Walmart apparently hacked!!!

[darkswordsman17]

Any suggestions? Just wander in the store and fill my cart? Wander online and find stuff I figure I can use? Honestly, I am not comfortable just having a GC from them. I also have an Amazon GC, with a LOT of money on it! It's as of 2 months ago, my brokerage issued it to me. Is Amazon trustworthy for that? I'd be hell of pissed if that gets drained!

See what they have on clearance. Might check online too (deals websites) so you might have an idea of what clearance item to look for as they often seem to get posted on there.

 

[BUTCH1]

Couldn't, when you purchase a gift card, ask the customer to enter a 4-5 digit PIN code into the physical register pad (if at store) or into a box (if using web site), such that the pre-programmed PIN code under the scratch-off panel on the card wouldn't be used? That way, there's no direct way to get the funds stolen, even if the attacker gets the GC#, unless they can also get the customer's PIN code. (Rather than a pre-set PIN for that GC.)

Seems like a simple solution to me.

I think the cards with PIN's already have them on the card hidden behind a scratch off area, apparently they are not very safe either,
"Some retailers' cards use PIN numbers in addition to the number encoded into the card. But that PIN is only required to check the card's balance, not to spend its value, Caput says. And if a hacker really wanted to determine the value of one of those PIN-protected cards, they could bruteforce it with Burp Intruder just as easily as the card's number itself. "
Decent read about a security guy who was hired to find vulnerabilities,
https://www.wired.com/story/gift-card-hacks/

 

[allisolm]

Glad your perseverance paid off and you got your money back.

I'm still stuck on "my brokerage issued it (a big Amazon GC) to me." Just how does that happen? My brokerage gives me a plant each Christmas.

 

[BudAshes]

You remind me of the people that go out of their way to exclaim "I don't watch TV, I don't even own a TV and never will. Blah blah blah, blah blah." Do you want a medal? It just astounds me that people seem to act like that deserves special commendation or something. No one cares. Its a corporate retail chain.

Clearly I care or I would shop there. You do you, but I'll stay out of the cattle run.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I would have done the same thing for $187. If you're not a jerk to CS people and they have the capability, you can usually get further than you expect. I hate those canned Emails telling you that you're SOL when you need help. It always helps to either visit the store in-person and talk to a manager face to face and get them involved in calling the help line or just calling and asking for help. I've had managers do all kinds of stuff just to get me out of their way. I can be charmingly persistent when I want something and know I'm right.

 

[Muse]

I would have done the same thing for $187. If you're not a jerk to CS people and they have the capability, you can usually get further than you expect. I hate those canned Emails telling you that you're SOL when you need help. It always helps to either visit the store in-person and talk to a manager face to face and get them involved in calling the help line or just calling and asking for help. I've had managers do all kinds of stuff just to get me out of their way. I can be charmingly persistent when I want something and know I'm right.

Yup. TBH I've had pretty uniform good luck dealing with Walmart when I've had a grievance, and there have been many. I just did a search on my table where I document purchases there and boy, there have been a lot over the last 6 years or so. They've credited me bucks in compensation, given me free stuff. Don't be a jerk and you can be treated pretty well. You need patience!

 

[Muse]

Glad your perseverance paid off and you got your money back.

I'm still stuck on "my brokerage issued it (a big Amazon GC) to me." Just how does that happen? My brokerage gives me a plant each Christmas.

I transferred a lot of money from online savings accounts to my trading account (at TDAmeritrade). They used to give you free access to training courses when you did that (Investools classes, which I took advantage of, but I don't think they have Investools any more), but they changed and now (they tell me) all their classes/training is free. So what they do now (if you deposit enough) is give you an Amazon gift card. I do business with Amazon, plenty over the years, but always sporadically. I think it will take me a long time to use up that gift card, unless I find some expensive things there I want and I like the deals (I don't have Amazon Prime, so I just about only buy when I get Super Saver free shipping). Hope that GC doesn't get hacked. However, I figure Amazon will stand behind me if that happens, but don't really know. I've usually found Amazon CS to be pretty reliable.

 

[nakedfrog]

I transferred a lot of money from online savings accounts to my trading account (at TDAmeritrade). They used to give you free access to training courses when you did that (Investools classes, which I took advantage of, but I don't think they have Investools any more), but they changed and now (they tell me) all their classes/training is free. So what they do now (if you deposit enough) is give you an Amazon gift card. I do business with Amazon, plenty over the years, but always sporadically. I think it will take me a long time to use up that gift card, unless I find some expensive things there I want and I like the deals (I don't have Amazon Prime, so I just about only buy when I get Super Saver free shipping). Hope that GC doesn't get hacked. However, I figure Amazon will stand behind me if that happens, but don't really know. I've usually found Amazon CS to be pretty reliable.

