Credit Card Fraud Prevention

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ceemike

ceemike

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Joined
Nov 19, 2009
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Pennsylvania
I had a new experience while travelling in Florida last month. We were on our way to the Everglades when I pulled in to a Marathon station to fill up my Winnie gas guzzler. I used my Discover card at the pump and pumped in $75 worth, at which point the pump shut off. I wasn't surprised because Discover won't allow more than a $75 gas purchase at the pump. In the past I would just shut off the pump & reauthorize it & pump more gas.

This time the pump displayed a message telling me to see the clerk inside, so I went inside, the clerk swiped my card and told me the card was no good. I said that's impossible, I had just used the card at the pump, please try again. He swiped it a second time & said he got the same message, the card's no good, and I would have to use another card. I was just getting ready to call Discover customer service when I received a text message from Discover stating that they had detected unusual activity on my account at a Marathon for $75 and asking if I authorized the transaction. I replied Y, handed the clerk my card, he swiped it & the transaction went through. I went from being ticked off that my card wouldn't work to marveling how smoothly technology worked. 

I'm a little puzzled why this one transaction set off alarm bells when we'd been in Florida for well over a week & using our Discover card with no problems. I understand credit card companies are doing what they can to protect their card holders & themselves from fraud, which is why I signed up for Discover's text & phone alerts before I left on my trip.  I ended up calling Discover to let them know I was travelling & how long the trip would last. In the future I'll do that before leaving home. 

I just wanted to let everyone know that signing up for text alerts with your credit card company may save you from a hassle while you're on the road.
 
Discover is extremely proactive among the major card issuers in their fraud prevention and the algorithm they use to track fraud changes with your buying habits.

If you consider that you are not liable for the fraud, and they are, and how much that can add up to over the millions of cards out there, it's pretty obvious why they are so active in their efforts.

Discover has called me on several occasions in the past and when you explain your situation (traveling across the country) that helps them tune their process. Glad you got back out the door with a minimum of hassle.

Kim
 
Based on my experiences lately, all of the credit card companies are stepping up their fraud protection activities. It may be a pain in the backside at times, but it am glad they are on top of it.
 
A spending pattern that has caught us a couple of times is 1) buying something cheap in Walmart, then 2) going back through with a bigger spend - even using different tills. Happened when we had tires fitted. While we waited for the work to be done we did a small amount of shopping, then when we paid the for the tires - Wham - rejection. Sorted easily though. Can't remember the other instance.
 
As fulltimers we thought electronic banking was the cat's meow. Not so much anymore. We have been caught in a couple of embarrassing situations because our debit/credit cards were shut down because of a fraud alert. Three times in less than a year. Making matters worse is that our bills and such all use the card and we have to call and straighten everything out every time this happens. On top of that waiting to get a new card forwarded from our mail service is a pain in the a**. The bank has suggested we have our bills drafted out of the account using the routing and account numbers. It's worrisome that there seems to be an all out electronic/hacking assault on peoples bank accounts.
 
That's happened to me a couple of times and I for one am proud they do it.

First time our laptop crashed, went to Walmart, card wouldn't go through, called customer service and everything was fine. CS stated that small purchases sometimes go through but since this was several hundred dollars, it flagged an alarm. I said, THANK YOU, and continued my purchase.

BTW, I was also in Florida at the time. Sarasota I think
 
Last month I saw a news story about people being charged $9.84 on their credit cards in a massive fraud scheme. The idea is most people will overlook a small charge because they don't want the hassle of disputing it. The fraudsters do it to millions of people & it adds up.
 
mdbass said:
As fulltimers we thought electronic banking was the cat's meow. Not so much anymore. We have been caught in a couple of embarrassing situations because our debit/credit cards were shut down because of a fraud alert. Three times in less than a year. Making matters worse is that our bills and such all use the card and we have to call and straighten everything out every time this happens. On top of that waiting to get a new card forwarded from our mail service is a pain in the a**. The bank has suggested we have our bills drafted out of the account using the routing and account numbers. It's worrisome that there seems to be an all out electronic/hacking assault on peoples bank accounts.
Click to expand...

One thing I like about AMEX is that when this happens, they send a message with all the recent recurring accounts where I have used the card.  I can usually get everything fixed, i.e., updated with the new card in about 15 minutes on the internet.  They overnight the new card(s) to my current address, RV park etc.

