“Get In The Know”: Swiping Can Wipe You Out!
In my last blog, I mentioned traveling on a business trip for work. I learned about traveling with co-workers, but I have recently learned an even more important lesson – not to use your debit cards ANYWHERE other than YOUR bank and that may not be safe either.
Let me explain! When I arrived to work on Monday, I had an email from my corporate credit card account provider informing me of possible fraudulent charges. It only showed one charge which immediately, I knew it wasn’t mine. Hurrying, I went online to view my recent activity. Starting on Saturday, there were two charges to two different hotels, two charges to two different Winn-Dixie’s and two charges to two different Publix’s in various areas of Florida. Why two charges and two different locations, I have no clue. The charges totaled to over $2000. I thought to myself, if I had used my personal debit card that would have been horrific. I called the credit card company and went through the proper channels to be directed to the fraud department. I spoke with a representative who was very helpful and reassuring even though I thought I would be given the third degree about where I was and did I use the card! I have been reading lately that identify theft is on the rise so I prayed that maybe she had all the proof she needed. The representative verified my address and issued me another card. Thank GOD it was that simple! I checked my account today and the charges are still there, so I don’t know how long it will take for the charges to be credited. It’s really sad that some people’s job occupation is to steal credit cards or people’s personal information to sell for money. The representative stated that the card was copied by someone that had physical access to the card. They knew this because some of the information held by the counterfeiters was only available on the card itself. This is apparently known as skimming and is a major problem with credit cards right now. The cards are usually swiped by a clerk at a restaurant, gas station, and etc, when you give them the card to pay your bill. Now keep in mind, I used the card at several restaurants, hotel, and airport while on my business trip in North Carolina. I notified my other two co-workers who went on the trip with me of the compromising of my card and found out my supervisor’s personal credit card had been compromised also. We immediately realized it had to be at one of the restaurants we ate at because he didn’t use his corporate card for food. He only uses his corporate card for hotel, flight, and car rental transactions. He had bogus charges to show up in various parts of the world (two different countries simultaneously) along with some attempts to change the pin number on the card. I guess to take money off the card.
Be aware of the many types of thefts and watch how you handle your cards when paying bills. I will no longer use my debit card for those transactions. It would have been a totally different story if it was my debit card because it’s linked directly to my checking account. Even though that money would be returned, who knows how long it would take. If you are like me, I use my checking account to pay my bills. That type of money being removed at one time could have caused checks to bounce and numerous overage charges depending on the amount of checks or automatic payments pending. Get in the know and use precaution when using your debit or credit cards.
Great article, hey I stumbled on to this post while googling the web for random downloads. Thanks for sharing I’ll tell my friends about this too.
I experienced a similar ordeal! I used my debit card at a Chevron gas station and gave the clerk my card to pay for gas. After that transaction, I did not us my card anymore that week and the next week. So it was not difficult for me to figure out the last place my card was used being that my checking account had been compromised. At the time I only checked my account maybe every two to three weeks. Two weeks had gone by and went I checked my account, there were numerous of withdrawals, each $98 dollars. The transactions took place in Albany, New York. And, I live in Birmingham, Alabama!
After days of talking with a representative from my bank and signing many documents stating I did not make these transactions – I was refunded the amount that was stolen from my checking account. It’s probably best practice – if you are utilizing your debit or credit cards to check your transactions at least once a week to make sure there are no additional charges that YOU DID NOT INCURR.
Thanks for sharing…this is truly informative. Unfortunately, there are many people out there who specializes in this type of trickery and behavior. I’m just thankful it was your corporate credit card and not your personal debit or credit card. Thanks again…knowledge is power!
This blog was very informative and helpful. I use my debit card for EVERYTHING (yes, even McDonald’s) but I think from now on, I’ll just get cash from the ATM to make my purchases. That will help count down on my spending as well. Thanks again!
I’ll save this as inspiration and send visitors from my blog. I’ve just put up some new ideas too, so I will put a link to this post (if OK) on my site?
Thank you so much. I will visit your site as well. You can link to my site.
Before the situation I used my card for everything thing too. I just got my credit card bill that I started using since I’m no longer use my debit card and WOW. I charged ALOT. I may need to start withdrawing cash because I’m sure I won’t be withdrawing as much as I swiped on my credit card. Thanks for visiting Ma’am! Come back.
Thanks for visiting!
Valuable information and excellent design you got here! I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and time into the stuff you post!! Thumbs up!