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Millenium
join:2013-10-30

1 recommendation

Millenium

Member

$9.84 on your credit card?

»money.cnn.com/2014/01/28 ··· id=HP_LN

Watch your card statements.

rfhar
The World Sport, Played In Every Country
Premium Member
join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi

rfhar

Premium Member

I had a dollar two cents once, no way to see who did it. I called and the CU sent me anew card.
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

dave to Millenium

Premium Member

to Millenium
quote:
"If they really don't like online service, we will give them the full refund," the operator assured.
"To allow us to refund your money, please enter your credit card details".

Snowy
Lock him up!!!
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI

1 recommendation

Snowy to Millenium

Premium Member

to Millenium
said by Millenium:

Watch your card statements.

Reconcile all financial statements monthly.
You are your own best defense when it comes to detecting fraud.

re bogus recurring charges: They are the holy grail of card fraud.
Enough go unnoticed to produce an instant & lucrative income stream with very little effort.

That's why when an unfamiliar debit appears if it does turn out be an unauthorized charge it's not enough to just accept a refund from the vendor.

Calling the card issuer to inform them of the unauthorized charge while also requesting a new card be issued, (demanding it if there's any reluctance from the financial institution) is in everyone's best interest except for the fraudsters.
Bachinator
Premium Member
join:2014-01-25

Bachinator to Millenium

Premium Member

to Millenium
I log into my credit card account (as well as my checking account) on a daily basis to keep an eye on fraudulent activity. Takes less than a couple minutes each day to do this. I've had two incidents of a card number being stolen in the last 14 years and I got the misuse stopped quickly.

Snowy
Lock him up!!!
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI

3 recommendations

Snowy

Premium Member

said by Bachinator:

I log into my credit card account (as well as my checking account) on a daily basis...

I wouldn't say it rises to the level of a controversy but there is a difference of opinion in whether online access creates more risk than the convenience is worth.

IMO, online access is more than a convenience, it's the first line of defense in catching fraudulent activity.

It wasn't all that long ago if a person checked their balances/activity on a daily basis they'd be considered somewhat eccentric.
scross
join:2002-09-13
USA

1 edit

1 recommendation

scross to Bachinator

Member

to Bachinator
said by Bachinator:

I log into my credit card account (as well as my checking account) on a daily basis to keep an eye on fraudulent activity.

Turn on your alerts, too, if your accounts have them. I have almost all alert options turned on full blast, sent to both my email address and my smartphone. Most of the time I will be notified within a matter of seconds whenever there is any activity on my account. Experience has shown that there isn't a 100% guarantee that I will receive the alerts in a timely manner or for all configured transactions, but this is rare.

This almost backfired on me once, though. I got alerts about two credit card transactions which went through that I didn't recognize - one small, one large. A small/large set like that is not atypical when someone has stolen a credit card number, where the small charge is just a test to see if the card is still active. I immediately contacted my wife to see if these charges were hers maybe, but she didn't recognize them either. I was in the process of calling the credit card company to have the card shut down when my wife called me back to let me know that they were valid charges after all. This all transpired in a space of maybe five minutes - from the time the transactions went through to the time my wife called me back. But if I hadn't had the alerts turned on then I normally wouldn't have found out about them for days or maybe even weeks.

Yet_Again
@comcast.net

Yet_Again to Millenium

Anon

to Millenium
History does indeed repeat itself: »$9.95 scam.. check your bank statements..

And it will continue to do so because banks and credit card companies make money from such scams. They make money from the normal fees charged to merchants for processing each credit card transaction, and they make even more money from the charge-back fees to the merchant if the victim notices the bogus charge and files a complaint.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

Mele20 to Snowy

Premium Member

to Snowy
said by Snowy:

IMO, online access is more than a convenience, it's the first line of defense in catching fraudulent activity.

It wasn't all that long ago if a person checked their balances/activity on a daily basis they'd be considered somewhat eccentric.

It would take an inordinate amount of time to check every card every day, plus, check your checking account and a credit union account, plus, if your savings accounts are accessible on line or at a ATM (mine not purposely) then that is more to check...daily? I don't think so.

Then there is the problem involving your SS number and setting up online access to a credit card. I refuse to enter my SS number online so I never apply/answer a preapproved invite online. I apply/answer over the phone or mail in an old fashioned paper application (always mailed at the main post office). I just had a ridiculous experience with huge national bank. I got a new credit card with them and two things I thought was poor security. I was told to activate the card ONLINE. Secondly, I was able to log into my old account with this bank (that was closed six months ago but the bank never removed the account in their online banking). So, I logged in thinking I could add the new credit card but I saw no way to do that.

I called the bank and was told I had to create a new account (and Whooops! your old account is still accessible after six months of being closed...sorry, about that)! So, I said I want to create the account over the phone because you will insist on my SS number and I do not enter that online anywhere. I was informed this bank will ONLY allow you to create an account online with no other way to do it. If this wasn't such a nice card, I would have just cancelled it before ever using it at all. Since I want the card, it means I will have to pay it over the phone and checking using an automated phone system every day to see if there is any fraudulent activity is not going to fly.

