Fraudulent charge on Fidelity Visa card :(

[MichaelB]

I have a 32 year CICS history.

And here I'd thought I'd left it all behind me. Only on E-R Forum can a discussion about credit card fraud lead to CICS.

 

[Walt34]

That is interesting. Is there any possibility of the crook not being paid if the charge is still in "pending" status ? Its one of the best features of instant text messages. I get to alert the fraud departments quickly.

Probably not, although if the transaction is delayed long enough I suppose the crook might not get the product or service, as with the airline ticket. Consider how quickly even the new chip cards get processed - I'm seeing 15-30 seconds with the ones we have. That's not much time to do all the communications needed to cancel the sale so I would imagine most go through.

 

[braumeister]

Sometimes they're pretty sharp.
About ten years ago I had a card compromised while out of town on a trip (I'm certain it was a server in a restaurant we went to).

He bought two first class cross country airline tickets with it, worth several thousand dollars. Then he got them refunded IN CASH at the nearby airport. I assume it was done through a confederate working the airline counter. With processing errors that blatant, I would be surprised if someone didn't go to jail, not just lose his job, but I have no idea.

 

[sakowitzm]

+ million to all of the above. Two key points for/from me:

1. It's happened to me maybe six times over 20 years. PIA. But I don't bother with the alerts. EVERY time, the credit card company CALLED ME and told me about it.

2. I now keep a list handy of the dozen or so automatic payments tied to my credit card. The list includes the website URL, my username and password to log in, my account number, and maybe even some notes or instructions if there's anything oddball about using the site.

Hope this helps someone down the road.

 

[MichaelB]

Well, I just got off the phone with Fidelity Visa. New bad charges so they cancelled the card and are sending a replacement.

This is the 4th time this year for Fido. They must be getting tired of this - I know I sure am.

Just got off the phone with Fidelity, again. The new card hasn't arrived, the old card account was closed last Thursday, but yesterday there was a new bogus charge. Like every other, it was a gas station. It took about a half hour to get through the call, the rep was confused, and the "post date" they show on my online account are incorrect.

Anyone know which bank manages this card?

 

[CaliKid]

I go through this every 6 months or so since I use my card so much. It has become routine for me. Fidelity Visa also. Never a problem, although not with the new servicer yet.

When they tell me the replacement card will take days to get to me, I always tell them that is not acceptable and they overnight the replacements.

That sounds like me. We charge over 200 charges a month so the numbers are out there a lot of places. Online, restaurants, stores, service providers, etc....

It's just life.

I now separated my auto charges onto two separate credit cards so at least I only have to update half as many at a time.

Also, I keep a running list of all the auto charges for each card so it's easy to take care of when it happens.

I have not noticed a major difference between Chase and Cap One (our current two main providers).

Small pain but it's so common it's sort of a non-issue.

 

[braumeister]

Anyone know which bank manages this card?

Not exactly a bank.

The creditor and issuer of this card is Elan Financial Services, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.

As America’s leading agent credit card issuer, Elan serves more than 1,400 financial institutions. For nearly 50 years, Elan has offered an outsourced partnership solution, providing institutions the ability to earn an on-going revenue stream with a competitive credit card program

 

[MichaelB]

Not exactly a bank.

Thanks. I thought I might be able to look for a card from a different issuer with a better back office. Seem, though, that even with a different sponsor, there is a fair chance I'd still end up with these folks.

 

[MichaelB]

Just got off the phone with Fidelity, again. The new card hasn't arrived, the old card account was closed last Thursday, but yesterday there was a new bogus charge. Like every other, it was a gas station. It took about a half hour to get through the call, the rep was confused, and the "post date" they show on my online account are incorrect.

Anyone know which bank manages this card?

Just got off the phone with Fidelity. Again. Old card cancelled - 3rd time in 4 months, 5th time in a year. This time it was different. They asked 16 security questions, at least I had to guess (what state did I live in when my SS card was issued?). Then they said someone had called in from Nigeria to set up a new travel authorization, and confirmed one had already been set for Spain. Ha! No charges, though.

The agent said one of the merchants we do business with clearly has been compromised. Glad they figured that part out.

 

[audreyh1]

Just got off the phone with Fidelity. Again. Old card cancelled - 3rd time in 4 months, 5th time in a year. This time it was different. They asked 16 security questions, at least I had to guess (what state did I live in when my SS card was issued?). Then they said someone had called in from Nigeria to set up a new travel authorization, and confirmed one had already been set for Spain. Ha! No charges, though.

The agent said one of the merchants we do business with clearly has been compromised. Glad they figured that part out.

Wow - holy cow!

Well - this has been really serious. A merchant you use regularly. Definitely some organization behind this.

Fortunately I have never run into this scenario of having the same credit card issued and compromised over and over again.

Krebs on Security might find this interesting? He usually gets interested if a given merchant gets compromised over and over again or if a breach is localized somehow.

 

[MichaelB]

Wow - holy cow!

Well - this has been really serious. A merchant you use regularly. Definitely some organization behind this.

Fortunately I have never run into this scenario of having the same credit card issued and compromised over and over again.

Krebs on Security might find this interesting? He usually gets interested if a given merchant gets compromised over and over again or if a breach is localized somehow.

I know. This is probably related to all the businesses that have been hacked over the past 3 years, especially Anthem BCBS, which gave up address and SS#. I'm going to look into Krebs.

