"Hacked!" Topic

No, not the website, my debit card! Someone went on a spending spree in White Plains, New York, and in New Jersey – vending machines, a park, Wendy's, and two trips to Victoria's Secrets!

Fortunately, I spotted it right away on my online statement. However, I'm informed that because it is a debit card, the charges will go through to my balance (they are 'pending' at the moment), and then my debit card company can petition for a refund as an unauthorized charge. What a pain!

I've had the card cancelled, and they tell me the replacement card will get to me in 7 to 10 days.

No idea how they got my information. The card is still in my possession. Maybe the recent Equifax hack? Or someone working at the restaurant where I paid for dinner Friday night…

With a debit card I don't give them to a waiter to take away. Too much temptation.

I say this having been a waiter for years, and almost all are good but – it just takes one to ruin your day.

Sorry to hear this Bill.

Crap, wish I found it, I would have sent it back to you. After getting some minis for my trouble.
Actually found credit cards in a destroyed phone and case by side of road recently, called the credit card company to report but seems it was there awhile and already had been cancelled.

My money would be on the restaurant staff …

LEO relatives tell me there are devices which can scan
cards even if the cards are in a wallet, purse, etc.,
retrieving the info for use later. Perhaps that is
how your card info was taken.

I generally do not allow wait staff to take a DC, but do
allow them to take CC's, since the liability for those
is limited.

My wife's CC has been hacked twice (tho' not in the past
year) and we still don't know how. Each time, the
purchases made were very small so the hassle mostly
involved waiting for a new card to be issued.

Sorry to hear it, Bill. I have had my credit card used hundreds of miles from where I live without it leaving my possession twice. Scary feeling. Convenience is killing us.

I thought all restaurants these days had mobile terminals that the staff bring to your table? They don't even need to touch your card!

A big reason I don't own a debit card!

At least here in the frozen North waiters always bring a mobile device to the table for you to use – so don't give them the card

The scanner thing is by report big in Europe – which is why I have a RIF-secured card carrier that my debit card and credit cards are in

Sorry, Bill.

About a month ago someone "electronically pick my pocket". I'm now carrying all my cards in a special lined wallet that repels the thief's attempt to get my info with his card reading device.

Never thought it would happen to me. Be on the alert pilgrims.

Sorry to hear about this, Bill.

I don't use a debit card.

And rarely use credit my cards.

I try to pay cash when I can.

And use only a few checks per month.

I do use PayPal when I can.

But even with all that I/anyone could be vulnerable. When working for the investigative company, we sometimes would run across, this sort of thing. And that was a few years back.

The bad guys have gotten better, and will always find a way to get your $$$$. We all just need to be very careful in this age of cyber tech that can be exploited by the criminals. Many not from the USA. Which makes it harder to catch and prosecute, etc. And sadly that won't make you/me/anyone invulnerable …

Always check the gas pumps when you get gas also. The scumbags will slip a card reader over the existing one and get your card number. I alwyas pull on the card slot to make sure it won't come off, and check the pump itself for innocent looking boxes. Sure sign something is going on if a "monitoring box" is on the gas pump.

Sorry fro your pain.

My debit card is only used to get cash that I then use to pat bills in restaurants.

Credit card are used for larger purchases and when the restaurant bill is a little high.

I thought all restaurants these days had mobile terminals that the staff bring to your table? They don't even need to touch your card!

I rarely see these in the States, mostly in the EU. Use my DC at restaurants all the time. How would you keep them from taking it away without a mobile terminal?

Poor you, that must have been a shock!
I hope the villain who did it is caught!
I also hope…and expect…your money to be refunded!

No idea how they got my information. The card is still in my possession.

It can happen in several ways:
card skimmer in an ATM
compromised card reader at a retailers
online transaction web site hack
shoulder surfing

.. to name but a few.

I hope the villain who did it is caught!

Sadly, that's pretty unlikely …

I only use a credit card for all the reasons cited above.

Thousands of transactions a year all over the world for many years and only got hacked once so far.

Must be clean living…

It happened to me twice in the past 10 years. Both times at restaurants. I don't use a debit card for the reasons cited above.

I never use a debit card unless I control the reader. Less protection than a credit card.

I never use a debit card unless I control the reader.

I have a virtual copy of my debit card in Android Pay. More secure than an actual card because my phone has a PIN. I can use it for contactless payments.

