Anyone an expert on credit card fraud?

[tangman99]

If you have experience, please respond as I could use your advice. If not, I don't want to turn this into a chat thread as this is not the purpose of my post.
Anyone work with credit card fraud? I have a credit card that was used fraudulently to make a couple of small charges on. By chance, I checked my online account and saw them the same day, closed the card and had the charges reversed. I had an email from amazon that they closed my account due to suspicious charges being attempted on my card but nothing happened because the card was no good at that time. I called the credit card company to see what was going on and they see activity where several other attempts have been made but all failed due to the card being closed. I have had no further charges on the card other than the original two. They have placed extra validation and security on my account if anyone calls in to try and get additional cards or make any changes.
Now no one has the physical card. I'm guessing it was a resteraunt employee that got the info off my card when I paid. All they need to place online orders is right on the card.
I ran my credit report and there is no suspicious activity and the card is closed so I'm guessing that is enough for now. I don't want to overdue it and place a fraud alert on my credit if it's not necessary. The card can't be used and I figure they are doing this all the time and will just move on the next card they have stolen. For those of you that have had similar situations, is this usually the case? Once you close the card that's pretty much about it from anything that could be gathered from the card information and not the physical card?
Thanks

 

[demartini]

I'm not an expert, but did you call the police? You said they were ordering online, so they would have had to provide their address for shipping.

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by DeMartini
I'm not an expert, but did you call the police? You said they were ordering online, so they would have had to provide their address for shipping.
Good point.
Someone has my sisters info and keeps applying for credit cards. It's a difficult process. Good luck

 

[jmick]

Couple of years back I had someone get a hold of my debit card number and they racked up almost $3,000 in cell phones and accessories. What really irked me is that the Bank (Bank One) did not investigate at all and when I called the phone company they claimed to keep no records of where the phones and equipment were sent (wanted this info to give to the police).
I believe this happened at a restaurant when I paid with my card and someone either took down all the info or used a machine to copy it. It took me almost 8 months to get my money back and I had recently mailed out all of my bills and needless to say I had a few checks that bounced and it took some times to get it all cleared up.

 

[reefkprz]

Usually credit card companies have a fraud department that handles everything from investigating to pressing charges (my girlfriend works at bank of america, credit card customer satisfaction) I would assume if you talked directly to their fraud department they are doing alot of stuff from their end. But I am not an expert. maybe you should call the company ask for the fraud department and ask exactly what they are doing then take it from there.

 

[bang guy]

Let the Credit Card company handle the followup, they are well equipped to track it down, you nor the police are able to help. Your Credit company should be sending you a fraud form in the mail. Fill it out as accurately as you can and send it back as soon as you can.
If the credit card company sends you a new card with a different number it will be as safe as any new credit card. There's no reason to close the account, just disable that specific card number and get a new number.
For online purchases, use virtual card numbers if your credit company allows them. It's best to never let your card out of your sight when purchasing. This is inconvenient at a restaurant but it's the best way.
This will not adversely affect your credit rating.

 

[tangman99]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Let the Credit Card company handle the followup, they are well equipped to track it down, you nor the police are able to help. Your Credit company should be sending you a fraud form in the mail. Fill it out as accurately as you can and send it back as soon as you can.
If the credit card company sends you a new card with a different number it will be as safe as any new credit card. There's no reason to close the account, just disable that specific card number and get a new number.
For online purchases, use virtual card numbers if your credit company allows them. It's best to never let your card out of your sight when purchasing. This is inconvenient at a restaurant but it's the best way.
This will not adversely affect your credit rating.
American Express did send me a letter telling me they take credit card fraud very seriously and persue prosecution so they are handling it. I did not close the account, just deactivated the card and got a replacement with a new number so I think all is good. I did not get a form to fill out and submit. Is that a standard procedure or am I ok without it?

 

[reefkprz]

chances are the phone call was recorded, if they didnt send you a fraud claim form then they are probably using the phone call as the fraud claim. there should have been a "this phone call may be recorded" disclaimer. either that or some one is dragging their feet sending out the form.

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by TangMan99
American Express did send me a letter telling me they take credit card fraud very seriously and persue prosecution so they are handling it. I did not close the account, just deactivated the card and got a replacement with a new number so I think all is good. I did not get a form to fill out and submit. Is that a standard procedure or am I ok without it?
No you need to fill out that "fraud claim form" and mail it back to them, that is standard procedure, as far as them ordering thing online, via you card, its very easy because upon check-out they just choose the "SHIP TO OTHER LOCATION" option, BUT what i dont understand is that when they put in the "Billing address" it usually has to match the credit card number,, so I dont know how that part of security was bypassed. Unless insome instance you had to give your Drivers Liscense somewhere.. good luck!

