How To Avoid Credit Card Fraud

[NXR]

Set all of your card usage alerts to $0 or as low as you can. It's your card and you should always know when it's being used. I used to lead the operational IT Security team for a large bank. The fraudsters love people who don't set alerts or who set high alert amounts. We saw lots of fraud in the sub-$20 range because they knew they were flying below the radar.

Ray

[sbleiweiss]

Originally Posted by RonLC

I asked Synchrony Bank (Sam's Club) to expedite shipment of a new card and they said no.

I always point out how much we spend on the card and that waiting a week means those charges will go on a competitor's card. I have never had a bank say no after that. We do charge everything. I agree that the 2% or more cash back is too valuable to pass up. And since the risk is all on the bank, not me, it seems a no-brainer.

[Bigd9]

Originally Posted by RonLC

I asked Synchrony Bank (Sam's Club) to expedite shipment of a new card and they said no. But, to be fair, I had already told the guy that I would be home next week.

About a year ago, CITI Visa (Costco) card was compromised. They cancelled the card, and made a new one in Florida complete with my picture on it and got it in my hands at home in Kentucky all within 18 hours! I'm wondering what will happen if we are on the road like we are now.

[SpaceNorman]

If you've got a credit card - sooner or later - you're going to encounter a fraudulent charge. It's just the way of the world these days.



We carry three cards - all three have alerts set on them such that within moments of them being used, I receive both an email and a text message notifying me of a merchant name and amount of the charge. I watch them like a hawk - I know what charges I've made, and have a pretty good idea of what/where my DW spends. If I get notification of a charge that I don't recognize - I text my DW and ask if her. If neither of us recognize it - it's an immediate call to the credit card issuer.



The aftermath is always a PITA. First, there's the headache of going without a card. I'm a avid Quicken user for personal finance tracking - so there's the headache associated with closing out the old card / getting the new card configured within Quicken so that transaction downloads are handled properly. All of this requires a little bit of extra monitoring until I'm sure the balances from the old card are properly paid/transferred - and that the new card is reporting properly. It's not rocket surgery or brain science ... just a PITA to deal with.



We do our best to minimize our exposure by never letting the card out of our sight - and by avoiding using the card in restaurants and bars. We do our best to avoid purchasing from random internet sites ... sticking instead larger, well known retailer sites - even if it means paying a little bit extra to purchase through them.



Despite best efforts it seems like we still end up going through the fire drill associated with a fraudulent charge every couple of years or so. Had one appear the day before we left on the trip we're currently on. New cards are sitting in the mail pile back at the sticks and bricks ... meanwhile, we're using one of our "back-up" cards. I just finished the "transition" process within my Quicken installation.

[baraff]

Originally Posted by NXR

Set all of your card usage alerts to $0 or as low as you can. It's your card and you should always know when it's being used. I used to lead the operational IT Security team for a large bank. The fraudsters love people who don't set alerts or who set high alert amounts. We saw lots of fraud in the sub-$20 range because they knew they were flying below the radar.

Ray

Curious as to what happens if you don't have a cell signal when they send a text. If you're out in a very rural area and buy $100 worth of gas and can't receive a text, then what?
Anybody experience this?
Otherwise I think it's a great idea and one we will consider on all our cards.

[SpaceNorman]

Originally Posted by TechWriter

Always a good idea to check your credit reports annually -- especially for addresses.

We use CreditKarma.com (a free service) that gives us visibility to our credit reports at both Equifax and Experian.

CreditKarma is constantly updating our data (pulled directly from the 2 reporting enties) and updates us whenever changes hit.

I review my reports / data present by Credit Karma every month. It works well .. and provides quick and easy visibility to the details.

[Glenn and Kathy]

Why the extra concern about a debit card being hit? Our debit cards are usually the ones we have had fraud charges on and have never lost a dime. I just got a new debit card last week due to fraud. No cost to me.

Glenn

[SpaceNorman]

Originally Posted by baraff

Curious as to what happens if you don't have a cell signal when they send a text. If you're out in a very rural area and buy $100 worth of gas and can't receive a text, then what?

The text message is NOT part of the purchase authorization process. It's simply an "after the fact" message sent by your credit card issuer letting you know that a charge was made against the card.

When/how you'll see it will depend on how your cellular service provider handles the delivery of text messages. In our case - we typically get a flood of previously undelivered text messages shortly after we find ourselves with cell signal again.

