# So upset it happened again



## LynnW (Apr 29, 2015)

Do any other Canadians here ever have their credit cards compromised while in the US? Someone got my husbands Sears Financial credit card number and used it all over Florida. We got the call yesterday to let us know and luckily we had put a travel notice on it so they knew where we were. This is the third trip in a row that something like this has happened. Last time it was his Coscto American Express and the time before that it was my Royal Bank Avion card. All of our credit cards in Canada are chip and pin and in the US of course we have to slide and sign. I am wondering if this has anything to do with it. Has anyone else had this happen?

Lynn


----------



## AnnaS (Apr 29, 2015)

It happens to everyone all the time.  Mine was just compromised again about two weeks ago.  This time, I received an email which was very unusual.  It's always a phone call.  Like the email said, I could call the number on the email or the back of my card.  I called the back of my card always.

Anyway - there was a charge of a $9.23 from Thailand and another one pending from RES - hotel reservation.  Closed the account and received my new card on Monday (this was a Friday I believe).

My daughter's and my son's debit cards were recently compromised too - different bank.


----------



## sfwilshire (Apr 29, 2015)

One reason I never have and never will use a debit card. 

Every time I buy gas in Miami my work credit card triggers a fraud alert. They are supposed to notify me when that happens, but have told me that they have so many suspected frauds in south Florida that they can't keep up with sending the notifications. Very annoying.

Sheila


----------



## VacationForever (Apr 29, 2015)

LynnW said:


> Do any other Canadians here ever have their credit cards compromised while in the US? Someone got my husbands Sears Financial credit card number and used it all over Florida. We got the call yesterday to let us know and luckily we had put a travel notice on it so they knew where we were. This is the third trip in a row that something like this has happened. Last time it was his Coscto American Express and the time before that it was my Royal Bank Avion card. All of our credit cards in Canada are chip and pin and in the US of course we have to slide and sign. I am wondering if this has anything to do with it. Has anyone else had this happen?
> 
> Lynn



How do you know it was compromised while in the US?  It could have been compromised in Canada or while doing online transactions, including a compromised computer where keystrokes are logged.  Syndicates sell stolen cc numbers and the cc numbers can then be used anywhere in the world.


----------



## DaveNV (Apr 29, 2015)

It's a risk we take in a digital age.  It's happened to me a few times, but never when it cost me anything.  More inconvenience than anything else.

On a trip to New York City I used a brand new Visa card I'd gotten just for the trip, so I could fully track any charges.  A week after I got home to the Seattle area, I got a call from the bank asking if I'd purchased several hundred dollars' worth of merchandise in a Walgreen's Drug Store in Upstate New York that morning.  I said that would be pretty difficult, since I was home in Washington.  The bank agreed, denied the charges, and closed my account.  They issued me a new card, and all has been well since.

Another time I got a call from my primary bank saying there had been suspicious charges on one of my cards.  Turns out the previous night someone had charged several times for Tech Support for an online video game - from Europe. They thought it suspicious and denied the charges, but it required closing and reissuing that card, too.  In either case I was not responsible for any of the charges.

The part of it that still rankles on me is how many times I'm standing at a store checkout, and the entire card transaction is between me and a terminal device.  No human ever sees my card, nobody ever asks to see my ID or signature, and they send me out the door on my merry way with a smile and a wave.  They have no idea whatsoever if I'm who the card said I was.  As long as the transaction says "Approved" they're happy.  I could be the Man in the Moon, for all they care. :ignore:

Dave


----------



## LynnW (Apr 29, 2015)

sptung said:


> How do you know it was compromised while in the US?  It could have been compromised in Canada or while doing online transactions, including a compromised computer where keystrokes are logged.  Syndicates sell stolen cc numbers and the cc numbers can then be used anywhere in the world.



We just returned on Friday and have not used the card online or since we got home. I sounds like it is happening everywhere and it's just a coincidence that it happens to us when we're away. Maybe we're travelling too much!


----------



## classiclincoln (Apr 29, 2015)

We've had our credit cards compromised around the world and one of those places was when we were in Toronto! 

No hard feelings; my sister has lived up there for about 35 years.


