Credit card theft...never thought it would happen to us

[NotUrsula]

Insisting on speaking to the primary cardholder is a GOOD thing, IMO. Running up a credit card account is a very common revenge tactic when couples get into fights or break up. DH is a cheapskate, but not everyone's spouse or SO is so careful with money as he is -- I think I'd be pretty steamed if I opened a statement to find that my spouse had gone out and spent several thousand dollars on a joint account without discussing it with me first. The primary cardholder is the one whose credit rating will be affected if the account ends up delinquent, after all.

Seriously, if you are going to spend so much money in one fell swoop that it will trigger a fraud alert, then calling from home to alert the CC issuer in advance is the smartest thing to do. Everyone is best protected that way.
(And yes, I do alert them when I travel overseas, and give them my itinerary.
After the Guatemala incident I've gone one step further: I put a block on ALL foreign currency transactions except those authorized by me in advance. This is because while AMEX immediately reversed the fraudulent transactions, I had to call back twice to get rid of the finance charges and currency conversion charges that went along with them.)

 

[scoutsmom99]

Likely, but not 100% for sure. It could have been left on the register while waiting for the charge to go through, and never given back, and someone else grabbed it.

It could have dropped on the floor, because as the OP stated, there was a stack of cards with the receipt around them.

It's entirely possible that it was stolen by an associate of the store. It's also entirely possible that it wasn't.

--Sorry, I work retail, and while I know there are some real jerks out there in the retail world, not all of us are--

I was going to say the same thing. I work in retail and it could have been the associate at the store or another customer. Busy days are great days for thieves to be out and about because they can easily get lost in the crowds (snatching purses/wallets taking packages someone has just set down, etc).

At one of our stores we had a customer with a camera phone who was taking pictures of of peoples credit cards as they were holding them while waiting in line on Friday. So be sure not to take out your card until you are actuallly ready to pay.

 

[mommic32]

At one of our stores we had a customer with a camera phone who was taking pictures of of peoples credit cards as they were holding them while waiting in line on Friday. So be sure not to take out your card until you are actuallly ready to pay.

Jeeze.,.... What can I say,,, That is horrible that people can think of ways to steal numbers!

 

[Jane E.]

I'm sorry that you had to go thru this. We were victims of credit card fraud earlier this year. The person who stole dh's card did not rack up tons of expenses. It was mainly for meals at restaurants,4 tickets to the zoo!, (that made me wonder if they had children), and many charges to stores in a nearby town. They had the card about a month before we received our bill and saw the unexpected charges. I believe over the period of a month they charged about $1500.

Since this happened to us someone told us that instead of signing the back of the cc - write "ask for photo i.d" on the space instead. I haven't done it but it seems like a good idea.

We are now very conscious about checking the receipt to make sure that our card # isn't listed on it. Recently, we went to the F&W festival. I made sure to bring along plenty of cash so I wouldn't have to charge anything. We have gotten very uncomfortable with using a cc for meals - especially when they take the cc away from our table. Sometimes it can't be helped but we try to use a cc as little as possible.

I still have nightmares that my cc, driver's license or purse is missing!

 

[shelly3girls]

Since this happened to us someone told us that instead of signing the back of the cc - write "ask for photo i.d" on the space instead. I haven't done it but it seems like a good idea.

My friend did this and she said she is almost never asked for ID. She could only think of twice in a year.

 

[Nicolepa]

My friend did this and she said she is almost never asked for ID. She could only think of twice in a year.

I agree, we did this for awhile and rarely were we asked for our information. The few times they noticed it the clerks usually laughed it off.

For that matter when my dh & I were engaged he gave me a CC of his to use. It had his name on it, last names were even different and I was never denied use of the card.

I honestly think the best defense is a picture on your CC. Our Costco American Express has our photo. Of course it won't do any good for online purchases but clerks always comment about having the photo.

 

[GraysMom]

Having my picture on my Citibank Mastercard is the main reason I keep it (even if the picture is 14 years old). DH wants me to get rid of it because it has a high interest rate on the rare occasions we have to carry a balance, but I like the little bit of added security. It also has my signature as a permanent part of the card underneath my pic, so there's no need to turn the card over and check.

 

[winjos]

About 4 years ago, we went shopping at Best Buy and somebody snagged our cc number. When the bill came in, I asked DH about a $300 shell gas charge and a couple other charges (Nothing too extravagent and over a 3 week period). DH said it wasn't from him.

We called US Bank and they were skeptical that the charges were not ours. We told them which charges they were and that we did not make them. Again, they were skeptical. It turns out that while we were on the phone, the person tried to make a purchase. Voila! They agreed that someone in fact had our number. They closed the account and that was that.

We paid for what we rightfully charged. We had exceptional credit with this company. I was a bit put off by their suspicion!

 

[Hedy]

I'm sorry that you had to go thru this. We were victims of credit card fraud earlier this year. The person who stole dh's card did not rack up tons of expenses. It was mainly for meals at restaurants,4 tickets to the zoo!, (that made me wonder if they had children), and many charges to stores in a nearby town. They had the card about a month before we received our bill and saw the unexpected charges. I believe over the period of a month they charged about $1500.

Since this happened to us someone told us that instead of signing the back of the cc - write "ask for photo i.d" on the space instead. I haven't done it but it seems like a good idea.

We are now very conscious about checking the receipt to make sure that our card # isn't listed on it. Recently, we went to the F&W festival. I made sure to bring along plenty of cash so I wouldn't have to charge anything. We have gotten very uncomfortable with using a cc for meals - especially when they take the cc away from our table. Sometimes it can't be helped but we try to use a cc as little as possible.