It's not a perfect system - and certainly the timeliness of the messages can be squirrelly - especially if you're without cell service. BUT, compared to doing nothing and waiting until you see a paper statement ... it's a vast improvement, even with it's shortcomings.

[georgelesley]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

This is what we do, also. Retail purchases are only made with one particular card. Auto pays/bills are only made with another card.

Also, set up notifications/alerts so the card company will text you whenever your card is used. Then you'll know instantly. You're not held liable for the misuse.

As far as getting a new replacement while traveling.... the card company can overnight it. Always plan a couple free days during your trip for emergencies.

We pay everything by credit card and have always paid the bill in full every month. It's amazing how much cash back you can get on the cards by doing this.

Great idea putting autopay stuff on one card and using another for daily charges. We have been putting everything on one card and paying it off every month but I just switched our autopay stuff to another zero balance card I have been wanting to keep active anyway. Since the autopay amount will not change much each month I will set up autopay with bank and just overpay it a bit each month. Solved both problems. Thanks!

One other thing we have done is freeze our credit reports. That stops someone opening new accounts in our name and has had the pleasant unexpected side effect of greatly reducing our junk mail and telemarking calls.

[SpaceNorman]

Originally Posted by Glenn and Kathy

Why the extra concern about a debit card being hit?

The concern with a debit card is that a charge to your debit card is an immediate withdrawal from the associated bank account. At that point, getting your money replaced is at the whim of your debit card issuer. If it takes them a few days to investigate and get it back to you ... you're out YOUR money until they decide to credit that money back to your account.



That's a VERY different scenario than a credit card ... where they send you a bill once a month for all the charges you've made. Your money remains YOUR money until you take action to pay the credit card bill.

[WagonMaster]

Originally Posted by minnow

Interestingly enough, our Sam's Mastercard was compromised this evening as well. I have alerts set up that every single time a charge is placed on the account I get a text message. Got a message that over $250 was charged. Called and reported the fraud.

7-10 days for a replacement. Interestingly, I had just gotten this card about ten days ago to replace a card that Synchrony said had also been compromised, although I had no fraud activity on the original card. We had just returned home from a weeks vacation and suspect someone at a restaurant had scammed our card. Told the wife this is exactly why we don't ever use our bank issued debit card.

Can't figure out why banks don't want to institute a higher level of security of their cards.

I think Sams messed up. Last month I received a fedex notice that my new Ipad for 650.00 was being shipped out from Sams club to my address. I certainly never ordered an Ipad. Called Sams club and they cancelled the order. What idiot crook would buy an Ipad and have it shipped to my house? Sams Club couldn't explain the mixup. Credit card was on file with Sams club as a payment method. I watched the card carefully and no other fraudulent charges.

[Mudfrog]

Originally Posted by baraff

Curious as to what happens if you don't have a cell signal when they send a text. If you're out in a very rural area and buy $100 worth of gas and can't receive a text, then what?
Anybody experience this?
Otherwise I think it's a great idea and one we will consider on all our cards.

Sounds like you're thinking that you cannot get the gas without the text. That's not the way it works, at least not with my credit card. The text is only a notification that the gas station charge took place. Most times the notification comes in while still at the pump but there can be a delay at times.

This thread got me to thinking so I went and pulled one of my free credit reports. It showed I had a credit account that I know is not mine. It showed a balance at one time but that it had been paid off. A balance of zero now. Went ahead and pulled another report from another of the three agencies and found it not to be listed with them. With this info, I believe it's a mistake and not fraud. Of course I started the dispute process and will keep on top of it until it's gone.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by SpaceNorman

The concern with a debit card is that a charge to your debit card is an immediate withdrawal from the associated bank account. At that point, getting your money replaced is at the whim of your debit card issuer. If it takes them a few days to investigate and get it back to you ... you're out YOUR money until they decide to credit that money back to your account.

That's a VERY different scenario than a credit card ... where they send you a bill once a month for all the charges you've made. Your money remains YOUR money until you take action to pay the credit card bill.

Also, why use a debit card when you can get cash back on a credit card? It adds up to hundreds of free dollars a year.

[RonLC]

Thanks to everyone for the great advice, esp. on notifications and having a separate card for auto pays. I am going to do all of them.

But, only one person in all 41 posts addressed my question in post 19. Just how the hell does the crook get the money?...besides buying a Progressive Policy, that is. I am not so sure that many crooks would go to the trouble.