It Happened Again!

[Eric Patterson]

A couple months ago scammers got a hold of my credit card and made a bunch of bogus charges. That card was cancelled, and we were issued new ones. It's a pain in the ass because the down time is usually a couple of weeks and bills are paid via credit card, meaning I have to make other arrangements and then change all my accounts with the new credit card account number. I'm not a fan of paying bills with a credit card, but some vendors insist on it. Google fiber for example.

Last night I got notified of suspicious activity that was in fact fraud. Here we go again! Cards cancelled and now I wait for a new one and have to deal with the hassle. I asked the Visa rep to look up how many times this has happened to me. SEVEN times since 2009 my card has been replaced due to fraud! The Visa rep tells me she suspects about half the fraud they see is overseas and the rest is from the US. She also told me the rate of fraud quadrupled during covid and has not declined.

Until these low-life scumbags are prosecuted this isn't going away, and that isn't going to happen. Authorities and law makers sit on their hands letting the public pay through higher costs to offset the theft losses. We are the ones burdened with the cost and inconvenience. If you want to see just how big a cost this is to US citizens I've included an article from a couple years ago. No doubt it has gotten worse.

Scams Cost Consumers $8.8 Billion in 2022 — The Top Five Frauds

Losses from scams jumped to shocking new highs last year. These are the five most common frauds.

www.kiplinger.com

 

[SJ Fairbank]

Very frustrating Eric. Had it happen a couple of times. Only once did I get any satisfaction, myself and a friend booked rooms in a hotel in San Antonio within minutes of each other. A short time later the fraud line alerted us to expensive purchases, destined for our homes in Bangladesh. Once we compared notes, it was obvious someone at the hotel was the perp. We called the CC company, who followed up a week or so later to thank us for helping break up a ring. Other than that one time, nothing but aggravation.

 

[Eric Patterson]

SJ

I read that only 1 in about 700 frauds/scams results in a conviction. I hope the hotel employee got nailed. You had a lot better info on them than I ever have.

 

[TimJ]

It sucks, and it just makes everything cost more. Had it happen a couple times. I use one card for 99% of online payments and another for 99% of in person purchases. Only the online one has had issues. One time the cc company called after some suspicious activity. There were several charges to a dental clinic in CA for around $1, like that would ever be an actual dental bill. They must have been testing to see if it was a real card number.

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Ditto that here. I once called the Maine State Police "Cyber Crime Unit" to report one of these events where the total charges were over $1500--way beyond the realm of petty theft IMHO--and was told that was "not what they do". If not them, I don't know who would for crimes in Maine. I suppose they are more interested in the pedophiles and sex trafficking rings, but I wish someone would take on investigation of credit card scams.

 

[Dani]

Jeff, I know that some state law enforcement won't take cases until a minimum dollar amount is reached for fraud. Otherwise they refer to the local LEOs. Sadly, the answer is still the same or there aren't enough officers to investigate those kinds of fraud.

I have had my card info stolen a few times. All of those times have been at gas stations at the pump.

 

[JasonM]

It sucks, and it just makes everything cost more. Had it happen a couple times. I use one card for 99% of online payments and another for 99% of in person purchases. Only the online one has had issues. One time the cc company called after some suspicious activity. There were several charges to a dental clinic in CA for around $1, like that would ever be an actual dental bill. They must have been testing to see if it was a real card number.

Mine got hacked a couple years ago. I got an email about possibly suspicious charges. Checked my bill and there were several for $.01. I called the credit card company and they said that they were probably testing the card.

 

[Carl]

Happened to us a few years back, charges at vending machines in South Carolina. And the almost $1000 at an electronics store. USAA caught it in time.
Thieves suck.

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Jeff, I know that some state law enforcement won't take cases until a minimum dollar amount is reached for fraud. Otherwise they refer to the local LEOs. Sadly, the answer is still the same or there aren't enough officers to investigate those kinds of fraud.

I have had my card info stolen a few times. All of those times have been at gas stations at the pump.

I don't have any LEOs. There is a sheriff and deputies in my county, but not local police force. All the towns surrounding mine are larger and do have small local police, forces, so we are a pretty low priority for the state troopers and sheriff's deputies who spend more time patrolling major highways or in the more rural parts of the county where there is no local presence. For emergencies, the local state police barracks and the sheriff's headquarters are close enough for pretty rapid response, but we don't see much patrol. The only County Sheriff vehicle I have ever seen on my road is the elected Sheriff, who lives on my road but a few miles up the road in the next town. I might see a state trooper on my road once a year. My guess is that with credit card and other on-line scams, they rely on the card issuers and their insurers to handle the investigation. I was a little surprised they didn't just say that.

