Credit card fraud

[Potstubsdustbins]

Just had a phone call from my card company.

Mr Potty we have noticed some unusual spending patterns on your card.

Were you in Milton Keanes yesterday? Err no why?
Someone attempted to use you card to purchase a £10 phone top up.

Are you intending to go abroad in the near future? Double Err no why?
Someone attempted to use your card to book a hotel in New York this morning.

Don't worry Sir, the transactions were flagged up and refused, no money has left your account. Please destroy your card, a new one will be in the post today for you. Do we have your permmission to report this attempted theft to the police? Double BIG YES.

Do you know how they got my card details? You have made a couple of purchase's on line recently and we believe someone has hacked into their computer and stolen peoples card details. We are in touch with the companies you purchased from and they are co-operating.

Is there anything else I can help you with Sir? No and a very big thankyou.

Now I don't how these attempts were 'flagged up' but it must be one heck of a computer program.

Potty

[Mikey]

How much information did you give them pots?, could it have been fraudsters calling you rather than the bank?

I'm sure I've heard of a scam of this nature played out as though they are trying to help you out. Not saying this was the case with you but you've got to be very careful with these rascals.

[ancee]

Oh how terrible I've had them ring before now when I was trying to buy a pair of earrings for myself (£100), then when I spent £1,000 in a concrete yard = nothing! What on earth does that say about me???

[veggiechicken]

Agreed Mikey. Don't destroy your card Potty - not until you have a new one in your mitts.

[PyreneesPlot]

I used to work in a university bookshop and without fail we would have to call the card companies where students had been abroad for a period or were from abroad. Some funky algorithm that picks up changes based on the merchants ID. That's why the card companies advise you to tell them you will be away.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Gave them no info at all. They left a message on my answer machine in the office and I had to ring back.

First it was an automated system, press this button, press that button etc. Then got through to a very nice lady who transfered me again to the fraud dept. The only questions I was asked were those above, like the man said we know your card number and you must never tell your PIN to anyone not even me.

The Scam your talking about Mikey is were they have your card number and try to get either your PIN or better still your security code. Then of course they can use your card number and security code to make online purchases.

Potty

[Mikey]

I thought you'd be too savvy to fall for a scam of that nature pots, but there's a lot of them out there.

Its the companies that get you to fill in details while waiting to speak to someone that annoy me, then when you get through you have to start all over again.

[lottie dolly]

thats not good,when iv'e spent large amounts,the banks not contact me,but refuses the payement,i then have to contact them,to verify,but only if it's a new place of purchase,other purchases are not questioned,

[julesapple]

Lloyds picked up a phone top fraud on our card account for £20 because our phones are insured through our account privileges and they know who our phone companies are. Excellent you might think. Pity they didn't bat an eyelid when AOL took £48 out of the account 13 times in sucession within a thirty minute period. When I asked the Lloyds chap said it wasn't flagged up as unusual....

[dogsbody]

Exactly the same happened to me earlier this year. An automated message on my answerphone asking me to ring them.... Hmm I thought Scam? So I looked out my last statement and rang Customer Services instead. Turns out it was genuine, they thought someone had been "number crunching" until they hit a credit card number that was real. Started trying with 10p transactions and worked their way up. Every one was blocked (I have Secure by Visa as well as PIN) and the pattern was what had triggered their fraud alert. Cut my card up and the new one arrived in just two days.

One piece of advice - keep your eye on future statements, whilst they thought they had trapped all of them a strange transaction in favour of a London Council turned up on my next statement - rang up the CS dept again and it was instantly refunded and marked as fraud (pity the poor sod who paid his council tax bill with it? NOT!).

The CC companies have this pretty well taped down - it costs them a fortune otherwise.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I once had my card declined in tesco. Aol had taken multiple payments, more than a dozen, for an add on that had been cancelled a couple of years before, within a period of minutes which triggered the banks computer system to cancel the card in case it was a scam. I phoned the bank from the till, got the story, my better half appeared and paid with another card. I was grateful the bank was on the ball, they sorted out Aol and refunded the money and we all live happily ever after. It was horribly embarassing at the time but better safe than sorry

[julesapple]

Took me months to sort this one out, AB, as AOL were saying it was a problem with Lloyds and Lloyds were blaming AOL. Neither party knew where the money had gone.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I used to work in a university bookshop and without fail we would have to call the card companies where students had been abroad for a period or were from abroad. Some funky algorithm that picks up changes based on the merchants ID. That's why the card companies advise you to tell them you will be away.

Far to techie for me I am only good with hammers and spanners.

Potty

[Florence Fennel]

Happened to me a while ago, someone trying to buy Domino's Pizzas in Leeds or somewhere. Fancy them knowing Himself doesn't like pizza.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Good news, new account now open and the cards arrived today.

I can start spending now then.

Potty