So...how many here have dealt with identity theft or unauthorized charges?

[gimmethesimplelife]

I'm just curious - given the recent news of the security breach at Target and now Neiman Marcus, how many out there have been victims of identity theft or had unauthorized charges appear on a credit or debit card due to a security breach? Color me once on identity theft, once on unauthorized charges, and once on no unauthorized charges but my debit card was exposed to some kind of breach and my credit union sent me a new debit card. This is crazy when I stop and think of it - absolutely crazy.

I wonder how many billions of dollars are lost every year due to this type of fraud? Mind boggling. Rob

[Lainey]

I was on of those who shopped at Target and used my debit card, and my bank sent me a new card. I've been monitoring my checking account and so far so good. My big concern is the identity theft - someone getting a new card, vehicle, mortgage, etc. using my identity and good credit rating.

I've never been a victim of any of this, yet, so I thought I'd put a freeze on my credit. Looks like you can do that for only about 90 days for free, Unless you've been a victim of identity theft already and then you can put it on a freeze for years. Nothing like closing the barn door after the horse has already gotten out ..?

[try2bfrugal]

I have lost count how many times either DH and I or our kids have had unauthorized debit or credit card charges. In all but one case when I had a new card and had not established any shopping patterns yet, the fraud detection programs caught it before we did.

So far we have not been out of pocket any money.

[Lainey]

I agree that banks are good at reimbursing the victim's account, but in other ways consumers are paying for this theft.

[Maxamillion]

I had unauthorized charges on my debit card for the first time in November. I suspect it happened when I tried buying phone minutes online. Not for sure though. Someone got my debit card information though and cleaned out my bank account. Thankfully I frequently check how much I have in the bank so I was able to catch it quickly. I was reimbursed for the money and the bank refunded the overdraft fee. But for a week I was without any money, while waiting on all that, since I don't usually carry cash.

[try2bfrugal]

I had unauthorized charges on my debit card for the first time in November. I suspect it happened when I tried buying phone minutes online. Not for sure though. Someone got my debit card information though and cleaned out my bank account. Thankfully I frequently check how much I have in the bank so I was able to catch it quickly. I was reimbursed for the money and the bank refunded the overdraft fee. But for a week I was without any money, while waiting on all that, since I don't usually carry cash.

Were getting rid of all the debit cards. Each kid has had a checking account cleared out now. There are more protections with credit cards. We are co-signing so the kids can get student Visa cards and closing out our debit cards.

[iris lilies]

Just a couple of times over the years our credit accounts have been compromised. The fraud detection programs are pretty good.

I was annoyed, though, a few years ago with my credit card company when I went to Scotland. I called them to tell them in advance I 'd be using my credit card there. The first time I tried to use it in Edinburgh, it was denied. I ended up going to a bank in Inverness to have a nice young lady work that problem out.

Meanwhile, DH's credit card let him charge all over Scotland and he had NOT notified them in advance that he'd be there.

[Alan]

I've only had one experience with this, and that was done the old fashioned way. A kid at the jet ski rental on Biscayne Bay (back when they ran your credit card through the sliding apparatus to create an imprint on multiple copies) saved a copy of our credit card imprint and later attempted to buy over $5000 of computer equipment on our account.
When we arrived home a few days later, there was a message from the CC company on our answering machine, asking if we authorized the purchase. Without that authorization, the purchase did not go through and we found that neither the CC company, nor the Miami police department were interested in the offense as no goods or services changed hands. No harm, no foul!

Even with that experience, we continue to use credit and debit cards for just about everything, seldom using cash for anything at all. I've had the same $9 in my pocket for the past 3 weeks.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I've pretty much reverted to cash for most purchases - my debit card was dinged this past Spring during the Basha's security breach - Basha's being an Arizona grocery store chain - and reading about Target and Neiman Marcus (though in this karma I don't know that I'll be shopping at the latter, lol) does not make me feel confident about using it again. It is true that a fraud detection program caught the unauthorized charge to my debit card originating in Guanajuato, Mexico, but I don't want to wait the week and a half before the money is refunded to my account. This is just something I feel I'm better off not dealing with, period. Rob

[pinkytoe]

Several times over the past few years. The weirdest one was when someone used DH's Paypal account and purchased very expensive jewelry.

[Gardenarian]

We have had several cases of unauthorized charges on our credit cards, but none for the past few years.

