Credit card fraud dept. called the other day...

Soundguy · Jan 19, 2005

Me and the wife were on our honeymoon and went a few cities over to the beach ( florida ).. and di dthe shopping thing and went from store to store.. etc.. about the third store.. card was declined. I called and they told me it was the suspicious stuff... out of city.. etc.

In another instance, I got a cal from my cc and was asked if I bought something in washington ( i'm in florida... and they saw recent.. daily florida purchase stuff.. ) Of course I said no.. and they did the usual 'shut card down'.. reissue.. try to find the people.. etc..

Soundguy

getut · Jan 20, 2005

Ok.. it seems like I am always playing the "tin foil hat" type and voicing my pet peeves, but Henro, you may have been bitten by bitten by the new way stores are doing business.

Store card scanners used to default to credit card mode. WIthin the last year nearly every store card scanner nation wide now defaults to ATM mode. You scan your card and it asks for a PIN number. If you choose credit card, they still try to trick you into ATM mode by asking your PIN number. NEVER let them trick you into using your check cards in ATM mode. 

There are incidents all over the nation of check out people who stick a little device in-line between the scanner and the register that records the card information as it is scanned, they also set up small cameras or camcorders to watch you enter your PIN number. Some store owners have actually been caught grabbing the PIN number off of in store surveillance cameras that watch the register area. Once they have the card info AND the PIN they have you.

Always use your check cards in credit card mode and sign your name. At least the signature can be disputed.

I hope you guys found this informative and not TOO "tin foil hat"-ish.

Junkman · Jan 21, 2005

After reading this, I checked my credit card recent purchases on the on-line site. I found that Avis Rent A Car had overcharged me on the rental. I called and gave them the quote number and dollar amount, and they said that they would look into it. Got a call back this morning and they said that they were crediting my account the difference, which was about a 40% refund. For some unknown reason, I had printed out the on-line quote and the confirmation number both. Usually I would only print the confirmation number and not bother with the quote, and normally, I wouldn't even see the charge, since it goes to the corporate office and I am now retired. They would have just paid it and not given it another though.. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

GoodGuy · Jan 23, 2005

Once when I received my credit card bill there was a charge to an european hotel & although I'd love to do an european vacation, I have never been there. A call to accounting had it deleted from my statement without any hassle. Another occasion that I experienced was that I purchased product over the phone in the USA & on the same day I made a purchase with the same card locally. I received a call from them asking if I had made and authorized the purchases. I actually was glad that they called me.

Bird · May 4, 2005

This is reviving an old thread, but we bought a new Maytag washer and dryer today at Sears, came straight home to find a message already on the answering machine from Discover Card, calling to verify the charge. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif And I thanked them for doing so!

frank_f15 · May 4, 2005

Bird that happened to me also a few months back, as i was glad they checked, but i wonder how they determine when to checka purchase? we were in las vegas a few months back and i put everythin on the CC no problem, why no calls for that? i am as usuall confused /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Bird · May 4, 2005

( wonder how they determine when to checka purchase? )

Frank, I don't know either. I do have my account set up so that they send me an e-mail anytime there is a single charge of $300 or more, but I usually don't get that e-mail for at least 2 or 3 days after the charge. And of course, we use very little cash and rarely write a check, so we use the credit cards for nearly everything. When we go to West Virginia to visit my wife's family, we use it all the way across the country and they never question it. Best I can remember, they've only promptly called when we charged something in excess of $1,000. I think when they called my cell phone I had just paid a hospital a little over $1,100, and I don't know why they didn't call the cell phone today since I had it with me, but the Sears charge was about $1,650.

California · May 4, 2005

Funny I should find this thread just now. Elderly Mom (95 in June) still manages her checking and CC but recently decided she wants me to review her bills and write the larger checks.

The last straw for her was a new charge of $80/month that her own bank started charging to her Visa, for Credit Assurance Verification or some such nonsense. She hadn't authorized this and got it reversed on her own, then called me and asked me to help her stay ahead of these crooks. This wasn't low life scum ripping her off, it was a national bank that spends a lot of money on lobbying to assure that no new laws will prohibit their predatory practices. Bah!

When we started helping my wife's elderly parents we found these same automatic Credit Assurance Verification charges on several of their cards and they had reached the age where they didn't question it. As soon as my wife inquired, the bank ceased charging and reversed the recent charges. Has anyone else experienced this? It looks to me like legalized theft from the elderly.

ByronBob · May 5, 2005

I had a credit card company (Bank One) jack my rate up from 6.9% to 24.25% because I crossed a credit to debt ratio. They said I received a notice but I don't remember it. You need to look at your credit card statement really carefully now a days.
All types of games going on with these places. Nothing suprises me anymore with lending institutions.

Bird · May 5, 2005

( Credit Assurance Verification )

I'm not sure whether it's the same thing, but I periodically receive a small check in the mail from credit card companies; less than $5 and usually about $2. It looks as if they're giving you something, but if you read the fine print, if you cash that check, you're signing up for their plan of this type. Of course, I just shred those checks.