----------



## MuranoJo (Apr 30, 2015)

sfwilshire said:


> One reason I never have and never will use a debit card.
> 
> Every time I buy gas in Miami my work credit card triggers a fraud alert. They are supposed to notify me when that happens, but have told me that they have so many suspected frauds in south Florida that they can't keep up with sending the notifications. Very annoying.
> 
> Sheila



My credit union allows me to set it up so that I get alerts EVERY time my checking or debit card get a hit.  I don't use the debit card that often, but it's reassuring to see the notice hit my email within an hour or so after I do use it.

Just an idea you may want to check into.

(BTW, we used a debit card in MX and they ran through $8000 6 months later before it was caught--at the time, I didn't have the alert system set up. And fraud was insured on it, so it was all backed out.)


----------



## MALC9990 (Apr 30, 2015)

In the UK we have seen a massive reduction in debit and credit card fraud inside the UK. This is a direct result of the enforcement of chip and pin. Now if a card isused and not Chip and pin processed, the retailer will take the hit if the transaction isfraudulent not the bank. What we have seen is an increase in overseas fraud where cards are used where no chip and pin is required. It was recently reported in the financial news that the number one growth area for this fraud was the USA where chip and pin was still not enforced on credit cards. Relying on a signature and id is a waste of time. A reporter did a test across several states in the USA using a credit ard and signing a false name - mostly a range of disney cartoon charaters - never once was the transaction denied.

So the solution to at least some of the problems. Enforce chip and pin and stop using signatures. Also make the retailer / hotel / restaurant liable for all fraud and they would soon start to get more careful when processing cards.


----------



## Joe33426 (Apr 30, 2015)

MALC9990 said:


> So the solution to at least some of the problems. Enforce chip and pin and stop using signatures. Also make the retailer / hotel / restaurant liable for all fraud and they would soon start to get more careful when processing cards.



It's crazy that we didn't adopt chip and pin technology here in the US.  I just got a replacement credit card and it has a chip and I was thinking how stupid to adopt chip and signature.  

I think it all comes down to cost and who should pay for the upgraded equipment, fees, etc.  Retailers versus big banks.   Also, I think regulators were thinking we could bypass the chip and pin and go right to the next technology NFC or something, who knows.


----------



## CarolF (Apr 30, 2015)

MALC9990 said:


> What we have seen is an increase in overseas fraud where cards are used where no chip and pin is required.



We have used our chip and pin cards for years without incident and I'm keen to keep it that way.  What other places (aside from the US) do not require chip and pin?


----------



## Fern Modena (Apr 30, 2015)

I have a credit card that I only use for online purchases; it never leaves my house. About a year ago it attempted to purchase four large TV's online from a Walmart store for pickup somewhere in Kansas.

Walmart decided it wasn't me, cancelled the order and sent me a notice of possible fraud. I cancelled my card and changed my Walmart account password, although who knows if that is how they got the card number.

This was a big pain to me, because this card was also used to autopay perhaps a dozen recurring things, including my one-click with Amazon. Eventually all of these things were corrected.

But it has created another problem for me. Even though it is a different card number, I can no longer order things online from Walmart and expect the charge to go through. It appears to, and then auto cancels about an hour later. The only way I can purchase anything online from them now is to call the fraud department (I have the direct line number now) and place the order with them. It is a big pain, because they often have a great variety of small appliance products and very good prices, and they are more likely to be in stock online.

So goes life.

Fern


----------



## presley (Apr 30, 2015)

My cards mostly get compromised from online stuff. I don't see how chip and pin would change any of that. 

After 2 of my cards were compromised from a travel agency that was hacked earlier this year, I started to wonder if I should just use Visa cards that you have to load for transacations like that. It would require going to the store with cash to load the card before I could use the card. My other thought was to just not use travel agencies anymore.


----------



## isisdave (Apr 30, 2015)

A lot of credit card issuers have a system where you can go to their website and get a "one-time" card number for online purchases.  Some offer a similar program that will permit recurring charges from the same one merchant for a year.

I'm trying to remember to use this, but it's hard.

In the meantime, I have one card that's mostly for recurring charges. I hope that by not using it elsewhere, it won't be compromised.


----------



## sfwilshire (May 3, 2015)

MuranoJo said:


> My credit union allows me to set it up so that I get alerts EVERY time my checking or debit card get a hit.  I don't use the debit card that often, but it's reassuring to see the notice hit my email within an hour or so after I do use it.
> 
> Just an idea you may want to check into.
> 
> (BTW, we used a debit card in MX and they ran through $8000 6 months later before it was caught--at the time, I didn't have the alert system set up. And fraud was insured on it, so it was all backed out.)



