Comments on: Credit Card Information Stolen

By: edenz713

edenz713 — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 21:10:08 +0000

I got a call like that once – no fraud but I had purchased $0.75 worth of stamps at the postal service (which apparently showed up as USPS – they had no change for my $20) and then bought my laptop (~$1000) online about two hours later. The person who called didn’t know what USPS was – which I thought was interesting.

By: Single Ma

Single Ma — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 17:33:11 +0000

Oh ok, I was wondering if he had to say something specific to get them to verify it. I don’t like it when cc companies call me at all. Not even for a trial offer of some rip off service (lol). I prefer to initiate the phone call so I know it’s legit. After my recent experience with OneUnited (they use 3rd party companies for CSR/tech support, the phone reps ask for social when they don’t even work for the bank), I don’t even know if that’s true anymore.

Thanks for sharing your dad’s story. It’s a safety reminder to us all.

By: pfadvice

pfadvice — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 16:25:54 +0000

When you said “He immediately did the correct thing and asked if they could call him back in about 5 minutes as he wanted to call and verify it was really the credit card company calling. He called, verified�

By: Single Ma

Single Ma — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 16:08:51 +0000

This is interesting…

Who did he call? What did he ask? What did they actually verify?

By: Cliff

Cliff — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 15:48:03 +0000

When I worked at MBNA (now Bank Of America) the fraud department used a lot of different algorithms to detect fishy behavior on cards. The expiration date is, of course, a dead giveaway. But other indications are things like a small purchase at a gas station or convenience store followed immediately by a high-priced item. Most crooks try out the card somewhere inconspicuous, like a convenience store or gas station to make sure the card works. I guess the theory is that if the card fails it is easier to back out of a convenience store than a big purchase.

Other warning signs are sudden spending sprees that make no sense unless viewed in the context of a crook looking for easily fenced goods. Something like buying 10 $200 TV’s from wal-mart would definitely set off alarms.