HEADS UP!

[The Grebe]

With the holiday season upon us and everybody out shopping, and using their credit cards, it might be wise to pay closer attention to your bank balance....I got a rude awakening Thanksgiving night.

I won't go into how I found out, to long...but devine intervention played a part I would guess? Someone was buying stuff over the phone using my card number....I caught up to the situation when thay had got me for a little over $400.00....I thought it was more at first, but the people at Wells Fargo went through the check book with me and we worked it out.

How did it happen you might ask? The concensus is that it happened when someone had to hands on the card....to make a hard copy when it didn't swipe right, or when something was returned and the machine supposedly didn't register the card number and it had to be typed in manually.

These are just assumptions considering the timeline and the facts up to this point...hopefully the fuzz and the companies that were targeted with this illegal act, will combine to hold someones feet to the fire!

Had I not stumbled on this, I wouldn't have known there was any activity until I got my monthly statement and then my account would have probably been empty!

This thread has been getting alot of hits, so I thought this was as good a spot as any to post this.

[picksbigwagon]

Had something similar happen last summer, credit card number was stolen after purchasing something from an alleged business located in Lakeville. Needless to say in 3 days I "bought" $699 in women's shoes, countless phone cards, and the best of all $21,000 worth of agricultural equipment in North Carolina. Thankfully the credit card company denied all except the shoes, and I ended up not having to cover that. You feel violated and violent.....I feel for ya....the big thing places do now is ask if you want the reciept, yes you do

[harvey lee]

My wife had a new card that was not even authorized to use yet by her and we recieved a statement for items bought all over Europe.We didnt have to pay anything but you wonder how this happens.

[manderson]

Thanks for the reminder to all about the cons out there.

I had a similar situation last summer, and Wells Fargo called me when the spending didn't follow my normal pattern. It was my debit card/visa to my checking account. Wells Fargo told me that it was probably copied at a large restaurant out east. They recommend that you not let the card out of your sight, as you do at a restaurant when they bring you the folder with the bill. I always just stuck my card in the holder in the folder, and let the waitress take it to the cash register. I found out later that there are devices out there about the size of a cell phone, that when the card is swiped through it will copy all the required data to have a duplicate card made, and even include the cons picture.

A rude awakening, but cost me only $50.00. It gets worse out there every day. Seems like the honest folks are getting out numbered.

Safe fishing!

[lucky7]

Grebe:

good to be reminded at this time of year. Especially on debit cards...8 years ago someone took me for over $500...To K-marts credit they took care of all of the bill... It was an employee..Er 'former employee'

[H2O Milfoil]

Another reminder: if your card is used to imprint a paper receipt, make sure you take your copy AND the carbon. Usually, the carbons end up in the trash for any night employee to dig out.

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

AND.......

*** DON'T let the person at the Register hold your Credit Card out openly - someone by you can take a picture of it with a Camera Cell Phone...!!!

[BobT]

We think that credit cards are safe to use. How easy it is to use someone else's credit card. How many times have you used a card for mail order or to place a phone order? What information is required? Card number, expiration date, name of card holder. That is all that they typically ask for. Anyone that has these three tidbits of information can use your card to place phone orders and mail orders. They don't need the actual card to do it.

Bob