Need ATS Intel - How did someone get a physical copy of my credit card when I STILL HAVE IT??

I have been googling for the past hour and can't figure this one out. I figured someone on ATS will know the answer to this: I got a voice message from my bank today to call them back about a security hold placed on my credit card. I checked my account on line before calling and they had an alert posted on my account, so then I called in (this was not a phishing attempt, it really was my bank). This is a credit card I rarely ever use, and generally keep at a zero balance. The only time I really use it is when a company doesn't accept AmEx. Apparently someone tried to make a purchase at a Wal-Mart in Riverside California with my card for $700 today (I live in AZ). It was denied and the bank was following up with me to see if I was aware of it. The thing that throws me for a loop though, it that they asked me if I still have the card, because the attempted purchase used a PHYSICAL card swipe!! Huh? I have the card right here. The bank has cancelled the account and is sending me a new card, and the charge was denied and I've verified the last valid charges, so all is well, but I'm still trying to figure out how someone could steal my credit card info and get it onto a physical card??

Can any of you smart people explain it to me?

Thanks!
Gwynnhwyfar

all someone needs is a skimmer or access to your data to recreate a card with a magnetic strip writer.

en.wikipedia.org...


ETA: This is a common type of fraud. Do you have that card linked to PSN by any chance?

reply to post by gwynnhwyfar


Yeah, Mapkar got it. May have been a skimmer mounted on an ATM or card reader somewhere else you used, or apparently are mobile operations as well.

Video here about it:

OR..

They just ordered a new card through your banking institution. That's a relatively easy proces..

They could also easily cut and paste new numbers onto a dummy card and wipe the magnetic strip with a magnet. The clerk that they hand it to would eventually enter your numbers manually.

I had a similar thing happen to me 3 days before Christmas. They stole abt. $4,000.00. I'm positive that when I was shopping online at Khols. Stupidly, instead of typing Khols in the toolbar, I typed it into google, and clicked on the link. I'm pretty sure it was a fake Khols, set up just for stealing credit card numbers. Only mine was a debit card, so it came straight out of my account.

It was someone from Saudia Arabia, and they made two charges within two minutes, one for $2k and another for $2k.
And my bank let them BOTH go through! They only canceled my card after the 3rd attempt for another $2k.

They used my card at this site.

www.emall.com.sa

My bank eventually reimbursed me, but it took about a month. I had to sign all this paperwork, and it took several trips to the bank. We were broke over Christmas.

I've heard of ways people can collect your info from a card swipe. They put something on the machine and it collects all your info.

Good luck getting it straightened out.

V

does wrapping your card in aluminum foil prevent this from happening (i mean skimming?)

reply to post by gwynnhwyfar


I have 4 of copies of the very same credit card (that is, same credit card number, banking institution, name, etc.) They all "work". I keep one in my purse, one in truck, etc and use all of them within the course of a week.
I ordered extra copies on my banks webpage under my account, so all I needed was my username and password.

There are several ways.

Skimmers. Like on an ATM.
Security breach in a database. Like the Psn one recently.
Manual copy. Such as a waiter taking your card and running it through a portable card reader and copying the pin on the back.

You need to setup alerts at your bank for large purchases.

reply to post by Neopan100

Skimming 101: How to spot it, avoid it, deal with it CreditCards.com

By Emily Starbuck Gerson and Ben Woolsey

"Skimming" is a method by which thieves steal your credit card information, and all it requires is a little illicit technology and a lot of criminal intent by those who handle your credit card.

Skimming occurs most frequently at retail outlets that process credit card payments -- particularly bars, restaurants and gas stations.

How to spot skimming
Here's how it works: A corrupt employee "skims" a customer's credit card with a small, handheld electronic device that scans and stores the card data from the magnetic strip. The employee usually sells the information through a contact or on the Internet, at which point counterfeit cards are made. The criminals go on a shopping spree with a copy of the credit or debit card, and cardholders are unaware of the fraud until a statement arrives with purchases they did not make.

John Brewer, assistant district attorney in the major fraud division of Harris County (Texas) District Attorney's Office, regularly prosecutes identity thieves. "Many consumers think that shopping online is a high-risk endeavor compared to going to a brick and mortar store, but I believe the opposite," Brewer says. "The vast majority of cases we investigate have to do with employees at a physical store stealing your information."

