Warning for Credit Card Holders

[Taylor]

Something I wanted to point out is that Mastercard seems to get the media attention but this wasn't a Mastercard Problem. It was CardSystems whos system was hacked and they process all types of credit cards, not just Mastercard. 13.9 million were MasterCard and 22 million were Visa. It was Mastercard that reported the problem and came forward and many of the news articles make it look like Mastercard. I had somebody tell me tonight they weren't worried because they use Visa, but they could end up being a victim.

As others have pointed out, its important to watch your balances closely for any weird transactions. I had one of the cards for my business compromised recently and the transaction was only for $1.00. The hackers hacked somebody's merchant account and processed (and tried to collect) 20,000 $1.00 transactions. They were trying to do more but then it was stopped by the processor.

Something else to point out is with my business, almost 100% of my transactions are done on-line. I get fraud orders from stolen cards almost daily. Sometimes these fraud transactions outnumber the legit transactions (I had somebody try to make 2 purchases with a stolen credit card about an hour ago). I keep my fraud detection up pretty high so most of these never make it through. I phone verify almost every order I get, and I hate having to tell people to call their bank because somebody just tried to pay me with their card.

 

[horselover61]

Something I wanted to point out is that Mastercard seems to get the media attention but this wasn't a Mastercard Problem. It was CardSystems whos system was hacked and they process all types of credit cards, not just Mastercard. 13.9 million were MasterCard and 22 million were Visa. It was Mastercard that reported the problem and came forward and many of the news articles make it look like Mastercard. I had somebody tell me tonight they weren't worried because they use Visa, but they could end up being a victim.

As others have pointed out, its important to watch your balances closely for any weird transactions. I had one of the cards for my business compromised recently and the transaction was only for $1.00. The hackers hacked somebody's merchant account and processed (and tried to collect) 20,000 $1.00 transactions. They were trying to do more but then it was stopped by the processor.

Something else to point out is with my business, almost 100% of my transactions are done on-line. I get fraud orders from stolen cards almost daily. Sometimes these fraud transactions outnumber the legit transactions (I had somebody try to make 2 purchases with a stolen credit card about an hour ago). I keep my fraud detection up pretty high so most of these never make it through. I phone verify almost every order I get, and I hate having to tell people to call their bank because somebody just tried to pay me with their card.

Good point Taylor, I know that feeling I go thru the same way too. That the sad thing to do. I hate that if I want to order something then I would rather order thru mail then online.

 

[Taylor]

Good point Taylor, I know that feeling I go thru the same way too. That the sad thing to do. I hate that if I want to order something then I would rather order thru mail then online.

Buying from websites you know and trust is relatively safe. While things do happen on-line, they are just as common off-line. For example....your in a restaurant and your card to a waiter and he runs off with it and he copies the numbers down. Things like this do happen, and happen frequently. There are so many modes of fraud. You are just as safe (if not safer) using your card on-line as you are any other place.

There are other safeguards that can be done to catch fraud as well. I mentioned my card in my previous post that was compromised. This is a Visa check card that is linked to a business account. I only keep funds in that account that I know I will be using and keep nothing more. The rest of the money stays in another account. If I have a purchase coming up, I move the money to that account and make my purchase. When my card number was stolen, the worst they could have done is wiped me out of $50.00 as that is the only money I had in there that day. This keeps the account from getting wiped out from any sort of fraud.

Another thing that comes to mind is another type of fraud that is on the rise. I've been both a victim of it and see it at work...and that is check fraud. Have you ever had a bill collector or company ask you for the routing/account number on your check? Well, that information can be used to print a check with your account information. In my case, I had paid several bills via check and placed them in my mailbox. 3 days later, I get a call from a guy in a nearby city saying he's found my mail laying in a parking lot. I went and picked it up...all the mail was there except the checks I had written. The numbers are removed from the check and the fraudsters used everyday software to print checks with that information....

There are also different variations of this type of scam. A few weeks ago, MSNBC published an article that explains another. That article is --here--.

The point is, there are some things you can do to protect yourself, and the best is to be proactive and watch for any activity that looks suspicious.