It's Starting To Become a Habit


I've probably had a credit card now for going on three decades. The first two decades were pretty much trouble free. The first half of the third decade things started changing but I adapted. I accepted that the mattress I was buying 100 miles from my home might look suspicious and would happily call them to unlock my card so I might proceed with the purchase. But the last five years seem to have changed things completely. My credit card number was evidently stolen again, for perhaps the third or fourth time. But this time was a little different.

Previous thefts have usually resulted in a serious of increasingly bigger charges made or a signup to some automatic billing for some website I've never heard. This one was a single charge to a cabin rental place, in my own state none-the-less and something I might not have questioned except that it happened to occur while we were driving back from the cabin in Arkansas. I called the cabin rental place hoping that they could look it up in their system and cancel the reservation of the miscreant that obtained my number to make the reservation but it sounded like a real mom and pop sort of place. They didn't have any reservations under my name, had no way to look it up by the number but said they would look for the date and time it was charged and see if they can figure it out. I'm not going to hold my breath for a call back but perhaps they'll surprise me... or whomever made the charge.

Meanwhile, I cancelled the new card, the credit card company will mail me a replacement in the next week (it took two months to get the last ones) and meanwhile this time they kindly gave me all the information so that I can still use the new card online anyway until the physical card arrives. Because I have been trying to free up some desk time, I had nearly everything on automatic bill pay so I have spent the last several hours logging into accounts I haven't logged into since the last time my card was stolen, and updating everything to the new card information. I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some but the nice thing about have the old card cancelled due to fraud, is that most companies will kindly send you an email saying we need your new information since the old card no longer works anymore. So I will wait for those emails to continue to roll in for awhile.

I miss those days of innocence when I never really had to check any statement line by line to look for fraud. But at least it is becoming so common that aside from a few hours of my time, I'm not out any money.

Comments

  1. Ive never encountered that problem, thank goodness What a pain!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It wouldn't be bad if I didn't have everything on autopay.

      Delete
  2. I am sorry Ed. That is a real pain. We have had to do it a few times when we have had a number go "missing". Odd that it was single rental in your home state - that is not usual from our experience. Usually it is either a straight out theft and order from a large Interweb company or an increasing series of purchases radiating in a line from a fuel station (where the original number seems to have been captured.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That has been my experience too. I suspect that perhaps a waiter at a restaurant that we ate at took a picture of the card and treated themselves to a Christmas gift. What gets me is that this should be trackable. There had to be some name left at the cabin rental place associated with my name and credit card. Also, I haven't stayed anywhere in a long time where I didn't have to show the credit card I made the reservation with upon check-in.

      As I suspected though, the cabin rental place never called me back so I'm assuming they did absolutely nothing in trying to figure things out.

      Delete
    2. I would think so - at some point with almost any rental I have experience with, you have to sign something.

      Delete
  3. You may not be out of any money, but the whole thing still sucks--I'm sorry Ed and I know JUST how you feel. I got my Chase Visa card back in 1989, never had a single issue for 30 years, then in 2019 it somehow got stolen and was being used on Keurig.com (to buy a bunch of gift cards). Went thru everything you did and then it happened again in late 2020! I hope you're safe for awhile and thanks for reminding me I need to check my credit card statement RIGHT NOW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mine have been stolen and usually for a few hundred dollars before something gets flagged and things grind to a halt. My father however hit the jackpot when his allowed over $25,000 in fraudulent charges before things ground to a halt.

      Delete
  4. What a pain! I'm having to re-enroll in all my automatic payment plans too, but only because my previous card expired. I haven't had a card stolen in quite a while, knock on wood.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've often wondered if this is a cultural thing. I've used credit cards in third world countries with the full expectation that someone might steal it and it has never happened. Instead it always seems to be here in the States due to skimmers, hacking, or whatever happened this time around.

      Delete
  5. We have those fraudsters over here too but touch wood my wife and I have managed to dodge them. I would like to see the dripping heads of those guys on spikes outside The Tower of London. We all have to be so watchful these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would be agreeable to the same punishment for violators here, heads dripping on spikes outside the Tower of London.

      Delete
  6. I'll note, American Express watches charges very closely as I do as well. They also stand by the card holder and reimburse bad charges while they go after the criminal. Card replacement works quickly too. (I do not work for AE and am just a satisfied customer.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Although it has never cost me a cent, I don't think my credit card is as watchful as they used to be. Once upon a time, I used to regularly be denied service if my card was being used outside my normal zone or habits. These days, I can't remember the last time that happened.

      Delete
  7. We've not had one 'stolen'. Yet. We've had fraud issues though, and canceled cards and started over. That's frustrating enough. When my son and daughter went to Europe years back before they were married, they were surprised, a couple years after the fact, that there were a bunch of charges after the fact at Harrods in London. It was a bit shocking that someone had hung onto the card information that long before using it. They did not lose money.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has become a monthly ritual to scan my credit card bill to make sure charges are coming from stores I shop out and somewhat expected amounts. I don't cross reference every charge to a receipt though.

      Delete
  8. It's a real shame the things we have to worry about (and deal with when our worries come true). I try to keep an updated handwritten list that shows what is used where so I can make any necessary changes... whether the result of mishap or just a new expiration date.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used to save receipts and keep lists but CC's, especially our 2% cash back with every purchase, is just too convenient so we literally use it for everything we can. Unfortunately, I am dealing with the drawback of that now.

      Delete
  9. They are getting so sophisticated in how they steal our information; it's mind boggling. What a hassle! I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. I took photos of my credit cards and their information and put them in a locked note on my phone. Hopefully that's secure! I don't trust anything these days. Big companies that should have tight security have been compromised so much lately.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't bother with the picture. I can access my account via my phone anyway and cancel it at anytime. Also, I have enough mental information stored in my brain still, that I could just look up their 1-800 number and probably get it cancelled even without my phone.

      Delete
  10. I wish my life were simpler but I torture myself with several credit cards for different small "busynesses" of mine and almost every year I run into some glitches or suspicious activities resulting in old cards being replaced with new one. That makes life difficult since many of my payments are on autopay and I have to contact those vendors to change my payment method.

    One of these days I will just be able to relax. Maybe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspect the day I never have to worry about credit cards or fraud will be the day I'm resting six feet under the surface of this planet.

      Delete
  11. You would not believe -- or maybe you would -- what it takes for banks to try and keep up with fraudsters these days, and how much money is lost to fraud. It's astounding.

    By regulation, card issuing banks have to investigate and make it good when you have a loss. And VISA and Mastercard pretty much guarantee zero liability. That doesn't mean it's still not a pain in the ass to deal with, but the card issuer will generally do the right thing.

    I suspect you're paying bills with your card to get points for airline miles or something of the sort. If not, you might consider automatic draft from your bank account. Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right Bob, I can't imagine and I wouldn't doubt it is anything short of mindboggling.

      That is exactly why I have one of those two credit cards, for the zero liability guarantee. They have always treated me right in the past and thus far have taken care of me this time even though the fraudulent charge is still under investigation.

      I do autopay it from my bank account. I never used to do that but after missing a payment while on vacation, I changed over.

      Delete
  12. For all of it's benefits, the internet certainly has its hazards as well. Somehow, it seems that the bar gradually keeps getting lowered. The more rampant theft or abuse issues become, the more accepted they seem to be as "normal."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For sure. Once upon a time, theft of my credit card number was never something I even contemplated.

      Delete

Post a Comment