What form of GC is it? You could potentially just load it into your Amazon account if it's a GC code. Then they'd need to hack your Amazon account itself to spend it.

 

[BUTCH1]

Hey, I still find deals at Wally, just bought an 8K BTU AC that no other store or Amazon could get or touch in price. In April I bought a Vizio "43 TV for $150 shipped, it was supposed to be refurbed but it was brand new in the box, (I think Vizio just wanted to dump the older sets that did not support 4K).

 

[Muse]

What form of GC is it? You could potentially just load it into your Amazon account if it's a GC code. Then they'd need to hack your Amazon account itself to spend it.

I don't know what kind it is, but I went to my account and it shows the balance on my gift card. I can get that loaded into my account? How? By calling and requesting it? Maybe it is essentially loaded into my account, however it calls the amount my "gift card balance."

Edit: I think I did load it into the account using the codes. There were actually 3 gift cards and I went through a bit of an elaborate process to load them into my account. However, the balance is still designated as a "Gift Card Balance."

 

[Amol S.]

I used the ATM at Walmart at their hokey Woodforest bank, and the next day that card was being used in Brazil buying $1800 worth of Walmart TVs and laptops. This happened last year. I have a feeling they get breached a lot and it doesn't make the news.

It's never wise to use the bank branches or ATMs that are found inside stores. Those are actually a lot less safe than the banks that own the place where they are. Also usually the ATM's at the facility owned by the banks are usually more maintained by the bank, than the ones that are found at bank branches inside stores. Usually the ones more maintained by the bank are seen literally cemented into the wall. For example, if you go to a Chase bank, the ATMs there are literally built into the wall.

Why not if its the cheapest prices near you. Then pay with Walmart credit and get another % off. If Walmart gets hacked on their own issued bank cards or their sloppy internet POS system. To ###### bad. Its their ###### problem not yours.

The sad reality is that they are not the ones who manufactured the cards. In fact, many times the stuff printed on the cards (including the bar-code or any type of codes), are printed by some other company. If you look at the fine print, you will see this fact, however I am not sure if Walmart does this differently. I know however that, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft manufacture the gift card themselves. The only time that you are certain that the gift card number was produced by the crediting party, is if its an e-gift card.

No offense, but I think you're reaching, a bit, to expect a company allegedly rife with GC fraud, to compensate you for stolen GC funds, when they can't even seem to employ most people full-time; give benefits, or pay a "living wage" in some parts of the country.

You are forgetting about the fact that they are banned by New York City government, from ever opening a Walmart anywhere in the city. The closest one in NYC is in Nassau County on Long Island.

 

[Muse]

You are forgetting about the fact that they are banned by New York City government, from ever opening a Walmart anywhere in the city.

Cities/towns can zone out big box stores. Nothing new in that. I wish my town hadn't allowed a MacDonalds at a main intersection. It's by far the seediest MacDonalds I've ever seen. Creeps me out to go near it.

 

[AdamK47]

You remind me of the people that go out of their way to exclaim "I don't watch TV, I don't even own a TV and never will. Blah blah blah, blah blah." Do you want a medal? It just astounds me that people seem to act like that deserves special commendation or something. No one cares. Its a corporate retail chain.

https://www.theonion.com/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-televisi-1819565469

 

[Muse]

Nobody knew I didn't have a television for 20 years until I did have one. I wasn't proud of the fact. It's just the way things went. I think there are positive aspects to not having a TV. At this point I can take it or leave it. There's no show I am anticipating. I have some collected shows on DVD or Blu-ray, you know, stuff like The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Band of Brothers, Planet Earth, The West Wing, a handful of others.

Television is an addiction.

 

[Captante]

I am the slime from your video

 

[darkswordsman17]

Clearly I care or I would shop there. You do you, but I'll stay out of the cattle run.

Clearly you care about you going out of your way to tell us about you not shopping there? Because that's my point. You're free to fuck off and do what you want, the issue is you feeling compelled to act like people should laud you for not shopping there. No doubt your principled stance for not shopping there wouldn't be revealed to be massive hypocrisy based on other shopping habits of yours, showing that your reasoning, and therefore you, are full of shit. But hey, you do you, Bud.

 

[highland145]

Dickhead.