Has anyone ever had a fraudulent charge on their credit card? Was it resolved?

[ailsagirl]

Out of the blue comes a four-digit charge on my account-- I am told it will take a couple of days for them to research it. I asked if they can nail the thieves who tried to rip me off, but the agent was vague.

[leftieNanner]

1. Yes

They won't ever tell you what happened.

You won't be responsible for the $$.

[Ocelot II]

2. Yes, several years ago. I checked my account on line, discovered several charges in Denver.

I have not set foot in Denver in ages. Called my credit union, they immediately canceled the card and restored the funds to my account. The customer service person said crooks no longer need your physical card; they just collect series of numbers and make their own cards. The re-issued card with a new number is chip card; these are much more difficult to counterfeit.

[MOMFUDSKI]

3. Yes

and yes.

[emulatorloo]

4. Yes and yes.

[enough]

5. This recently happened to me, two charges adding up to less than 4 digits.

I called the credit card number immediately and they immediately removed the charges and sent me a new card with a new number. The next statement verified it. It may have helped that it turned out to be a known scam (GoDaddy).

[Fla Dem]

13. Basically the same process when my card was fraudently used.

Wasn't "Go Daddy", it was a merchandise purchase in another state. Never found out how they got my CC #.

[LisaL]

6. I had multiple charges on my card not that long ago.

The card itself was still in my possession so I have no idea how they got the number.
The thieves were into entertainment and dining, apparently. I had to cancel the card and get another one.

[LudwigPastorius]

29. There are a finite, although large, amount of numbers.

Crime syndicates generate tons of numbers and test them until they find active accounts they can rip off.

[Boomerproud]

33. Thank you for the fyi.

As other posters have said, bank customer service do not explain the cause.

[ailsagirl]

7. I wish there were a way that banks could bring down the thieves

Maybe that's beyond the scope of their job descriptions...

Thanks for your responses.

[Silent Type]

8. Yes, twice. One was close to $8,000 of bar bills, restaurants, furniture, all in one day.

It was stolen out of my mailbox.

It did not cost me anything. I did want to know if thieves left a decent tip under my name.

[Freethinker65]

9. Yes. Several times. Twice was outright fraud and I don't know what happened.

They just used the correct numbers with incorrect name to make thousands of dollars in purchases. I was issued a new card both times.

Once my physical card was stolen and used twice at a local Walmart, denied the second time even before I reported it stolen. They had a grainy photo of the individual attempting to use the card. I don't know if they ever got caught.

Once it possibly wasn't fraud, but data mis-entry of a foreign magazine subscription. I noticed a small suspicious unknown charge and checked and saw it was recurring. I notified the bank card and was credited back my past payments.

[wishstar]

10. Yes and yes, once with Capitol One and once with Bank of America

Both times the card companies contacted me, removed the charges and cancelled my card reissuing new cards. I hadn't lost the cards.

Also many many years ago I left my wallet at a mall store and thief charged up to the limit at many stores. But I had immediately called to report my lost credit card so didn't have to pay any of the charges.

[ailsagirl]

14. This was B of A and it's the second time in a few months

Maybe it's just coincidence, but I can't help thinking that they are rather lax in letting fraudulent charges go through. I had put a note on my account that the total cannot be above $100. I had thought that meant that anything > $100 wouldn't go through. Not so. It did go through!! The agent told me that putting an alert like that is just for the customer-- that it doesn't actually stop a transaction. WTH??

[PuppyBismark]

11. Yes, a waiter copied it and someone then made a large purchase

Since I have alerts on all my credit cards which tell me if a charge is made without the physical card, if the charge is more than $25.00, or if the charge made outside the US. I was notified immediately. Someone had purchased 100 shower curtains. I called the credit card company and they stopped the transaction.

In general card companies will work with you on fraudulent transactions and hold charging you until the issue is resolved. I also got a new card FedEx-ed to me overnight.

[BOSSHOG]

12. 6 months ago

I got a call from my card company. Did you just charge 600 dollars at a casino in New Jersey? No Sir. We’ll take care of it. 3 days later I got a new card. A week later I got a written report of what happened. The bad guy(s) names were not mentioned. I wouldn’t mess with a credit card company. I did have to change a few automatic payments. I lost nothing.

[MaryMagdaline]

15. Several times. I live in Florida

Credit card companies caught them each time/canceled cards. Did not charge me with the fraudulent purchases.

