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A warning:
I thought I was soooooo careful with my credit card details, but it seems even the most scrupulously careful can be targeted. Just wanted to warn everyone to make sure you check your card statements for anything unusual on a regular basis. My business card statement came in yesterday and there were five transactions, each for the same amount to the same company. I didn't recognise any of them so I called the card company and yep, it's fraud. Fortunately the card company will refund me, but in the meantime, I'm over £80 down and now have no credit card for my business until the new one arrives with a new account number. Very inconvenient and annoying! 
I've scanned my pc to within an inch of its life as this deception can only have been achieved by scamming my card number from the internet ... I'm hoping that's an end to the problem, but who knows? :pray:
dusty attic bearsIt's always a worry to use your cards on the net, but i must admit that i do all the time.Thankfully so far so good.Is there anything else that we can do to help stop this?.I know to always look for the padlock symbol to show a secure site.But are there any other things we should look out for?
I'm really sorry to hear that this has happened to you Paula. Christmas time aswell. These people make me soooooooo mad
glad that you found it soon enough to get your money back though. 
Posts: 8,574Awww Paula
I am sorry this happened to you.
Mr. Paranoid gets us new cards every 6-8 months....just because everything i buy is on the internet. And I seem to be into e-bay a lot lately.
Yes its annoying not to have a card for a week-so I stock up ahead of time.
I second your admonition-check those statements.
We get all of ours online and can check them anytime we want. Its a useful service from an otherwise useless bank....
gollyhugs
dilu
Past Time BearsTHanks much for pointing that out, Paula, but so sorry that you needed to! Hope it will get all straightened out promptly!
Dolls N DreamsSorry about that, hope it all works out!
Paula, that entirely stinks. I'm so, so sorry you have to deal with this, and hope it resolves for you soon. It's quite possible that this is a case of internet fraud; I'm always afraid of that when I charge something on the web.
Having said that, I want to advise you and everyone here not to be so sure this happened via transactions run through the internet. When you order something from the internet, what do you need? Well:
-- The name (yours) on the card
-- The card number
-- The expiration date
-- Card type (MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, etc.)
-- Sometimes, the security code on the back
Anyone who has physical access to your card can jot down this information; even the salesperson who works a register across from you and is just slightly out of sight when you're buying bread, or socks, or diapers. If you're getting a pedicure, and you hand your card to someone to run through their machine while your tootsies dry, your pedicurist can take your credit card information really easily.
And let's not forget the one person we're ALL most likely to hand our credit card over to, and then sit for ten minutes and wait for it's return: the waiter at your favorite restaurant!, often some kid hard up on cash, who takes your card entirely out of sight for, frankly, a really long period of time, and then brings it back to you.
Anyway, I just wanted to be sure nobody here is pulling their hair out specifically over internet transactions. Frankly, it's much easier for Joe Average criminal to get ahold of your credit card information by waiting your next table and having a pen, than by hacking the internet.
Posts: 3,540Great minds think alike Shelli I was just about to relate what happened to a friend at a pizza place... He'd forked over his credit card and noticed the kid swiping his card had brought up his cell phone, and clicked a picture. Luckily the friend has a similar cell phone and recognized the tone the phone makes when it snaps the pic. He raised holy hell with the kid and told him to erase the pic he'd just taken of the credit card. Do you know this kid just smirked?? He erased the pic, but honestly!!!! Me personally I would have been prosecuting the puppy, or at least dunking his head in the toilets....
I've said it before, but stealing is stealing no matter how its done! I think some of the kids of today don't realize how much damage they do when they scam people's credit cards like this.
Paula I'm so sorry you had to go through all this mess, but THANK YOU for the head's up and the timely reminder to check the credit card statements!! :hug:
Good points raised there, thanks Shelli. However, this particular instance of credit card fraud stems from Colombia according to the fraud department and is a well known 'phishing' scam. I imagine they succeed by putting smallish amounts (in my case, five lots of £17.63) through on cards so they slide under the radar ... if I didn't check my statements carefully each month, I wouldn't have realised until much further down the track. GRRRRR!!!
Sorry that this has happened to you Paula and I hope that you can get it sorted soon.
Hugs
Carolyn
Bine-TeddiesSorry this happened to you Paula. Last year my bank's server was hacked (not that they ever admitted that, but it was on the news) and my card was used to buy computer stuff for $2,000. I cancelled the card as soon as I found out, just a day after the theft, when checking my account online. They even stole the security code and the bank tied to pin it on me, but quickly retreated and re-imbursed me. Took them three months to close the investigation, during which I had my money only temporarily awaiting the final decision. The police dropped the case two days after I reported it. They would have had a chance to catch the guy when he picked up his goods, since i discovered it almost immediately, but nooooo. I lowered my card limit and have different cards for internet shopping and brick and mortar shops. Never give my card to a waiter who disappears with it either. Banks almost always cover the damages, since they want us to use cards and they don't want to invest in better security (which is availbale), but it sure is a scare.
Delartful BearsOh gee, this is frightening!!!!!!
Thanks for the alert Paula, & I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the last time for you
Danni
Cleathero CreationsUgh that is no good.
I have a visa DEBIT card which I use on an account that has very little money in it.... like none until I transfer across.
Posts: 3,540Not to totally scare people silly, but hubs and I refused to have Debit cards after we discovered in the US, if a thief steals your card and uses it to empty your account, the bank will not honor that...they will not refund your money.
