Which company has been hacked this time?

Be_Happy

Here we go again.

Back in May I got a call from Capital One to say that there was a suspected fraudulent 'test purchase' on my account and they had closed the account and would issue new cards. All went well after this.

Today, another phone call from them. Different this time in that no one had tried to access my account, but my card had been identified in an industry wide warning of cards that could have been 'compromised' and they had closed down my account and would be issuing new cards.

I asked what had caused this warning and was told that they couldn't go into detail, but it was a specific warning and this usually meant that there had been a security issue somewhere the card had been used.

I have used the card with 14 retailers on the internet since this replacement card was issued in May, so am really curious as to where the security problem has been. Thank goodness I followed a security tip last year not to use a main credit card on the internet, but to set up another card with a small limit for use only on the net.

What really miffed me though was that when I asked if a purchase I made yesterday using the card had gone through I was told it had been declined. The website showed the purchase as complete, so this was the first I had heard of it not going through. I had to phone the company and use my debit card for the purchase instead.

DestroyingAngel_2

There are certain merchants that have had their database of customer details hacked into, or there has been a leak of customer information somewhere, most probably online. Hence the term "mass compromise". Capital One's Fraud department selected your card as a potential target; it does not mean your card HAS been compromised, but, just to be on the safe side, Cap One decided to close and transfer your account.