Fraudulent charge on credit card?

[pete6032]

So yesterday I got a call and email from AMEX fraud protection saying that they declined a charge of $500 at a big-box baby products retail store. Never in my life shopped at this chain before, and don't have any kids. I called them back and they canceled my card and re-issued a new card and removed the charge from my account.

What really freaks me out though is that the fraud alert email had a specific store number on it. When I looked up the store number online I realized it was a store in a strip mall just a few blocks away from where I shop regularly for clothing etc. Does this mean that someone stole my card information and tried to use it somehow in person? The card was never out of my possession so I don't know how the transaction could have been tied to a particular store only a few miles away from where I live. How could someone use the card if it was never stolen from my wallet?

 

[rudeguy]

So yesterday I got a call and email from AMEX fraud protection saying that they declined a charge of $500 at a big-box baby products retail store. Never in my life shopped at this chain before, and don't have any kids. I called them back and they canceled my card and re-issued a new card and removed the charge from my account.

What really freaks me out though is that the fraud alert email had a specific store number on it. When I looked up the store number online I realized it was a store in a strip mall just a few blocks away from where I shop regularly for clothing etc. Does this mean that someone stole my card information and tried to use it somehow in person? The card was never out of my possession so I don't know how the transaction could have been tied to a particular store only a few miles away from where I live. How could someone use the card if it was never stolen from my wallet?

http://www.amazon.com/MSR606-Magnetic-Stripe-Reader-Encoder/dp/B006RE896K

The versions that hackers can use are much, much smaller. There are some that they put over mag readers on gas pumps, so your card info gets stolen and you never even knew the difference.

 

[highland145]

How could someone use the card if it was never stolen from my wallet?

Somehow they got your info. Restaurant, gas pump, etc. Then they imprint that on the free walmart prepaid visa cards. Win.

Ichinisan, iirc, works big box fraud.

 

[highland145]

http://www.amazon.com/MSR606-Magnetic-Stripe-Reader-Encoder/dp/B006RE896K

The versions that hackers can use are much, much smaller. There are some that they put over mag readers on gas pumps, so your card info gets stolen and you never even knew the difference.

Because, amazingly, 90%+ of the pumps use the same universal key. Have noticed tamper tape on the card swipes lately.

 

[dud]

http://www.amazon.com/MSR606-Magnetic-Stripe-Reader-Encoder/dp/B006RE896K

The versions that hackers can use are much, much smaller. There are some that they put over mag readers on gas pumps, so your card info gets stolen and you never even knew the difference.

Found myself a victim of this last year. I stopped for gas at a Valero station in Ontario while on a business trip. Four months later I get a bill from my (work) CC company for $400 (4 x $100 transactions) even though I hadn't used the card since that trip. Contacted Citi and after a bit of work I was able to get the charges waived and a new card issued. It must have happened at the gas station that I filled up at.

 

[Raizinman]

Much easier to grab someones trash bags after they leave for work and look for billing statements, receipts, tax info, and other information. Amazing what people throw away in the trash.

 

[Newell Steamer]

If you hand your card to someone and they walk away with it (usually a restaurant), there is a good chance they may be using a device similar to what rudeguy linked.

There are also card skimming facades set up on ATMs; http://gizmodo.com/5687689/how-anyone-can-fake-an-atm-and-steal-your-money

 

[rudeguy]

Found myself a victim of this last year. I stopped for gas at a Valero station in Ontario while on a business trip. Four months later I get a bill from my (work) CC company for $400 (4 x $100 transactions) even though I hadn't used the card since that trip. Contacted Citi and after a bit of work I was able to get the charges waived and a new card issued. It must have happened at the gas station that I filled up at.

Its really, really common.

Watch the movie "Plastic" for a pretty good idea of the different ways these guys work. Sometimes its a clerk at a store, sometimes its a gang who run schemes in big numbers, sometimes its data breeches. The bottom line is that no matter how careful you are, you are not protected 100%.

 

[rudeguy]

Much easier to grab someones trash bags after they leave for work and look for billing statements, receipts, tax info, and other information. Amazing what people throw away in the trash.

Please show me any credit card statement that would list the information necessary to make a fake card.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Had this happen to me a few months ago. Someone bought $350 boots from Macy's on my card. Chase gave me the credit and issued a new card.
Amazingly the idiots that bought the boots didn't change the shipping address and they showed up at my door.
Called Chase a few weeks later since I was busy and had eventually forgotten about them and they told me to just keep the boots. Not sure what to do with boots that are too small for my wife. It's been some 3 or 4 months now. I feel kind of bad thinking about taking them to Macy's to get a store credit.