They won't share any info on the breech, so I'm in the uncomfortable position of not being able to do much. Time to check reports. It'll never happen, but I can still wish - full no-charge credit report access and management needs to be given to everyone. The businesses fail in their security and we pay.

 

[audreyh1]

BTW, when I do a travel notice online, I usually get an email from the institution letting me know that a travel notice was set on my account. I'm pretty sure Elan (Fidelity VISA) has done this for me. Now if someone called in a travel notice and had the credentials to get through, I'm not sure if I would get an email.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Just got off the phone with Fidelity. Again. Old card cancelled - 3rd time in 4 months, 5th time in a year. This time it was different. They asked 16 security questions, at least I had to guess (what state did I live in when my SS card was issued?). Then they said someone had called in from Nigeria to set up a new travel authorization, and confirmed one had already been set for Spain. Ha! No charges, though.

The agent said one of the merchants we do business with clearly has been compromised. Glad they figured that part out.

While you need to answer 16 security questions, the bad guys have no trouble repeatedly stealing your card. That is almost funny. Sorry this keeps happening to you!

 

[Breedlove]

A few years ago we had thousands of dollars , over seven thousand dollars charged on Discover . Now this is a true story and weird as it gets . We got a new card and it happened again . We lived in Houston but the charges were made in Corpus Christi . We did not have to pay nothing

About a year later we get a big brown envelope in the mail from the Ohio State attorney general's office with documents for a written deposition . It seems an inside person at Discover was giving credit card numbers out . The funniest thing we could have went to the trial but we declined the name of the person was African Nigerian !

 

[audreyh1]

Excitement on Tuesday - those handy text alerts:

Fidelity Credit Card: Your account ending in 0365 was charged $5000.00 at CAEE. Msg&Data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel.

Whoa! By the time I had reached Elan they told me the charge had already been blocked and new cards would be at my house in two days.

It's actually been a few years since I've had a credit card compromised - even longer for mine specifically as the last couple were "group" compromises. So for me at least they are getting better at this.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

i must be the only guy who got stuck with a fraud charge. about 8 years ago the bride gets a call from Macy's visa card saying did we charge 800 dollars at a phone store in south carolina? She said no and they said ok when the bill comes dispute it and return the bill. we did that. they said we didnt sign it in the right spot. and now it was over the 60 day dispute period . interest and late fees $900 plus. Yeah im a loser. We cancelled the macys card, i wanted to go to the store and damage about 10k in merchandise but id get caught and would have lost my pension. Then i wanted to order stuff on line and say it never got delivered , that was another short lived bad idea. For a few years the bride would email them and complain saying we are boycotting the store. But we still shop there, just not with their card. and only if its a great sale.

 

[swakyaby]

These first hand reports are both interesting and alarming, as I too have had an American Express card compromised by over a dozen charges originating in South America. American Express finally blocked the card when the perp tried withdrawing $1,500 cash at a gas station in South America.

I found one poster's suggestion to keep one credit card just for recurring charges and to keep it at home, out of your wallet. When my wallet was stolen, I was able to cancel all stolen credit cards without dealing with Netflix, Pandora, PG&E, internet service, telephone service, city utility service, cell phone service, health club membership service, and a few other automatic monthly debit services.

 

[athena53]

I guess I've been lucky- the only fraudulent charges I've ever had were once when someone broke into my hotel room and took only one card out of my wallet and made a small charge with it, and several times when my first husband used my cards to buy himself nice things and hid the bills from me. Both were in the days before on-line account access. I have methods to keep track of my finances that are excruciatingly detailed and I'm typically on the Fidelity Visa site every few days, so I'd notice anything suspicious. This is a good reminder to keep an eye on my less-used secondary card.

 

[broadway]

I found one poster's suggestion to keep one credit card just for recurring charges and to keep it at home, out of your wallet.

The only recurring charges I have on a credit card is for Netflix.

Even though I pay Comcast on a credit card, it is a push transaction. I rather not have the hassle of contacting my credit card company should Comcast do something crazy and put something they shouldn't on my monthly bill. It has happened before though not lately.

 

[meierlde]

Conversly I had a shell mastercard blocked in Miami trying to buy gas, it seems that for them you need to call and tell them you are going to be in south florida or the assume the card has been comprised. (did not have the problem with amex there however but it was used for the hotel).

 

[Fedup]

This card reminds me to call British Airways and cancel my credit card. There was a small charge like $2 something but it was quickly reversed by the bank, and that means the number is tampered. It must be when I was in Europe using unsecured wifi.

 

[Chuckanut]

Excitement on Tuesday - those handy text alerts:

Whoa! By the time I had reached Elan they told me the charge had already btter at this.

Same here. A fake $5000 charge, denied by Elan.

 

[Scuba]

I've found Elan to be pretty effective at identifying out-of-pattern charges. We've had to get our card reissued once or twice due to fraudulent transactions they caught the same day they originated. Cards were in our possession but thieves can still make fakes.

 

[Aerides]

The Macy's story upthread is a good example of a crappy credit card. Any reputable bank card will just wipe that fraud off your account and get you new cards before you even realize it happened. There's absolutely no reason to worry at all.

Any bank/issuer that isn't trying to overnight new cards to you should also give you pause. I might worry a little about identify theft, but I never worry about credit card fraud. (and I worked in that industry).

 

[audreyh1]

Same here. A fake $5000 charge, denied by Elan.

Was yours also a $5000 charge from the CAEE - the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education? The first Elan associate thought it odd the charge came from a charitable organization.