debit card / credit card

[powerboatr]

2 times now since april, my wifes debit card has been used without permission
one was with a different bank and the other was just with our primary bank

1st one charged money from her account from a florida company online...for a phone??

2nd charged our primary from a florida company called hello mobile and within minutes at a hempstead ny att t store
not huge sums of money, less than 500

both places this last time took order on line. it seems the NY att store has a number you call and it prompts you through several responses and you never need to actually speak to a person at store, it transfers you to att main web for payments etc. they both have been cooperative and bank is putting my money back by friday.
our primary bank has a very very tight monitoring program and of course called us almost as it happened to inquire and lock her card.
i have restrictions set if we use our debit or credit card outside of what i call the 100 mile radius.
we get instant notifications and phone call if its over a set dollar amount.

we practice very tight , or so we thought security in regards to bank cards
no web store has our card info, except express cripts and we have to have that one or congress will not let them send out meds...real nice
for that reason the express scripts account is drawn from a 3rd bank we only use for meds and not tied to anyone else. and only keeps 200 in it.

so how did a person get her numbers, and her 3 digit code off the card? her cards expire date had just changed in november, along with a new number when the card was replaced because of expiration date
we both shopped at same locations of stores around us,
so now we get all new cards and numbers in a wide net of caution and have changed all the 100s of passwords

or are we just in the que for thieves lately

[seph]

Used either of those cards at a gas pump. I had that happen so often after getting gas that I use a certain card just for gas. That solved my issue.

[parabelum]

so how did a person get her numbers, and her 3 digit code off the card?

Could be malware or spyware if you downloaded something you thought was safe (always go through VPN, avoid public Wi-Fi…). Maybe a skimmer? Inadvertent engagement with a phishing email?

[philip964]

I've never had a debit card and I have never used an ATM.

I am continually amazed at the work that is put in by crooks stealing money.

I'm sure all my information is somewhere for sale on the dark web.

I was hoping chip cards were going to stop a lot of the theft.

[carlson1]

2 times now since april, my wifes debit card has been used without permission
one was with a different bank and the other was just with our primary bank

1st one charged money from her account from a florida company online...for a phone??

2nd charged our primary from a florida company called hello mobile and within minutes at a hempstead ny att t store
not huge sums of money, less than 500

both places this last time took order on line. it seems the NY att store has a number you call and it prompts you through several responses and you never need to actually speak to a person at store, it transfers you to att main web for payments etc. they both have been cooperative and bank is putting my money back by friday.
our primary bank has a very very tight monitoring program and of course called us almost as it happened to inquire and lock her card.
i have restrictions set if we use our debit or credit card outside of what i call the 100 mile radius.
we get instant notifications and phone call if its over a set dollar amount.

we practice very tight , or so we thought security in regards to bank cards
no web store has our card info, except express cripts and we have to have that one or congress will not let them send out meds...real nice
for that reason the express scripts account is drawn from a 3rd bank we only use for meds and not tied to anyone else. and only keeps 200 in it.

so how did a person get her numbers, and her 3 digit code off the card? her cards expire date had just changed in november, along with a new number when the card was replaced because of expiration date
we both shopped at same locations of stores around us,
so now we get all new cards and numbers in a wide net of caution and have changed all the 100s of passwords

or are we just in the que for thieves lately

It has happened to us a lot in the past. I stopped it by NOT using any card at Home Depot other than a Home Depot Credit Card at least in Irving. Secondly I was told by a Secret Service Agent to never use a "debit" card at a gas pump and to always use it as a credit card while paying at the pump. Sorry it happened and it is a pain, but the bank will take care of it for you or at least both of our banks did.

It is funny it is always for phones, electronics, and used a lot in NY.

[LTUME1978]

I won't have a debit card for the reasons mentioned. Having a card with a chip does not eliminate the problem either. I was told by a card company to only buy gas where the card can be tapped. Nothing is without issues so I keep several cards so that I have a back up just in case.

