My VISA was used for an on-line spending spree last night... what most likey happened?
Oct 17th, 2005, 04:52 PM
#1
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My VISA was used for an on-line spending spree last night... what most likey happened?
Last night DH and I along with DD and DD's boyfriend dined at one of our favorite spots then first thing this morning (as if Mondays aren't bad enough) Capital One called saying thousands of dollars worth of purchases were made on our card overnight.
I hate to point fingers and accuse someone so I'm hoping you savvy Fodorites will help me fill in the blanks. All I know right now is I feel violated. If my number was obtained by someone at the restaurant, when will US merchants start using tableside scanners?
I hate to point fingers and accuse someone so I'm hoping you savvy Fodorites will help me fill in the blanks. All I know right now is I feel violated. If my number was obtained by someone at the restaurant, when will US merchants start using tableside scanners?
Oct 17th, 2005, 05:18 PM
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I have heard stories of waiters carrying around a hand held device that they can slide your card through it, and it gets your card # and information. So it could possibly have been the waiter that took your card that stole the number.
I would check with the restaurant just in case. Chances are, if the culprit was an employee of the restaurant, and not something else, then it was probably done to others as well as you and it may have been reported.
I would check with the restaurant just in case. Chances are, if the culprit was an employee of the restaurant, and not something else, then it was probably done to others as well as you and it may have been reported.
Oct 17th, 2005, 05:30 PM
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If the thief got the card via the restaurant, it would be easy to catch him if he/she was dumb enough to swipe cards from the same bank (e.g. Capital One), but if the thief was smart enough, he/she would only snag cards from different banks...
Good luck dealing with Capital One! I have never been a customer of theirs, but I was a victim of ID theft 10 years ago when someone got one of their cards in my name. It was in a state where I used to live but not at an address I had ever used. They even had my birthday wrong (so HOW did they issue this card???). But getting them to remove a nasty note from my credit reports took about a year of numerous calls and faxes to different people in different parts of the company before I finally go the matter resolved! The whole "guilty until proven innocent" attitude really stinks.
But - this was ID theft, much more difficult than what happened to you.
Andrew
Good luck dealing with Capital One! I have never been a customer of theirs, but I was a victim of ID theft 10 years ago when someone got one of their cards in my name. It was in a state where I used to live but not at an address I had ever used. They even had my birthday wrong (so HOW did they issue this card???). But getting them to remove a nasty note from my credit reports took about a year of numerous calls and faxes to different people in different parts of the company before I finally go the matter resolved! The whole "guilty until proven innocent" attitude really stinks.
But - this was ID theft, much more difficult than what happened to you.
Andrew
Oct 17th, 2005, 05:54 PM
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Something similar happened to my sister within the past couple of months. The thief had an actual card made with her number on it and used it for purchases in Japan and online. The credit card company's fraud department gave my sister a call and alerted her to the unusual use.
ANYWAY -- you need to call the three credit reporting agencies and have them put a fraud alert on your account. You may also be able to do that via their website. You should also get a copy of your credit report from one agency now and review it. You can get a free credit report once a year from each agency at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. So get one free report from one agency now, get a second one from a different agency in three or four months, and then the third a few months later to track the activity on your account.
The thing my sister is having the most trouble with at this point is having the bank who issued her credit card to issue credits for the currency conversion charges incurred in the fradulent transactions. Apparently the credit card company (Visa or whomever) writes off the actual purchases, but the bank handles the fees.
My sister's still not sure how the thieves got her card number, but she was told it coule have been at a merchant that keeps signed card slips on file.
Good luck to you in dealing with this mess.
ANYWAY -- you need to call the three credit reporting agencies and have them put a fraud alert on your account. You may also be able to do that via their website. You should also get a copy of your credit report from one agency now and review it. You can get a free credit report once a year from each agency at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. So get one free report from one agency now, get a second one from a different agency in three or four months, and then the third a few months later to track the activity on your account.
The thing my sister is having the most trouble with at this point is having the bank who issued her credit card to issue credits for the currency conversion charges incurred in the fradulent transactions. Apparently the credit card company (Visa or whomever) writes off the actual purchases, but the bank handles the fees.
