tshile
Guest
So my american express credit card was compromised.
Which is funny because I just finished writing about this sort of thing here: http://www.bgobsession.com/showpost.php?p=132804&postcount=2
Specifically the shopping online section.
So I thought I'd make a thread to share the story, and to reiterate some things that I said in that post for those who saw the gigantic wall of texts I post in there and said 'No thanks'.
I noticed charges on my card in the last bill. Two of them, both to "WALMART.COM AR ...." The first was for $40 even, the second for $39.98.
I don't have a walmart.com account. I don't shop at walmart.com, hell I hate shopping at walmart the real store much less walmart the virtual store.
I certainly hadn't made any purchases from there in recent memory, much less two in the same week (6 days apart, last week), or for similar values.
So I immediately called American Express. The charges are in the process of being disputed. The great thing is that since I used a credit card I get to keep my money while the charges are investigated, this is counter to a debit card (which I explain the post referenced above) where you're out the money while:
a) the bank decides if the charges are fraudulent
b) the bank and merchant argue over who is responsible for the fraudulent transaction and try to figure out who should be reimbursing you (if anyone).
Now, it was only ~$80, so if I was out that it wouldn't have been the end of the world. But typically the way these things work is that person A steals your credit card information; they then run a few bogus charges against it for minimal amount of money to verify that the account information works without spooking you into canceling your card (hence a low amount charged to walmart. who doesn't shop at walmart? well, i don't... at least not regularly...). They then sell the information (in bulk. you're just one line in their text file of thousands of compromised accounts) in 'underground' hacker/criminal communities as 'Verified' (verified accounts are worth more than unverified) to person B who actually uses it for identity theft purposes (big charges). I was able to catch them before they could get to person B and was lucky.
So, if you are still using your debit card to make online transactions please consider changing your methods. The difference between credit and debit is where the money immediately comes from when the transaction is processed. With a credit card you have a safe buffer zone you can use to protect yourself in these situations.
To give you an idea, if I had paid for the charges and noticed them a month later I'd be in a much different boat in terms of leverage.
Side note:
When I called American Express the person on the other line 'wasn't sure' I should cancel my card and get a new one, due to it 'only' being two fraudulent charges. Do not listen to these people when they tell you this. If your card has been compromised it has been compromised. Don't wait for thousand dollar charges to start appearing before you cancel the card.
I'm not sure why anyone would be trained, or allowed, to make such a suggestion in such a situation.
Which is funny because I just finished writing about this sort of thing here: http://www.bgobsession.com/showpost.php?p=132804&postcount=2
Specifically the shopping online section.
So I thought I'd make a thread to share the story, and to reiterate some things that I said in that post for those who saw the gigantic wall of texts I post in there and said 'No thanks'.
I noticed charges on my card in the last bill. Two of them, both to "WALMART.COM AR ...." The first was for $40 even, the second for $39.98.
I don't have a walmart.com account. I don't shop at walmart.com, hell I hate shopping at walmart the real store much less walmart the virtual store.
I certainly hadn't made any purchases from there in recent memory, much less two in the same week (6 days apart, last week), or for similar values.
So I immediately called American Express. The charges are in the process of being disputed. The great thing is that since I used a credit card I get to keep my money while the charges are investigated, this is counter to a debit card (which I explain the post referenced above) where you're out the money while:
a) the bank decides if the charges are fraudulent
b) the bank and merchant argue over who is responsible for the fraudulent transaction and try to figure out who should be reimbursing you (if anyone).
Now, it was only ~$80, so if I was out that it wouldn't have been the end of the world. But typically the way these things work is that person A steals your credit card information; they then run a few bogus charges against it for minimal amount of money to verify that the account information works without spooking you into canceling your card (hence a low amount charged to walmart. who doesn't shop at walmart? well, i don't... at least not regularly...). They then sell the information (in bulk. you're just one line in their text file of thousands of compromised accounts) in 'underground' hacker/criminal communities as 'Verified' (verified accounts are worth more than unverified) to person B who actually uses it for identity theft purposes (big charges). I was able to catch them before they could get to person B and was lucky.
So, if you are still using your debit card to make online transactions please consider changing your methods. The difference between credit and debit is where the money immediately comes from when the transaction is processed. With a credit card you have a safe buffer zone you can use to protect yourself in these situations.
To give you an idea, if I had paid for the charges and noticed them a month later I'd be in a much different boat in terms of leverage.
Side note:
When I called American Express the person on the other line 'wasn't sure' I should cancel my card and get a new one, due to it 'only' being two fraudulent charges. Do not listen to these people when they tell you this. If your card has been compromised it has been compromised. Don't wait for thousand dollar charges to start appearing before you cancel the card.
I'm not sure why anyone would be trained, or allowed, to make such a suggestion in such a situation.