[Lainey]

Alan, you reminded me that I'd had a potential fraud on my debit card last year. I got a text and email from my bank saying someone had tried to buy $300 in groceries in Grand Rapids MI, but fortunately the bank must have realized it was fraud and declined the purchase.

So I wondered also, did the police in Grand Rapids get involved, like looking at the store videotape to see who attempted the purchase? My guess is not, and I'm also guessing that this is not the first time those perps did such a thing. Sure seems like an easy, low-risk crime to commit.

[Alan]

Lainey, as you might imagine, I was incensed at my inability to get anyone to take action. I eventually contacted the hotel that the jet ski vendor serviced and told them. I'm sure it fell on deaf ears although it made me feel better.

[RosieTR]

We had one incident so far, a couple of years ago. The cc company called to ask if we were Barcelona at a restaurant with a several thousand dollar meal. Um, nope. Thankfully we had a backup card to use for the week it took to get a new card. That breach occurred at a movie theater we'd gone to while we were visiting family. Sometimes the fraud detection things are weird though. Twice I've had my card declined during pretty normal stuff-a gas station I used multiple times, or when my charges went like this: 1) evening before, charitable donation to reputable flood-relief charity 2) gas fill-up in my zip code, at a station I often use, for an amount I normally charge 3) inexpensive tourist item in a town nearby where I'd periodically spent money over the prior 6 months. I really have no idea why the fraud detection thought that was weird. OTOH the prior year, we went to New York City and had no problems I didn't call the cc company and my parents booked both the tickets and the hotel with their card so to our cc there would have been a bunch of charges in CO, then all the sudden charges in New York City. This was just after Sandy so some of the places had to use the paper copy thing because the wireless system was down. Likewise, a trip I took to San Diego was booked via my workplace so all of a sudden the charges would have gone from my normal pattern in CO to restaurants, touristy things, and a hotel in San Diego. But charitable donations and gas in my neighborhood makes a charge in what's normally less than an hour drive look odd? Go figure. I suppose false positives are better than false negatives for fraud, though.

[Blackdog Lin]

Guess I've been lucky. Ever since the teenager grew up and moved out ( :( ), we've never had any unauthorized charges on any accounts.

[try2bfrugal]

We had one incident so far, a couple of years ago. The cc company called to ask if we were Barcelona at a restaurant with a several thousand dollar meal. Um, nope. Thankfully we had a backup card to use for the week it took to get a new card. That breach occurred at a movie theater we'd gone to while we were visiting family. Sometimes the fraud detection things are weird though. Twice I've had my card declined during pretty normal stuff-a gas station I used multiple times, or when my charges went like this: 1) evening before, charitable donation to reputable flood-relief charity 2) gas fill-up in my zip code, at a station I often use, for an amount I normally charge 3) inexpensive tourist item in a town nearby where I'd periodically spent money over the prior 6 months. I really have no idea why the fraud detection thought that was weird. OTOH the prior year, we went to New York City and had no problems I didn't call the cc company and my parents booked both the tickets and the hotel with their card so to our cc there would have been a bunch of charges in CO, then all the sudden charges in New York City. This was just after Sandy so some of the places had to use the paper copy thing because the wireless system was down. Likewise, a trip I took to San Diego was booked via my workplace so all of a sudden the charges would have gone from my normal pattern in CO to restaurants, touristy things, and a hotel in San Diego. But charitable donations and gas in my neighborhood makes a charge in what's normally less than an hour drive look odd? Go figure. I suppose false positives are better than false negatives for fraud, though.

I was told somewhere along the line that people who steal credit card numbers often test them out at gas stations first so if they get caught they can speed away. I have triggered at least a couple of false positives by getting gas then shopping at Whole Foods. Maybe only people with stolen cards are willing to pay the prices at Whole Foods? :) Or more likely Whole Foods sells cash equivalents like prepaid Visa cards. I don't know but the gas station - Whole Foods trips triggered at least two fraud calls, maybe more. It has been awhile so I forgot exactly how many times it happened, but I did notice a pattern after the second time.

[Simply Divine]

I've had to change my debit card number a couple of times due to fraud. Someone also stole my password once and tried to buy stuff on eBay with it. I recently got an email from Target stating my information was stolen, even though I didn't shop there last Christmas season. I changed my pin, and I'm watching my account closely to see if I need to replace my debit card again. I'm not used to carrying cash, so getting it replaced would be a minor hassle.

[ToomuchStuff]

Were getting rid of all the debit cards. Each kid has had a checking account cleared out now. There are more protections with credit cards. We are co-signing so the kids can get student Visa cards and closing out our debit cards.

Couldn't they establish with a prepaid card and then you wouldn't have the liability? Is there anything in the agreement that says you accept liability, ONLY UP TO the AGREED credit limit (CC company can't raise it with you on it)?


I've only had one experience with this, and that was done the old fashioned way. A kid at the jet ski rental on Biscayne Bay (back when they ran your credit card through the sliding apparatus to create an imprint on multiple copies) saved a copy of our credit card imprint and later attempted to buy over $5000 of computer equipment on our account.
When we arrived home a few days later, there was a message from the CC company on our answering machine, asking if we authorized the purchase. Without that authorization, the purchase did not go through and we found that neither the CC company, nor the Miami police department were interested in the offense as no goods or services changed hands. No harm, no foul!


The purchase didn't go through, so the CC company, didn't lose money. The seller, didn't provide the merchandise, without the CC going through, so neither was a victim. To explain this further, I will give an example a LEO friend gave me. There was a rash of people getting older, dead big screen tv's on CL. They would take out a home warranty and then say x happened, and the tv died. The warranty company, would send the person out and when it wasn't fixable, pay for tv replacement. The warranty/insurance company was the victim, but unless they pressed charges, there was nothing the cops could do, as there was "no victim". I think the companies since caught on and tv's are excluded (never had the home warranty to know).


I've had to change my debit card number a couple of times due to fraud. Someone also stole my password once and tried to buy stuff on eBay with it. I recently got an email from Target stating my information was stolen, even though I didn't shop there last Christmas season. I changed my pin, and I'm watching my account closely to see if I need to replace my debit card again. I'm not used to carrying cash, so getting it replaced would be a minor hassle.

I am wondering in part about a Target email as well. I received one, which went to my work email account (possible I registered it YEARS ago, looking for something for the boss, but no purchases were made there), and my father said today, that Target announced they were sending out emails, and he read online, that so were crackers/phishers/spammers.


Last year, I went to use my CC and found it wouldn't go through. The CC company caught a fraud attempt (two actually, for a total under $50), where a phone number was used to try to change the info for a whole bunch of CC. (anything that number was connected to was canceled) I went through a month long process, because my phone number, but not address, etc. had changed. I used my debit card instead and made sure it wasn't kept in anybodies (keep online for future purchases) database. MONTHS later, I received a letter from a data processing company for a whole bunch of companies (they didn't list them) that stated their systems had been compromised and mine was among the CC info that had been compromised. I had talked to a LEO I know well, who deals with some of this, and because of the way I use my card and how it is not connected with other sources of identity info, he said watch my bills for a couple months, and if nothing out of the ordinary, don't bother with the identity theft form stuff, the CC company, had to legally offer. (they obtained a bunch of cards and use stuff to try to find out which to keep for use, etc) I was at a low risk.

[try2bfrugal]

Couldn't they establish with a prepaid card and then you wouldn't have the liability? Is there anything in the agreement that says you accept liability, ONLY UP TO the AGREED credit limit (CC company can't raise it with you on it)?

They wouldn't run up their credit cards. They are good kids, plus we are still supporting them and paying all their college bills. They know if they ran up a big charge bill we could just take that money off their tuition payments or not let them have a car for a semester. We were going to get them credit cards anyway to help them start building up credit. The debit card issue just made it a higher priority.

[SteveinMN]

I had my identity stolen several years ago by a ring in Massachusetts that did a lot of it -- essentially executed a change-of-address for me. I think I found out about it in the course of applying for a different CC or a car loan or such. IIRC the address is still listed as a "previous address" on my credit report, though there is an attachment explaining the situation. I still use credit and debit cards, though I'm far more likely to use the CC anyplace new to me or anyplace I don't have ready recourse for misuse (PayPal still has not gotten its hooks into my bank account and they'll have to pry my cold dead hands from the keyboard before they do).

[ToomuchStuff]

Steve, there is an eventual limit to how much you can do, before you can't use Paypal, without linking the account. (I think it is $10k cumulative) I opened a completely separate account for the paypal link due to buying equipment for work (bought one piece that goes for around $6k used at the time, for $2200).
The weird thing was, I had hit the limit, so I had to open it, but it required for that size purchase, I use my CC. (I didn't understand that) I haven't used Paypal, or Ebay since. (stopped when they wanted to do online account management/emails) I still prefer paper statements in the mail (more severe and typically enforced, legal consequences for messing with the mail).

[larknm]

In the mid-1990's a woman working at JC Penney's in Alabama called me on the phone. I lived in NYC. She told me that iffy charges were found on my card when they checked it out. Lots of furniture and baby-care stuff--in Alabama and Queens, NY. I contacted the credit unions and got all but one of the charges cleared up. When DH and I went to buy land to build a house on in upstate NY a couple years later, that charge was still there. Fortunately we were in a small town and the bank heard everything else about our financial report, and our telling them about the fraud situation into account and lent us the money. That woman in Alabama is a rare person, I imagine.

[Lainey]

Another cautionary tale: A friend's adult daughter was at a kids birthday party at a public park. Her Kohl's credit card was stolen from her purse (weird in itself - they didn't take the whole purse or even her wallet, just the one credit card.)

The thief went to Kohls 2 days in a row and used it - finally on the 3rd day when they tried again, the manager got suspicious and called the number associated with the card, which is my friend's daughter. That's how she found out it had even been stolen.
But again I don't think anyone pressed charges, they just declined the sale and the perps left the store. Which is a shame because any thieves brazen enough to go to the store to use a stolen card in-person 3 days in a row has surely done this before and needs to be taken off the streets.

[Simone]

I suspect our credit card was compromised at a particular restaurant we went to when we were away on vacation. But it might have been any one of several restaurants we were in that week.

Here is my question: Has anyone a method for paying at a restaurant with a credit card without it becoming possible for a worker to take the card away from the table and keep a copy of the number along with the security code on the back?

The fraudlent charges we incurred were all for online skype pornography. The charges were dispensed with, but we had to destroy that card and deal with all the headaches surrounding losing credit while on vacation and then doing paperwork at home to start using a new card.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I suspect our credit card was compromised at a particular restaurant we went to when we were away on vacation. But it might have been any one of several restaurants we were in that week.

Here is my question: Has anyone a method for paying at a restaurant with a credit card without it becoming possible for a worker to take the card away from the table and keep a copy of the number along with the security code on the back?

The fraudlent charges we incurred were all for online skype pornography. The charges were dispensed with, but we had to destroy that card and deal with all the headaches surrounding losing credit while on vacation and then doing paperwork at home to start using a new card.Coming from as many years of working waiting tables as I do, I have always been amazed that that business has been so open to giving second chances to felons and people with some shady activities (to put it nicely) in their past. It has only been the past couple of years that many restaurants have started doing background checks on their employees and I think what started this is that insurance companies started requiring this. When you stop and think about it, a server is an excellent position to skim the numbers off your card as they take your card away to run it in some often unseen location. I have heard of this in the business but I have not run across it in my many years of serving (unless it was dealt with by management and kept quiet, which is very rare in this gossip hungry business.)

I'm glad to see that chains such as California Pizza Kitchen are now running background checks and so are the national parks. It may come as a surprise to many but the national parks have for years been a place that were so desperate for employees they'd take anyone and not bother with a background check even though the parks are on Federal land - this of course applies to the concessionaires running the hotels, gift shops, restaurants, etc. and not the Federal Government jobs. The potential for credit card fraud in such a situation boggles my mind though it is only the past couple of years I have been made aware of this as I dealt with identity theft myself. Rob

[ToomuchStuff]

I suspect our credit card was compromised at a particular restaurant we went to when we were away on vacation. But it might have been any one of several restaurants we were in that week.

Here is my question: Has anyone a method for paying at a restaurant with a credit card without it becoming possible for a worker to take the card away from the table and keep a copy of the number along with the security code on the back?

The fraudlent charges we incurred were all for online skype pornography. The charges were dispensed with, but we had to destroy that card and deal with all the headaches surrounding losing credit while on vacation and then doing paperwork at home to start using a new card.


Can't you simply either ask to pay at the register, or go pay "on the way to using the facilities" (where it looks either like your treating someone, or meeting your party out at the car)?
I've never paid for food with a CC though. It never made sense to me, to pay for something that is gone, LONG before you get the bill.

[gwendolyn]

Coming from as many years of working waiting tables as I do, I have always been amazed that that business has been so open to giving second chances to felons and people with some shady activities (to put it nicely) in their past.]\

One in four adults - that's 65 million Americans -- have an arrest or conviction that shows up in a routine criminal background check. It is a result of the criminalization of a whole class of people since the pass of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the advent on the "war on drug users". This is a systemic crisis -- the "new Jim Crow (http://www.cflj.org/new-jim-crow/)". (More African Americans are under the control of the criminal justice system today – in prison or jail, on probation or parole – than were enslaved in 1850. More whites are drug dealers and users, yet represent a fraction of drug convictions.) While I don't believe in dangling temptation in front of people with real criminal tendencies, barring ex-cons or ex-arrestees from employment has created a huge underclass that is ever more economically and socially disparate. Thank goodness for those employers who give these people an opportunity to feed, house and clothe themselves! The National Employment Law Project (http://www.nelp.org) is working toward reasonable reforms that would create better workplace security while not indescriminately excluding people who have "paid their debt to society."

Let's face it, credit cards in and of themselves are a magnet for all sorts of bad behavior: over-indebtedness, purchasing fraud, usury, and now a massive amount of identity theft -- not to mention data mining by corporations and governments. I think one uses them at their own peril, and should exercise many of the safeguards the wise people here have mentioned.

[SteveinMN]

I've never paid for food with a CC though. It never made sense to me, to pay for something that is gone, LONG before you get the bill.
I know people who use their CC to pay for everything because their card offers some benefit (frequent-flyer miles, cash back, whatever) based on the charges incurred. If you pay your CC bill in full at the end of the month anyway, it's not a bad way of picking up a discount on something you'll use later.

[mschrisgo2]

Just got an email today from my bank saying "...card information may have been compromised at an undisclosed merchant or service provider..." and they are issuing me a new card, and number of course. So all day my mind has been wandering back to where I've used it recently. Though of course this could still be fallout from the Target mess, I did use my card there once for a small transaction during their security breach period.

Prior to this, I've had unauthorized charges- for makeup from Paris! That was over a year ago, got new card then, too. And one time quite a few years ago now, I had my number stolen at a gas station. They were using it before I even left the parking lot. The bank caught it because I just bought gas in California and the charges were in New Jersey! Real stupid person, that one.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I think I may have traced where my card was compromised. This past summer I did a mystery shop of Neiman Marcus (there's one here in Arizona at the state's largest mall) where I had to buy one clothing item and then return it and see how the associate handled the return. Definitely a sweet mystery shop as it was not hard and paid $38 - not bad for the amount of work involved. But I think that this transaction may have compromised my card as NM is saying their breach started sometime this past summer. Crazy!

I'd like to think at those prices (!!!) - imagine if you will how I perceive pricing at NM, as most of my clothes are from thrift shops and yard sales - Anyway, I'd like to think at those prices there is enough profit margin being made to spend some money on secure transaction systems or whatever IT people would call it. Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

One in four adults - that's 65 million Americans -- have an arrest or conviction that shows up in a routine criminal background check. It is a result of the criminalization of a whole class of people since the pass of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the advent on the "war on drug users". This is a systemic crisis -- the "new Jim Crow (http://www.cflj.org/new-jim-crow/)". (More African Americans are under the control of the criminal justice system today – in prison or jail, on probation or parole – than were enslaved in 1850. More whites are drug dealers and users, yet represent a fraction of drug convictions.) While I don't believe in dangling temptation in front of people with real criminal tendencies, barring ex-cons or ex-arrestees from employment has created a huge underclass that is ever more economically and socially disparate. Thank goodness for those employers who give these people an opportunity to feed, house and clothe themselves! The National Employment Law Project (http://www.nelp.org) is working toward reasonable reforms that would create better workplace security while not indescriminately excluding people who have "paid their debt to society."

Let's face it, credit cards in and of themselves are a magnet for all sorts of bad behavior: over-indebtedness, purchasing fraud, usury, and now a massive amount of identity theft -- not to mention data mining by corporations and governments. I think one uses them at their own peril, and should exercise many of the safeguards the wise people here have mentioned.Something I find absolutely insane that ties into your post - as much as I post about Mexico, a sad fact of that country is there are areas in Mexico now where lawlessness reigns and crime goes completely unpunished and criminals pretty much have impunity. That's one extreme. Now, in America, someone can do something stupid when they are young such as get a public intoxication ticket or shoplift a CD or get into some kind of stupid fight with no weapons involved - if the cops get involved, there's a record for life in many states and this can act against one finding employment. This to me is absolutely crazy, too. I guess if I had to chose one or the other, I'd pick this insanity as I am physically safer under the US insanity - but that doesn't mean that I don't see it for what it is. As I see it, the day may come when we get arrested for sneezing too loud. Seriously, that wouldn't surprise me a bit.

My point is both sides of the border are extreme as to laws/crime/punishment/consequences. Rob