I guess my credit card number was stolen...

[bg4533]

It started a few days ago. I got a message from Citicards anti fraud dept saying to call back at a number they left. I have heard of recent scams involving leaving messages so I called the number on the back of my card and spoke to a foreign women who spoke very poor english. She asked me to verify a charge for $20 I made almost a month ago at Lowes Hardware store. I thought this was a little weird, but if they want to waste their time on small purchases from places I regularly shop that's their perogative. On Saturday I recieved another message similar to the first. I again called the number on my card and repeated a number they left on my voicemail. They said that all they needed was to verify an address change I made a few weeks ago and I was done. I recently moved and did change my address. This morning Citi called again and woke me up. She asked if I had recently made quite a few purchases and I said no. Apparently whoever stole the number made a $200 purchase that went through and then got greedy and quickly charged another few thousand and maxed out my card. Later in the call she mumbled something about blocked charges made from France at the end of August but didn't go into detail.

I don't know what is going on with Citibank, but it sounds like they have some organization problems. It sounds like someone has been using or attempting to use the card for a while now. In the past 2 months I have only used this card to make a purchase at Lowes and reserve a Uhaul. I have the card online countless times in the past.

Citi said they will send me a packet and I will need to verify that I didn't make the charges. They make it sound easy, but things are never easy and I am aprehensive now. Does anyone have any tips for me? Is there anything I should watch out for or do to cover myself? This is the first time I have had to deal with something like this.

 

[mjg]

yea, serious security leak if i ever heard about it.. Though it almost sounds as if they had discovered possibly a receipt with phone number (partial info) as to require to directly solicit you for the rest of the info..

I had this happen to me a few years ago, though they just sniffed my info and went on a charging spree. HSBC was understanding, i incurred zero of the charges.. I do like that usage is audited fairly closely, it would really suck to wait until you try and charge to find your card declined, or at the end of the month...

The foolish part is that had they wanted to scam you, they might have not maxed it out, but made small incremental charges which may or may not go noticed over a period of time... This kind of greed helps them get caught pretty fast.

I hope everything works out OK.

 

[Imyourzero]

You didn't by chance place an order from the Alessandro website recently, did you?

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imyourzero You didn't by chance place an order from the Alessandro website recently, did you?

Doh! Ouch.

-Ed

 

[Edwood]

On a serious note, make sure there isn't more crap going on, so do a Credit Check. Since new laws have passed, you entitled to free checks, especially with credit fraud on your account.

Check again in another 6 months to make sure. Worst time to find out is when you get a credit check when applying for a loan/mortgage, and you notice your credit score is really really low.

-Ed

 

[acs236]

The most they can make you pay is $50. Most don't even do that. Has the card been cancelled?

 

[bg4533]

Quote:

Originally Posted by acs236 The most they can make you pay is $50. Most don't even do that. Has the card been cancelled?

Yep, the card has been cancelled. I checked the card statement online and it looks like they let through about 6 fraudulent charges over the course of 3 days. They already removed some, but a few are still on there. Citi didn't mention me having to pay anything, but they didn't say much. Just that the packet would cover what I needed to know.

 

[gloco]

That's ridiculous.

Unless someone at U-Haul or Lowe's swiped the card into a gizmo that stored your cc#. I always watch the cashier's hands when i hand my cc over.

 

[AuroraProject]

I had some unauthorized charges on my Citi Mastercard a few years back, they were extremely easy to deal with during the whole process. Every charge I didn't make was removed, I didn't have to pay anything, and they cancelled the old card and got me a new card within 3 business days.

I have had other credit cards in the past, but Citibanks customer service made me keep this as my only card.

 

[go_vtec]

I think it is a good idea to check your credit card statements and charges online daily basis. I know it's probably overkill and somewhat annoying, but it doesn't hurt to check it regularily just in case. I'm sorry to hear about your card... I too got some unauthorized charges not too long ago through Chase Mastercard. I had to change the number just in case, but they didn't charge me with any fees.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood On a serious note, make sure there isn't more crap going on, so do a Credit Check. Since new laws have passed, you entitled to free checks, especially with credit fraud on your account.

Ed, could you suggest a reputable place that would do this?

 

[RYCeT]

HiGHFLYiN9, this is the official site to check your credit report , it's free for the credit report only, you need to pay around $7-9 if you want your credit score included. The way I do right now, since it's coming from 3 credit bureau, I pulled report from one credit bureau every 4 month, that way I know if there's something wrong and won't cost me anything to check.

 

[mariadoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imyourzero You didn't by chance place an order from the Alessandro website recently, did you?

What is it about them then?
Recently i orderded a headphone from them and had to wait for more than 6 weeks, but that was completely due to the Dutch customs. The only thing i disliked about Alessandro was that they didn't responded emails and where hard to reach by phone, but i've never heard of someone being stolen from by Alessandro. Correct me if i'm wrong

 

[canloader]

I hate to read about these stories. Every day I get more and more weary about on-line purchases. I hope it works out!

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RYCeT HiGHFLYiN9, this is the official site to check your credit report , it's free for the credit report only, you need to pay around $7-9 if you want your credit score included. The way I do right now, since it's coming from 3 credit bureau, I pulled report from one credit bureau every 4 month, that way I know if there's something wrong and won't cost me anything to check.

Right, just to be clear, you are now entitled to 1 credit report from each of the Big 3 credit reporting agencies once per year. Some choose to get them all 3 at once, some choose to get one every 4 months. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method.