Thieving ******* hackers.

[leftyguitars]

Brand new Amex account, bought $100 of cat litter on a 'secure' web site. Litter arrived no problem a few days later. Then out of the blue Amex send me a text (!) to say that my account 'appears to have unusual activity' on it. I phone them (as the text requested) and apparently I just bought $5,000 worth of clothing from some far Eastern gentleman's company.

[scotty]

Barstewards! This is getting more common everyday.My sister a couple of years ago bought a curry late one night and wondered why the guy was taking so long with the transaction.She gave him the card at the table.Anyway one week later there was a phone call from the cc company and she had 4 grand spent in a clothing store in london.My business partner John last year had £800 put on his card by someone from Manchester spending in the store River island, his card never left his wallet.It is very annoying because it can affect your credit score without being any fault of your own John went through hell cause the bank closed every account he had and bounced cheques left, right and center.This to a small business can be very costly and financially distressing.I feel for you Peter the most annoying thing about this is getting it cleared up and constantly repeating yourself to explain your circumstance.I wish you well Scott.

[gibsonlp]

I don't know how these things are working in the states, but I had 2 of my credit cards duplicated/used without my permission.
In both times the (2 different) credit card companies called me and told me that my card was used abroad and that they have a reason to believe it is not me.
They then said they will cancel my credit card and send me a new one. I never even saw any of the charges online or on the monthly bill... Needless to say - it didn't affect my credit history in anyway (although I know that "credit history" in Israel is very different than in the states...).

[fatcat]

Before buying online with a card, be sure to check the site url that is says https if not it's not secure and can be read by any and all.

[leftyguitars]

This one was an 'htpps' and it had the padlock logo too. Amex have now refunded the £2,600 ($5,000), blocked the card and are sending out a new one.

[ozover50]

Man that stinks, Peter!! At least they contacted you early.... sometimes it turns into a real bunfight when you get the bill and query it. They're about to change VISA over here where card holders can opt for a pin number rather than signature verification. If you go for a pin you also take on full liability for bogus transactions - if you stay with a signature you retain your current limited liability.

[gibsonlp]

%99.9 of the hijacked credit cards are from:

1. A hacker that hacks into the server itself (rare)
2. An employee who decides to sell/use the creditcard database (very very common).

in both cases - having an encrypted connection will not do you any good, the chances of someone sniffing even an unsecured communications are slim to none.
As you can see - both cases are valid even if you use your card physically or tell it to the pizza delivery guy over the phone...

[Charles Obscure]

Brand new Amex account, bought $100 of cat litter on a 'secure' web site. Litter arrived no problem a few days later. Then out of the blue Amex send me a text (!) to say that my account 'appears to have unusual activity' on it. I phone them (as the text requested) and apparently I just bought $5,000 worth of clothing from some far Eastern gentleman's company.

Not to stray too far off topic here, but I have a question...
How much cat litter can you get for $100?

[winston]

Peter,

I feel for you mate. I have only had one similar instance and Diners Club now Master Card immediately cancelled the transaction and sent me a new card. They were very quick on the job I might add. I was not buying cat litter though. That's a lot of litter! Either that or you are buying the diamond encrusted variety that's usually only sold to the rich and famous.

[leftyguitars]

How much cat litter did I buy? Well bear in mind I live in the country and our plumbing isn't that good.

Really though, I buy in bulk, 5 x 30 litre bags @ £10 a bag (and free shipping!) lasts my two siamese cats around 6 months.

[winston]

I love Siamese cats Peter. When My wife and I first got married we had three of them. Pax the older and more dominant male of the three was a very loving, intelligent, vocal and playful cat. He would literally knock the receiver off the phone when it rang and meow into the mouth piece. I still miss the three of them. They were so much fun.

[fatcat]

When I bought a 4003Fg from POTR the bank called to verify the purchase due to the large ammount,before allowing the chargeout.Much appreciated!

[rickenbrother]

Sorry to hear about that, Peter. Those sneaky bastages!!
I hope this situation gets resolved soon.

[octagon]

Be careful guys and gals.I got a text message that said My US Bank Account 'appears to have unusual activity'. It had a phone number to call and when I did I got a message saying "The Mailbox you are calling is full" I looked at all my credit cards to see which was issued by US Bank but none were.Then I remembered that I used to have a US Bank checking account that I closed about 5 years ago. I called US Bank and told them about the Text message and the banker asked "Did you reply to the message?" I told her no,I couldn't because the mailbox was full.She told me it was a scam.Somebody sent out these text messages and when people called the number in the message they would be asked for their banking info.Scary stuff.

[gellkeller]

Social engineering is the most common method for attaining credit card details. Whether it be from the cardholder themselves or from a company that is storing transaction data.

You just have to be vigilante and ensure the card never leaves your sight when using it and limiting the amount spent when using an online site for the first time.