Before you blame an online store, please read this. I posted it in thread, but believe it warrants it's own thread.
I am in the credit card industry, as I set up businesses to accept cards. Been doing this since '94. Most times, when your card is compromised, it is a local retailer or restaurant that has a POS System that is not secure, and has been hacked with a key logger or another malware that can grab your card data before it is sent to the processor. This happens way more than any online retailer being hacked. See reports on Zaxby's, Barnes and Noble, Michaels, Schnucks Grocery, and many many more. Those are just the bigger ones.
One easy way to rule out an online merchant compromise: Ask if your fraudulent card was card swiped. If it was, it could not have been stolen from an online merchant, as they do NOT have the full contents of your mag stripe in which to create a cloned card. Only a card swiping merchant has access to all that information at the time of sale.
Also, it doesn't matter when and where you used your card last. The card thieves sell the card info and it can be months before they start using the information. My wife's card was compromised at a local tackle store in August of 2010, and wasn't used until December of 2012. So who you used it at last or recently is not a good indicator of where it was compromised.
I would not point any fingers at any specific merchant unless I've only used that card at that merchant.
Don't use your debit card!!!! If it gets compromised, your whole checking account can be cleaned out before you even know anything happened, and if you have overdraft protection, it can even clean out your savings. Granted, you should get it back, but in the meantime it creates a huge hassle trying to pay bills.
I am in the credit card industry, as I set up businesses to accept cards. Been doing this since '94. Most times, when your card is compromised, it is a local retailer or restaurant that has a POS System that is not secure, and has been hacked with a key logger or another malware that can grab your card data before it is sent to the processor. This happens way more than any online retailer being hacked. See reports on Zaxby's, Barnes and Noble, Michaels, Schnucks Grocery, and many many more. Those are just the bigger ones.
One easy way to rule out an online merchant compromise: Ask if your fraudulent card was card swiped. If it was, it could not have been stolen from an online merchant, as they do NOT have the full contents of your mag stripe in which to create a cloned card. Only a card swiping merchant has access to all that information at the time of sale.
Also, it doesn't matter when and where you used your card last. The card thieves sell the card info and it can be months before they start using the information. My wife's card was compromised at a local tackle store in August of 2010, and wasn't used until December of 2012. So who you used it at last or recently is not a good indicator of where it was compromised.
I would not point any fingers at any specific merchant unless I've only used that card at that merchant.
Don't use your debit card!!!! If it gets compromised, your whole checking account can be cleaned out before you even know anything happened, and if you have overdraft protection, it can even clean out your savings. Granted, you should get it back, but in the meantime it creates a huge hassle trying to pay bills.