[powerboatr]

the florida charge was obviously for phone time on a number, as the hello phone place does not sell phones that cheap
one would think that would be an easy track down
but i bet visa has insurance money for such things and the juice is not worth the squeeze so they reimburse people the false charges


we use the debit at gas pumps as it requires a PIN
whereas the credit uses just a zip code
at our bank whether its debit or credit it comes with same protections.

[mayor]

...one would think that would be an easy track down

I don't think the bank will even bother.

[powerboatr]

...one would think that would be an easy track down

I don't think the bank will even bother.

me neither, they will realize it was a non approved charge and refund my money and everyone goes about their day
until next person is scammed or defrauded


when i worked for a defense contractor we were issued a number device that had to plug into our computer when we did our time-sheets or expenses , it had a set of random numbers that the main computer generated for each employee, it was replaced about every 90 days.
if you tried to use anything company related that dealt with pay, travel , main site, etc it required a number that was on your device (usb thumb drive). it would tell you the insert drive and it verified the number or numbers assigned
you could not hack it, it had to be plugged in and communicating with the computer that was registered to you. made using wifi at hotels a pita, numerous vpn login s plus the usbdrive. even my manager and government handler could not access your personal company accounts, if we were in an area of no internet, we had to fill out times sheets and expected expenses before we left then modify after we returned . royal bee burr in the backside at times.

then one day our government handler figured out we could advance or expenses at 9999.00 pre trip and not set off any bells because our gov credit cards had a daily limit of 10k . royally screwed up the reurn balancing of travel and expenses, but at least our bills got paid while we were gone
it may come to that .
i thought the chip in the new cards was to prevent folks from getting the 3 digit code on the back of the card.
i feel violated and really pizzzed offf

[oohrah]

a debit card does not have the same protections as a credit card. Anybody uses your debit card and the money is gone from your account. If your bank makes a special deal, you are lucky, bit I wouldn't trust it. Your money is gone - until the bank replaces it.

Never use a debit card to shop on the web. You can challenge any charge on a credit card, even the ones you make if you get unsatisfactory service, and you have not had any money taken from your account.

[Jago668]

Used either of those cards at a gas pump. I had that happen so often after getting gas that I use a certain card just for gas. That solved my issue.

I have a card with a $1,000 limit just for this purpose. I had debit card info skimmed and had thousands gone before the bank locked the card. Like driving home on a training trip. Fill up with gas, make it home 4-5 hours later and $2,700 is gone. Got it all back, but it took a couple weeks to get that money put back into my account. So now I have a card just for card readers that might be sketchy. Drive through car wash, coke machine, gas stations, etc. Enough to handle any kind of normal spending, but they can only get so much from it and the card has $0 liability for me.

[powerboatr]

thats interesting about credit for gas.
at brookshires it asks debit or credit when you swipe the card
i always choose debit,
but if i choose credit it then prompts for a zip code and off we go dispensing fuel.
might try doing straight credit even though it comes out of same account
then i get an email a bit ago about using my banks credit card for fuel and earn 6% cash rewards from 1 jul through september.. might start doing that and then paying it off each week. we dont carry balances on the credit card.

[mayor]

I use my bank credit card to make purchases then pay the balance ever week. I use my debit card for cash at the ATM and always use the "tap" - now that my card does that. I have had numerous cards compromised. I think most have been at filling stations.

[RoyGBiv]

Never use a debit card, ever.
My ATM card has a debit charge limit of $0.00. A call to your bank or mine let's me set this limit online, separately from my ATM limit.
Always tap to pay, when possible.

Our fraud on credit cards dropped hugely once daughter graduated college and stopped swiping the card at gas stations in college town.

[oohrah]

If you haven't seen Frank Abagnale's video where he talks about cybersecurity, you can find it on YouTube. He said "The debit card is the worst financial instrument ever foisted on the American public." He has worked for the FBI for 40 years investigating fraud - because he was in an expert in it.

And in case you do not who he is, watch the movie "Catch Me If You Can".