 

[Richard Lathrop]

I have had it happen twice now. Not sure where they get the numbers from. If someone stole it and resold the number. The thieves bought parts for motorcycle and clothing.

Society has just made theft an accepted part of doing business.

 

[rfberan]

I don't have any LEOs. There is a sheriff and deputies in my county, but not local police force. All the towns surrounding mine are larger and do have small local police, forces, so we are a pretty low priority for the state troopers and sheriff's deputies who spend more time patrolling major highways or in the more rural parts of the county where there is no local presence. For emergencies, the local state police barracks and the sheriff's headquarters are close enough for pretty rapid response, but we don't see much patrol. The only County Sheriff vehicle I have ever seen on my road is the elected Sheriff, who lives on my road but a few miles up the road in the next town. I might see a state trooper on my road once a year. My guess is that with credit card and other on-line scams, they rely on the card issuers and their insurers to handle the investigation. I was a little surprised they didn't just say that.

My wife's card got hacked and 5 people bought airline tickets. She found 4 of the 5 people on facebook, called the credit card company and gave them the information. After talking she finally said to the manager, "you're not going to do anything are you?" He said no. There you go. If there is no punishment why would they stop.
I suggest we just send in special forces and eliminate the computer frauders. Just my opinion.

 

[Richard Lathrop]

My wife's card got hacked and 5 people bought airline tickets. She found 4 of the 5 people on facebook, called the credit card company and gave them the information. After talking she finally said to the manager, "you're not going to do anything are you?" He said no. There you go. If there is no punishment why would they stop.
I suggest we just send in special forces and eliminate the computer frauders. Just my opinion.

I worked for a credit card company in the 90's. In the 90's the credit card company reversed the charge to the merchant saying the merchant failed to validate the cardholder identity and it was a violation of the agreement to accept credit cards. The merchant is the one left taking the loss and the merchants charge us more rather then expend resources to prosecute.

 

[greg setter]

Unfortunately, current legal policy in many areas of the country is to just let criminals go. And while many of these thefts cannot be prosecuted because they can't find them, many can and they are not prosecuted, just like many property crimes. This will get worse before it gets better. There is an air of anarchy in many places today, and then the bad actors just get more brazen. Very sad.

 

[MIKE-SID]

I got hit last Friday. My bank notified me of a suspicious charge on my debit card. When I called they canceled my card, and didn't process the charge.
Fortunately I was able to go to the bank and the make a new card in a couple of minutes!

 

[Eric Patterson]

Mike

I like your bank better than mine. For me it takes 2-3 weeks to get a new card.

 

[Mark W]

A couple months ago scammers got a hold of my credit card and made a bunch of bogus charges. That card was cancelled, and we were issued new ones. It's a pain in the ass because the down time is usually a couple of weeks and bills are paid via credit card, meaning I have to make other arrangements and then change all my accounts with the new credit card account number. I'm not a fan of paying bills with a credit card, but some vendors insist on it. Google fiber for example.

Last night I got notified of suspicious activity that was in fact fraud. Here we go again! Cards cancelled and now I wait for a new one and have to deal with the hassle. I asked the Visa rep to look up how many times this has happened to me. SEVEN times since 2009 my card has been replaced due to fraud! The Visa rep tells me she suspects about half the fraud they see is overseas and the rest is from the US. She also told me the rate of fraud quadrupled during covid and has not declined.

Until these low-life scumbags are prosecuted this isn't going away, and that isn't going to happen. Authorities and law makers sit on their hands letting the public pay through higher costs to offset the theft losses. We are the ones burdened with the cost and inconvenience. If you want to see just how big a cost this is to US citizens I've included an article from a couple years ago. No doubt it has gotten worse.

Scams Cost Consumers $8.8 Billion in 2022 — The Top Five Frauds

Losses from scams jumped to shocking new highs last year. These are the five most common frauds.

www.kiplinger.com

View attachment 54873

It has happened more than once to us. I'd tell your VISA person to next day you a new card or you will look elsewhere. We've always had a new card in a couple of days.