I still have nightmares that my cc, driver's license or purse is missing!

FYI-in not signing your card, you're in violation of your credit card agreement and any retailer has the right to refuse your credit card if not signed or marked please see ID-it's actually not a good idea.

 

[GoofyGolferGirl]

I have please see ID on the back of my CC and I can't think of a time that they haven't asked for my ID. I don't know if there is a problem in our area but I have had to use my ID for every transaction.

 

[PrincessMommyof2]

Many law enforcement agencies recommend putting "See I.D." on the signature part of the credit card. The camera phone is a interesting theft device, even while a person is swiping, if slowly, or waiting to swipe, a picture can be taken of the numbers; add a little observation power and voila, instant PIN number for the credit card. Those kind of people ship packages to the house or a neighbor's house and pick it up before the person arrives home.

Remember to be aware of your surroundings as some people have a different kind of shopping on their minds.

 

[imsayin]

FYI-in not signing your card, you're in violation of your credit card agreement and any retailer has the right to refuse your credit card if not signed or marked please see ID-it's actually not a good idea.

The post office will not accept an unsigned credit card (at least the one by me).

 

[arlenesp]

The post office will not accept an unsigned credit card (at least the one by me).

It is part of Visas regulations that the merchant can deny the card if it isn't signed.With so many self serve card readers, it doesn't matter who is using the card. The majority of merchants don't look at the name nor the signature.

 

[~Kathie]

One of the three times that I spoke with Chase on Friday, I asked about calling in advance. They told me that it MIGHT work, and then again it might not. They said that when you make a lot of purchases in a short amount of time it alerts the Security Department and they might shut you down anyway. Especially if you are making numerous purchases at Electronic stores...

I've called Chase several times before a big trip. Hasn't worked yet!! They still shut down my CC for any large purchase.

 

[DisneyElf]

Sad facts -- I used to work retail.. See ID is not legal - and not signing it is worse.

Also 95% of clerks will never ask to see ID or check signature. Only place that semi - checks reg. is WDW & the Disneystores.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Along the same lines..

If you buy giftcards for people this year KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS! People have been copying off the numbers of giftcards that are sitting at registers waiting to be purchased and have cash added to them. The resourceful thieves wait a few days and use the card numbers to pay for purchases. When the real recipient gets the card, the cash has been depleted.

Ask the salesperson what measures they take to keep their cards secure. Don't buy a giftcard if the scratch-off secret number is revealed on the back side of the card.

 

[momamy]

Im so sorry that happened to you. I had my CC swiped by a waiter. trust me now i never take my eyes of my card lol.

Amy

 

[arlenesp]

The fact that the clerk wrapped the receipt up around some cards is proof she did that to hide the fact the real cc wasn't in the receipt.
Just to show how they do not check signatures, spoke to a woman and she was telling me her cc was compromised. Seems it was used at Walmart to buy gc. The store policy at the time, according to the manager was for the clerks to get an approval from the mgr for any gc over a certain amount. Her card was charged for 2 500.00 gc totalling 1000. Also the name on the card was Barbara and when they reviewed the security tapes, it showed a really large man.They even had him on camera getting into his truck and leaving the parking lot. First the clerk never called for approval, which should've shed some suspicion on her,and the store backed down on their responsibility for letting the clerk process this charge without the approval.This had to be a setup. He then went to another WM but the card was already held by the cc company.Of course the cc company had to take the hit for this. Even tho they had the make etc of the truck,they said they couldn't procecute. Her son was with the local police and kept her up to date on what was going on with the investigation. Since that episode, she won't shop at wm as she feels they were responsible and refused to even admit fault. By the way, she said the clerk was new and her son said they look for new employees as they are usually a bit flustered and this was prob why he chose her, unless they knew each other.

Yes it is a pain to be stopped during a shopping spree and calling ahead doesn't always help.But be very cautious with your cards. I was once at a self check out and requested $10.00 cash back. There was this really bossy lady creeping closer and closer to me and trying to distract me. Well she did succeed as I just wanted to get away from her, I forgot to get the $.I'm sure she grabbed it. The store was nice enought to reimburse me, but it can happen to anyone.

I never thought about the gift card scam.

 

[Brise Nannie]

YIKES! Sorry this happened to you but thanks for the reminder. Sometimes there's so much confusion going on at the register just trying to make certain I pick up my bag. I could see how easily this could happen to me.

 

[Newfie2000]

I'll admit I have not read the whole thread so this may already have been mentioned... but I wanted to get this written as fast as I could. I did read up to the post where someone told the OP to contact the store get the cashier's info and go to the police. Please do not do this unless you have contacted the credit card company and asked them if you should! I had this happen to me years ago... I knew who had gotten a hold of the number and thought that I was doing the right thing by reporting it and assisting the credit card company in their investigation. I also wrote the credit company a note asking them to notify me about the progress of any pending investigation because I wanted to prevent the same thing from happening ever again - and if the person did turn out to be who I thought it was I needed to be very careful in the future as this was a family member. I received a very blunt and shocking letter from the cc company telling me in no uncertain terms to mind my own business. It was their investigation and if I did anything to intefere with it I might be held accountable for the charges. They then told me that I would never find out any results so that I should not expect any further communication regarding it. Although I admit I am happy that I was not bothered and that they handled everything and cleared all charges, it really bothered me as I felt this was my number, my account and I should be privy to any information regarding the account. And I really did want to know how to prevent this from happening again. So i just thought I would let you know that sometimes your help is not appreciated and can actually become a bigger problem for you to deal with. Long story made short... consult with the credit card company before pursuing any kind of action!