HSBC security a joke. Talk about 'BIG BROTHER'

Tigsmom

I have a credit card with HSBC. I owe around 6k and shouldn't really use it as I can only afford the minimum payments. That said sometimes I have to. Around 3 months ago I used it to buy my husband a cd for his birthday from the kids. The cd was £3.95 from Amazon. Next thing HSBC have left a message on my answer machine from the 'fraud squad' asking me to ring them. I checked my account, no problems so rang them. After being transferred several times and 5mins on the phone 0845 number (how much did that cost?) I was asked if I had bought the cd. I said yes. They said that was all. :mad: SERIOUSLY? Does £3.95 really constitute a fraud risk?

Then yesterday the same happens again because last week I had to buy my daughter a £2.45 handbook for scouts from Amazon. So now I have to ring the 0845 number again to explain myself. I feel like they're watching my every move!:(

meer53

Fraudsters quite often make small purchases initially to test whether the card is live. They then move on to much bigger purchases. Fraudsters also like shopping online, Amazon is a favourite.

Tigsmom

So will they call me every time I use the card, no matter how small? I've been buying from Amazon for years.

poppy10_2

Would have thought you'd be glad that your card is so secure. As pointed out above, fraudsters often make test purchases before completely maxing out your cards - much better to deal with a phone call than having to clear up the mess after you have been a victim of card fraud.

If you give them your mobile then you won't have to deal with messages on your home answering maching and having to call them back on 0845 numbers. With barclaycard they are now doing it by text - you just text back to confirm that you made the purchases, and that's it - takes seconds, and gives you the peace of mind that even if your card is stolen, they will be on to the fraudsters pretty quickly before too much damage is done.

poppy10_2

Tigsmom wrote: »

So will they call me every time I use the card, no matter how small? I've been buying from Amazon for years.

It's about how unusual the transaction is. If your last transaction was three months ago and then you didn't use the card for ages, then it's pretty reasonable for it to throw up a red flag when the card is finally used again.

bargainbetty

I had a similar issue with Halifax/Amazon recently. Apparently there was a fraud alert with traders on there using stolen cards to buy items but not sending the goods - effectively money laundering, using small transactions in large volume.

It might be that one of the traders you are purchasing from is located in a dodgy region, or has had complaints or financial trading issues, or just had a suspiciously large number of orders that day, and the bank wanted to check it really was you using your card.

Edit - everyone got there first!

Tigsmom

Yes but I would have contacted Amazon if I hadn't received the goods and they would have dealt with it. They are supposed to be a reputable company thats why I buy from them.

I hate being called by banks and certainly would not give them my mobile number! I sometimes they use 'fraud' as an excuse to try and flog you another product as the 'fraud department' are only too keen to talk about them once the initial 'problem' has been dealt with. Last time the guy I spoke to tried to get me to switch other credit cards over or take out a loan! I check my bank account every day - they know this because I bank online and I log on securely (apparently). If there was a problem I would contact THEM. I have been considering getting rid of my home phone altogether because I don't use it. I have put in my contact preferences to HSBC to contact me by email or THEIR secure message system yet they ignore that and still ring me.

Billy-no-Money

I had a similar experience with an HSBC debit card, but worse still they actually blocked the card BEFORE they spoke to me!

I'd done a long round trip on my motorbike over two days and used my debit card for the M6 Toll (twice) and five lots of petrol - bike tanks are small and I like to fill up around the £15 mark. So I made a series of small transactions outside of my home area.

After I'd got home, that very evening, they rang me to say there had been fraudulent activity and my card was blocked. Then they checked all the transactions with me and, lo and behold, they were all legitimate.

When I tried to complain I was met with a stone wall of standard letters and eventually gave up, moving my account elsewhere and learning an important lesson - don't rely on just one card!

I have no problem with fraud detection looking for unusual usage, and before that happened I'd had a credit card company spot some actual fraud (megabus tickets) - but they rang me before blocking the card.

To the OP - these calls can seem to be a pain, but when you find your card has been genuinely used for fraud it's a lifesaver. My advice though is to keep a list of recent transactions to hand - e.g. keep the slips in your wallet for a few days.

poppy10_2

Tigsmom wrote: »

I hate being called by banks and certainly would not give them my mobile number!

You can opt out of marketing messages fairly easily with any major bank. With Barclaycard they only ever use my mobile for fraud prevention calls. This used to be an automated computer-generated message (you just pressed 1 to confirm the transaction the computer voice read out) so there was no scope for any marketing messages. Nowadays they do it by text.

whitewing

I doubt it is for this purpose, but surely anything that makes you stop and really consider whether you really need something is to be welcomed, especially if you can't afford min payments and have a relatively large balance.

Tigsmom

My husbands card was hacked by someone in USA but HSBC failed to spot it until he rang them:doh:but that was for a large amount. In the end he could prove he was in the UK (they just needed to check his cash machine withdrawals to see that) and he got the money back.

The last time I made I large purchase I rang them beforehand to let them know. They seemed bemused by this and said "you can use your card for transactions up to £250 a day so no need to ring" but when I said every time I use my card they ring me they seemed surprised. Yet here they are doing it again!

I know they need to do security checks and I am grateful (honestly) but I do feel a bit harrassed when they call me every time! The card I used last time has expired now and I have a new one but I'm not going to activate it. It's time I stopped using my card altogether.