Thanks for the suggestion, but my card has never (yet) had a fraudulent charge. Using it in Miami just triggers a fraud alert so the next time I need to use it, typically to get out of the parking garage at my home airport, it has been blocked. Once I had a phone message while I was on a plane to Dallas that the travel agent couldn't book my flight home because the card was blocked. I have other credit cards, but it complicates my voucher process if I don't use my official work card.

Between that and the crazy toll-by-plate fees I keep getting months later from Thrifty Car Rental, I hope to stay out of Miami. And I'll never rent from Thrifty again there, if anywhere.

Sheila


----------



## Tia (May 3, 2015)

Read online a couple weeks ago there were card scanners found at 81 Florida area gas stations, they were advising people to use cash. A coworker said we had a similar problem in our area, smaller scale recently, her card was compromised, she's dating someone in local law enforcement


----------



## Sandy VDH (May 3, 2015)

I started buying gas station gift cards (at Office Depot or other store) and using them instead of any of my card at gas stations.  Only exception is Costco.  Since doing this NONE of my cards have been compromised.  

Putting a skimmer on a gas pump is one of easier locations to place a device.  No value in stealing a gift card. 

Ripping it off at the POS in a store is harder and is usually traceable to an employee. So it is not done as often.  But it does happen.  Stick to bigger chain stores with better security or stores that you trust.  Online can still be the wild west, so well know sites are better choices.


----------



## Cdn Gal (May 8, 2015)

Last year my cc was compromised in the USA at a gas station in Orlando.  They knew it was immediately because before we left, I called the cc company and told them where we would be...so no purchases in Virginia! 
   As for the chip technology, lol in Walmart in Watertown ny, they  got the machines in because of all of the Canadian cross border shoppers.  It's pretty funny to see Canadians using the chip/pin and the Americans asking us what we are doing when we are paying- in their own country!  I'm sure it will be available soon all over the USA.  But Canada has historically always been more advanced in telecommunications.  That said, the government hasn't been putting the same amount of money into things like they used to, so we are not as ahead as we once were.


----------



## Kay H (May 9, 2015)

It is unbelievable how far these thieves will go.  Someone submitted an income tax return using DH's name and SS# so when we filed it was rejected because of the fraudulent filing.  We are now dealing with this terrible mess.  Hrs of phone calls and paper work aside from the mental anguish.  I hope the person gets caught and spends time in jail along with a high fine.


----------



## Ken555 (May 9, 2015)

It happens. And happened to me today. I'm in the UK currently and my new Barclaycard had a hotel charge from Melbourne, Australia this morning. The bank wants to close the account but that would cause some inconvenience this week so I'm talking with them about it. You'd think they would be able to block all charges outside specified countries designated for authorized use. 

So, it's not just the U.S.  Happens in Canada, too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SueDonJ (May 9, 2015)

Kay H said:


> It is unbelievable how far these thieves will go.  Someone submitted an income tax return using DH's name and SS# so when we filed it was rejected because of the fraudulent filing.  We are now dealing with this terrible mess.  Hrs of phone calls and paper work aside from the mental anguish.  I hope the person gets caught and spends time in jail along with a high fine.



Kay, if you haven't already seen it there's a good thread in the Lounge forum that talks about fraudulent tax returns, Anthem Blue Cross hacked [update - watch for fraudulent tax return].  Good luck!


----------



## Ken555 (May 9, 2015)

Ken555 said:


> It happens. And happened to me today. I'm in the UK currently and my new Barclaycard had a hotel charge from Melbourne, Australia this morning. The bank wants to close the account but that would cause some inconvenience this week so I'm talking with them about it. You'd think they would be able to block all charges outside specified countries designated for authorized use.
> 
> So, it's not just the U.S.  Happens in Canada, too.
> 
> ...




And...there were more than one charge, so I closed the account. They're sending a replacement to the next hotel in a few days. What a pain. Yet, it's a good reminder to always travel with several cards since this is a real possibility these days.


Sent from my iPad


----------



## moonstone (May 9, 2015)

Cdn Gal said:


> Last year my cc was compromised in the USA at a gas station in Orlando.  They knew it was immediately because before we left, I called the cc company and told them where we would be...so no purchases in Virginia!
> As for the chip technology, lol in Walmart in Watertown ny, they  got the machines in because of all of the Canadian cross border shoppers.  It's pretty funny to see Canadians using the chip/pin and the Americans asking us what we are doing when we are paying- in their own country!  I'm sure it will be available soon all over the USA.  But Canada has historically always been more advanced in telecommunications.  That said, the government hasn't been putting the same amount of money into things like they used to, so we are not as ahead as we once were.