My sister's still not sure how the thieves got her card number, but she was told it coule have been at a merchant that keeps signed card slips on file.
Good luck to you in dealing with this mess.
Oct 17th, 2005, 06:02 PM
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Andrew, I hear ya. Like Artlover said, I don't have to pay for these fradulent charges but it must have taken 20 attempts today trying different combinations of "Press 5 for ___, Press 3 for ___ to finally actually speak with someone from Capital One. What a hassle; notifying vendors with automatic, recurring charges; especially the prepaid toll program for the transponders in our all our company vehicles--adding $25 here and there until I get a new credit card.
Oct 17th, 2005, 06:10 PM
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It just happened to my elderly parents. The credit card company alerted them to some unusual spending. The only place they use this particular card is at the pharmacy where they get all their prescriptions (the have a lot). The CC company gave them the police department to call (somewhere outside of NYC) and my mother spoke to the detective in charge. The police and the CC fraud department are going to investigate.
Either way, the CC company will drop the fraudulent charges...but I'm sure it didn't occur to my mother (or me) to contact the credit bureau.
Either way, the CC company will drop the fraudulent charges...but I'm sure it didn't occur to my mother (or me) to contact the credit bureau.
Oct 17th, 2005, 06:13 PM
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Oops....my son and husband were just talking to me and I hurried to end my previous post....
The police arrested someone who had many credit card numbers and they are trying to figure out how he obtained the info. he had to make the fake cards. I'll give my mom a call tomorrow and get some updated info. to share here.
The police arrested someone who had many credit card numbers and they are trying to figure out how he obtained the info. he had to make the fake cards. I'll give my mom a call tomorrow and get some updated info. to share here.
Oct 17th, 2005, 06:19 PM
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Wow Xrae, thanks for the heads-up. This board is the best of the best
I knew you all would come through...I'll contact the credit reporting agencies first thing tomorrow...it wouldn't have occured to me to do that.
I knew you all would come through...I'll contact the credit reporting agencies first thing tomorrow...it wouldn't have occured to me to do that.
Oct 17th, 2005, 06:34 PM
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HelloPrettyLake, you should contact the local police department, your bank(s), the three major credit-reporting agenicies, your credit card companies and the Federal Trade Commission at 877IDTHEFT. Best wishes to you.
Oct 17th, 2005, 07:25 PM
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This has never happened to me so I don't have any advice, but I do have some questions.
1.CapitalOne called you this morning and informed you that your card was being used excessively overnight. You obviously told them that you did not made these purchases and also told them that the last place you used your card was at the restaurant.
Didn't they give you instructions as to what to do?
I assume a police report is the number #1 priority.
If these were internet purchases, there must have been an address given as to where to ship the ordered items, so shouldn't the CC company notify all the sellers that this might be a fraudulent use and not to ship till this mess gets straightned out?
If a shipper already did ship the item it will still take another day or more to have it delivered, so if the police were notified, wouldn't they contact the police dept in the city were these items are suppose to arrive and have them intercept and possibly catch the bad guys?
If none of this is happening now, maybe you should get going, and not ask for advice on the internet and waste time???
1.CapitalOne called you this morning and informed you that your card was being used excessively overnight. You obviously told them that you did not made these purchases and also told them that the last place you used your card was at the restaurant.
Didn't they give you instructions as to what to do?
I assume a police report is the number #1 priority.
If these were internet purchases, there must have been an address given as to where to ship the ordered items, so shouldn't the CC company notify all the sellers that this might be a fraudulent use and not to ship till this mess gets straightned out?
If a shipper already did ship the item it will still take another day or more to have it delivered, so if the police were notified, wouldn't they contact the police dept in the city were these items are suppose to arrive and have them intercept and possibly catch the bad guys?
If none of this is happening now, maybe you should get going, and not ask for advice on the internet and waste time???
Oct 17th, 2005, 07:47 PM
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A neighbor/friend of mine had this happen a couple of years ago. She didn't know anything had happened. Evidently she pays her credit card statement without checking her credit card receipts against the charges on her credit card statement. Now that is not a good idea. She got a call one day from a credit card co. she did not know asking when she was going to make at least the minimum balance that was 60 overdue.
