Barclaycard Fraudulent Transaction

toby_puppy

Hi
Not sure if this is correct category, but here goes.

I logged into Barclaycard online tonight and nearly died when I saw that my balance included a transaction of £1850 which wasn't mine.

It was on 18 February to a Plumbing Company in Northern Ireland and it said underneath "signature used". I live in North Wales and have never been to Ireland.

I phoned Barcalycard who said they would investigate and that my card is covered against fraud, but I am really curious as to how the heck this happened, mainly because I have never lost my actual card, I have never let it out of my sight in a shop, have only used PIN number for purchases (not signature) and never used it to withdraw money at a cash machine.

So how does someone manage to make a card the same as mine and go somewhere where they don't ask for a PIN number to be entered and let them sign for £1850 goods.

I do shop on Ebay and Amazon, I use paypal and secure sites for online purchases but this is making me very wary of everything now.

I have got them to block the card and send out a new one which will show a different number, so hopefully they won't be able to defraud my account again. Just very puzzled at how a scenario like this would arise??

MamaMoo_2

toby_puppy wrote: »

Hi
Not sure if this is correct category, but here goes.

I logged into Barclaycard online tonight and nearly died when I saw that my balance included a transaction of £1850 which wasn't mine.

It was on 18 February to a Plumbing Company in Northern Ireland and it said underneath "signature used". I live in North Wales and have never been to Ireland.

I phoned Barcalycard who said they would investigate and that my card is covered against fraud, but I am really curious as to how the heck this happened, mainly because I have never lost my actual card, I have never let it out of my sight in a shop, have only used PIN number for purchases (not signature) and never used it to withdraw money at a cash machine.

So how does someone manage to make a card the same as mine and go somewhere where they don't ask for a PIN number to be entered and let them sign for £1850 goods.

I do shop on Ebay and Amazon, I use paypal and secure sites for online purchases but this is making me very wary of everything now.

I have got them to block the card and send out a new one which will show a different number, so hopefully they won't be able to defraud my account again. Just very puzzled at how a scenario like this would arise??

It could be any number of things really.
The main two I can think of are card skimming, usually where a device is fitted to an ATM or a shop assistant uses a skimming device. See here http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/CardSkimming
The other is that there may be malware or spyware on your computer, something like a keylogger that has collected your details and forwarded them to a third party. See here http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystroke_logging

Run a virus scan on your computer, there are plenty of free ones out there, I've always used AVG or Avast. This will help identify if it's the latter.
To avoid the former, always check ATMs for suspicious devices, and never let a shop assistant take your card out of your sight.

Fire_Fox

Agree run an antivirus and a malware scan on your computer, the MSE Techies board like Avira Antivir and Malwarebytes (update before scanning).

Do you a general update and clean (CCleaner and Filehippo Update Checker are good progs) make sure all your passwords are secure. PayPal is pretty secure, Amazon stores card details and browsers can store website passwords including the one for Amazon ... Don't use Microsoft e-mail or browser, they are often 'attacked' because they are so commonly used.

Lastly what do you do with old statements, receipts and invoices? Are you shredding everything that has any card details on? They don't need your real signature, they just need the (fake) signature to match the one on the (fake) card.

Squidgy66

There is a new national on line reporting system for any fraud or financially motivated internet crime. It only became live the beginning of this month so is little known at present.

Google Action Fraud and it takes to to a national police website. Call your local police if in any doubt and they will advise you to the same site.

arcon5

Have you recently made an online purchase from a website you've never used before or something?

pmduk

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Agree run an antivirus and a malware scan on your computer, the MSE Techies board like Avira Antivir and Malwarebytes (update before scanning).

Do you a general update and clean (CCleaner and Filehippo Update Checker are good progs) make sure all your passwords are secure. PayPal is pretty secure, Amazon stores card details and browsers can store website passwords including the one for Amazon ... Don't use Microsoft e-mail or browser, they are often 'attacked' because they are so commonly used.

Lastly what do you do with old statements, receipts and invoices? Are you shredding everything that has any card details on? They don't need your real signature, they just need the (fake) signature to match the one on the (fake) card.

With no disrespect to Fire Fox, be careful about clicking on links in forum posts, specially for security or financially sensitive issues. Always double check the sites that they lead you to. NB All of the links in the post quoted are safe, but it's a point worth remembering.

dalesrider

toby_puppy wrote: »

I phoned Barcalycard who said they would investigate and that my card is covered against fraud, but I am really curious as to how the heck this happened, mainly because I have never lost my actual card, I have never let it out of my sight in a shop, have only used PIN number for purchases (not signature) and never used it to withdraw money at a cash machine.

Hope they stopped and replaced the card....

toby_puppy wrote: »

So how does someone manage to make a card the same as mine and go somewhere where they don't ask for a PIN number to be entered and let them sign for £1850 goods.

Best quess is that the retailer has keyed the number into a terminal and then pressed the signed for button.
Not uncommon.

toby_puppy wrote: »

I have got them to block the card and send out a new one which will show a different number, so hopefully they won't be able to defraud my account again. Just very puzzled at how a scenario like this would arise??

You mean to say it was not the 1st thing they did :eek:

Every time you use your card the retailer system/till roll has the full card number on it.

toby_puppy

Hi dalesrider, yes they have stopped and replaced the card. Funny though, they didn't offer to do that, I had to ask them and they said yes OK, if you'd like us to do that. Erm, yes, maybe you should if someone has got my details!

It is the first time it's happened - I just meant I hope it doesn't happen to me again.

toby_puppy

hi, I use AVG and ran a virus check this morning and that is all clear. think I will try and do a malware check later, but now I'm suspicious of every link I click on at the moment! :eek:

The other thing I wondered, was it maybe a genuine transaction on someone's card with a similar number to mine keyed in correctly and it has landed on my account instead.

Am also going to get a copy of my credit report and check everything on there.

toby_puppy

thank you to all users who have posted a reply for me.

Squidgy66

toby_puppy wrote: »

hi, I use AVG and ran a virus check this morning and that is all clear. think I will try and do a malware check later, but now I'm suspicious of every link I click on at the moment! :eek:

The other thing I wondered, was it maybe a genuine transaction on someone's card with a similar number to mine keyed in correctly and it has landed on my account instead.

Am also going to get a copy of my credit report and check everything on there.

I had an issue with my internet banking being blocked a while back. The Nationwide refused to unblock it unless I ran at least 3 of the recommended anti virus/malware checks.

If you go to the Nationwide website there are safe links to a number of different ant virus/spyware sites if you follow the security links (think it was at the bottom of the home page). They take for ages to run, but I guess they are worth while in the end.