Victim of Credit Card Fraud!

[steam furnace]

My wife and I are very upset and feel totally violated after getting a call from our credit card company last evening about fraudulent purchases on a credit card that I have had for over 30 years! They became suspicious due to online purchases for items ranging from Idaho to Boulder, Colorado, to London England! They refused authorization on one for some company selling "uber" computer memory upgrades for almost two grand. They believe someone accessed our account number from one of our online purchases, as both my wife and I still have our cards in our possession. The only non-ebay/paypal purchases we have made online recently were my purchase of my Batman pachinko from slot-pachinko.com (Texas Auction's direct site) last month, and DGI on the morning of January 2 for a new pachislo door key for a friend's machine. Coincidentally, the fraudulant online purchases began on the evening of January 2. Now our account number (which I had memorized after years of use) has been deactivated, and it will be a week before we receive the new cards while our bank investigates. I wanted to warn everyone else to watch their credit card statements and also ask if anyone else has been vicitimized like
this?

[luckydog]

always check for https: for secure site on computer.

the only way i access my paypal info is directly from ebay or paypal payment email.

there is a lot of spoof email that seems to come from paypal or ebay, NEVER give any info out forward email to spoof@ebay.com

[noobie]

Don't be so quick to assume that it was one of the online purchases that stole your number. I still occasionally get printed credit card receipts that have my full number on them. If you were to throw one of these away in a place where someone else could get it (say, at a gas station), they could have obtained your number that way.

I would think it's unlikely that DGI is the culprit. A thief would have to be pretty stupid to start using a credit card number the same day he gets it.

[Tulsa]

You know, theives aren't generally the brightest people on the planet or they'd have real jobs.

[steam furnace]

We have tried to be very careful with credit card receipts. I never throw them away with our number on them unless I have put them through our shredder. I still lean towards an internet hacker as the culprit. I just hope that the bank catches whoever was responsible and really sticks it to them!

[slotter]

A few years back, someone got into my rural mailbox over the weekend while we were gone and got hold of those darn checks that credit card companies send out. Someone wrote a check for $9500 which was very close to the limit on that card. I got a call from the CC company asking about it and had to go through some aggravation to have the charge reversed.

Always seemed to me that the person who accepted a $9500 check without any ID must be pretty stupid, along with the guy writing a check for that amount. Gee, wouldn't want to bring any attention to yourself, would ya?

[rupan777]

I wanted to warn everyone else to watch their credit card statements and also ask if anyone else has been vicitimized like
this?

I used to work for the Paypal's leading competitor (before we kicked the bucket) and, sadly, this happens all the time. I worked in manual payments and I had to call 3-4 customers a week about suspicion of fraud.

[doodude]

Im sorry to hear about this Steam. This really sucks & is one of my greatest fears!
Good luck & please let us know what happens...

[Mike]

Unfortunately there are many ways that your credit card details can be stolen. Not only through someone going through your rubbish, but a letter could have been swiped before it even got to you or it might have been a waiter swiping your card through a bogus machine at a restaurant. Identity fraud is really growing in both the UK and US and it's not unknown these days for criminals in the UK to hang around bars near call centres, with a view to paying off low paid workers in banks and insurance companies for customers' details. The info they gain would of course include your credit card details. There is also a massive problem with some of the banks setting up call centres off shore, India is a popular choice for UK companies. They pay the workers there next to nothing and it's a severe temptation for them to pass on customers' details. A lot of the organised criminals have worked out that it is more lucrative to commit fraud nowadays than sell drugs (and the punishment is next to nothing). The same goes for pirate CDs and DVDs etc, people don't realise they could be funding terrorists by buying these goods. Unfortunately a lot of the criminals dealing with fraud aren't your stupid ones.

[Dragonfly]

We have tried to be very careful with credit card receipts. I never throw them away with our number on them unless I have put them through our shredder. I still lean towards an internet hacker as the culprit. I just hope that the bank catches whoever was responsible and really sticks it to them!

