Credit card...um...."compromised". Fun with "Unauthorized Use" and other stories from ScamVille

[sky high]

Found out yesterday that our credit card number was hacked/stolen/etc. and that about 3K in purchases were made from 3 different gas stations....all in $100 / $105 / $125 increments. The CC company said it is probably an employee....

This all started with a fill up at a Chevron station in Golden on far West Colfax around 1/5/13....where we noticed the NEXT DAY that our card was charged $125....but I had only put in about $45. I immediately got online and Googled for info and came up with a buncha hits about Chevron putting a $125 "hold" charge on the card to insure there were funds in the account. Evidentlly ANOTHER SCAM is to buy a pre-paid VISA.....get like $5 on it.... then hit the gas pump and fill up/charge it up big. Some companies only check to see if the account is valid...doing a $1 Check/hit on the card to see it's gonna go through before letting you pump... Chevron holds the max limit their pump will dispense...$125...in case the card used has only a dollar limit/etc... After seeing this on the Net I figured/thought that the charge would reverse after the validation hit and I would be credited for the difference like other folks commenting had experienced.

WRONG. A week or so later we went online to do some banking....and we shocked to see over 3K racked up on the card as someone did a round-robin to what appears to be 3 gas stations...and used the # to obtain cash/goods/something....$300-$500 per day...

The good thing is that we have great rep/credit with VISA....and they closed down the account and waived the charges we didn't make. Kinda think it's someone funneling card #'s from corporate to someone in the field.....but have no proof.... Just thought I'd warn others who might use CHEVRON while travelling...etc... that the practice exists.

That's the 3rd card in about 2 years we've had unauthorized use on/had to close/etc....

Anybody else have this kinda fun or out-and-out identity theft? Fuckin low life bastards....

 

[marski420]

Found out yesterday that our credit card number was hacked/stolen/etc. and that about 3K in purchases were made from 3 different gas stations....all in $100 / $105 / $125 increments. The CC company said it is probably an employee....

This all started with a fill up at a Chevron station in Golden on far West Colfax around 1/5/13....where we noticed the NEXT DAY that our card was charged $125....but I had only put in about $45. I immediately got online and Googled for info and came up with a buncha hits about Chevron putting a $125 "hold" charge on the card to insure there were funds in the account. Evidentlly ANOTHER SCAM is to buy a pre-paid VISA.....get like $5 on it.... then hit the gas pump and fill up/charge it up big. Some companies only check to see if the account is valid...doing a $1 Check/hit on the card to see it's gonna go through before letting you pump... Chevron holds the max limit their pump will dispense...$125...in case the card used has only a dollar limit/etc... After seeing this on the Net I figured/thought that the charge would reverse after the validation hit and I would be credited for the difference like other folks commenting had experienced.

WRONG. A week or so later we went online to do some banking....and we shocked to see over 3K racked up on the card as someone did a round-robin to what appears to be 3 gas stations...and used the # to obtain cash/goods/something....$300-$500 per day...

The good thing is that we have great rep/credit with VISA....and they closed down the account and waived the charges we didn't make. Kinda think it's someone funneling card #'s from corporate to someone in the field.....but have no proof.... Just thought I'd warn others who might use CHEVRON while travelling...etc... that the practice exists.

That's the 3rd card in about 2 years we've had unauthorized use on/had to close/etc....

Anybody else have this kinda fun or out-and-out identity theft? Fuckin low life bastards....

My parents had the same thing happen except with their debit card, at a gas station. They had cameras that would watch people input their pin numbers. This was a big thing a few years ago around my area, peoples accounts were being funneled left and right. That gas station is now shut down since they were convicted. Careful for the sketchy people out there!

 

[fishwhistle]

We just had someone get our card # somehow and use it to buy shit online through jcpenny around christmas but they called us because it was "unusual" so they got nothing and we got new cards but it has happened to us before a few years ago,heres the story on that one.
Got a call from the bank asking us about "unusual" charges and i laughed because we were buying shit like crazy at the time because i had just finished building a house and we were buying all the shit to furnish etc so i told them so and they asked if they could read a few charges off to me,they started reading and i said yeah yeah thats mine and then NO NO thats not fucking mine!35k in charges,everything from online,the stupid fucks even paid their cable bill and had a ton of shit sent to their own house!I was pissed,cops did a big investigation and found out that a 20 year old girl that worked at home depot had been selling card #s and info for 100 bucks each to a ring that then made up new cards and used them and sold them,when they served a warrant at the home D girls house they found 10 grand in designer clothes and she had a brand new honda she had bought with the proceeds,not with the cards but with the #s she had been selling!Anyways it wasnt hard to track down the rest of the jokers involved and the bank refunded every cent into our account,it was linked to my personal checking and there was a shit ton in there as we had the proceeds from the sale of our old house still in it.I wanted to prosecute so i kept on the detectives asses and finally they came by and told me "sorry theres nothing we can do because the bank wont press charges"WTF?Apparently since the bank had refunded my money they were the ones who had to press charges and its their policy to NOT press charges unless its over 50k because it costs them so much in lawyers fees and employee time that they just end up losing more,I fucking pulled every cent out of BofA and closed my accounts with them and the guys who perpetrated the whole scam are still out there doing the same damn thing,the cops told me it happens all the time!