To make matters worse, when we had our account with a credit union, there was a bank employee that was skimming less than $50.00 a month, but it was causing our account to go into overdraft Hubby NEVER makes a mistake when it comes to accounting ~ever. The first time we blew off as a mistake, we're all human, but the second ~ no. We actually float extra money in our account to cover this sorta thing. When we confronted the credit union, they denied of course, but we found out later this guy was fired after having scammed who knows how much money from various accounts. Apparently amongst the bankers, they'll turn their heads if its under a certain amount as they don't want their customers scared silly.
Cleathero CreationsREally about the debit card? In Oz it isn't like that at all. ut keeping the account empty stops the transaction in Oz as well. Its amazing how the sme thing can have different rules.
Chaska, MinnesotaAll of you are bringing up good points to protect our credit cards. I would like to add another precaution to the list.
When you are using your credit card look at the person behind you to make sure they are not using a cell phone. My aunt had complete possession of her credit card, never handed it over to the cahier but apparently somebody snapped a picture of her card while she was swiping it through the machine. They were stupid enough to use her number to have pizza delivered. So cover your card when doing your transactions and look to see what others are doing around you... There are some very sneaky people out there....
Also when in a web site if you see "http://" it is not secure. Secure websites have https://. It has to have the "s" meaning secure. So I'm told...Can anybody confirm that? For I buy on Amazon and I don't see the "s" but It is a reputable site. So how do we know if the web site is secure?
This was a very good thread to educate everybody...
Cleathero Creationsif the webite is secure on your bottom bar there should be a padlock. Never use a site without one. the http and https have to do with html coding not security.
Great advice ... thanks everyone. I didn't know some of this stuff and it's invaluable!
Since this happened to me, I've scanned my computer to within an inch of its life. However, I'm still not certain it's totally safe! I've scanned using McAffee/Panda/TrendMicro/Spybot/Hijackthis ... and each shows different things! Does anyone know how you know for sure you have nothing implanted on your machine?
Bine-TeddiesDoes anyone know how you know for sure you have nothing implanted on your machine?
Well, I don't want to sound smug, but use a Macintosh. In theory, Macs can be implanted too, but as far as I know it hasn't happened yet. I keep a guard program running watching for any unauthorized transmissions going out from my computer (none detected so far) and my built-in firewall on, as well as all the security configurations that our hub offers. Honestly, I would never dare connect a PC to the internet or at least not use it for sensitive information, but that's just me. 90% of all home computers are Windows PCs, which makes it much more worthwhile to hack Windows than Mac. On top of that, experts say that Windows is a lot easier to hack than other systems.
The other solution for you if you use a PC and are worried, would of course be to wipe your harddisk with a really deeply formatting program and then reinstall everything clean, including protective programs, before you ever go online again. And make sure you subscribe to regular (daily) virus updates and that your anti-spyware is always up-to-date.
Here in Sweden some banks offer one-time card codes for internet shopping. You create a card number and security code, which are valid for a short period, such as 24 hrs or a week or whatever you need and then you use that number for a single payment transaction. If its stolen its no longer valid and your real card number is never transmitted. Different banks use different methods and different ones for PC and Mac, but its pretty safe. Choose a bank that offers this or other safety solutions (such as a box connected to your computer, encoding your card number or things like that) and thus force the banks to come up with better security. Its really their fault and as customers we should demand better security, especially if they won't take the fall in the case of theft.
What great advice - thanks Sabine!
I'm in the 90%, so can't take advantage of the MAC protection, but I do use a firewall and have daily updates to my McAffee for spyware and virus protection.
I think the idea of having a card number and code generated for short periods of time is a really good one! I haven't heard of that on offer in the UK though. Fingers crossed for the future.
I had a call 2 days ago and my CC has been used for thousands of dollars in purchases across the States! Mostly for electronics some purchases in excess of $2300! YICKES
The last time I use my card was at a Hotel chain in early Dec. The individual did about 12 transactions for $1 just to verify that the card worked and then went for the big stuff! I don't even use this card very often so I'm thinking something was funny at the Hotel. I could be wrong but before that charge its probably been 6 - 8 months since I used it.
Jane
Oh my goodness Jane ... that's terrible! Makes mine look like small fry. I hope you get it all resolved very quickly.
Bine-TeddiesYikes Jane! 
I keep all crossables crossed that you won't have to suffer the damage.
The CC Company actually contacted me about the fraud. The purchases were all made on the 24th and 25th of Dec some at stores and some online! I won't have to pay anything but my card was canceled and I have to sign an affidavit to verify that these purchases aren't mine and then the investigation starts. There were 18 charges in total already, 2 for over $2000, 2 for over $500 and 2 for almost $300.
Thank goodness that the CC Company has a system to watch for these things! I probably would have been upset with my hubby when I received the bill 
Jane
Chaska, MinnesotaPaula wrote:Does anyone know how you know for sure you have nothing implanted on your machine?
I'm not an expert but I was advised by computer people to install Norton Internet security. It is a pain but when I run reports, nothing has gotten through to my computer. It also has daily update and all but the just having the Norton antivirus is not enough...But again, I don't use my computer for a business and tranactions.
I think using Pay-Pal lends some protection too....I think....
Just my two cents here
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)We noted our first identity theft a few years ago by reading the monthly statements (which are all online now and accessible 24/7 so it didn't happen 2 weeks before you see it). In the States transactions are identified by the 2 letter code of the state in which the sales was made. I noted a few sales for $39.95 in 'KN' in August and thought, "Well, DH bought s few things."
In Nov they appeared again and I realized the state ID was wrong - there's no KN. I called and it was monthly memberships to [INVALID] sites. (I demanded they be removed as I wasn't paying them. With the KN designation, Citibank admitted to having dropped the ball)
I told Don there was Good News & Bad News:
Good - They were eventually rescinded
Bad - He'd 'Paid' and not gotten the bang for his buck!
