• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Preventing Credit Card Fraud / ID Theft

Randy Daytona

Cold War Relic
pilot
Super Moderator
Just got a text from USAA stating they had suspicious charges on my credit card - in California. (don't live there) Immediately called them - they cancelled my credit card and did not charge me. No idea how my card was compromised. USAA customer service was its customary excellent self.

Few things I would pass along:
1) I do keep my credit frozen with Experian - as in I have to pay to unlock it for a credit check. This has worked in the past as I have been "turned down" for credit cards I never applied for.
2) Keep a couple of months cash in a separate checking account (different bank) in the event yours gets drained - this happened to a friend of mine who ended up scrambling as his checking and savings were drained and his bank drug their heels in fixing it.
3) I do have a friend who has a separate small laptop simply to do banking on - and nothing else - to prevent his computer from getting hacked. Haven't gone that far yet but am considering it.
4) I normally check all balances every night for suspicious activity.

Scams I have heard of. Newest one seems to be someone on the other end asking "can you hear me?" when you answer "yes", they have that as "authorization" to charge your card (this was on the local news last week). Don't be tricked.

If anyone has any other suggestions or warnings, list them here. To quote a famous TV show, "Let's be careful out there."
 

Dawgfan

Pending
pilot
Both of our Barclay's Gold cards were compromised within 1 week of each other. In each instance I got a text message asking if the charge was legit within minutes. Someone got $29 bucks of Barclay's gas, but that was it. New cards received the next day. Downside to this immediate reporting is USAA calling your wife while you're deep sea fishing (and out of cell coverage) in Guam and asking her if the $450 bar bill from last night in Guam is legit.
 

Pags

N/A
pilot
Both of our Barclay's Gold cards were compromised within 1 week of each other. In each instance I got a text message asking if the charge was legit within minutes. Someone got $29 bucks of Barclay's gas, but that was it. New cards received the next day. Downside to this immediate reporting is USAA calling your wife while you're deep sea fishing (and out of cell coverage) in Guam and asking her if the $450 bar bill from last night in Guam is legit.
It's from a place called the "Viking."

Hopefully the more computer savvy (@Machine?) will chime in on the utility of a separate laptop. At some point it all connects to the same Internet pipe at your house. What are everyone's thoughts for best practices wrt firewalls, VPN, etc for the home? I use Opera VPN on my phone; not sure how much it's helping but it does keep the ads down.
 

TMarsh

Member
I was at Marine Federal yesterday signing paperwork because of an unauthorized purchase—I had a $2,000 charge from Ethiopia Airlines.
 

OldNavy

Registered User
I have 2 checking accounts at Navy Federal, so I have 2 Visa debit cards.

The "main" account holds most of the money.

The "secondary" account never has more than 100 bucks in it.
I use the "secondary" card at places were I'm more likely to be skimmed,
like at convenience stores or buying gas.

It's easy to shift money between accounts with the Navy Federal app on my phone.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I do what @OldNavy does. I’ve got a checking account with NFCU that I keep about $100 in at any time and use that for gas, ATM, and small purchases. Never use your main account debit card. USAA and Navy Fed have been pretty good about restoring money after I’ve had my debit card swiped, but I’d rather dispute a charge than have several grand disappear when the rent is due.
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Don't use your debit card to pay for anything. EVER.

My debit card is used for ATM withdrawals--period.

Seriously, using credit cards for 99% of your expenses (and paying them off in full) will essentially eliminate your personal liability in the case of a skimmer/hacked website, etc.
Not only that, my impression is that in some industries and/or areas of the country (renting cars in the South for example), it seems the assumption is that if you use a debit card, it means you can't get a credit card, and are treated accordingly risk-wise. As in they either won't take your card or add ridiculous stipulations/fees that are a pain.

Someone swiped my Discover number recently and tried for a shopping spree and a $700 Lyft somewhere. Nope! Nice try. Discover fraud had them sniffed out and a new card in my wallet in two days flat. I never use my debit card anymore.
 

SynixMan

HKG Based Artificial Excrement Pilot
pilot
Contributor
I’ve had awesome luck with American Express. Twice my number was skimmed at bars/restaurants. Both times they caught it when crazy charges were made, froze the card, then overnighted me a replacement.

I would never use a debit card in public. ATMs only.
 

Randy Daytona

Cold War Relic
pilot
Super Moderator
Just got hit again - this time to my Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. Chase customer service has been quite good - they cancelled the card immediately and are sending replacement.

Perhaps I got hit by a credit card skimmer. Mentioned what happened to a coworker and he suggested a new app (Android only) that detects the bluetooth transmissions from skimmers. He seems to like it, anybody else here try this app?

This new app can detect wireless credit card skimmers at gas pumps
Credit card skimmers are getting more advanced -- but that's making them easier to detect.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/this-new-app-can-detect-wireless-credit-card-skimmers-at-gas-pumps/
 

johnny

New Member
Oh yes, I hate those scams. Well, everyone does. I didn't have credit card fraud, but I had ID theft. It happened so fast and not even noticeable. Moreover, I found out that my ID is gone only when I came home. I have spent so many nerves and time on passport replacement. The first thing that I did was to report to my state department. Happily, I did that on time and the scammer didn't do any operation with my ID. Fraud is a big problem in America and all of us should be very careful. Keep your attention when you are outside, walking or using your card. Take care.
 
Top