Someone jacked my identity this week...

[Brock Landers]

How many times does Brock Landers need to be told that stealing is wrong? For shame.

up yours PAL

Just got home, epic day.

Sorry to hear this Shari, let us know it got resolved!

[Sanka]

That sucks, hope you get it resolved soon.

You need some decent AV on your PC to stop this from happening again, nod32 is one of the best I've come across. Adaware and Spybot Search & Destroy (both freeware) are antispyware programs that could help too.

[thechaoz]

Wait, did they steal your actual card or just the numbers? In the USA you have to know expiration and numbers on back where you sign. So if they made online purchases but didnt steal the card its an inside job ala someone wrote down the info from your actual card. BOL with this.

[shari91]

Wait, did they steal your actual card or just the numbers? In the USA you have to know expiration and numbers on back where you sign. So if they made online purchases but didnt steal the card its an inside job ala someone wrote down the info from your actual card. BOL with this.

They stole the numbers. And it's the same thing as here - you usually need the 3 digit code on the back of your card to make an online purchase.

I have an IT friend of mine coming over in awhile to check out this computer for me to see if there's anything on it. She figured it's better if she runs programs on here herself so if something dodgy does come up, at least she'll be able to have a clue what it means if it comes up as some sort of crazy code.

And I still can't figure out why they'd cancel both my phones. I was flipping out about that to the phone company because I had some horrible vision of needing an ambulance for my son and not being able to call one until my phones are connected again on Tuesday but apparently Emergency calls still work so that's cool. What a pain in the ass. People stink sometimes.

[suckerforparlays]

My Debit card was froze because I used it 5 times in 1 day how was a credit card not froze lol

[Tommy_de1st]

Sorry to hear that Shari

[Tommy_de1st]

Btw, you need to get yourself some internet security. If someone broke into your computer they'd have your card details as well as your bookie account passwords. This could be disastrous

[jjgold]

Identity theft is way different than someone just using your credit card and much much more damaging

Most likely someone got your number via a store, online vendor, broke into credit card database

It is RARELY your computer they broke into, that is a bunch of BS

That is a myth, if you have acccess to someone;s computer it still does not guarantee anything

[bobbyfk]

how are things Shari? what happened with computer?

[rfr3sh]

Shari, if you use credit/debit cards a lot I suggest to use cash more often
it is very easy for people to replace the swipe pads with their own, where they get all of your info and can create clones of the cards
for credit cards obviously they can go out and use it wherever until it gets frozen. debit cards they will withdraw as much money as they can from all of the clones they have at one time of a month, it is important if you use a debit card a lot to change your pin frequently

[losturmarbles]

I think credit cards in Australia and most of the world (except US) you have a pin number. In the US, we only have pin numbers associated with debit cards (aka fake credit cards)

A warning for anyone living in the US (SBR PSA):

If you have a debit card that has a VC or ** logo on it, you should NEVER use it ANYWHERE except at ATMs at a brick and mortar bank. Actually, you should really considered getting a traditional ATM debit card that does NOT have the VC/** logo on it. But a lot of banks don't or won't issue them anymore.

The reason you shouldn't use them is this: If your debit card number is compromised, whether you used it as "debit" or "credit" is irrelevant, thieves can use it as credit and empty/overdraw your bank account causing direct harm and loss to you. Most banks most of the time will restore your funds if this happens. BUT they don't have to if they suspect you were complicit with the theft or that you are lying to them in some way.
This is the main difference with debit/credit cards in the US. With debit cards under the law, you CAN be treated guilty until proven innocent. They can refuse to restore you account and not only will you be locked out from your account, any legitimate charges (checks or bill-pay payments) you made can get denied and cause more problems.

But with credit cards, the consumer laws protect you and the bank HAS to credit your account if you dispute a charge within 60 days. If your credit card number is compromised and someone maxes out your limit, no biggie as long as it's only your credit card number that was compromised and not your identity. You contact the credit card company, dispute the charges. They reverse everything, change the account number and issue you a new card. Problem solved.

Best thing to do is use a cash back rewards credit card that has a 20+ day grace period. Use it and pay off the balance every month.
Actually using the credit card is better than using cash since 1) you earn cash back rewards and 2) you can dispute the charges if you need to.

[shari91]

how are things Shari? what happened with computer?

Hey Bobby - sorry I just saw this now.