So, your idea may work for some but not everyone.

Snowy
Lock him up!!!
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI

Snowy

Premium Member

said by Mele20:

So, your idea may work for some but not everyone.

Yes, general advice will never be a good fit for all situations.
re the time involved in checking account activity, the most critical card type to monitor is a debit card which doesn't create a second account that needs to be accessed to see account activity.
A single account access neatly deals with both checks & debit card transactions.

MoreTinFoil
@sbcglobal.net

2 recommendations

MoreTinFoil to Mele20

Anon

to Mele20
I'm all for vigilance and security, but aren't you being unreasonably paranoid? By calling in your SSN or other personal info, you're transmitting your information over an unsecured phone line only to have somebody else enter your credentials into their networked computer instead of you doing it on your own personal device. Neither scenario is without risks, nor is the risk level really decreased for someone who is reasonably security-conscious.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

Mele20

Premium Member

It's not a cell phone. It's not a cordless phone. It's a corded landline which is about as safe as is possible. No cell phone or cordless phone (same thing) user wants to hear that so I am sure I will be told corded landlines are not safe and cell phones are not to be worried about, etc. I just hope Stephen King's Cell comes to pass.
Mele20

Mele20 to Snowy

Premium Member

to Snowy
Yes, a debit card that would be seen as your checking account would be the most crucial to monitor. But BOH is still committed to ATM ONLY cards for at least two more years as I just got a new one in the mail to replace the one that expires the end of this month (and my First Hawaiian one expires even later as does my credit union one) None of the financial institutions have imposed a fee to use them in their ATMs like some banks on the Mainland have. There has been discussion here about Mainland banks doing away with ATM cards (and paper checks) but that won't happen for at least two more years here. I can't see why anyone in Hawaii would get a debit card since paper checks and ATM only cards are still quite prevalent and debit cards are not being forced on anyone.

Snowy
Lock him up!!!
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI

Snowy

Premium Member

said by Mele20:

I can't see why anyone in Hawaii would get a debit card since paper checks and ATM only cards are still quite prevalent and debit cards are not being forced on anyone.

Just to introduce an alternate view on that, for my business account checks are preferred by me because they are almost always issued from the 4 corners of my office walls. (read easy to manage)

Maybe this is a guy thing but with my personal checking account carrying/writing checks on the road is a hassle that I'm glad is gone.
The convenience is an acceptable tradeoff for the security issues they present, IMO
dave
Premium Member
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

1 recommendation

dave to Mele20

Premium Member

to Mele20
But you missed the point that the person at the other end of the phone (in a call center) immediately types your data into a computer that is probably on the internet.

So, you're relying on Call Center Incorporated having better security than you do.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to Snowy

Premium Member

to Snowy
paper checks are bad since they got all your info, acct and routing numbers. any hick with a check program can make black checks with your info.
Millenium
join:2013-10-30

Millenium

Member

I don't fault anyone who has alerts or goes online to review theirs statements every day, but I will mention that the clock on your liability for fraud doesn't start until you learn of it. With debit cards it's 48 hours of learning of it. With credit cars it's 30 days of learning of it. Since I don't do online banking I have 48 hours of receiving and reviewing my statement to report any fraud.

You can also do like I do and limit your exposure to debit card fraud by keeping a separate account at a separate institution with limited funds, no direct deposit, and no overdraft protection just for debit card purposes.
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

Mele20 to Snowy

Premium Member

to Snowy
I hardly use checks but I have to each month for a few accounts that will accept cash or checks only. I can't trust the bank to get the check there on time via Bill Pay so I have to write a few paper checks.

Since I am not one of those "fashionable" gals who thinks a purse should be as large as a suitcase, I too don't like carrying a checkbook. But I use a credit card when traveling or even at home in order to get whatever perks are on the card. I don't use credit cards in ATM machines though. If I need cash, I use an ATM card and if I want to avoid ATM charges for cash withdrawal, if away from Hawaii, then I get travelers checks before I leave and I don't have to pay a fee for them (I suppose that could have changed as I still have some from last time I got them which was a few years ago). I don't travel away from Hawaii much so this works well for me.
Fickey
Terrorists target your backbone
join:2004-05-31

Fickey to Snowy

Member

to Snowy
said by Snowy:

...Calling the card issuer to inform them of the unauthorized charge while also requesting a new card be issued, (demanding it if there's any reluctance from the financial institution) is in everyone's best interest except for the fraudsters.

I haven't kept up with all the changes in banking regs, but at least one major national bank used to allow auto-billings to transfer over to the new account # when reporting a card lost/stolen. I don't know how long that could continue, or if there's different procedures for genuine suspected fraud vs "I'm just too lazy to cancel my gym membership properly", but something to be aware of.