[ailsagirl]

16. Good to hear!

[waterwatcher123]

17. My suggestion would be to go on-line and dispute the charge, request a new card.

We have had it happen multiple times. There are so many ways this can happen that it is almost impossible to track the source down. It can be an unscrupulous employee at a business, one of the many hacks of customer info, interception of an on-line transaction, malware on your computer, etc. Unless you live without banking, your information has already been stolen and sold multiple times due to the large scale hack of Equifax (the credit reporting agency).

Usually there is a small charge on your credit card where someone or some entity tests your account and your attention to your charges. If this is a fraudulent charge, it would be good to immediately dispute the charge on-line (your credit card account) and close the card (ask for a new card). You do not want to give these people two hours, much less two days to charge your account. My suggestion would be to change all your computer accounts to two step security too. We have had far fewer credit card problems with two step security (someone has to have your account information and timely access to your phone or email account with two step security to charge on one of your favorite accounts ). So, you really have to lock down your accounts and change the card.

[ailsagirl]

20. Thanks, waterwatcher-- wise advice

[waterwatcher123]

23. No problem - unfortunately our experience came from the school of hard knocks.

[Demobrat]

18. Yes. Yes. Twice.

The first time the thief made a few retail purchases and then got caught trying to use my card at a restaurant. They took the card but he wasn’t arrested. I wasn’t charged for anything.

The second time, more recently, I noticed a small, under $10, charge from a software firm in Dallas. I called the card company and was told some scammers prefer multiple small charges that are unlikely to be noticed. So scrutinize everything.

[malthaussen]

19. Yes and yes, but my memory is vague.

It was a long time ago, and a much smaller charge. But they did accept my word that I hadn't made the charge.

-- Mal

[rsdsharp]

21. Yes. AMEX is very good at catching them,

and asking if I made the charge. As a result, none have gone through, but I’m on my fourth AMEX card in the last five years.

[ailsagirl]

22. I have had this problem with B of A at least twice in the last 6 months

[Boomerproud]

34. When my purse got stolen both of my credit cards had charges

within a half hour. Called both banks and one took care of it promptly and BoA didn't put a hold until a month later. It also took an hour to get through to BoA.

[Phoenix61]

24. I've gotten phone calls/ text messages from my credit card

companies questioning purchases. I told them I hadn’t made them and they canceled the card and sent me a new one with a different number.

[Wonder Why]

25. Many times. And for years now they have contacted me as they caught it first.

[marble falls]

26. Yes and yes. But because the charges themselves occurred in Europe, there's no way to nail anybody.

[Jeebo]

27. No, that's never happened to me, but ...

... I'm going to start checking my credit card balance more often.

-- Ron

[LudwigPastorius]

28. Watch your account activity closely.

Sometimes before you get hit, you'll get a couple of small charges (like under $2.00). This is a thief testing your CC number to see if it's an active account.

If you see those unauthorized "test charges" show up, contact the issuer immediately.

[Ziggysmom]

30. Have my main credit cards set up to send me text notifications whenever a charge is made.

It really helps prevent fraud and makes me feel more secure.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

31. I was once called by my bank and asked if i had made a purchase in Turkey, I said no, and they didn't bill me.

I was glad they called me to verify the purchase. It was a debit card, not a credit card, and I never use it to make purchases, just to make deposits at the bank.

[Grins]

32. Two charges within 90 minutes...

One in Australia.
The other in Ohio.
I was in Virginia!

My bank caught it and called me almost immediately. Their software detected the fraud as it was happening and blocked it.

I did have to get a new card. Lost nothing but time to get a new card. That took a day.

Also - a good reason for you have your bank’s app on your phone, and the bank having your cell phone number.

[soldierant]

35. Yes, several times, always resolved.

Once or twice I had to sign a statement, but usually not. Also, in ,my experience, you don't need to ask for a new card - they give it to you whether you want it or not. And changing automatic payments is the most tedious part of the process.

[AllaN01Bear]

36. i did . my bank yanked the card and number . a 46 dollar charge out of no where . mastercard got alerted and shut down

a lot of ppls credit and credit/ debit cards .my late mom got a charge along time ago from the uk. bank wouldnt remove the charge. also on my card they only got the card and not the main account and i wasnt responsible . whew.