My Mom is visiting from Arizona. She left her checks at home, so she has been using her debit card. Today, my brother got a call from the bank stating that they had received an unusual charge to calshirts.com for $1600 and were blocking the charge until they heard from Mom. So, Mom called the bank and, after she was able to start breathing again, said, “No, I didn’t do that. In fact, that’s over twice my income from Social Security.” So, they cancelled her card and she has pretty much no money until she gets home. No problem, I can take care of her, but that’s not really the point, is it?
We have no idea who got her card number. Maybe she was careless or maybe one of the places she went to has someone dishonest. In L.A.? Never, right? :rolleyes: But this just sucks. I mean, what kind of person would try to take advantage of a 71-year-old woman? I hope whoever did this gets exactly what they deserve.
Older people are the ones that cons * want * to take advantage of. They’re seen as more gullible, wealthier, and less likely to notice errors, though the one on her card would have been pretty glaring.
I hope they catch the asshole and lock them up for a very long time.
What bank do you have that called her up when a strange charge was made? When my debit card was stolen, and the bastards took it across three states charging about $7000 dollars, not a peep came from mine. They even charged over $2000 at some resort. What kind of place takes a charge for $2000 without looking at an ID of some sort???
I hope they catch whoever it is too. But, mostly, I need to get a new bank!
Someone made a duplicate of my Visa card (meaning they’d probably swiped it on a sneaky Bad Guy’s machine to record the info on the magnetic strip and then made themselves a fake card). Visa’s security department called within a mere four hours of the Bad Guy’s trying to use the phony copy of my card.
First Usa VISA called us when WE made a larger-than-usual purchase. I was thrilled! However, they don’t do it anymore and I kind of wish they would. Just so’s I know someone is paying attention (cuz it sure ain’t me! :))
Alright, moc.liamtoh@rorrim. You’ve got exactly 30 minutes as of this post to explain yourself with regard to that post of yours. Failure to do so will result in your ass being thrown out. You can post here, or e-mail me. I will e-mail you as well.
Funny (and true) story: when I was in college I ordered Jerry Springer’s very first “Too Hot For TV!” tape over the phone. It only cost $20, but my bank called me the next day because it “didn’t fit my usual buying pattern”!
I appreciated their vigilance, but was a little embarrassed too.
I used to work in banking and you would not believe the fraud that can take place. Did your Mom ever have an in-home care worker? Anyone who came to do repairs lately (lay carpet, deliver something)? Was she due to get a new card in the mail? Not to point fingers, but that was usually the case in our fraud investigations Anyway, I am so sorry, glad they caught it!! When we moved from the West to the South they did try to contact us because of the cross-state spending. Margo
My Mom hasn’t done anything unusual with her debit card except use it here, in California. We’ve been trying to think of where she may have used it that this could have happened, but haven’t thought of anything yet. I’m going to send calshirts.com an email and see if they’re willing to give up any information. Probably not, but I’d like to try, just to see what they’d say.
Oh, and for those who wanted to know, she’s with BankOne.
Visa extended me the same courtesy. Though it was a bit inconvenient at the time, I did appreciate it.
I had travelled out of town, buying things for my wedding. I bought my husband-to-be’s suit, paid for my wedding dress, and bought some of my accessories. After that spree, I decided to treat myself with a trip to the bookstore.
The clerk stared strangely at the credit-card machine, and then said she needed to call the company. I was terribly embarassed. I imagined the other customers were giving me looks silently accusing me of either being a card thief or a deadbeat. I probably looked as guilty as hell.
After a few minutes, she handed the phone to me. I had to verify all of my personal information. The Visa operator explained that I hadn’t used the card in a while, and when they saw such large purchases coming through on one day, they became suspicious. I thanked her for her company’s vigiliance.
It also happened to me in Paris. I’d had the brief thought to call Visa ahead of time and let them know I’d be having some Euopean charges, but hadn’t done it in the rush of packing. Believe me, I remembered the next time I went!
Though, in reality, the vigiliance of credit card companies benefits them more than it does you (IIRC, you can’t be held responsible for much of fraudulent charges-- they’re the ones who end up paying for the theft) it’s still a wonderful service.
An additional venue to think about is restaurants. In San Antonio last summer, a guy working in a waiter in a relatively nice place got himself one of the swipy things and made copies of dozens of his customer’s cards. Except the thing was, instead of making the copy himself, he would instantaneously transmit the information to a distribution center in Mexico, which would then sell the numbers to people worldwide. Because of the huge disparity in the locations of the fraudulent charges, it took the cops a few weeks to figure out the common vector was this one restaurant in San Antonio…
So, go to any restaurants lately and pay w/ Mom’s card?
As one of those people who makes/answers the calls about fraud, we try. We really do
With online fraud, it’s very rare to catch the perp. If they have a clue, they ask to have the merchandise delivered to an alternate address, give a cell phone number and a fake name. Lucky for us all, Visa/Mastercard’s policy is zero liability for internet fraud. Margo, usually the fraud from in home caretakers is fraudulent applications, stealing convience checks and taking over accounts. I love busting those scumbags. Online fraud is usually employees in retail.
I never thought I’d actually appreciate a bank so much.