I always told myself, not me. I'm security conscience, I don't give out my information unnecessarily, I always keep my debit card in my possession and I certainly don't share my pin number with anyone. Well it happened. I got a call Thursday morning from the Visa fraud detection services. They asked me if I had made a purchase at Jack in Box 15 minutes prior to their call or had I made several purchases and USPS. My answer was no to each question. The last time I had used my debit card was the previous Saturday and the place I used my debit card was in the Meadows Mall at 3 stores - JC Pennys, Hollister and Footaction.
Whatever the case may be, someone had cloned my debit card. They didn't go haywire and make large charges, they were careful and made small charges like $7.16 at Jack in the Box, $5.76 at 7-11, and several $20 charges at USPS. Thank God that my credit union realized that this wasn't my normal spending habits and called me. They were able to immediately suspend my card. End results $70 or charges had gone through and another $245 were pending. I had to complete 2 sets of paperwork -- 1 for the charges the expended and 1 for the pending charges. Long story short I should have my money as well as a new debit card in 7-10 working days.
I'm somewhat afraid to use my card now but for the most part is safer than carrying cash and it's surely a lot more convenient.
I'm sorry to hear that your card was somehow duplicated. My only guess would be some kind of device was added to a swipe machine to collect the information, which then was used to make counterfeit cards. It's good know hear that you got your money back though, and that your theft prevention was that proactive.
ReplyDeleteWow..sorry to hear that it happened to you. I know we always hear about these stories and never think that it wouldn't happen, but then you realize how often you use your card in public places. I use mine all the time in gas stations and stores. Any thief working in these places can somehow clone your card if they really wanted to. I'm just glad that banks have security measures in place to catch the unusual spending.
ReplyDeleteThe same happened to me a few years ago, but the charges to my card where closer to the 600 dollars in a weekend in California. I got my money a few days later but I sure was upset about it and relieved that I just had paid my rent the weekend before!
ReplyDeleteIt's so convenient to use the debit card but I think I'll be a little more conscience about where I use it. I'll also check my account more to ensure nothing out of the ordinary is going on. I'm glad I was in a position where I could wait to be reimbursed. Glad that I didn't have any outstanding checks. All is well. I recieved a new debit card and had it re-pinned today.
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