My CC # was stolen!

[purplebelle]

ARGH!

I was woken up today by my credit card company to let me know there was suspicious activity on my account. Apparently someone in the Bronx tried buying $500 worth of gift cards from a local pizza place. I'm in Chicago and the card never left my wallet! I'm so thankful thepizza place and my credit card company thought it was unusual and didn't let the charge go through. Whoever used my number never used my name or correct expiration date or address.

I feel so violated! What's wrong with people?

I'm going to call my other card companies to get new numbers, and no more online purchases for me!!!

 

[CinderellaIam]

So sorry this happened to you. It's very frustrating and upsetting when something like this happens. Thankfully the pizza place and the credit card company caught it before it got worse.

Hope your day getts better.

 

[swilshire]

At least some of the credit card companies are getting better at watching for odd activity. I was at the Metro station in Washington DC trying to buy passes with one of my cards when it was rejected. I used my husband's (different company), then called them later in the day. They just had me verify my personal information.

The lady on the phone suggested I phone ahead when I planned to travel, but that's a bit of a pain since I travel on business a lot.

Sheila

 

[Cyndo723]

I've had to change my cc numbers 3 times in the past 2 years. But it's probably not the online usage that got you. My cc company rep told me that these people have started using lots of other ways to get numbers such as random number generators. Your best defense (along with a cc company that stays on top of things like yours did) is to check your statement very carefully each month to catch things that may not look fishy to anyone else. Most of the time, the theives try a small charge at a gas station or grocery store to see if the number will work. If it does, then they're off to the races. Last time someone tried to charge an airline ticket and a mink coat on mine. My cc company suspected the charges were phony and froze the number.

The only problem with a cc company that's on the ball is that when you do travel and charge something unusual, they may not accept the charge. Now when I'm going to be travelling, I call them first and let them know where I'll be so that doesn't happen.

 

[disneysteve]

Online usage is probably one of the safest things you do with your CC. Far more risky is handing your CC to the waiter at your local restaurant for him to take it back to the register and ring up your order. Very simple for him to take an imprint of the card or copy the numbers for later use. Online, however, it is a secure encrypted electronic transaction.

 

[goofyforlife]

the disney visa people will freeze your account quite quickly...

Last week i made two (pretty small) purchases from two legit on-line sites that I've done business with in the past (although not using this card).

When I went to pay the GE repairman the next day with my card it was declined. (boy was I embarrassed) I had to call and they said 2 internet purchases would trigger enough suspicion to cause a security freeze to the account.

 

[cepmom]

the same thing happened to me a few months ago...I got a charge on my Visa from some computer place in New York for $500. I called the credit card company and disputed the charge and also called the merchant. They asked for the cc# and then said, "Mary WIlliams? You placed an order to be shipped for such and such" I told her "no, the name on the card is not Mary Williams it is _____ and I did not order anything from you". She said someone in the shipping department had stopped the shipment, because they suspected the charge was fraudulent, but they never reversed the charge on the cc. I just cancelled the card since it was one that we weren't using anymore anyway. It is such a bad feeling ~ I felt so violated. It was a card I never used for online purchases and in fact only used several times for purchases at all (it was a 0% balance transfer card), but there is no real way to know how this person got my number. Some people are such losers!

 

[cepmom]

the disney visa people will freeze your account quite quickly...

Last week i made two (pretty small) purchases from two legit on-line sites that I've done business with in the past (although not using this card).

When I went to pay the GE repairman the next day with my card it was declined. (boy was I embarrassed) I had to call and they said 2 internet purchases would trigger enough suspicion to cause a security freeze to the account.

Really?? I use my Disney Visa all the time for internet purchases and never had anyone there question it....maybe because I use it all the time, it didn't look suspicious??

Only once did I have a cc company call to verify that I was actually making all the charges on the account. We had been on a little spending spree buying furniture, household items etc. I thought that was great that they called to check up on it, but none of my current cards have done that (yet)

 

[Tissa]

I had the same thing happen to my visa check card. Someone in New York tried to use it a couple of times but didn't have my pin #. My bank thought something was up and cancelled my card. My bank never notified me about this though. I found out when I tried to buy my son some clothes and my card was denied. I wasn't happy about that part. Great advise about letting them know if you are going on a trip. I'll have to call and info about my Disney trip on the 4th. I would hate to get my mickey bars declined :

 

[buzz2400]

My father's credit card number was stolen also. He visited Canada and someone must have wrote down his number. The credit card company called to ask if he was in Canada because about $10,000 was charged to his account at the same place. Of course it was not him. Credit card company said no problem, they would take the amounts off his statement. They also told us to call the credit reporting companies and put on a fraud alert just in case and to also file a police report. I was also told by a few credit card companies that I called that you should put a password on all of your credit cards. This is in addition to your "mother's maiden name". There was one credit card that would not do this so we cancelled it. I then called a few days later to all the companies to make sure they asked for the password, which they all did.