We just returned from a month in Florida. Every Walmart we went in had working Chip & PIN reading machines as well as a couple of restaurants, including McDonalds. DH actually showed & explained to a manager of a McD's how he was paying by tapping his chip card on the top of the machine & didn't even have to insert it & put his PIN in!   

But on a more frustrating note - not a single gas station (many different companies) south of the Mason Dixon line accepted our modified ZIP code (made up with our Cndn Postal Code numbers with added zeros) like they used to! 
Sooo frustrating 

~Diane


----------



## Former Cruiser (May 9, 2015)

BMWguynw said:


> The part of it that still rankles on me is how many times I'm standing at a store checkout, and the entire card transaction is between me and a terminal device.  No human ever sees my card, nobody ever asks to see my ID or signature, and they send me out the door on my merry way with a smile and a wave.  They have no idea whatsoever if I'm who the card said I was.  As long as the transaction says "Approved" they're happy.  I could be the Man in the Moon, for all they care. :ignore:
> 
> Dave



And more and more I don't even have to sign for the charge.  I was at Sam's Club's check yourself out and charged almost $100 on my MC.  I was amazed I didn't have to sign anything.  No signing if it's under $25 at CVS. Same for our local grocery store.  At Kohl's the scanner reads, "Hand your card to the associate." None have ever asked me for the card.  I guess as long as they're not responsible they don't care. I like the UK protocol.


----------



## MuranoJo (May 10, 2015)

Signatures don't mean anything.  Check out this UTube video where they tested using fake names.


----------



## CarolF (May 10, 2015)

Former Cruiser said:


> And more and more I don't even have to sign for the charge.  I was at Sam's Club's check yourself out and charged almost $100 on my MC.  I was amazed I didn't have to sign anything.  No signing if it's under $25 at CVS. Same for our local grocery store.



In Australia, for purchases under $100 you can wave and go. For purchases over $100 a PIN is required.


----------



## Talent312 (May 10, 2015)

isisdave said:


> ...I have one card that's mostly for recurring charges. I hope that by not using it elsewhere, it won't be compromised.



I, too, use one care exclusively for recurring pre-authorized charges.
It's used only for phone, cable, insurance, newspaper & similar bills.
My brother does debit from checking, but IMO, that is far more risky.

------------------------
I've had several fraudulent charges to other cards over the years.
More annoying to me is when they proactively decline a legit charge.
... a car rental in Anchorage, a restaurant in Oregon, a hotel in Cannes.
More recently, 2x for groceries in Orlando+Tampa -- fraud for food?
At least now they'll text me and ask if it was legit, so I can reuse.
.


----------



## bellesgirl (May 10, 2015)

isisdave said:


> ...
> In the meantime, I have one card that's mostly for recurring charges. I hope that by not using it elsewhere, it won't be compromised.



I do the same thing - the card has never left my house.  But apparently someone used it to book a hotel in Thailand.  Fortunately the cc company computer felt this was not my typical spending pattern and issued a fraud alert and then sent me a new card.  Real pain to change all my recurring charges.  So nothing is really foolproof.

By the way, we were recently in the UK with our new chip and sign card.  Most vendors, including salespeople at John Lewis, a large department store in London, didn't know what to make of it.  But the cc card reader handled it flawlessly every time.


----------



## carl2591 (May 10, 2015)

I use the Capital One Advantage card and have it set up online when charge come across that is more than $50, you can set the amount, it sends a text to my phone with the amount and merchant. 

Tell you how fast this works.. I can go to a restaurant to eat, get the bill, hand my CC to the server to process, get a text alert for the transaction almost before they get back to the table. 

I HIGHLY suggest you do the same if able with your CC company and to do a credit freeze on credit files at all three credit agencies to help prevent ID theft and protect your credit. 

http://www.clarkhoward.com/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide

PLUS never sign the back of your card, put CHECK ID in a black magic maker in block letters instead. WHY at least the crook will not have your signature and some clerks actually do check the back of the card to see and will ask for ID.. seldom but it does happen.


----------