 

[tangman99]

Originally Posted by MiaHeatLvr
No you need to fill out that "fraud claim form" and mail it back to them, that is standard procedure, as far as them ordering thing online, via you card, its very easy because upon check-out they just choose the "SHIP TO OTHER LOCATION" option, BUT what i dont understand is that when they put in the "Billing address" it usually has to match the credit card number,, so I dont know how that part of security was bypassed. Unless insome instance you had to give your Drivers Liscense somewhere.. good luck!
I'll call them and find out. The two charges that were made were not for physical items to be shipped. It was for subsciptions for World of Warcraft online gaming. Either way, it was taken care of so no problem.

 

[bs21]

by anychance do you have any relative that would be able to have access to your card. I know its terrible to think about but one of my uncle's kids took his card one time and used it for something similar and didn't read the fine print which ended up in a bunch of extra charges. He said it was a huge headache trying to get rid of the charges but not have any repercussions for his kid.

 

[tangman99]

No. No one is ever around my wallet when it is out of my pants except my wife and 4 year old daughter. Not a chance it was a relative. I think I'm going to go ahead a do a 90 day fraud alert on my credit report just to be safe.

 

[michaeltx]

sorry to hear that just be glad they didnt get any other info or it could be a lot worse. I would back track the last few places that you went to before it started and talk to the managers. Let them know at some point someone got the numbers from the card and you are going to the last places you used the card to let them know to be on the look out for this. Just make it clear you are not accuseing them of wrong doing since your not sure where the number was gotten. also look at all your recepits if any of them have the full number that would be the first place I would go to.
I would especially if you dont plan on adding to any credit to your report.
Thats the only bad thing about credit cards now is that alot of places dont safe gaurd the numbers In my resteraunt all numbers are stared out except the last 4 on EVERYTHING most places it the receipt and the customer copy but when a detail report is run it has full numbers on it and if its not destroyed it can be a bad thing. we use a special paper that erases itself after 24 hours or any type of heat is added to it plus we shred that report after its erased to safe gaurd those numbers.
Mike

 

[tangman99]

Yeah, I know I'm probably dealing with a very mild case of CC fraud. More than likely it's all over now but it still makes me mad.

 

[tizzo]

Originally Posted by TangMan99
American Express did send me a letter telling me they take credit card fraud very seriously and persue prosecution so they are handling it. I did not close the account, just deactivated the card and got a replacement with a new number so I think all is good. I did not get a form to fill out and submit. Is that a standard procedure or am I ok without it?
They may take it seriously, but they will only "persue prosecution" to the point that they realize it would cost more to hire a lawyer, fly him to where you live, and argue the case than it would to eat the charges ran up by the guy.
When my card was stolen, the woman using it left her address with a jewely maker. I had a description AND an address.
Oh, and a phone #.
The card co wouldn't persue it to court, the police said I couldn't press charges because, "Just because she's USING my card, it didn't mean she was the one who actually STOLE the card". The card belonged to the card co so THEY hafta press charges, I can't do it. So, I tried the identity theft route and their response was that address i had, and description and such actually MAY HAVE belonged to another victim and not the actual thief.
I was so mad!! The whole ordeal basically spelled out that there is No consequence to finding and using somebody elses card!
Anyway, I did the fraud alert thing and it was not an inconvenience at all, unless I wanted to apply for something away from home...Like a bike. But the bank was told to wait an hour or so before they called to verify, and they did and all was good.
I think everybody should have a fraud alert put on their info just as a safety precaution.
Anyway, so much for not wanting this to be a "chat thread"

 

[socal57che]

Originally Posted by TangMan99
If you have experience, please respond as I could use your advice.
All they need to place online orders is right on the card.
I ran my credit report and there is no suspicious activity and the card is closed so I'm guessing that is enough for now.
Thanks
I had a card used for an online dating service after returning a fish to *****. I still had posession of the card, but left them the number so they could issue a credit. I was assured that it was safe. Basically did the same thing...deactivated card and was issued a new one.
Credit reporting agencies can take up to 3 months to update files so it might be a good idea to check again in a few months. Other vital info on your card can be copied when swiped, although it is not as common.
I did receive paperwork via mail to fill out, sign and return. (capital one)
I had no adverse effects regarding my credit.