I heard that people who are doing this don`t even need your card or cardnumber or expire date , they caluclate them on a computer so if your unlucky (like you ) and the numbers match to your card they will order Items for it , in most times you will be refunded by your credit card company if fraud is proved .
this happend back in the early 80`s , can`t understand that creditcard Company`s still didn`t protect our creditcards in a better way , I was also a victim like you ....
The person who is behind this fraud is probably locoated on the shipping address .

Take care !!

[luckydog]

Most companies now ask for the 3 digit number on the back now.

[watcher]

When I buy anything off of E-BAY I use only a money order only!
I to have been ripped off by credit card fraud!. This bites big time!.
A friend of mine got smart after he was ripped off too, and went and got himself a visa card for E-BAY,WEB use only with a max of $250.00 on the card.He told me he could take a $250.00 hit if some one got a hold of his card number and if the price is above $250.00 he will use a money order!.
A visa card for E-BAY,WEB only with a $250.00 max on it.
Anything above $250.00 use a money order! This sounds like the way to go if your using your credit card
on E-BAY or any other online store!
What do you think? Good way to go or bad???.

[slotter]

Guess it's a good way if you never spend more than $250...

[Thor]

At least it was a credit card. A few years ago my checks started bouncing. When I checked into it, someone had made a copy of my debt card, which I never used!!! They were making a bunch of small purchases driving around Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. (I'm from Michigan) They must have got the info from the bank. (Inside job)??


Hopefully everything will work out for you.

Great Board!

~Mike

[steam furnace]

Thanks to all who posted on this matter. I will keep everyone informed as to how this whole matter gets resolved. Education is power; the more we can learn about protecting ourselves in these situations, the better off we all will be. Let's make it that much harder for the criminals to exploit us!

[Dragonfly]

Most companies now ask for the 3 digit number on the back now.

Creditcard Company`s should only check if the address is matching with the card then if someone is using your card he won`t be able to send it to another address anymore , simple right ?.

Regards

[shiftdelete]

Just wanted to comment on a few things. I make alot of online purchases, and I'm comfortable with it. However, I am a web programmer and have setup e-commerce sites for dozens of companies. I know first hand that JUST because you see "https://" in the address bar, and that little yellow lock doesn't mean that your information is safe. It only means that when you submit the information, it is secure.

Once the info is delivered, then it's back to whatever the merchant has setup in place. Sometimes this info is emailed to 2 or 3 people. Every email generates at least 2 copies or more. Then you have printouts, and literally dozens of other privacy and security holes. This information is freely viewable by the internet service provider, and their network staff. It can also be easily obtained from their computers. Often, it's the merchant's printouts / invoices that get thrown in the trash that get stolen, and sold to identity theft rings.

Anyways, even with all that evidence, it's still more secure than say, giving your credit card over your phone. Cell and cordless phones are easier to "tap" into than an internet transaction. But still, the easiest ways to steal info are from neglect by the merchant or ISP, phishing / email scams, and the trash.

[Kodai]

They were making a bunch of small purchases driving around Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. (I'm from Michigan) They must have got the info from the bank. (Inside job)??

While it is possible that it was an inside job, it's more likely that someone just cracked the code your bank is using. Same sort of thing has happened to me twice (though with regular credit cards). 2 different cards that I hadn't used for more than a year suddenly had charges showing up on them. On one the charges were in California, on the other it was Maine. I got the charges reversed and I later found out that the California person was arrested.

[dattia]

I know first hand that JUST because you see "https://" in the address bar, and that little yellow lock doesn't mean that your information is safe. It only means that when you submit the information, it is secure.

.

Well that's just GREAT!!! That little yellow lock was my security blanket...now I just feel naked. (or at least my info does)

[alec]

i only buy items from websites that use paypal,and in all the years, i have never been ripped off,touch "wood",