 

[squiggly]

Happens all the time dude, you probably were victim of a card reader installed into the pump.

Ways to avoid this:

1. Always jiggle any card reader before you put your card in. If it is loose, it is faulty. Do not use it.

2. Pay inside.

Don't worry, even without the rep/credit this has gone down the way it usually does. Card is closed, charges are cancelled, FBI and local law enforcement are notified.

Whoever did this to you will have their door kicked in--75% chance. Gas stations are notoriously bad for this kind of scam, fucking cameras everywhere. The chances of him being caught will depend on the security diligence on the part of the particular gas station franchisee.

As crimes go, this one is probably the least damaging to the victim ultimately--the biggest hassle is going around to your accounts and changing your number over. A pain, but it doesn't break the bank.

You will eventually pay an infinitesimally small part of this loss by way of increased interest or other financial finagling by the credit card company (on all customers, not you specifically--that is how loss prevention accounting goes--that which you don't prevent the customer pays for).

The guy is still a shithead, but really the CC company is taking the loss here. I say fuck both of em.

 

[outwest]

I've had about a half dozen cards compromised over the years. Always detected as fraud very quickly and luckily.

outwest

 

[Cort]

Never had one compromised, but did have the bank turn off my cards at the beginning of a road trip because of suspicious use... it was me, stuck with just a little cash and an empty tank waiting for the bank to let me have my money.

Better safe than sorry I guess.

 

[UNITEDGROOVES]

Squiggly is right on point.. This happened to me October of last year.. 3 cards were cloned and used at another gas station and racked up 100+ each transaction... I came to find out the gas station I was using by my work had a skimmer device installed.. The only way i found out was by looking at my statements to see what was the 1 place I used all 3 different cards at.. Sure enough it was this shady ass gas station...

I tried to call the place but their phone was disconnected, so I was advised to report my suspicions to the police by my CC company.. Which I did by calling them to warn them about the location, so others don't get fucked over... But no call backs from the detective for 2 weeks.. So i said fuck it.. I was covered by my CC company anyways, but I was trying to warn others..

Now i always take my cards inside or do the wiggle test at the pump and check my balance often online... People are crazy now days, the'll get you if you ain't being careful..

 

[KennyPowers]

fucking crooks. i pay cash for gas 99% of the time. seems like the CC/banks are really good about handling this stuff though.

 

[kuz]

Never had an issue, thanks for the heads up.

 

[putembk]

fucking crooks. i pay cash for gas 99% of the time. seems like the CC/banks are really good about handling this stuff though.

I try and pay cash whenever I can. I seem to always have some on hand for some reason anyway. Only problem is you have to to inside and sometimes at a convenience store there is a long wait at the register. Once gave my credit card out over the phone and the next day visa called me and told me that over night in Florida that over $6,000 was charged to the card. Fortunately the guy was caught and all charges against the card were forgiven.
For this reason I try to avoid all on line $$$ transactions and rarely use any credit/debit cards. CASH IS KING!!!

 

[Capulator]

this happened to me this month also. Same exact thing.

My chica told me in COlombia they have these scanners that the thieves use to scan your pocket while you are walking by. Talk about sheisty.

That's why cash is king.

