On Sunday I got a call from a credit card service company I’d never heard of, asking whether I’d bought tickets to an ice hockey game for several hundred dollars – in Canada! Of course, I said “No”, and they then advised me to call my card issuer. The latter confirmed three transactions that weren’t mine, and has canceled the primary credit card used by my wife and myself. New cards with a new account number are on the way to us.
That means that instead of writing, I’ve been busy all morning changing all the automatic payments that debited each month off the old credit card, making manual payments to ‘catch up’ while vendors’ systems adjust to the new account information, and generally trying to rearrange our financial lives at the shortest possible notice. To say it’s been frustrating would be both an understatement and a euphemism!
What’s a suitable punishment for credit card fraudsters? Slow-boiling them in oil seems a little too merciful at this point . . .
Peter
I favor drowning them in fire ants.
Oh yeah…we have been thru this several times. Expect this kind of stuff to get worse as time goes on. I keep a close eye on my credit card account…usually every day.
Our debit card account got "borrowed" last year, but my wife checks the account every morning & spotted the usage. We called the bank before they'd even noticed.
And yeah, the honey-and-fire-ants treatment sounds about right.
Let's see, woodchippers, piranhas, shoving them face first into a badgers den, impaling on a short stake…
Al_in_Ottawa
Makes me wonder if they could get a jury to convict someone of killing one of these computer virus/identity theft scoundrels. The pool of people that haven't been victimized is rapidly shrinking.
I'm thinking that should be a new type of mercenary. Hunter/killers of these kinds of people. Figuring out how to pay them would be the hard part.
Strap them into a front row seat at a Taylor Swift concert.
Hey Peter,
Your prior posters have it pretty much nailed down. When I use my card for anything, I watch it like a hawk, some of the less reputable fast food places the employees will supplement their income by using a "skimmer" to swipe your card during a transaction. then selling the numbers to a thief. My card never leaves my sight. I have been burned before and dealing with that crap one time is enough.
An RFID-proof wallet is cheap and will block some types of identity theft.
watch out writing checks (yeah ,
I'm a dinosaur ) because they'll
try to clean out your account….
i got lucky because they were
greedy and bounced the fraudulent check and I found out just a few hours later while doing banking business so I was able to freeze
the account and establish another.
Ask your card issuer if you can have another card that bills to the account (with a different number.) Amex does this without charge. Then ONLY use the unique card number for automatic payments. If the unique card never leaves the house, you will not have to change that number when your everyday card gets stolen.
I have used this successfully thru about half dozen stolen numbers. I had so many stolen that I figured out amex's algorithm for card numbers and could predict my new number 🙂
BTW, I also have a card on the same account that I only use for online purchases. That limits my exposure too.
Don't forget any once a year recurring web subscriptions.
Good luck,
zuk
Yeah, BTDT too.
Fire ants & honey sounds like a VERY good idea.
"What's a suitable punishment for credit card fraudsters? "
Let the punishment fit the crime: Death by a thousand paper cuts…from credit card billing statements…
Flaying them and then dipping them into warm brine.
I have automatic payments to my account, not to the card. So I could block the card and still use the account for payments.
Some banks here also offer a limitation service on the card, you can block all use, online use, or use outside of the country. If you rarely travel abroad or shop online, you can turn off those parts, and turn them on only if you should need them. You do that yourself, and it's just a few minutes job.
Another advice (and this is something I am very bad at) is to have a written down action plan for if/when this happens. Know who to call and what numbers to block, know the easiest way to get back on track. Going down a premade list is a lot easier than figuring it out when it matters.
Oh brother… What a pain.
I finally 'fixed' the problem of fraud (we travel, we hand our card over to 'unknown' people in restaurants… we get 'hit').
I applied for a 2nd card, and I use that ONLY for recurring payments. Never been hit once. Have used that card now for over 10 years.
But that didn't help with the 'shopping, travel, gas' card that we both carry. So I applied for a 3rd card – this one I keep as a backup when we travel, so in case we get a fraud charge, we have a card to use.
Sigh.. Pain in the butt, isn't it?
Fair Winds,
Cap'n Jan
I was thinking crucifixion while reading the post, but Fire ants sounds good to me too. It might last longer and the clip would probably go viral on You Tube.