My experience with fraud on a debit, not credit, card

[Green Tea]

I really thought in a fraud case they would operate just about the same. It has happened on credit cards and I call. They issue a new card and the money is credited back immediately.

Last week I saw a series of 3 foreign transactions for travel companies. I called the bank as soon as they opened. Sounded good except for the 3 to 5 day hold on my money. Ok. 3-5. That came and went and no provisional credit. Now they give me a day, 11 days out that I will be credited my money on a provisional basis.

This experience very much makes me want to use my credit card and pay my usually things off immediately via online banking that day.

 

[aprilgail2]

Thats odd- someone bought a computer with my debit card and I had the money back in 3 days!

 

[riley2008]

Yep. No debit cards for us for exactly this reason. I do still have an old fashioned ATM debit card I can use with a PIN if I need cash.

Hope all gets resolved quickly for you.

 

[riley2008]

Thats odd- someone bought a computer with my debit card and I had the money back in 3 days!

If they used your debit card like a credit card, then the transaction is treated like credit and things happen MUCH faster - and you have more protections.

 

[Tiger926]

We do not use our debit cards - maybe 1 or 2 times a year in an emergency case (computer down at a store).

Much better protection and security with credit cards, plus, they pay us to use their cards as we get cash back. We put almost all of our bills on our cards, and we pay the balance each month, so it's great for us.

Sorry OP that you have to wait for your money, Tiger

 

[jedijill]

My wallet was stolen a couple of weeks ago. Someone tried to use all my credit and debit cards for various online purchases but every single bank caught the activity via their fraud monitoring! Thank goodness, I was not out any money at all.

Jill in CO

 

[Green Tea]

The card number was used as a credit card, not a debit, so I guess it is just my bank being contrary.

 

[mom2alix]

That stinks! This is exactly why we don't use debit. Credit cards offer much better fraud protection. I hope your bank gets it fixed for you soon.

 

[angwill]

I agree that it sounds like your bank being difficult on getting the money back to you.

 

[My3kiddos]

I had this happen with a bank account I rarely use. The bank is an online only bank and I just happened to check the activity and in 3 days they had drained the account. The bank was a total ***** about the whole thing and it took almost a month to get the money back.

 

[niffer5150]

if there was a visa or mastercard logo on the card, you may want to call them and see what they have to say about it.

someone stole my debit card online and charged up everything plus some in my account. my credit union refused to give me even provisional credit back until i could proved i filed a police report. the police were un happy with me because they don't have time for crimes that didn't take place in their area. it took 2 weeks to get my money back and that was only because i called visa and they were not happy and a rep told me that anything with their logo on it has to return stolen funds with in 3 days because that's the contract they make with the entity giving out the card. i had to fight to get the over draft charges returned as well. if i hadn't called visa, i don't know how long it would have been before i got my money back. the credit union branch manager was "confused and sad to see me go" when i closed my account

 

[Lizzybean]

I had my entire account drained several years ago...I use a very small local bank and every dollar was back in my account before the end of business that day. We have visa branded debit cards and the thief ran them as credit. The police in our case also didn't want to take a report and though the bank didn't need one, I insisted just in case.

 

[Kristibo42]

On Black Friday I used my card as credit. I was at Walmart used it 3 times at 8, 10, & 12. I then went to Kmart used it 4 times there. Then went to our local mall used it about 6 times. I then went back to a different Walmart. Make one transaction that went though then I tried to make another and it was declined. I didn't think to much just thought it might be a daily balance thing. On Saturday I went to Wegmans and it was declined again. Our local branch was opened so I stopped in to see what was up. They told me that the fraud company flagged the charges at Kmart and our local branch took off the hold. On Sunday morning I got a call from the fraud company asking about my transactions at Kmart. I then ask them if they thought something was up why did they let me use it after Kmart. I spend over $300 after Kmart they didn't have an answer for me. I also ask why they didn't flag it at my first trips to Walmart? Didn't have an answer for that. They also said that if I want to use it more then once or twice at a place I should call. I'm not calling every time I need to make more then one purchase at a store. they also said that if you are going to travel to call them.

 

[DebMcDonald]

I got a phone call from BOA this week stating that they thought there was fraud activity on my card and they told me that I was not responsible and that they would stop my card immediately and they could mail me one or I could pop into the nearest branch.

 

[Ginny Favers]

BOA has done the same for me, too. They called me to tell me there was fraudulent activity and lo and behold, they were right. I wouldn't have noticed for awhile if it weren't for them-- they blocked the charge, cancelled my account, and sent me new cards. I'm sticking with them now.

 

[Colleen27]

I think it all boils down to who you bank with. We have our primary household accounts with a local bank and our travel/spending account with Bank of America (for better access on the road). We haven't had any fraud issues on either debit card (knock wood) but we have had BoA flag a transaction as suspicious on two separate occasions and I was impressed with how proactive they were about contacting us about it.

 

[dis-happy]

I refuse to have a debit card attached to my bank accounts (even though I wouldnt use it) just because I don't want the risk.

 

[Swimalie]

I refuse to have a debit card attached to my bank accounts (even though I wouldnt use it) just because I don't want the risk.

Same here. With debit you have to wait to get the fraudulently taken money back. Doesn't happen like that with a credit card.

 

[DisneyGal24]

DH's debit card number was stolen last month. We bank at small local branch and it took about 5 business days to get the money back from Visa. It has happened a lot I our area lately. People's numbers, not cards, have been stolen.

 

[Planogirl]

I caught a few weird charges on DH's debit card the day after they happened. There were a few to a software company and a large one to a travel agency that specialized in travel to the Middle East.

The software company immediately reversed the charges but the travel agency took a long time. The bank placed the money back in DH's account contingent on the situation being resolved. That took about a month and I always wonder what would have happened if the situation wasn't resolved with the travel agency. I guess that we would have taken the hit and DH would have another bank.