credit card fraud? have you been done recently?

loulou41

Son who is travelling in Central America had three fraudulent purhases on his credit card without his knowedge. It's only when I checked his online account I noticed sooe unusal transactions and e-mailed him to confirm. He has given me power of attorney. He very seldom uses this card as it is for back up only. It is kept in his money belt in his bag and he has not lost it. He has been done for £425. I would welcome any experience of how to recover his money back. The bank insisted he has to phone them himself from abroad and you know how difficult it is to get through to these people. Thanks

wurley

My hubby had his numbers cloned and money taken from an ATM in Montreal...$1000. GE flagged it and called us to check. Stopeed the card etc... We knew where the numbers had been taken as the card is usually only used at the supermarket petrol stns (Safer) and used it only once at the BP station on Martineau Lane, Norwich.... I found out that that stn has been monitored by the Police.

James

The Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser launched its "Stop the Con, It Can't Go On!" campaign last week, calling for the garages concerned to stop using chip-and-pin facilities until they know it is safe for customers.


Story here.

girltuesday_2

I've just been called by Coop about my cc. Apparently three small transactions of a few quid were made, then an attempt for about £200 to Carphone Warehouse which they've declined as the small transactions followed by the big one flagged it for fraud.

They said it was card not present fraud, and they must have got my details from online shopping. I've only used the card once to buy online - so does that mean the online retailer I bought from must be where my details got compromised?

Ironically I used to work in the fraud dept for an investment bank, but that wasn't cards!

harryhound

All it takes is to give your card to an assistant together with something like the guarantee form, showing your address.

Next step is a small trial purchase over the net followed by a big one.

Harry

PS As the banks get better at identifying unusual transactions, the more likely you will be trying to use your card on holiday when it bounces, leaving you with no money.

harryhound

loulou41 wrote: »

Son who is travelling in Central America had three fraudulent purhases on his credit card without his knowedge. It's only when I checked his online account I noticed sooe unusal transactions and e-mailed him to confirm. He has given me power of attorney. He very seldom uses this card as it is for back up only. It is kept in his money belt in his bag and he has not lost it. He has been done for £425. I would welcome any experience of how to recover his money back. The bank insisted he has to phone them himself from abroad and you know how difficult it is to get through to these people. Thanks

Go into your bank and start banging the desk. I had similar problems with my elderly house bound mother for whom I had power of attorney, eventually got 30GBP and a letter of apology.
Start nicely, ask them to explain where it says on their terms and conditions that powers of attorney cannot be accepted (Banks making the law now ? and I thought that was parliament's job, I bet they don't treat a trustee in bankrupcy like that).

loulou41

Son managed to phone & fax them a letter of authorization. I asked about his bill which I have to settle by the 25th, and was told he does not have to pay for these fraudulent transactions, they are not his. It has been cancelled. I took her name and number as I was advised previously I must pay the bill then he will get a refund after they have done their investigation. Now what do I do, do not want to incur daily interest? I seem to get different advice from different adviser. But she did speak to me & discuss his account. Surprise, surprise, she mentioned, there is power of attorney on this account. Anyway, it's all sorted out now. I did not expect it to happen that quickly, I thought he would have to fill a form. It's also possible all the fuss I have made, & a letter of complaint. Thanks for all your help.

clark1982

I use verified by visa, this service ask you to enter a pre-registered password, aswell as your card details.

http://www.visaeurope.com/personal/onlineshopping/verifiedbyvisa/main.jsp

MarkyMarkD

Tindella wrote: »

I appreciate all the responses - but I'm worried that divulging this number opens me up to fraud via the internet. I have just called the credit card company, who also seem to think this is an "OK" practice, but advised me to keep an eye on my transactions listed on my account via the internet - so they're giving me the job of ensuring my safety!! Not good enough, have cancelled the card I used - presumably the hotel has already checked me out - if they haven't, and my room is not available - stuff them - I'll find another one!

No wonder there's so much credit card fraud when we're giving our "security" details over the phone to complete strangers! (No reflection on the people here who work at call centres, I may add! Just the rantings of a worried pensioner! - nothing personal intended!)

Sorry, Tindella, but you are suffering from a common delusion. Closing a credit card account doesn't stop amounts being debited to your account. If the hotel has your details, provided by you to guarantee your room, they are legitimately able to debit your account irrespective of its "closure". The card company will simply re-open it, issue you a statement in the normal way and expect payment.

The situation with continuous payment authorities illustrates this perfectly - if you have a continuous payment authority for, say, a magazine subscription then it will keep being charged to your account forever, irrespective of whether you think you've closed the account.

Closing credit card accounts is a pretty ineffective procedure against any sort of fraud.

John_Pierpoint

James wrote: »

"It's not just Bourne End, we have had reports of people affected in Flackwell Heath and the Wooburns."

Concern has been growing in recent months there may be a huge problem in the area of credit cards being 'cloned' and accounts raided.

Story here.

At Lunchtime today BBC Radio 4 was back on the case. I get the distinct impression that the gangs of card hackers are getting ahead of the banks.

If you have missed it, you should be able to "listen again".

Meanwhile the "Cameron" fraudster still seems to be in business over at

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=4903202&highlight=cameron#post4903202 c

So the police do nothing and I am still waiting for a reply from Lord Goldsmith the man responsible for government policy.