Credit card fraud!

[Nyden]

Good afternoon,

*Note, this is a Debit card, not credit.

I've recently been victim of credit card fraud, and am still feeling quite shocked, and violated.

I'm not entirely sure as to how the details were ascertained, but I knew something was suss almost immediately. On Friday afternoon, I noticed transactions that were not mine, but they were only of 'unavailable balance' status, and I could not actually see what they were. I called up my Bank, asked them if they could identify the suspicious transactions, but they said to call back on Monday! Grrr.

Well, come this morning, the transactions finally appear. All sorts of dodgy things. $120 all up in total! Fortunately I kept money out of the account when I became concerned.

One transaction which is particularly concerning, is some sort of credit-line company over in the US. I read up as to what they are, and they basically issue 7500 credit, 100% approval rate! I really thought that sort of nonsense was over with in the states

I have of course had the card blocked, and they're going to issue me a new one. They've also sent me a form for pay-disputes that I must now fill out in order to attempt to get a refund on these transactions, at any rate - this has all been quite stressful!

The one bill that has me concerned, is from this mob
https://firstfreedom.securepagehost.com/FFPv16_01/default.aspx

Would anyone advise that I contact the Police over this? I'm not sure if it's overkill or not, as thus far I believe that I have everything back under control ...

Any advice would be great guys.

 

[nunthewiser]

The one bill that has me concerned, is from this mob
https://firstfreedom.securepagehost.com/FFPv16_01/default.aspx

Would anyone advise that I contact the Police over this? I'm not sure if it's overkill or not, as thus far I believe that I have everything back under control ...

Any advice would be great guys.

Yep call the cops, if you dont know how it happened this time maybe they lining you up for the next time.

 

[Nyden]

Yep call the cops, if you dont know how it happened this time maybe they lining you up for the next time.

But, wouldn't MasterCard contact the police when I file the dispute claims? Surely they conduct an investigation.

I do have an inkling as to where the 'leak' was, but I'm not 100% certain.

 

[nulla nulla]

Yes, contact the cops. Also push with the banks as to why they didn't alert you when uncharacteristic tansactions were appearing on your card.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Don't call the cops mate,

Set up a meet and bring some back up. The cops will just waste time and money backlogging the courts.

Ive been done for 10k but lucky for me the bank put it back in my account within 48 hours.

It ****ing pisses me off these low life scum sucking pigs ripping off hard working people like ourselves.

Id like justice on these and other pricks and calling the police would be the last thing I would do. Assuming I could find the pricks.

Rant over

Please note there were no direct personal attacks to any ASF members and I have too many infractions to cop another warning so please please be good to me.

G

 

[aaronphetamine]

Sorry to hear that mate. I'd get those forms filled out and sent back to the bank as soon as possible. These funds recalls can take weeks becuase of the nature of the transaction, regardless of the fact that its fraudulent.

Calling the police is going to be a waste of time for you. I work in a big 4 bank and although im not in the cards area specifically, i still recieve daily updates from the cards area and there are thousands of customers at any one time that have had their cards compromised. some days its a certain cards line that has been compromised, other times its due to a large scam that has been pulled - such as the recent W.A cards compromise incident which resulted in many thousands of cards being locked down for a certain time.

More customers complain about having their cards blocked down for safety reasons that complaints from customers who have actually had fraud acted on them.

either way, the process will be drawn out and its an issue that the police probably cant do anything about.

 

[kam75]

Don't use your card at dodgy petrol stations. I got scammed that way. Took out 2.5K from my card. Got it back eventually but took like 2 months of phone calls, paaper work and going to the cops.

 

[sasch]

Hi Nyden,

Have you entered that card number for online payments on your computer? You may have rogue software on your computer which captures your keystrokes. To be on the safe side i would reinstall your os and change all your banking and trading passwords asap.

i dont know whether you need to involve the police at this stage, but definitely keep copies of your correspondence with the bank. That way you have evidence of a starting point if things turn nasty later .

good luck

 

[nunthewiser]

But, wouldn't MasterCard contact the police when I file the dispute claims? Surely they conduct an investigation.

I do have an inkling as to where the 'leak' was, but I'm not 100% certain.

Your call m8 , usually im not one for calling the cops either , but if i didnt know how i was being robbed i would call in as much help as i could to find out how they did it so they couldnt do it again on me .

Yes i daresay Mastercard would but there not as likely to tell you how it happened .

Your call.

 

[Nyden]

either way, the process will be drawn out and its an issue that the police probably cant do anything about.

That's pretty much what I thought. The charges are all originating from within the US, so the Local Police are hardly going to chase it up in any drastic sense across the other side of the world.

I just thought that in case it isn't over, and in case it gets uglier from here - as in possible Identify Theft, and what not; that it would be good to have this on record with the police.

Does anyone know how much damage can be done internationally? If they have gotten a hold of more details, what can be done over there, exactly? Surely lines of credit cannot be taken out, and such?

With any luck it's all over now, but I'm quite paranoid at this point.

 

[aaronphetamine]

Yes, contact the cops. Also push with the banks as to why they didn't alert you when uncharacteristic tansactions were appearing on your card.

Simple answer is that a few small transactions in the US dollar are not suspect. do you realise how many australian's, while still in australia, conduct transactions less than a couple hundred dollars in the US dollar? Online Gambling, Amazon, eBay, Online Purchasing etc... The bank would need thousands of staff just to call for those transactions.