Less protection than a credit card.

my bank has this to say about debit card security:
"If our systems pick up spending patterns on your account that might indicate fraud, we have measures in place to keep your money safe. Usually, our automated telephone service will call you so you can confirm that you made the purchase – and if you think it's fraudulent, our operators are ready to help.

If we can't reach you we may ask the person you're paying to perform extra checks, or, exceptionally, we may stop further purchases until we are sure it is you. "
link

This happened to me about two years ago. Thankfully, the thief's spending spree got nipped in the bud by our credit union. I didn't have to pay for any purchases that I didn't make myself.

My new debit card has a chip which is supposedly more difficult, if not impossible, to hack. We'll see.

Blaming the staff is like saying "the butler did it." There are so many more likely ways the info was obtained.

My new debit card has a chip which is supposedly more difficult, if not impossible, to hack.

Ironically, I received a letter the same day informing me to expect my new, chip-enabled card in the mail soon.

There is the other problem, of course. Be careful to alert your CC company before a vacation or a move so they don't freeze your card for the "unusual spending pattern."

Nothing like being in a new town with your credit cards locked.

Dear Bill

Most sorry to hear of this. It is a sad sign of the times what we must be so paranoid these days. It seems debit cards are particularly prone to this and especially dangerous in their use.

I can empathize and sympathize. One of the things that happens when you retire is you are literally deluged with phone calls all day trying to get you to order this and that and asking you surveys. One of the latest scams is identity thieves ask questions to get you to say "yes" which they then tape and use to get by your security and answer the prompts for credit cards, bank accounts etc.

You can imagine how difficult it is to not use the word "yes" over the phone, and to find synonyms and metaphors. Nowdays my conversations on the phone go something like this.

Caller: "Hello is this Mr. Schmidt?"

Me: "I'm sorry I can neither confirm nor deny that this is the person you wish to speak to."

Caller: "Well our records indicate that this phone belongs to Otto Schmidt at blah blah blah.

Me: "I'm sorry I can neither confirm nor deny the accuracy of your phone records."

Caller: "But is this XXX-YY-ZZZZ"

Me: "I'm sorry but I can neither confirm nor deny that that telephone number is this one, or that it exists, or that this conversation is taking place at all.:"

Hope you get out of the troubles soon with a minimum of damage.

Who would have thought that paying cash would be so safe again !

I've seen the scammers take it a step even further. Text notification from my bank telling me of a spending spree with a link to freeze the card until it can be sorted out.

Thing is, my bank does not have my cell phone number, and I never signed up for text alerts.

Delete.

They try to get my PayPal data by telling me my account is frozen. And I have to give them all my data again. But I'm sure some fall for it. I report it to PayPals.

They are glad to get the information. don't know what they do with it or if it does any good … But it couldn't hurt …

Otto…

You are very polite to these callers. All I usually say is "I'm not interested, goodbye." Or if they catch me in a bad mood I'll only use two words, the second one of which being "off"!

Oh no Cedric, it's "politess" but quite selfish. I am doing a mitzvah. A good deed or a blessing

If I hold them up with these long conversations (I can spin it out to three quarters of an hour) I save some poor guy who's just coming in the door or sitting down to dinner from having his evening interrupted.

The best are the surveys when they say…"What do you think is the greatest danger facing America Today.

1.The income gap between rich and poor?
2. Abortion and the Right to life?
3. Justice .
4. Drops that spot.

I ask them "Define greatest danger." or " "Justice," For the latter I aks do you mean justice as Plato defined, it Aquinas, Decarte, Locke?

Sometimes I've even burned out the first lever supervisor who came on the phone to try and move it along and they passed me up the line.

It's wonderful being an intellectual . I can at last put to use all those courses of a mis-spent educaton.

When the Jehovahs Witnesses pull up my mouth starts watering with a particularly delicious bit of schadenfreude to be. I went to nine years of Missouri Synod Lutheran Grade School. By the time we graduated we had gone through the bible three times. Couple that with a PhD in history and a life of study they might as well have drawn a pentagram on the ground and said over it "I summon thee" three times.

Please understand I don't try and destroy their faith or even impinge it. In fact I strengthen it. But when they come out with things like (which as their standard line back then) "Don't you think things have gotten worse in this world over the past few years."

Update: The money has been "provisionally" refunded to my account, pending review.