Fast forward to this past Saturday.The card was again working so I went to Walmart to pick up a few things. Once again, my card was declined. Knowing what happened before I asked her to run it as a debit. Same result, card declined. I drove to the nearest branch and attempted to do a balance inquiry on their mac machine. "transaction failed, please contact your financial institution" was the message I received.
PANIC
I went home and checked my bank statement on the computer and everything looked fine. I wasn't able to get to the bank until lunch time today to see what was going on. Apparently there were some fraudulent charges made on my card but they were flagged and dropped so nothing came out of my account. I consider myself lucky. The number of people who live in my town that have become the victim of this type of theft is unbelievable. The sad part is that no matter how safe you think you are being with your card and your numbers there is still the possibility that this can happen.
So what is a person to do? Do we stop enjoying the convenience of having the bank card? Do we go back to writing checks? Do we close our accounts and put our money in our mattress?
In conclusion to lighten things up a bit, I would like to say that if Duke ever gets his paws on the guy/girl who tried to take his treat money, he's going show them just how tough a Westie can be.
23 comments:
How awful this happened to you but thankfully your bank caught it in time! My co-worker in Colorado just told me last week that this is happening in her small town too. There are so many bad people out there doing this lately. I hope they find a way to catch them and stop them from taking treat money!
How awful, and nerve wracking!!! I have also been hearing not to let your waiter take your card to the back when you pay for your meal. Well, and then there are the people on the phone when you order something with your card...so many ways it can happen!! Will you have to get a new card now?
My son-in-law works for a bank in loss prevention - they are busy all the time with this kind of thing. It's so sad.
I know a lot of insurance companies are selling a coverage called Identity Theft these days. Who would have ever thought that would be necessary!!
PS. Duke would absolutely "tear them up"! You go Duke!
Yes Ann it is so scary and makes one scared to use our credit and debit cards
Someone used the details from my card once, to buy baby clothes! I spotted it and told my bank, they said destroy the card immediately! They then issued me a new one with different numbers.
Apparently it does happen a lot :(
Go GET 'em Duke!!
You are right...this type of thing happens all the time. I just had this discussion with my daughter tonight. I do not think it is a good idea to use your smart phone for banking transaction...such as using the "Chase" app. Young kids just don't understand. My stepdaughter had her identity stolen and it has literally taken her years to get that straightened out!! I hope your card is ok from now on...
It sounds like you have someone (or several someones) who are using something to steal card numbers when they are swiped through a reader. Hopefully, your police department will get serious about catching them. Of course, it would be a lot more satisfying to turn Duke loose on them.
We had a problem with a craft chain store (Michael's) here. Somebody rigged all of their swipe machines and thousands of people were forced to get new cards. G'ma Phyl's account was hacked, but mine wasn't--I just had the inconvenience of having to get a new card.
And what did Michael's give me in return? Nuthin' but a big headache. Nice, eh?
it is rampant everywhere, we have had our police dept showing on TV how they steal the debit or credit card numbers by putting small scanners on the gas pump. that is our current scam. last year two waiters at a restaurant were using a scanner to get numbers and sell them to other people
Dec of 2009 I booted up and there was an email saying my balance was below its limit on my checking. i logged in and my account was empty. there were two checks showing one for 1500 and one for 1200 with my signature on them, i printed copies of the two checks that i did not write and called the bank. I do not write checks, maybe 4 per year. the checks were not my checks with the pictures i use, but were checks with my information on them. the bank said they were cashed in 2 different cities in PA and i am in FL. i had my money back with in 24 hours because they could tell the checks were not mine and not my signature. it was a nightmare because of bouncing bills because they closed my account and opened a new one. the bank did not tell me the bills i had paid on line would not transfer with the account. they told me there is a gang that buys copies of checks. they use the check info and go on line to the bank and order new checks with your info and get them sent to their address then write the checks as second party.
i was told by the bank they have more fraud from checks than cards because when someone gets your check they have all they need, name, address, phone number and your account number. i had written a check to a pool company and they did not deposit it for 12 days, they day the deposited it was the day of the theft. and the check number used for fraud was 6 numbers past the one i gave them, so no proof but someone there faxed a copy of my check to someone in PA and they wiped my account. a hole in the back yard i am thining
Omword!!! You Also need to line your wallet (where ever you keep your ccards) with tin foil. I may do a post on this...As you walk around the malls and shop, the thiefs have machines that can read THROUGH your purse or wallet and scan your ccards! They now make special wallets just For this problem. Lining your purse or wallet with tin foil works the same as those expensive items do...
hughugs
Man I hate that for you. Why do people do things like that?
My daughter's card - she checks it pretty regularly on the computer and notice a $1000 charge that wasn't hers. She called and someone had changed her address and password.
She must have found it so quickly because when these people (I figure it might be someone she knows) tried to buy the next item - same night for $700 it was declined.
Now she has to get the new card, etc.
What's up with all of this?
sandie
Good luck.
And why didn't your bank contact YOU about these issues? Seriously, that doesn't sound very good on the bank's side. Oh, well we think something is suspicious so we're just going to shut you down without letting you know what's going on? I mean, great that they caught it but still. That's poor service.
My bank personally calls me whenever they see a charge that seems unusual. I like that. Sure it's a little annoying to get a phone call asking if I authorized a purchase to Apple at 2am in the morning...but nice to know that they are looking out for their customers.
What an awful and frustrating experience. I'm glad it all worked out and that the bank was so understanding. The photo of Duke did make me happy. I would never want to steal his treat money. He could take me down.
Thieves are everywhere. Then Bank of America is going to start charging 5 bucks a month to use their atm cards. We're not going to pay that so our card is going by the wayside January 1st. Everyone is out for whatever they can get.
Have a terrific day. My best to Duke. :)
I have had that happen to me before too! So frustrating (and embarrassing...when you get declined!), but my bank was also on top of it. Thank goodness.
TEN and I watched a show on Discovery the other day about how people make fake credit cards and charge things to your account. It was absolutely terrifying to see how easily it can be done :(
Good for your bank to be so vigilant tho I think a phone call or email might have been nice.
We use our bank card only to access the ATM. We try to use cash as much as possible. I think the only time we use our credit cards is on-line and for really big purchases...And on-line I shop in "private browsing" mode - not a a fool proof method but another layer between me and the bad guys.
It is sad that some others have to cheat their way through life, hurting everyone else. I do hope that Duke-alicious does get hid teeth into them! ;D
Mine was breached earlier this year and i am glad they have security to catch it.Don't these people have a conscience?
That does sound just awful. So scary. So far it has not happened to me but I probably just jinxed myself. Probably the thing to do is cash checks and pay for everything. Glad you got it caught in time. Glad to see you Duke.
Thank goodness you got to the bottom of it and didn't get ripped off! I don't have one of those cards and don't want one! And Duke needs to take a BITE out of crime!
Had ours breached a couple of years ago and had to issue new credit cards. Painful!
What a bummer this happened to you! I would of been freaking out too if my card was declined. Glad it turned out OK. Go get 'em Duke!
I have heard that it is a real pain in the you know where if your information gets stolen. Your money can be gone for a long time well the bank and police look into things. I'm glad to hear that no money was removed from your account.
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