My computer's apparently clean so now we're assuming someone stole my info from an online site as I really haven't been running around with my credit card many places since my son became sick. It's all still a mess but it'll get sorted out eventually so that's all I can hope for.

I still think some people are scumbags though. Just the timing of it all royally sucks.

[GELATINOUS CUBE]

Someone-did-that-to-me-too

now-i-have-five-thousand-dollars-due-on-a-credit-card-that-i-never-even-recieved!

[paco]

Shari , have u ate at any restaurants lately and paid with a CC? Many restaurants don't x out all the #'s except the last 4, which they really are required to do. I remember when I was like 16 and working bussing tables, I would look at all the reciepts and lot had all 16 numbers and exp.

[Grandmaster B]

its the least you deserve

[Tommy_de1st]

Shari , have u ate at any restaurants lately and paid with a CC? Many restaurants don't x out all the #'s except the last 4, which they really are required to do. I remember when I was like 16 and working bussing tables, I would look at all the reciepts and lot had all 16 numbers and exp.

This or have you used your card paying for a gas at petrol station?

[losturmarbles]

um, pretty sure she said it was probably an online site.

shari, was it just the one card that was compromised?

Look over your statement and take notice to any (usually smaller) online merchants that may not encrypt it's checkout pages. To test if they encrypt their checkout: go to the website, add something to your cart, and proceed like you were going to punch in your credit card number. At that page there should be a little padlock icon at the bottom of the browser page. If it's missing the icon, then they're not encrypting your information. This is just a stab in the dark, since nearly all web merchants nowadays encrypt their checkout page.

I would probably be more under the assumption that there was a breach at one of the merchants and/or merchant payment processors. Do you need a pin number to use your card?

[shari91]

Shari , have u ate at any restaurants lately and paid with a CC? Many restaurants don't x out all the #'s except the last 4, which they really are required to do. I remember when I was like 16 and working bussing tables, I would look at all the reciepts and lot had all 16 numbers and exp.

This or have you used your card paying for a gas at petrol station?

Unless someone has been holding my info for 3 or 4 months and just decided to use it now, I'm pretty sure it was from an online site. I haven't gone out to eat in ages and our petrol stations here are either pay at the pump or through a keypad inside the shop.

um, pretty sure she said it was probably an online site. shari, was it just the one card that was compromised? Look over your statement and take notice to any (usually smaller) online merchants that may not encrypt it's checkout pages. To test if they encrypt their checkout: go to the website, add something to your cart, and proceed like you were going to punch in your credit card number. At that page there should be a little padlock icon at the bottom of the browser page. If it's missing the icon, then they're not encrypting your information. This is just a stab in the dark, since nearly all web merchants nowadays encrypt their checkout page. I would probably be more under the assumption that there was a breach at one of the merchants and/or merchant payment processors. Do you need a pin number to use your card?

You only usually the PIN in person and even then, for credit purchases it's only an option you have as some people still prefer to sign. For online transactions they just require your number, expiry date and the code on the back of the card. Thank you for the suggestion though about checking for encrypted pages - I hadn't thought of that and I'll definitely check all of the sites I've used out.

[sickler]

Damn that sucks, Shar. I haven't had that happen but I was the victim of debit card skimming. My bank covered the theft but I had to meet the head of the fraud division for an appointment. They wouldn't just mail me the new card, insisted I come down. I think they had the perp on video and wanted to make sure none of the victims were him.

I pay cash for most things now. Hate using plastic.

[Maverick22]

I'll give my two cents...

Are you using your own internet? Have you recieved any type of messages from your browser about an internet connection or certificate from an unverified or untrusted source?

You could have been the victim of a man in the middle attack. ESPECIALLY if you are using shared internet connection(Coffee Shoppe, Library, Fr Apartment Internet, etc). It is a bit different than a keylogger (isnt actually installed on your computer). Someone downstream of your internet connection pretty much monitors all the traffic passing through some point. Using this method, sensitive information is found and returned to the "attacker"...

The internet is generally a pretty shady place. Not much we can do about it sadly

[MarkDee]

got my debit card copied a couple of years ago. I got all the money back but they would'nt tell me where it happened and did'nt seem to even care. I pretty much pay everything cash now only use the damm machine to deposit my check and take out cash once a week

[Tommy_de1st]

You see what times we are living nowadays? Almost everything is based on PINs and plastic cards and they are fragile and vulnerable to being fake. and we hate them.
On the other side we don't have to carry cash at all times. Something has to be done to make things right.