....and so it happened to us as well.....

[momof5boys]

You hear stories of people who have their credit cards compromised. My son has a credit card to pay for a few bills each month and generally the bill isn't more than $300. Thankfully the credit card company called him when they noticed unusual charges - to the tune of thousands! He has no idea how a person got his information b/c he has his credit card on him....now cut up of course!

[es89]

To momof5boys
My daughter had her bank account compromised this year while she was in college thank goodness the bank noticed. thank goodness credit card company noticed the unsual charges for your son.

[Natalka]

Glad it was caught and he should get it all reversed.

Three of us in our family, and in the last year two of us have had our debit cards comprimised - gah! It had to be at point of sale, because we are shredders and very careful with receipts, etc.

[bmpsmommy]

My BIL had his debit card compromised. He travels alot for work, so they weren't able to pinpoint where it happened, but the bank did give him back the money. A few days later my ex had his debit card compromised as well.

Good thing the credit card company double checked in your son's case.

[nicolthepickle]

That's very unfortunate.

[hollyquaiscer]

I was told about a month ago by my bank that apparently, there is an app for certain phones, and when they are within arms length of you, they can hold the phone and use the app to get all your bank and credit Icard info, even if your cards have the chip. I was advised to purchase one of the titanium cases out there that hold your credit and bank cards. Apparently the app can't go through metal, so your cards are safe.

It never fails, as soon as the banks think they have the cards secure, along comes some new way to scam them. I now have 2 metal cases that I keep all my cards in. I also never carry all my cards anymore. If I'm going to say HBC, I will bring along that card only, and so on.

I'm sorry your son is going through this, it can be a terrible mess to try and straighten out, best of luck to you and your family.

[lilo0003]

it happened to my DH twice within months and both times with his debit card. The bank would not tell us where it happened but we suspect it was a specific place he would go for lunch as this was a card he rarely uses. It is amazing how fast the banks notice it. With us they froze the account as soon as the person attempted to withdraw cash from an ATM that was not part of our bank network as they said that was totally out of character for us. Heck yes I am not paying bank fees

[SmileSlly]

uggh, that sucks
Gotta watch the debit/credit card swiping machines and ATM Machines...looking for anything unusual on the slot you slide your card through.
Our bank was compromised a few years ago, the Jerk got away with over 2000 dollars, even more annoying was he apparently spent 1000 bucks at a travel agency and
Didn't even invite me
So far as I know..cops never got the guy despite having filed a report. The bank did give us our money back though..thankfully.

[lekate]

Definitely sucks, has happened to me multiple times. Although whether charges were put on my card I do not know since BMO took care of everything for me! I think most of the time my card had been used somewhere where someone else's card was compromised, and they shut down mine.

They can't tell you why because of the liabilities, and defamation of potential businesses (say it was a sole employee vs. everyone at a sketchy store).

I was told however, that because there's so many debit/cc transactions daily at places like Starbucks, that thieves will steal their debit POS. When that happens, Starbucks would notify banks, banks will shut down all cards used at that location.

This is also why I do not leave much in my chequing account, if I make myself go through hoops to get my money to keep me from buying things, it also impedes thieves from being able to steal much from me :D

[ChristieJ]

What lekate says is exactly what we were told by the police and bank when it happened to my partner and he reported it. And the rigged smartphone is also a new trick, where thieves are able to read your card data through your wallet in your pants or shirt pocket. The bank and police told us to keep our cards in the aluminum Umbra card holders, as they said they consider them to be safer. I put them front-to-back so that the magnetic stripe isn't damaged.

[c_mcarthur]

I was told about a month ago by my bank that apparently, there is an app for certain phones, and when they are within arms length of you, they can hold the phone and use the app to get all your bank and credit Icard info, even if your cards have the chip. I was advised to purchase one of the titanium cases out there that hold your credit and bank cards. Apparently the app can't go through metal, so your cards are safe.

It never fails, as soon as the banks think they have the cards secure, along comes some new way to scam them. I now have 2 metal cases that I keep all my cards in. I also never carry all my cards anymore. If I'm going to say HBC, I will bring along that card only, and so on.

I'm sorry your son is going through this, it can be a terrible mess to try and straighten out, best of luck to you and your family.

I have one of the cases too, put all my cards in there,
however i have had both my credit card and debit card compromised quite a few times over the past few years, its really annoying because they shut down ur acct even if no money was taken.
The rep explained to me that if a certain area is hit, everyone who used a card in that location has it compromised regardless of whether it was used or not.
I've had to rememorize card numbers so many times, very frustrating!

[ChristieJ]

I was told about a month ago by my bank that apparently, there is an app for certain phones, and when they are within arms length of you, they can hold the phone and use the app to get all your bank and credit Icard info, even if your cards have the chip. I was advised to purchase one of the titanium cases out there that hold your credit and bank cards. Apparently the app can't go through metal, so your cards are safe.

It never fails, as soon as the banks think they have the cards secure, along comes some new way to scam them. I now have 2 metal cases that I keep all my cards in. I also never carry all my cards anymore. If I'm going to say HBC, I will bring along that card only, and so on.

I'm sorry your son is going through this, it can be a terrible mess to try and straighten out, best of luck to you and your family.

I have one of the cases too, put all my cards in there,
however i have had both my credit card and debit card compromised quite a few times over the past few years, its really annoying because they shut down ur acct even if no money was taken.
The rep explained to me that if a certain area is hit, everyone who used a card in that location has it compromised regardless of whether it was used or not.
I've had to rememorize card numbers so many times, very frustrating!

Oh, they're titanium? I thought they're aluminum. In any case, they're $5.99 at KSP. http://www.kitchenstuffplus.com/5967...se-Silver.aspx

[wolfwoman]

It also happened to us. The cc coumpany notified us that DH's card was used overseas at a hotel & airport which is unusual as we don't travel. Thankfully they caught it and froze the card. We got a new card and new numbers. Going to get new metal wallets today.

[pac182]

I was watching a show where they were showing how easy it is to steal info from people. The guy bought a machine off ebay for $100 and then went to the mall walked up to people and said "do you think your stuff is safe?" everyone said ya so he took the machine and put it near the person's wallet or purse and instantly their name and accounts showed up and he would show it to them and go is that you? It's scary how easy it is for someone to get your information

[Dayanara]

A few years ago I got a Petro Canada Mastercard bill in the mail for almost 3000 for mostly purchases made in Ohio. I nearly died....especially since I do not even own that credit card, nor had I ever applied for one.

I got everything taken care of thankfully, but made me feel very yucky.