How to avoid skimming
Brewer has encountered many skimming victims and has tips for consumers on how to stay out of trouble.

* Make sure your card stays in sight, and never let anyone leave of your presence with the card if you can help it. "Skimming occurs most at restaurants since the waiter has to walk away with your card," Brewer says. "If you are in a retail store and they say they have to go to another counter to run the card, follow them." If you are concerned about letting go of your card at restaurants, use cash instead.
* Your credit card is like cash. "You need to be aware that your credit card is very valuable," Brewer says. "Treat it like a diamond or cash. Would you just give someone cash and let them walk away with it?"
* Monitor credit card receipts and check them carefully against your statements. If you are married, sit down with your spouse to account for all charges, Brewer says. Some thieves take out small amounts in hopes cardholders won't notice.
* Shred unwanted financial solicitations and put your mail on hold when you leave town. This will not help with skimming, but it can help with other forms of identity theft.

To further protect yourself from potential unauthorized charges or identity fraud, you can request that credit bureaus monitor your accounts for unusual spending patterns and require them to notify you before new credit can be granted in your name. These services come at a price; normally under $100 per year depending on the credit agency. But that might be a worthy investment, especially if you eat in restaurants on a regular basis.

How to deal with skimming

* Call the police. "When your identity or credit card is stolen, it's just like having a car stolen," Brewer says. Make a police report and hang on to the police report number.
* Contact your bank or credit card issuer immediately and tell them your card was stolen. If you don't make a report quickly, you may be liable for some or all of the unauthorized charges.
* If you report swiftly, federal law caps your liability at $50. Most credit cards voluntarily go further, and won't charge you at all -- again, if you report quickly. "If you end up being a victim, it's probably not going to cost you any money," Brewer says. "If you notify your bank quickly, they'll return the money. Don't get hung up about the fact that someone might drain your bank account. The most you will probably spend on it is wasted time and lots of aggravation, since it can be a long process to get everything worked out."
* Contact the three major credit bureaus -- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian -- to request a security freeze, which prevents new credit authorizations without your consent. Brewer suggests visiting the website www.annualcreditreport.com. "It's an institution created in response to a large number of identity theft victims and the cost incurred to them," Brewer says. Through the site, which was mandated by federal law in response to consumer outcry, you are entitled to receive one free credit report each year from each of the three major credit bureaus.

Brewer suggests viewing the reports on a computer you can print from since you only get to check them once a year. "Look at the inquiries section of your report, and see which companies have looked at your credit," Brewer says.

If a car dealership looked at your report but you didn't go there, it's a sign that the person with your card information went car shopping. Give these reports to the police; it will help them investigate your case.

That is awful!
On the week before Easter my husband had a similar disaster happen to him/us. We went to the beach two hours from our house for a three night spring break stay. We went out to eat at a seafood place called Spuds at Murells Inlet at Myrtle Beach, SC. The waitress took his Visa card at the end of the meal then came back and said it was declined. So, he gave her his Discover card. The very next day the Visa card people called his cell phone, and told him they shut off the card. We were stunned... That card had been in my purse prior to the restraunt, where he had asked for it back. I had used it at Lowes the previous week to buy plumbing parts. The next day, he used the Discover card at Walgreens and was declined. He immediately called Discover and found out they closed the compromised card off because someone outside of Huston, Texas had used it to buy $500.00+/-gas. He is not responsible for that bill either, and they will to send him a new card.

He started talking to the representative and we discovered what had happened was the waitress, or who ever ran the cash registrar copied the numbers on both cards. So there we were, on vacation with only my credit cards working. The fbi or police was supposed to go over and shut the restraunt down the next day, on the Saturday of Easter weekend. Can you imagine the damage to the owners's profit...? Not to mention we are state locals and we talk. We know people in the state ... this will get around. Myrtle Beach SC has crime problems.

Here is the bottom line.... Never ever let your card out of your sight, walk to the registar and stand there and pay.
These crooks use camera phones and can e-mail /send that information to someone else's phone instantly....
Keep $100.00 worth of traveler's checks on yourself for emergencies.
What the waitress' crook friends did was make a new card and spent the daily limit on it. Fortunately the software programs at Visa and Discover are smartware. We felt violated and taken advantage by that waitress, who was a young petiete, sweet, twenty something that is going to jail. She got caught. It might be a mophia related crime.

