live. Luckily the card company nuked the card pretty quick. Wonder if it's connected to Bud's Gun Shops issue a couple weeks ago.

$350 to xbox live on my card, also used at budsgunshop.com. They managed to open four fraudlulent accounts on Live before my card stopped them. The bank is taking care of it but talk about a shocker when I first opened my account!

[daddyo]

Online purchases are really very secure if you use credible sights. There are 100's of easier ways for badguys to get your personal info. I know of a NFL player down in Florida who's identity was stolen. They racked up MAJOR purchases. Subsequent investigation showed that an employee in an American Express call center was stealing customer info and selling it. Also, just recently we had a woman in Atoka, TN, that was arrested for ID theft. She was using the info from deceased store credit card customers. She started using the info after relatives called in to cancel the cards.

This is my understanding as well. I have been making online purchases for several years with no problems. You just have to be sure that it is a secure site.

Most credit card companies will issue you a temporary number to use instead of your account number and you can set a dollar limit on it. That seems to work rather well.

[ttocswob]

Had this happen about a year ago. Two occurances, one debit one credit. Both used iTunes as a test transaction, followed by a major amount - fortunately for me, more than was available! The debit did lock up my bank account for several days, then more to issue new card number.

Both happened a week or two after online purchases from Classic Arms - probable coincidence, but the only other thing common to both events.

[Guest mikedwood]

Had this happen about a year ago. Two occurances, one debit one credit. Both used iTunes as a test transaction, followed by a major amount - fortunately for me, more than was available! The debit did lock up my bank account for several days, then more to issue new card number.

Both happened a week or two after online purchases from Classic Arms - probable coincidence, but the only other thing common to both events.

Yeah speaking of itunes the 2nd time one of my cards was jacked I was up about 1 am and checked my online banking and it had a charge to Itunes for $1 and I didn't do it I called the bank immediately and had the card chuncked. So I didn't lose anything that time.