Credit fraud blues...

[RedhatPat]

patkin, Can a $1 temporary charge (hold) give the theives any information other than the card is active? I had someone called "payroll reno ca us" show up as a pending transaction for a good solid week recently, then it disappeared. For a buck. I hadn't used the card for a while so there's no reason to see that. And since it eventually disappeared, I can't exactly dispute it.

RHP

 

[Killjoy1]

The only info those temporary holds give thieves is that the info they have is good and the account is open. If that was on a currently active card I'd report it to your issuing bank so they can look into it

 

[patkin]

patkin, Can a $1 temporary charge (hold) give the theives any information other than the card is active? I had someone called "payroll reno ca us" show up as a pending transaction for a good solid week recently, then it disappeared. For a buck. I hadn't used the card for a while so there's no reason to see that. And since it eventually disappeared, I can't exactly dispute it.

RHP

As Killjoy1 says, the only info they get is that the number they bought (usually) is good and the account is active. If I were you, I would close the account and open another. You already know your account number is out there among the thieves so each time they resell it your account will be hit. Banks vary on how they streamline the close/reopen accounts process but if you explain they should be very helpful. When you get the new account, setup either cell phone or email alerts or both. Setup the alerts for 50 cents because these thieves, as you've seen, are doing one dollar test runs. Also, I would have two, unlinked by overdraft protection, accounts. Only keep a small amount like $5.00 in the small one and transfer funds to it as you make net purchases and never use the larger account on the net or hand the card to someone taking it out of your sight as in a restaurant. Hope that helps.

 

[Tony Starks]

I made an order yesterday on AVE and will see if i get hacked again. I havent been to active on ECF lately, and i am sure people have been purchasing from them (they are always sold out or closed). I will report back