Fraud charges on my Mastercard

[MissHell]

Mastercard called me today to inquire about unusual activity on my card. :panic: I do not use it on a regular basis, but was using it for some Christmas purchases. Thankfully they denied the purchase and my account is now closed.

Attempt was made on-line for $550.00 purchase. I am glad it was taken care of quickly, but still sucks it happened. :td:

[fasternyou929]

I have no doubt fraud, robberies and theft will all go up as the economy slips. The good thing about fraudulent charges (that sounds ridiculous but I can't think of a better wording) is you're usually not impacted more than needing to remember a new card number.

[Porkchop]

I had a fraudulent charge on my debit card about year ago. Whatever it was it was used online, and somehow they used an old email address of mine on the site. It was for 49.99, and the company refunded the money...

[Papa_Complex]

I have no doubt fraud, robberies and theft will all go up as the economy slips. The good thing about fraudulent charges (that sounds ridiculous but I can't think of a better wording) is you're usually not impacted more than needing to remember a new card number.

I have a feeling that we'd all be pretty damned shocked if the real extent of credit and debit card fraud was known.

[RACER X]

Z finally got her $ back last week, the frad. charges on her debit car were before x-mas.

better a charge card then debit card, cuz the bank holds your $

[azoomm]

Wow. That sucks. I'm glad companies have a better handle on it than they used to. Quick question - y'all determine where they nabbed your info from?

On another note, I got this email today - not even shy about their weak attempt:
From: Yahoo! Account Services <yahoo-account-services@cc.yahoo-inc.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 5:42:22 AM
Subject: Account Suspension.. Verify Your Account now. Message ID: 484021

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The All-New Yahoo! Mail Beta Is:
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With the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta you must fill the Informations Below To Verify Your Account, PleaseThis For Your Benefit. Read Below To Understand More.

Dear Yahoo User,

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* Username: .................................

* Password: ...................................

* Date of Birth: ................................

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After following the instructions in the above, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconveniences.

Warning!!! Whosoever that refuses to update his/her account after two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.

Copyright © 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright/IP Policy - Terms of Service - Guide to Online Security
NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy

[Rider]

Wow. That sucks. I'm glad companies have a better handle on it than they used to. Quick question - y'all determine where they nabbed your info from?

On another note, I got this email today - not even shy about their weak attempt:

How many dumb assholes fell for that one? :panic:

[MILK]

Between fraud and my 401K and IRA tanking I finally understand why the old folks kept their money under the mattress!! :lmao:

[Papa_Complex]

How many dumb assholes fell for that one? :panic:

Probably even more than fall for the fake messages from banks. I just got another one from Fifth Third Bank. I'm not even American.

[Librarian]

An odd one I've run into twice in the last six months is where you see a charge, on my debit card in this case, for a small amount of money ($8.95 or $12.21 or something like that) and there is an 800 number in the name of the company that the money went to. You call the number and they say "oh, sorry, we'll give you an immediate refund" and they actually do give you an immediate credit back on your account.

No problem, huh?

Well, if they make (just an estimate for shits and giggles) 100,000 of these charges per month, what percentage of them are going to be checked on by the cardholder? My guess is maybe 25%, but let's say it's 50% that actually get a refund. So...

50,000 successful charges at an average of $10.00 per charge equals $500,000.00 gross profit per month. Minus nearly 10% for banking fees for all those card transactions, and minus the expense of personnel and phones, leaves over $400,000.00 per month. Now I have to admit that it is a lot of work to get all those card numbers, so let's say they are spending $50,000 a month to someone who steals numbers wholesale. That leaves $350,000 net profit per month, or $4.2 million per year.

Of course these are fraudulent charges you say? They can't just keep operating month after month, can they? Well, yes they can. I talked to both some people in the FBI and in the office of the California Attorney General and neither office wanted to even take a statement from me. Why? Because the amount of each transaction is too low and because they refunded my money when I asked them to.

Now, if you have a business banking account, a credit card machine, and an 800 number, you could be well on your way to loads of money, if you can get your hands on a lot of credit card numbers that is....

[MissHell]

Wow. That sucks. I'm glad companies have a better handle on it than they used to. Quick question - y'all determine where they nabbed your info from? I didn't think to ask. My guess is they has my CC number, but had the name or zip wrong for my account. My Mom asked the same thing.

I was using it for Christmas shopping, it must have gotten compromised then, although not sure where.

[the chi]

Probably even more than fall for the fake messages from banks. I just got another one from Fifth Third Bank. I'm not even American.

You know there is a legitimate (or was) bank named this right? But I think it is one of the nigerian scams fave banks...

MH, make sure to get an account with a credit monitoring company, many you can get for free or cheaper than advertised by calling their 800 numbers and they monitor your credit reports, notifying you of ANY changes made under your SS and/or to your accounts. Without knowing where they got it, you dont know how much info on you they may have! Better safe than sorry!

[MissHell]

MH, make sure to get an account with a credit monitoring company, many you can get for free or cheaper than advertised by calling their 800 numbers and they monitor your credit reports, notifying you of ANY changes made under your SS and/or to your accounts. Without knowing where they got it, you dont know how much info on you they may have! Better safe than sorry!
Yup! Thankfully I already have the service. Got it last year cause we got notifed at work employee's info may have been compromised (SSN #'s, etc).

[Papa_Complex]

You know there is a legitimate (or was) bank named this right? But I think it is one of the nigerian scams fave banks...

I know, which is why I made the "not American" comment. It's rare, but I occasionally get a scam email that names a Canadian bank..... that I also don't have an account with.

[Particle Man]

almost as bad as this:

http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2009/01/11/mysterious_credit_card_charge_may_have_hit_million s_of_users/

[azoomm]

almost as bad as this:

http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2009/01/11/mysterious_credit_card_charge_may_have_hit_million s_of_users/

Office Space anyone? :wink: