$7110.02 ...
... is the amount in fraudulent charges made on my American Express card in the last 5 days. And American express never thought it was odd "I" was charging $3000 at Bloomingdales in NY at the same time I was paying at a restaurant in Montreal.
It doesn't seem like I'm responsible for those charges but still, it's stressful to know we're so exposed. What if that was my debit card? Not that I have that kind of money in my bank account but still.
6 comments:
Happened to me too.. on a MasterCard: $11,000: I was shopping at Jean-Coutu in Montreal at the same time as "I" was buying stuff in Toronto from Sony, AppleStore and Bose... They credited me back with no problems. Wonder what happens the second time if I'm unlucky enough.
How did that happen? Was your card stolen? I am sorry.
Reminded me. Once I tried to get fuel for my car at a self-service station, using a credit card. The nozzle was broken, so I had to drive 10 miles to another station. When I returned home, I promptly got a call from the credit card security, inquiring if everything was OK. They found suspicious somebody trying to use the card at 2 different gas stations within the 15 min interval!
Needless to say, it was well appreciated.
One way to help minimise it is to call them each time before you travel so they have your dates and places you will be at. I do this all the time. and it helps. So whoever is trying to use your card will get it blocked straight away.
One way i found effective to prevent this is informing the financial centre ahead of my travels. I always call them with exact dates of where I will be and when i will be back. This way whoever who tried to use the card will get it blocked straight away. It is a bother, but at least it prevents having post fraud stress. Hope this helps.
What a drag and a hassle! $3000... ouch. A few years ago my husband's debit card was double swiped and somehow got the PIN number (or whatever the proper terminology is), and they managed to get $240, but when two different withdrawals happened within an hour of each other in 2 cities 500 miles apart, they froze the account. Amex should have the technology to do the same.
I traveled through Las Vegas once and stayed one night at a hotel there. Within a week, someone had paid for their electric utility bill using my debit card. My account was opened in Aspen, all my charges were in Aspen...you get the picture. In spite of this, I had to "prove" to my bank that I didn't live in Nevada or own property in Nevada. Identity theft is a scary one....
Post a Comment