debit card fraud

[Rob Flinn]

I consider myself pretty careful about using my debit card, but recently have had attempted fraud twice on my account. 

The first time was about 2 months ago, when I got a call from my bank whoc had flagged a fraudulent transaction on my account, & cancelled the existing card & gave me a new one. 
I buy parts from suppliers that I phone up & give my card details to.  Thinking that perhaps it was this divulging of the details that might be causing  the fraud I deliberately tried to avoid having to verbally communicate my card details, I made a point of ordering online so I could pay via secure server, therefore avoiding anyone having my details.

Anyway blow me down but I get another call from the bank & already my new card has been hacked & another fraudulent transaction, this time someone ordering something from Europe in Euros.  So I'm puzzled how my card details were ripped off already.  I'm guessing it's some computer nerd hacking the details from somewhere.

SO I'm currently waiting for another new card.  I was talking with the bank official in an effort to  see if there were any more precautions I could take to avoid this happening again, but they weren't really suggesting anything.  I'm just wondering if anyone's got any tips that I have overlooked.

Bearing in mind that in the UK the card uses chip & pin, it's quite difficult for someone to skim your card.  So that leads me to believe that some must have the full details of my card including the 3 digit security number

 

[Kingston]

Not all webstores require the 3-pin number. At its easiest, they just need your name, address, and credit card number with expiry date. It doesn't take a "computer nerd" to do it.

I think your computer might be compromised or someone has been going through your trash.

 

[Marik]

A couple years ago we paid attention that one day around $2,000 was gone from our checking account. The bank made an investigation and it turned out that somebody in North Carolina (some 1,500 miles away from SLC) went into a Mac store and with a physical card in hand (!!!) bought a Mac PowerBook Pro (I would not mind having one myself). Interesting enough, my and my wife's actual cards were in our wallets, so nobody never even stole them.

Best, M

 

[Rob Flinn]

Not all webstores require the 3-pin number. At its easiest, they just need your name, address, and credit card number with expiry date. It doesn't take a "computer nerd" to do it.

I think your computer might be compromised or someone has been going through your trash.

I seem to always be asked for the 3 pin security number & I also shred any sensitive doscuments before I throw themn in the rubbish, so i don't think it's that.

 

[zebra50]

Hi Rob,

I had something similar last year - someone used my business mastercard on-line to order 48 quid of pizzas and 400 worth of fashion items, delivered to an address in London (we're in York, 220 miles away).

Still have no idea how it happened, and eventually got a refund. Scary thing is that the on line retailers would deliver to an unregistered address.

Just scary really. Keep checking your accounts and report stuff immediately when it happens.

 

[JohnRoberts]

There are lots of ways for credit/debit card numbers to be compromised.

One of the more secure approaches I've seen is from mastercard where they can issue temporary card numbers only good for one transaction or only a couple days, making it hard for somebody to capture and reuse that number.

This is an ongoing battle and some hackers have hacked into bank and major industry databases giving them millions or hundreds of thousands of good CC numbers.

It seems the MC approach would work OK but you need to be at your computer to use it, so not too convenient for shopping. Cash still works for that, at least for now.

JR

PS: I hear that hackers are messing with the mastercard website today, or something like that, because they (M/C) shut down the wikileaks cash spigot. friggin anarchists...   

 

[Biasrocks]

Bummer about the rip-off, there's more ways to skin that cat than anyone has thought of.

PS: I hear that hackers are messing with the mastercard website today, or something like that, because they (M/C) shut down the wikileaks cash spigot. friggin anarchists...    

Yeah, a little of their own medicine for a change.

Governments everywhere just hate when you hold their feet to the fire,
but don't give it a second thought when it's them stoking the fires in the
name of "democracy".

Mark

 

[sodderboy]

That's too bad.  I never used the debit cards from day 1, no matter what "they" said.  You can get cleaned-out and no one is responsible.  Bankers admit it every time I explain why I will destroy the debit card. 
I do not believe in carrying a balance, so I put my trust in VISA and AMEX.  They are on the hook for spotting fraud after I cover the first $50.  And they watch very closely.
Cash is great, and I gladly work for it, but when I am spending I prefer the paper trail and not handing over a Halliburton full of Benjamins if I want to rent a car.
And the ability to kite $5K in purchases for 35 days interest free works well also.
Mike

 

[zayance]

Had same issue a couple of months ago, 470euros worth of transaction, when it bugged me is when this person did one big order, small ones are the killers, i usually always check, and at that moment i wasn't, anyway got refund, and i had to reporte to police station, and they seem to have found the guy because they call me asking if i knew him, seems like he had done a couple of 100 differents transactions using more than a 100 different card codes  , what was crazy about my fraud is that one was done on a clothing webstore, and because i was curious i just called them, and it appears like he used my name for the invoice adress, but his adress there, and same for delivery, that i couldn't get, because i tought your billing adress must match your credit card "adress" seems not, but anyway all these guys know where to order where security is at its minimum, i mean this clothing webstore wich is a big name here in France don't even have verified by Visa, while most small webstore have it, ridiculous....