Restraunts are noted for this fraud. A friend of ours paid at a Mexican restraunt and charges were rung up in Mexico! There are some online tips on how to protect yourself from this type of fraud. Best of luck to you, I am sorry this happens to people like us.

Thanks guys, I knew I could get the answers here.

I hardly use this card for anything and I've only made one purchase from PSN, for "Flower", a few years ago. I don't play their online games. I'm not the gamer in the household, but nobody else plays the Playstation online stuff either, they play Call of Duty on the XBox. I suppose it could have been stolen during the big PSN hack though, as the timing is pretty coincedental. Or, I may have used it when we went to San Diego on vacation a few months ago and it could have been compromised then, but I haven't seen any unusual charges until this happened.

I'm fine, the charge was denied and now the account has been closed, so I'm all good, just couldn't figure how they did it when she told me it was a physical card swipe.

Thanks again!
Gwynnhwyfar

reply to post by gwynnhwyfar


None the less, by posting, you may have prevented someone from having to go through what you did, so for that, Kudos...well worthy of the S&F

reply to post by UberL33t


Gosh, I hope so! Thanks - the article you posted gave me a lot to think about. I always make my on-line purchases via credit card in case it goes wrong, so nobody could get hold of my debit info and drain my bank account. But I usually use my debit card at restaurants, never realized when they leave the table they could steal the info. I'm glad it was my credit card, not debit, and very glad my bank was so proactive about it and caught it!

If your card has paypass RFID chip get it turned off.

With the magnetic strip it has to be swipped.

But with paypass RFID chip it only has to pass close to a RFID reader. 3 to 4 inches

This means the crooks can hide the paypass reader with ease and read your card when you are close to a business reader.

You do not gain any real security with Paypass you lose security.

With a magnetic strip reader and your pin number you are the most secure.

Paying with Paypass you don't use your pin just the reader reading the card.

Rules to protect you card.

Disable Paypass.
Always swipe you card YOURSELF.
Always use enter the pin number YOURSELF.
always check any machine your going to put your card in for a attached skimmer fitted over the card slot.

Never use a system where someone else swipes your card.
And never use a system that does not require the pin number.

I have followed these rules and never had any problem with fraudulent charges.

Oh once they have the information off the magnetic strip they can put it on anything. common is putting the information on the magnetic strip of a motel key card. This way if caught by the cops it does not look like a bank card. but if it has information off the magnetic strip of your card and they know your pin it will work in a ATM.
www.keycardsupply.com...

It won't be any more complicated to do this when everyone is chipped either. Just wait. This is just the beginning. They want to outlaw cash. They have already forced us into a plastic world full of imaginary numbers. Next will subcutaneous chips, but that chip info can be lifted as you walk past someone with a reader. Anyone with the equipment can read, extract, change, or delete your info without you knowing. You can be turned into a non-entity. Be very, very careful of legislation going through right now. Lots of distractions out there keeping us from seeing what's going on.

This is no longer paranoid drivel. This is what's actually going to transpire in the near future.

The same thing recently happened to my wife.

She asked the bank how they could have used her card when she still had it. They said that the criminals just make a new card and use your number.

Online it says they they most commonly get it by just writing it down when you hand it to someone at a cash register.

I could see that happening. If you use it at some place like a McDonald's drive-thru you don't really know what they do with it inside that little window.

Working for a national credit card company, I can tell you that its very common.

Several ways people can do this, waitress at a restaurant can take your card back and copy down the card number. A card number skimmer, there was a problem with those last summer at gas stations. If you have the chip in your card, that has been a big problem these days. Hacking in to your computer, Some times the credit card info merchants have in their system will get compromised. (In those cases the merchants alert the credit card companies and the cc company will reissue you a new card.

If you shop alot online, your card info can also be compromised. Make sure to check on your credit card issuers website. The company i work for has secure online account numbers where you can generate a number, exp. date, and cvv2 code. It will be connected to your acct but the number will only be active for that one time transaction, So a criminal does record that number, and intend to use it for fraudulent purposes, it will not work.

I love ATS. I learn all kinds of stuff. Of course some of what I learn makes me suspicious of my fellow ATSers.