Because credit card fraud is becoming so frequent, you MUST check over credit card statements every month. You have to be on the defensive. It really is not a big deal when they just steal your credit card number, it is more of a big deal if they take over your identity. Also like someone else posted, if you are going away, make sure you all your credit card company and let them know. Some credit card companies will see the charge and think it is fraud and put a hold on that account. Happened to my sister when she was visiting Alaska. Fortunately she was with my parents who also had credit cards.

 

[summerrluvv]

What kind of idiot steals a cc number and then buys pizza gift cards?! LOL.

 

[DisneyElf]

I had my card #'s stolen once too.... after a business trip to Chicago.

I had used my debit card to pay for a hotel room, and on 12/24 (2:00 PM) - I decided to check my balance since I know I had dipped a little into the account with last minute shopping. Well -- you could have knocked me over when I saw the balance. I called Chase -- and they informed that there was a $500 hold on the account for airline tickets with Spirit Airlines. I let Chase know and they started the fraud paperwork. They had suggested I contact Spirit since the charges were just applied they could be reversed quickly.

I called Spirit airlines - and using the CC # they were able to track down the ticket & flight info - One way ticket to FL - on 12/26 - with pickup at the gate!!!! I told them about the fraud and they cancelled the ticket - but wouldn't a. Have security at the gate to arrest the person (assuming they showed up). b. Reverse the charges

I was told they don't press charges in these incidents.... and nobone was around that could do anything. Took to mid-March to get my money back! I will never fly Spirit EVER.

A more pleasant experiance was this past X-Mas. I was waiting to almost the last minute to order some things and had lined up 3 or 4 shopping carts to do the ordering quickly ... so after my paycheck hit the bank -- I hit the interenet stores and ordered everything. Good think I go home for lunch - Chase had called and left a message -- I called them back to confirm it was me -- and they let all the orders go through.

 

[granmanh603]

the same thing happened to me a few months ago...I got a charge on my Visa from some computer place in New York for $500. I called the credit card company and disputed the charge and also called the merchant. They asked for the cc# and then said, "Mary WIlliams? You placed an order to be shipped for such and such" I told her "no, the name on the card is not Mary Williams it is _____ and I did not order anything from you". She said someone in the shipping department had stopped the shipment, because they suspected the charge was fraudulent, but they never reversed the charge on the cc. I just cancelled the card since it was one that we weren't using anymore anyway. It is such a bad feeling ~ I felt so violated. It was a card I never used for online purchases and in fact only used several times for purchases at all (it was a 0% balance transfer card), but there is no real way to know how this person got my number. Some people are such losers!

Be careful to check you credit report. A few years ago I applied for a credit card and was rejected....I pay my cards off in total every month so I thought that was strange. You are intitled to a credit report if you are rejected...and on it was a closed account with a supposedily unpaid balance of $100 dollars, it screwed up my credit...I protested it to the credit company and they removed it and I haven;t had a problem since. So it they don't take that balace off you might be in trouble.

 

[cepmom]

Be careful to check you credit report. A few years ago I applied for a credit card and was rejected....I pay my cards off in total every month so I thought that was strange. You are intitled to a credit report if you are rejected...and on it was a closed account with a supposedily unpaid balance of $100 dollars, it screwed up my credit...I protested it to the credit company and they removed it and I haven;t had a problem since. So it they don't take that balace off you might be in trouble.

Thanks ~ I sent in all the paper work to have the charge disputed and the balance sat there for several months. I called to follow up and they said "you were supposed to send in the paper work to have the charge disputed". Well, I DID send it all in within one week of finding the fraudulent charge! For some reason, they either never received the affidavits or they never did anything about them. They did reverse the charge that day and now the account shows a $0 balance. (even though I initially requested the account be closed, they said they had to assign it a new number while the charge was under dispute. ~ the account is now closed since they reversed the charge) I will double check my credit report though. That's always a good idea anyway.