Interesting as all my recent problems of bad charges to AMEX have occurred at Wal-Mart in places I have not been in a long time.  No feed back on things of course.

I haven't had a problem with my Discover card so am not sure of that one. 
 
We had used our Discover card at Target during the time frame of the recent massive security breach and even though our card wasn't listed as one of the stolen ones, Discover preemptively issued new cards to us with new CVV codes but the same account number.
 
Prior to retiring, I traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and was frequently in New York for example during the day and then would take a Red Eye flight to say,Phoenix.  Invariably I would get a call from Credit Card Security asking if I had in fact instituted the charges in two different cities thousands of miles apart in such a short time span.  Actually it wasn't ever an issue, more of a verification call to me.
 
One thing that will trigger a fraud alert is when you make a small purchase, say $1.49.  Then you go right after that and make a $75 purchase.  Lots of times the bad guys will make a small purchase so they can pay with pocket change without raising too much suspicion on the part of the clerk.  As soon as they know they have a good card, WHAMMO!
 
It is a good practice to let your credit card company when you are traveling. I know for my Visa card they want to know where I plan to travel i.e. what states I plan to be in, how long we will be traveling and some places we may use the card i.e. gas stations, Walmart, grocery stores, etc. By giving them this information I have never encountered a problem with my card being shut down. It is also comforting to know that my credit card company is so deligent in monitoring my card's use.
 
Here's another one for you...

We were travelling in the USA and because we were Canadian, I was told by the clerk to leave my credit card with her while I pumped the gas, else, I couldn't. When we got home, about two weeks later, I got a call from the credit card company asking if I'd just spent $13,000 on miscellaneous things. Of course I said not a chance, and I didn't get nailed for the purchases, but I knew immediately the place were my credit card got compromised.

In retrospect, I thought, never leave your cc with anyone. Just tell them to charge you $150 and then go pump the amount.

Frank
 
Wow!  Thirteen thou in charges? And what does being Canadian have to do with it, anyway?  Sounds really bad - did you happen to call the management when you found out?  I'm sure he/she is doing it to others.

Recently, my friends and I have started meeting for happy hour at a bar (the only bar) in this sleepy little town I live in.  The bartender held on to my CC saying it was 'policy' to do so until I settled my tab.  So my 'policy' now is to pay cash.  It probably would be fine with those people but it's amazing how creeped out I felt.  Probably wouldn't have bothered me a few years ago.
 
Although credit cards will work worldwide one of the drawbacks of not being from the US is that the billing address does not have a zip code, so around 75% of gas stations with card operated pumps will not accept your credit card, so you must go inside to pay.
Hopefully that will change as pin numbers for CC's are introduced.
Meanwhile we furriners are left with making the decision, do we try the card and waste 2 minutes to have it rejected by the machine, or do we walk in to prepay only to be told by the guy that I could have paid direct as these pumps don't need a zip code!
Of course you have to check they are billing the correct pump - I once paid for the guys gas on the next pump, until I checked the amount I paid as I picked up the receipt.
You are right that it is best to prepay for gas and then get what is unused put back on the card, as I found out the had way a couple of years ago. Not through fraud, but my forgetfulness.
Leaving Monument Valley we stopped for gas at Kayenta, where I left my CC before fillling up, then we drove down to Chinle and set up camp at Canyon De Chelly. Later that day went to pay for something (can't remember what), no credit card! Yes, I had not only left my credit card at Kayenta I had also committed what I think may be a Federal Offence(?) of driving away without paying for my gas. A quick phone call and a long, but pleasant, drive enabled me to retrieve my card. The guy said that he was not worried about me  not paying for the gas - ha had my credit card  and he knew I would be back for it.
 
Actually there is a way around that that I read about, but being as I AM from the US, I promptly forgot, I thin, you enter 00000 as your zip code but please do not try that till you confirm it.  Your bank may be able to tell you how to do it.
 
Nope - tried it. Guess that's an urban myth. Though it might work for one of the companies - either gas or CC. But thanks.
 
Yes, but cash is more expensive and relatively inconvenient to carry in 3 monthly quantities. Although changing $50's is slightly less harrowing now, a couple of years ago one seemed to be viewed as a money launderer or forger if you offered a $50 bill.
 
Cash is more expensive???? Usually paying cash results in a cheaper price. You don't need to carry three months of cash with you. I get a $100 back when I shop at Walmart.
 
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