 

[dud]

Its really, really common.

Watch the movie "Plastic" for a pretty good idea of the different ways these guys work. Sometimes its a clerk at a store, sometimes its a gang who run schemes in big numbers, sometimes its data breeches. The bottom line is that no matter how careful you are, you are not protected 100%.

The funny thing is that when I called the CC company I was told that I had to have made those charges ... there was no other way that (in the CSR's mind) that they could have been made. Regardless of the fact that the purchases were made in SoCal at four different gas stations ... and I happen to be on the east coast at the time did not seem to matter to her. I then asked for a supervisor or (at least) another CSR who was not on crack. It went uphill from there ...

 

[IronWing]

Had this happen to me a few months ago. Someone bought $350 boots from Macy's on my card. Chase gave me the credit and issued a new card.
Amazingly the idiots that bought the boots didn't change the shipping address and they showed up at my door.
Called Chase a few weeks later since I was busy and had eventually forgotten about them and they told me to just keep the boots. Not sure what to do with boots that are too small for my wife. It's been some 3 or 4 months now. I feel kind of bad thinking about taking them to Macy's to get a store credit.

Maybe someone here might like to wear them. Maybe someone one post up from your post.

 

[highland145]

You can put a $$ limit on your daily purchases. When the business card got hacked, it was for $4500. Didn't know the daily default was $5K.

 

[highland145]

Maybe someone here might like to wear them. Maybe someone one post up from your post.

D:

 

[rudeguy]

he funny thing is that when I called the CC company I was told that I had to have made those charges ... there was no other way that (in the CSR's mind) that they could have been made. Regardless of the fact that the purchases were made in SoCal at four different gas stations ... and I happen to be on the east coast at the time did not seem to matter to her. I then asked for a supervisor or (at least) another CSR who was not on crack. It went uphill from there ...

I had a really nasty account breech with Chase. The CSR people were clueless and couldn't help. Once I got to their fraud department, things got much easier. You need to talk to someone who has dealt with it before and then things start happening.

I've had to deal with this stuff for years on the retailer side, so I have a bit of a different way of looking at things. I get a little impressed when I see something new. The OP's case is just a boring swipe fraud. If I ever broke bad, I could setup a rig to steal the OP's data in half a second without him ever knowing it. Of course I would sell the card rather than use it. More profit and less risk.

 

[PokerGuy]

You would think with the billions and billions in annual fraud and theft at stake, someone (or some group) would have come up with a better way to do credit cards.

 

[slayer202]

someone stole it while you were sleeping and then put it back. what else could have happened? change your locks

 

[boomerang]

I've got a good friend that had his card compromised. The issuer canceled the card and mailed him a replacement but before he even received it, a fraudulent charge was on it. His wife logged into the website and found the charge. Obviously an inside job but at what step of the process?

I have two cards I actively use. I check them online several times a week.

 

[Exterous]

You can put a $$ limit on your daily purchases. When the business card got hacked, it was for $4500. Didn't know the daily default was $5K.

D: Only $5k?! Thats not even enough for lunch!

I had a really nasty account breech with Chase. The CSR people were clueless and couldn't help. Once I got to their fraud department, things got much easier. You need to talk to someone who has dealt with it before and then things start happening.

Huh - I've only had to deal with it a couple of times but my experiences across banks have been almost universally good. I assumed that was the usual course of events because it was so common but that seems to not be the case

 

[highland145]

D: Only $5k?! Thats not even enough for lunch!

Well, I don't often fly to Tokyo for sushi...


...I have them bring it to me.:awe:

 

[rudeguy]

Huh - I've only had to deal with it a couple of times but my experiences across banks have been almost universally good. I assumed that was the usual course of events because it was so common but that seems to not be the case

Like I said...it was nasty.

 

[Dulanic]

You would think with the billions and billions in annual fraud and theft at stake, someone (or some group) would have come up with a better way to do credit cards.

They have, that's why all the cards are moving to chip. It's stupid it took this long, euro zone has been using it for far longer.

 

[rudeguy]

They have, that's why all the cards are moving to chip. It's stupid it took this long, euro zone has been using it for far longer.

All cards are not moving to the chip.

 

[drebo]

I had a card that I never used once except for a balance transfer (Chase Slate) get compromised. Its entire life was in the envelope in my filing cabinet, but somehow they got it.

Sometimes crooks just get lucky.

 

[pete6032]

They have, that's why all the cards are moving to chip. It's stupid it took this long, euro zone has been using it for far longer.

I heard without Chip and PIN that Chip provides no extra security.