 

[patsal]

Someone was able to use my CC#'s while I was on vacation last year. It was bizarre to me that the CC company never caught it--I was making several charges per day at WDW while someone else was racking up my bill in NYC. When I called (Disney Visa) they acted like I was crazy and wouldn't freeze my account until I verified that my card was in my possession--I knew it was and they wouldn't even transfer me to fraud prevention until I took enough time to go check. I 'm still trying to figure out how I could have been at Epcot charging my lunch at the exact time someone was in NYC buying groceries and fraud detection didn't pick up on it??? After a hang up on the first person I talked with anohter person who was very helpful and the problem was resolved quickly.

I would not stop purchasing things via the internet, sometimes things are just phishing scams--people keep trying a mix of numbers until one is accepted. I have one card that I use only for internet transactions, it is easier for me to keep control of and it sits right next to the computer so that it can be found quickly for purchases.

 

[Jeanne B]

Fraud and identity theft seem to becoming more and more commonplace these days. Somehow my debit card # was stolen last May and these people went on a heck of a food and shopping spree in NYC in just 2 days time. They bought over $300 worth of food at an Asian grocery store (I think they must have hosted a party!!), ate some expensive meals at a Chinese restaurant, went shopping at Banana Republic, etc, etc. Fortunately, I have online banking so I caught it almost immediately. I still don't know to this day how they got my #. We had been in FL just a couple of weeks before this happened so I don't know if there was any connection there or not. I only remember using it once at an ATM machine and I always make a point to not use it in restaurants for the exact reason disneysteve mentioned.

 

[allforpooh]

Last year my husbands credit card that hadn't been used in over a year was used to buy $5000.00 worth of computer equipment. Since we had the credit card in a drawer we never figured out how it happened, the only thing I could think of is we had some stolen mail issues in the past and they could have used one of the cc statements to get the number. The reason we caught it was I am really careful about what bills are due and when so when I asked him if he had gotten his bill he said no. I thought it was just a simple matter of getting lost in the mail. When he went out to the website to request a new bill he couldn't use his user id or password - so we called the reason we didn't get an invoice is because the person who stole the number called our CC company and had the address changed to somewhere in TN- thank goodness he only had 5K left on his limit. - It was pretty scary that someone could just call to change our address.

We have since notified the Credit Report Agency to mark our Credit reports to notify us of any activity, we have requested an email for any charge over $500.00 on our Disney Visa and I get a copy of our Credit Report every 6 months.

A while back someone sent me a list of things to do to prevent fraud.
1) When you order checks only put your initials on it.
2) When writing checks to pay your credit card company do NOT put you acct number on the check, just put the last 4 digits.
3)Never have you SS# printed on your checks
4) Do not puy your telephone number on your checks
5) Photo copy everything in your wallet
6) Black out your ss# on your health cards.
7) Check your credit report at least once a year.
8) Never use your debit card over the phone or on the internet.
9) Never give an CC# to someone who calls you on the phone even to give to charity, always have them send you something in the mail or go out to their website to give.
10) Never put you outgoing mail in you home mail box with the red flag up.

Denise

 

[allforpooh]

Forgot to add numbers:

Equifax - 18005256285
Experian - 18883973742
Trans Union - 18006807289
Social Security Fraud - 18002690271

 

[coombsyl]

I had to call and they said 2 internet purchases would trigger enough suspicion to cause a security freeze to the account.

I have sometimes had this with Paypal when paying on ebay. If I have bought another couple of things on the internet then it freezes your card until the morning.

When going abroad from the UK we are now told to advise our bank/credit card companies so that we don't have this embarrassing problem. Apparently credit card payments can get "referred" as opposed to decined which means the vendor is supposed to contact the CC company to confirm payment but sometimes they can't be bothered so just tell you the card has been declined. For our visit ten days time ( ) I have got direct numbers for my bank and credit card company in the UK in case our cards are referred.

It's annoying but I suppose we are glad when it stops our cards being misused as in your case.

 

[RADOPT]

Be careful to check you credit report.

I have a service (that I got thru my credit card company) that sends me a report on my credit report every 3 months. It also informs me of any negative posting and anytime anyone looks at my credit (includes who looked at it) within the week. With the fraud problem, the $80.00 a year is more then worth it!!!