Target Debit Scandal Fallout Question

[ekatiel]

So, I was one of the *lucky* 40 million people that shopped at Target on the wrong dates this holiday season. Got a message from USAA the other day that they're sending me a new debit card (previously, they were taking a wait/watch and see attitude). That's fine, but we have ALL our bills on automatic withdrawal. I know some of them are directly linked to our bank account, but I think some of them are linked to my debit card. The problem is, I'm not sure which are which. Is there an easy way to tell without contacting each company? I'd prefer to know before my credit score does .

 

[JillianMarie]

I guess it depends. If you are doing a 'bill pay' where your bank is "pushing" your money to a creditor then you should be fine regardless. If you have gone to individual utilities or creditors and have them initiate the transfer or "pull" money from your account, I'd just go through your checking account for the last month, make a list of who gets paid, go to your individual online accounts with those utilities/creditors and check there.

So, while not exactly easy it shouldn't take more than an hour or two depending on how many websites you have to check. The good news is that you can easily do all of this sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and a laptop. Sorry this has been such a hassle for you!

 

[tvguy]

This is the very reason I refuse to do automatic bill pay. I want to control when and from where each bill is paid every month.

 

[chris31997]

I would think that USAA would be able to to "see" who is paid thru the bank and who is paid thru the CC. You should also be able to do this by logging online and pulling up old statements. You then contact them one at a time with the new info.

Worst case: a payment does not hit and you pay a late fee. But if you get a paper bill you should see it right away and might be able to talk them into waving the fee.

 

[Fantastic4]

Same boat! You should be able to pull up a month of transactions and then click on each bill "withdrawal" and it will show what kind of transaction debit, auto bill pay etc ( I don't remember all the terms they use). That's what I plan to do when my new card gets here.

 

[JanaDee]

This is the very reason I refuse to do automatic bill pay. I want to control when and from where each bill is paid every month.

All our automatic bill pays are pulled directly from our checking. Our debit card has nothing to do with automatic bill pays.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I also replaced my card last month and any auto payments I forgot about have been sending me e-mails asking for a new card as they try to use the old card and the transaction fails.

I'm using this as an excuse to re-evaluate some spending and eliminate waste: $10 a month is cheap for Netflix but since I rarely watch it they won't be getting a new card number, etc.

 

[Ali]

I just got a call today that someone tried to use my Mastercard in Tampa - I last used it in a target in Tampa on Black Friday. I have just gotten my new debit card but nothing had been done on that account yet. I do need to check netflix now.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

When my AMEX card number was somehow stolen (caught right away by AMEX), they emailed me a list of all my automatic payments.

 

[DisGirl819]

I just checked all my automatic debits today now that I have my new card. I had to change Hulu and my trash bill, everything else was straight from the checking account and not the card itself.

 

[Swimalie]

All our automatic bill pays are pulled directly from our checking. Our debit card has nothing to do with automatic bill pays.

It's not safe to have bills automatically taken from your bank accounts, either http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/cla...ccount-debits-not-good-paying-monthly-b/nFgX/

 

[JanaDee]

It's not safe to have bills automatically taken from your bank accounts, either http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/automatic-account-debits-not-good-paying-monthly-b/nFgX/

We've done it for years and never had any problems stopping payments when necessary. I am not worried about it.

I don't take financial advice from people like Clark Howard or Dave Ramsey.

 

[FergieTCat]

So, I was one of the *lucky* 40 million people that shopped at Target on the wrong dates this holiday season. Got a message from USAA the other day that they're sending me a new debit card (previously, they were taking a wait/watch and see attitude). That's fine, but we have ALL our bills on automatic withdrawal. I know some of them are directly linked to our bank account, but I think some of them are linked to my debit card. The problem is, I'm not sure which are which. Is there an easy way to tell without contacting each company? I'd prefer to know before my credit score does .

Be careful! I also got an e-mail from USAA Bank asking to confirm my identity through a link in the e-mail. However, I don't have any accounts with USAA Bank! I deleted the e-mail.

I imagine scammers will try to use this Target breach to get identity information. If you don't recognize the bank contacting you, do not click any links in the e-mail.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

This is also another good reason not to set your autopayments to occur too close to the due dates. EI due date is the 12 but you set up to have it debited on 10. I always schedule my autopayments at least a week from the due date so if there is ever a problem I have time to react to issues.

 

[wiigirl]

Same boat! You should be able to pull up a month of transactions and then click on each bill "withdrawal" and it will show what kind of transaction debit, auto bill pay etc ( I don't remember all the terms they use). That's what I plan to do when my new card gets here.

Same here...

 

[ekatiel]

Thanks for the advice. I'll go online today and see if I can figure out which withdrawals are linked to the debit card. If I can't, I'll call USAA and see if they can tell me which ones are linked.

 

[siskaren]

Be careful! I also got an e-mail from USAA Bank asking to confirm my identity through a link in the e-mail. However, I don't have any accounts with USAA Bank! I deleted the e-mail.

I imagine scammers will try to use this Target breach to get identity information. If you don't recognize the bank contacting you, do not click any links in the e-mail.

The OP said that she got an e-mail informing her that they would be sending her a new card - that's not how phishing e-mails are typically worded. A phishing e-mail typically says that someone has been trying to access your account and then asks you to verify your identity through a link in the e-mail. And even if an e-mail does appear to come from your bank, you should never click on a link asking you to verify your identity. Your bank (or credit card company, or ebay or PayPal) would never have any reason to ask you to do that.

 

[ekatiel]

I think I got it all fixed. Only 3 recurring withdrawals were affected. It could have been a lot worse! For those of you still sorting it out, when I looked online at my account, if the recurring withdrawal said "ACH withdrawal" that was one linked directly to my account and not my debit card, so I didn't have to call them. The ones linked to my debit card said "debit card purchase" on them and then listed my debit card number. I'm SO glad I didn't have to call every single one!!

 

[teller80]

When my AMEX card number was somehow stolen (caught right away by AMEX), they emailed me a list of all my automatic payments.

I've heard a lot of good things about AMEX's customer service. Maybe I should consider switching.

 

[JB2K]

It's not safe to have bills automatically taken from your bank accounts, either http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/cla...ccount-debits-not-good-paying-monthly-b/nFgX/

I agree - in doing so, you are giving these companies your full permission to pull money from your bank account/debit card, whenever they please.

A better alternative is to use your bank's "bill pay" function - that way, you control the date/amount to pay (and with smartphone apps, it's hardly time-consuming).