Long story short. She had identiy theft. Someone had used her info to acquire new credit credit accounts. In talking to her I asked if there was any possiblity that someone at the medical office she went to could be responsible. Of course she thought that was "impossible". A year later the manager of this same medical office was arrested and consequently found guilty of ID fraud. She not only embezzeled from the medical center but also used patients credit card info to open up credit card accounts under their names, and did so without using the actual credit card holder current addresses. And the credit card companies evidently didn't question this. Very strange, but it happens all the time. Unfortunatly.
Long story short. She had identiy theft. Someone had used her info to acquire new credit credit accounts. In talking to her I asked if there was any possiblity that someone at the medical office she went to could be responsible. Of course she thought that was "impossible". A year later the manager of this same medical office was arrested and consequently found guilty of ID fraud. She not only embezzeled from the medical center but also used patients credit card info to open up credit card accounts under their names, and did so without using the actual credit card holder current addresses. And the credit card companies evidently didn't question this. Very strange, but it happens all the time. Unfortunatly.
Oct 17th, 2005, 08:06 PM
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If Capital One is onto this and alerted you, you are covered. I don't think it would be necessary to do anything with credit reporting agencies, since you don't owe anything.....Capital One has taken care of it.
It happened to us in Oaxaca, in a restaurant, where, evidently, a waiter just took our card across the Plaza to his favorite travel agent and bought some tickets to Guatemals, before he returned the card to us.
It took some documentation on my part to prove we had not bought the tickets, to include the fact that we had been in Puerto Vallarta when the Guatemala flight took place, and also to fax copies of our signatures to show that they didn't match the one on the credit slip.
It happened to us in Oaxaca, in a restaurant, where, evidently, a waiter just took our card across the Plaza to his favorite travel agent and bought some tickets to Guatemals, before he returned the card to us.
It took some documentation on my part to prove we had not bought the tickets, to include the fact that we had been in Puerto Vallarta when the Guatemala flight took place, and also to fax copies of our signatures to show that they didn't match the one on the credit slip.
Oct 17th, 2005, 08:26 PM
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trandolph, I completely disagree with you. All three credit reporting agencies should certainly be notified IN CASE whoever did this tries to open up new accounts in PrettyLakes name.
It does not pay to assume that one problem does not create another problem. But each person has to deal with their problem however they want to. I just merely passed on what I would do. And btw, it is what the experts advise.
It does not pay to assume that one problem does not create another problem. But each person has to deal with their problem however they want to. I just merely passed on what I would do. And btw, it is what the experts advise.
Oct 17th, 2005, 08:37 PM
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Speaking of the credit reporting agencies, it is a good idea to get a copy of your credit reports once in a while. The rules have changed a number of times over the years, but at some point everyone was entitled to one free copy of their report per year or something. It's still worth doing if you've never done it, to see what's on your report.
As far as notifying the local police: I probably wouldn't bother. ID theft is so commonplace that there's no way local police have the resources to help you. Imagine how quickly the problem becomes a non-local problem and the nightmare it becomes for local cops trying to deal with a card number used by someone overseas to purchase stuff online? And there's no guarantee it even happened at this restaurant - what if it happened online? It's not just not something they can deal with on a case by case basis.
If however the theft can be traced to the local restaurant, then local police should be notified, but that would probably be done by Capital One, who has more of an interest in prosecuting a guilty party than you do, since they are the ones, after all, on the hook for these charges.
Andrew
As far as notifying the local police: I probably wouldn't bother. ID theft is so commonplace that there's no way local police have the resources to help you. Imagine how quickly the problem becomes a non-local problem and the nightmare it becomes for local cops trying to deal with a card number used by someone overseas to purchase stuff online? And there's no guarantee it even happened at this restaurant - what if it happened online? It's not just not something they can deal with on a case by case basis.
If however the theft can be traced to the local restaurant, then local police should be notified, but that would probably be done by Capital One, who has more of an interest in prosecuting a guilty party than you do, since they are the ones, after all, on the hook for these charges.
