Tea Leafing Bar Stewards

[archangel]

Yesterday I received a letter from my bank. It claimed that my account may have been compromised. Being the cynic that I am I threw it to one side and thought I would call in branch next time in town.

Today I was checking my account and something didn't seem right ...upon examination I find that the Bar Stewards have been bleeding my account with small amount through major online retailers!!!!!! not large amounts at the moment but enough to hurt.......

Rang the bank fraud line and thankfully I am covered for this....... might take a day or two......I spoke to the retailers concerned and they have confirmed the transactions...all with bogus email accounts.....1 of the email addresses was RDF@GGFFDDSS.com......BAR STEWARDS!!!!

Bank reckons cards has been skimmed and that the amounts removed start at £0.90 and so forth and by using major retailers then unsuspecting individuals don't really raise an eyebrow.......

:rage:

 

[MWHCVT]

It sounds like its been caught at the early stages, low level transactions below £10 when I was in the credit card industry were a signal of potential fraud the theory was that these were test transaction if a few small transactions made it through the system then the account would generally got hit pretty hard

 

[trencheel303]

This is why it's a good idea to try and only use a credit card in a chip n' pin machine. That way if it gets skimmed and money taken out, it's not coming out of YOUR account and potentially putting you up the creek without a paddle. I'll actually pay cash over using debit card.

 

[DorsetDude]

This is why it's a good idea to try and only use a credit card in a chip n' pin machine. That way if it gets skimmed and money taken out, it's not coming out of YOUR account

Huh? Care to explain why, Im lost.

 

[Nikon Ken]

You're lucky to catch it early.

About 4 or 5 years ago I received a credit card bill showing £10,500 of unknown transactions. Quickly contacted fraud dept. and they removed the items and started their investigations. Until then I was extremely worried.

Ken

 

[MWHCVT]

Huh? Care to explain why, Im lost.

The logic is that a credit card is not your money, you'll never be out of pocket directly, okay it could compromise your use of the card on a temporary basis...that said its not any more protection, I've never come across a bank or building society that hasn't covered a victim of fraud

 

[trencheel303]

You also get extra cover that you don't on a debit card, cashback on some cards and if you want to submit a claim a good CC company will fight on your behalf, some will even refund you if the company you bought it from won't.

 

[modchild]

I've had it happen to me 3 times now. The first time I only had a few small transactions on the account and I rang the fraud dept. of the bank and they sorted it out and refunded the money the same day. The third time it happened I had a call from the bank saying my card amongst others had possibly become compromised so could I please destroy the card as they have stopped it. Now that is efficient and it shows they're on the ball.

The second time it happened was only about 3 weeks after the first time and I didn't know anything about it until the postie arrived and dropped an envelope from Kuoni on the doormat with the name Amelie Goodwin. At this point something clicked that all was not well, no one in the house is called Amelie but the surname and address was ours. I decided to open the envelope to see if I could find a contact to sort out what had happened. I nearly passed out when I found all the booking info for a £1500+ holiday that had been booked and paid for by my account, the fraudsters even had my date of birth for the booking. I got straight onto the bank (HSBC) and told them what I'd got and they went through all the other recent transactions, about half a dozen others were spurious also, and the back took immediate action and all the money was refunded within the hour.

I also contacted Kuoni and told them what had happened. They were shocked but were also very helpful. They liaised with the bank and supplied CCTV footage of the person booking the holiday in the travel agency where it was booked for the investigation. Apparently there was a case proven against someone in a payment centre eventually (the bank sent a letter months later to confirm an full investigation had been carried out and a culprit found but could give no more info on the persons identity) and they were taken to court. I've been really impressed with my banks reaction to any problems I've had but they must feel like they are fighting a losing/neverending battle against card fraudsters.

I've also had my Paypal account hacked into a couple of times and once I've been in touch with them they have also been very helpful and I've had everything sorted in a short time.

 

[big soft moose]

You also get extra cover that you don't on a debit card, cashback on some cards and if you want to submit a claim a good CC company will fight on your behalf, some will even refund you if the company you bought it from won't.

None of which is relevant to fraud (also its not 'some' and they arent doing it because they are nice people, its a legal protection under section 73 of the consumer credit act ... so long as you didn't made the purchase directly ie not through pay pal etc ... then the credit card company has an obligation)

Theres no real logic to using a CC instead of a DC for fraud protection - if your CC is used fraudulently you'd still be liable for the loss if your bank decided it wasnt fraud, and not if they accepted it was... in exactly the same way you would if it was a debit card.

There is however a good argument for having 2 cards (one probably a CC) so as to have a method of payment if one is compromised

 

[Russ77]

Theres no real logic to using a CC instead of a DC for fraud protection - if your CC is used fraudulently you'd still be liable for the loss if your bank decided it wasnt fraud, and not if they accepted it was... in exactly the same way you would if it was a debit card.

There is however a good argument for having 2 cards (one probably a CC) so as to have a method of payment if one is compromised

Having worked in the card industry for nearly 17 years I'd beg to differ.........

If a DC is compromised it's YOUR money, your account will be frozen for a period of time meaning you may not have access to your own money, direct debits may bounce etc.

If a CC is compromised, it's the bank's money, the card account may be suspended until you are set up with a new account/card which may be an inconvenience but you still have access to your own money in the bank

I only use my DC to withdraw cash and I'm very selective about the ATMs I use.

CC wise, I have a main one and a reserve or two

 

[trencheel303]

None of which is relevant to fraud (also its not 'some' and they arent doing it because they are nice people, its a legal protection under section 73 of the consumer credit act ... so long as you didn't made the purchase directly ie not through pay pal etc ... then the credit card company has an obligation)

Theres no real logic to using a CC instead of a DC for fraud protection - if your CC is used fraudulently you'd still be liable for the loss if your bank decided it wasnt fraud, and not if they accepted it was... in exactly the same way you would if it was a debit card.

There is however a good argument for having 2 cards (one probably a CC) so as to have a method of payment if one is compromised

It's s75 actually, and yes there are cards which will offer refunds up to a point often without the need for a chargeback or s75 claim. American Express charge cards aren't eligible for s75 but they will refund up to £200 even if the retailer won't. Theft or damage of the item within the first 90 days is also covered up to £2500. You can also file a chargeback and if you can prove you are in the right Amex will bend over backwards to accommodate you. Their solid rep and the fact that they're one of the few institutions left that treats the customer as they should is one of the reasons people pay for the privilege.

You serious - no real logic to using a CC over a DC for fraud protection? I'd much rather have to wait a few days for a new CC to pop through the post and have to update a few websites than to wait probably over a week for a new debit card and have no access to my money.