 

[KennyPowers]

those scanners have really held up the advances with NFC payment methods. its the cards that have chips in them that can get ripped that way. anything that does not actually have to be scanned is at risk, even things like the gas pass are not safe.

folks are coming out with security wallets (rfid blocking) that do help from getting ripped by a passerby.

cream

 

[Capulator]

We just had someone get our card # somehow and use it to buy shit online through jcpenny around christmas but they called us because it was "unusual" so they got nothing and we got new cards but it has happened to us before a few years ago,heres the story on that one.
Got a call from the bank asking us about "unusual" charges and i laughed because we were buying shit like crazy at the time because i had just finished building a house and we were buying all the shit to furnish etc so i told them so and they asked if they could read a few charges off to me,they started reading and i said yeah yeah thats mine and then NO NO thats not fucking mine!35k in charges,everything from online,the stupid fucks even paid their cable bill and had a ton of shit sent to their own house!I was pissed,cops did a big investigation and found out that a 20 year old girl that worked at home depot had been selling card #s and info for 100 bucks each to a ring that then made up new cards and used them and sold them,when they served a warrant at the home D girls house they found 10 grand in designer clothes and she had a brand new honda she had bought with the proceeds,not with the cards but with the #s she had been selling!Anyways it wasnt hard to track down the rest of the jokers involved and the bank refunded every cent into our account,it was linked to my personal checking and there was a shit ton in there as we had the proceeds from the sale of our old house still in it.I wanted to prosecute so i kept on the detectives asses and finally they came by and told me "sorry theres nothing we can do because the bank wont press charges"WTF?Apparently since the bank had refunded my money they were the ones who had to press charges and its their policy to NOT press charges unless its over 50k because it costs them so much in lawyers fees and employee time that they just end up losing more,I fucking pulled every cent out of BofA and closed my accounts with them and the guys who perpetrated the whole scam are still out there doing the same damn thing,the cops told me it happens all the time!

I had some cats forge my paychecks for my employees somehow. The banks after deciding it was fraud, said the same thing. That's what insurance is for.... And like squiggles said, we are the ones who ultimately pay for loss prevention.

FUCK thieves. They are truly the lowest of low. They need to be dead.

 

[bigcheese510]

make sure not to have the type of cc that you dont have to swipe, usually called like quick pay where you wave the card in front of the reader. those can be read thru your wallet and people can easily obtain your card info with the right reader. that happend with my grandma around xmas time in frisco. she never even used her card while there and still got took for a ride.

 

[bigcheese510]

those scanners have really held up the advances with NFC payment methods. its the cards that have chips in them that can get ripped that way. anything that does not actually have to be scanned is at risk, even things like the gas pass are not safe.

folks are coming out with security wallets (rfid blocking) that do help from getting ripped by a passerby.

cream

thats why they sell those aluminum wallets

 

[green punk]

Some assholes stole my business CC # and bought a plane ticket to Dublin $2300 out of LAX and Iphones cell contracts in Estonia $1320 . I asked how can they not identify/ prosecute some one who had to show ID and go through costumes. They refunded my cash after three different interviews and form filings.

 

[putembk]

I believe this country is going to have real problems with individual/national security in the future. Look at all the idiots out there trying to get into our computers, banking records stealing our national secrets and whatever they can get to disrupt our systems.

If I was a terrorist trying to hurt the US I wouldn't use bombs I would try and hack into our computers. Think of the damage if our computer grid went dark. I don't use on line banking or even leave things in my mail box any more.

 

[paulycali]

Had a friend hit up the drive thru ATM. Next thing you know they were racking up charges from san diego back to there hometown fresno. Guy was probably sitting in his car waiting for the chance to remove the skimmer and head to his hotel or whatever and make a new card. People suck sometimes or maybe more than sometimes. Sucks what this world is coming to. Karma will catch up with them. They will be in for a nice treat. Karma wont be on their side

 

[squiggly]

this happened to me this month also. Same exact thing.

My chica told me in COlombia they have these scanners that the thieves use to scan your pocket while you are walking by. Talk about sheisty.

That's why cash is king.

This only works on the new cards that allow you to "tap" to pay. I believe it is a RF identifier in the card.

 

[squiggly]

Some assholes stole my business CC # and bought a plane ticket to Dublin $2300 out of LAX and Iphones cell contracts in Estonia $1320 . I asked how can they not identify/ prosecute some one who had to show ID and go through costumes. They refunded my cash after three different interviews and form filings.

In this case, you probably ended up in the worst case scenario--if someone uses your CC to leave the country there is no one for loss prevention to talk to except you.

They'll grill to you make sure you aren't bullshitting and then refund you. That's about as bad as this gets.

I've never heard of someone being left on the hook for a bill they didn't produce--although I'm sure it does happen from time to time.

The reality though is that if they keep you on the hook for the bill, and you denied it was yours--they'd likely prosecute you for attempted fraud as well. This rarely if ever happens. Fraud usually looks like fraud when it comes to CCs.

If you have credit cards, it does no good to let them sit there--the biggest way they find fraud is by learning your spending habits on the card.