Andrew
Oct 17th, 2005, 08:51 PM
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Every expert, bank, credit card company, the government, police department etc say to also advise your local police department. This way there is a record if you are not only a victim of someone using your exsisting credit card but also if you are a victim of ID theft. Why not do what the experts advise? My neighbor/friend did for example. If you have a decent PD they want you to file a report with them. Our city PD certainly does. They have even had articles in the local newspaper to do so.
Oct 17th, 2005, 08:54 PM
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LoveItaly,
you are comparing apples and oranges.
Your friend had her identity stolen and somebody was using cards s/he did not even knew existed.
In this case, the charges were made using the OPs CC and it happened less than 24 hours ago.
The OP, CC company and the police should be able to figure out something, but if nothing else, they should be able to stop any shipments of the merchandise ordered on the internet.
That's all I was saying.
Also, let's not forget that the US Secret Service gets an automatic notice from the local police department every time a possible CC fraud is reported.
US federal laws take these type of crimes very seriously and US Secret Service is the agency that is in charge of CC fraud investigations. Obviously, they will not waste their time when a son/daughter uses their parents card even when the parents report it to the local police, but if they suspect any type of criminal conspiracy, such as a waiter/store clerk selling/giving the numbers to somebody else or even using it themselves to defraud the victim(s), you bet your buns, they will come in and use all the resources a federal agency could muster, and trust me, they don't fool around. Who gets to charge the criminal once they are arrested is at the discretion of the fed/state/county prosecutors. If it's a 1 person operation, the feds will most likely give it to the locals to prosecute, but if they discover some kind of a serious criminal conspiracy, the feds have very long term penalties for the perpetrators, once they are convicted for CC fraud.
you are comparing apples and oranges.
Your friend had her identity stolen and somebody was using cards s/he did not even knew existed.
In this case, the charges were made using the OPs CC and it happened less than 24 hours ago.
The OP, CC company and the police should be able to figure out something, but if nothing else, they should be able to stop any shipments of the merchandise ordered on the internet.
That's all I was saying.
Also, let's not forget that the US Secret Service gets an automatic notice from the local police department every time a possible CC fraud is reported.
US federal laws take these type of crimes very seriously and US Secret Service is the agency that is in charge of CC fraud investigations. Obviously, they will not waste their time when a son/daughter uses their parents card even when the parents report it to the local police, but if they suspect any type of criminal conspiracy, such as a waiter/store clerk selling/giving the numbers to somebody else or even using it themselves to defraud the victim(s), you bet your buns, they will come in and use all the resources a federal agency could muster, and trust me, they don't fool around. Who gets to charge the criminal once they are arrested is at the discretion of the fed/state/county prosecutors. If it's a 1 person operation, the feds will most likely give it to the locals to prosecute, but if they discover some kind of a serious criminal conspiracy, the feds have very long term penalties for the perpetrators, once they are convicted for CC fraud.
Oct 17th, 2005, 09:12 PM
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The representatives I spoke with from Capital One said they really didn't know what the fraud department's protocol is but once they receive an affidavit from me stating which purchases are fradulent they will turn the info over to an investigator. They didn't seem too worried about it nor did they recommend I take any action or precautions. I asked if it would hamper their investigation if I contacted the restaurant and apprise them of what happened. They said by all means give them a call which I did this afternoon. The manager has been working there for 5 years and said this is the first time anything like this has been reported. She knows the server's name and appreciated my call. Too bad at the time I didn't know about the little scanning device missjanna mentioned.
I'm just glad I posted what happened and received such prudent suggestions from Xrae, LoveItaly and others. Caveat emptor. Now I need to do what I can to make sure this doesn't turn into full-blown identity theft! Many thanks one and all.
I just read in today's paper 3.9 million Americans were victims of credit card fraud in the year that ended in May--almost half had no idea how the fraud occurred--21% said they thought their number was stolen off the internet.
I'm just glad I posted what happened and received such prudent suggestions from Xrae, LoveItaly and others. Caveat emptor. Now I need to do what I can to make sure this doesn't turn into full-blown identity theft! Many thanks one and all.
I just read in today's paper 3.9 million Americans were victims of credit card fraud in the year that ended in May--almost half had no idea how the fraud occurred--21% said they thought their number was stolen off the internet.