Really, the only time the bank looks into that is if there are transactions all over the place in a short period of time. It's all monitored by falcon, and its done by computer systems.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Hi Nyden,

Have you entered that card number for online payments on your computer? You may have rogue software on your computer which captures your keystrokes. To be on the safe side i would reinstall your os and change all your banking and trading passwords asap.

i dont know whether you need to involve the police at this stage, but definitely keep copies of your correspondence with the bank. That way you have evidence of a starting point if things turn nasty later .

good luck

Thats why I like MAC's as compared to PC's. Ive never been done on a Mac but PC different story.

 

[Happy]

Some banks allow having SMS transaction confirmation and if you don’t have too many transactions this might be the peace of mind you are after.

 

[Nyden]

Thanks for the thoughts so far, guys.

It really is something of a lesson in humility here. I really do feel exposed, and quite vulnerable. I consider myself to be a rather safe shopper, but I guess mistakes are always made. I'm just relieved that I'm quite vigilant with my accounts, and have pegged this pretty early on.

There's no need to sit in a panic though, or allow this to stress me out. I still believe that life is too short to let myself feel miserable, so - I am trying to stay cheerful! :

 

[Tink]

Don't use your card at dodgy petrol stations. I got scammed that way. Took out 2.5K from my card. Got it back eventually but took like 2 months of phone calls, paaper work and going to the cops.

Yep that happened to a lady I know from a teller machine in a shopping centre. It took a couple of months for a her to finally get her money back.

She also had withdrawals from overseas

She told the police and they worked together with her bank.

 

[nunthewiser]

. I still believe that life is too short to let myself feel miserable, so - I am trying to stay cheerful! :

Might as well use the card to order one of those online russian bimbo,s to help ease the pain and bring on some cheer

 

[GumbyLearner]

Good afternoon,

*Note, this is a Debit card, not credit.

I've recently been victim of credit card fraud, and am still feeling quite shocked, and violated.

I'm not entirely sure as to how the details were ascertained, but I knew something was suss almost immediately. On Friday afternoon, I noticed transactions that were not mine, but they were only of 'unavailable balance' status, and I could not actually see what they were. I called up my Bank, asked them if they could identify the suspicious transactions, but they said to call back on Monday! Grrr.

Well, come this morning, the transactions finally appear. All sorts of dodgy things. $120 all up in total! Fortunately I kept money out of the account when I became concerned.

One transaction which is particularly concerning, is some sort of credit-line company over in the US. I read up as to what they are, and they basically issue 7500 credit, 100% approval rate! I really thought that sort of nonsense was over with in the states

I have of course had the card blocked, and they're going to issue me a new one. They've also sent me a form for pay-disputes that I must now fill out in order to attempt to get a refund on these transactions, at any rate - this has all been quite stressful!

The one bill that has me concerned, is from this mob
https://firstfreedom.securepagehost.com/FFPv16_01/default.aspx

Would anyone advise that I contact the Police over this? I'm not sure if it's overkill or not, as thus far I believe that I have everything back under control ...

Any advice would be great guys.

Do they have an office or a rep in Australia?

 

[Julia]

That's pretty much what I thought. The charges are all originating from within the US, so the Local Police are hardly going to chase it up in any drastic sense across the other side of the world.

No, they're not if it's just an isolated incident. But it could be another link in a chain of something they already know about. I can see no reason not to advise the police. The worst that can happen as a result is that you will be no wiser or better off than you are now, and you could be better off or helpful to an ongoing investigation. Give the police the opportunity to make that decision.

I just thought that in case it isn't over, and in case it gets uglier from here - as in possible Identify Theft, and what not; that it would be good to have this on record with the police.

Quite so. If it all were to blow out (unlikely) and you were asked if you had taken every possible measure to discover where the problem originated and/or what you had done about it, if you report it then no one can down the track accuse you of failing to act appropriately.

Does anyone know how much damage can be done internationally? If they have gotten a hold of more details, what can be done over there, exactly? Surely lines of credit cannot be taken out, and such?

I'm not sure but if you've had discussions with the bank, reported it to the police, I can't see that you could be held liable for anything else that could happen, provided of course you change your passwords and do anything else that reasonably would be seen as protecting yourself.

Are you able to tell us how you think it might have happened? Just might preclude some of us falling into the same possible trap.

With any luck it's all over now, but I'm quite paranoid at this point.

That's completely understandable, Nyden. It's a similar sense of violation as occurs with a house burglary. Someone has interfered with your personal security and that's very unpleasant. But if you do what you've done, and take advice from the bank re what else you might need to do, the anxiety will pass. As someone else has said, this stuff happens thousands of times every day. It's nothing personal. No one has 'set out to get you' in any personal sense so don't allow it to affect you unduly.

 

[Nyden]

Do they have an office or a rep in Australia?

Well, with a huge sigh of relief - I can safely say that this account was opened in the name of one "Charles Butt"; just with my credit (debit) card.

They have not been overly receptive with me, nor have they been properly addressing my questions, though. I had asked that they give me details as to how this account was supposedly opened with my card, but they've as of yet not given me any. Instead, they've sent me generic-sounding emails about how I've been removed from their marketing database (I was never even on it)

I'm sure they'll be more forthcoming once MasterCard gets involved, though

Well, it is only an inkling at the moment. Until I know more definitively, I'd prefer not to potentially besmirch the name of a legitimate organization. Realistically, it may just as well have been my brothers computer being compromised (his bloody firefox seems to save my details after each transaction!) - as he uses it every now and again.

 

[Mofra]

Yes, contact the cops. Also push with the banks as to why they didn't alert you when uncharacteristic tansactions were appearing on your card.

Two years ago I was contacted by the bank for a series of fraudulent transactions. There were a total of 17 transactions for small amounts taken out in two tranches, one day apart.
The bank stopped my card & issued a new one straight away, so it looks like some banks are at least vigilent.