This is the second time in two months that my card has gotten compromised. Transactions on the internet are done securely through Amazon and maybe through Other World Computing. The shadiest place I've made any purchases might be some gas station... which is always on a military base.

I'm not getting it! What am I doing wrong here?

Suggestions?

9/10/2011 4:42:54 PM

Have you run a virus scan?

9/10/2011 4:44:30 PM

Haven't done that... Will try!

9/10/2011 4:45:17 PM

Use a credit card instead.

9/10/2011 5:14:30 PM

...I can see the logic in that... I fought the credit card for some time now... I guess, I've lost that fight...

9/10/2011 5:46:46 PM

9/10/2011 5:49:54 PM

Resistance is futile.

9/10/2011 5:51:46 PM

9/10 times it seems it's the middle man processor

9/10/2011 6:00:43 PM

If you have the discipline to pay off your credit card every month this is absolutely no reason not to have one. Don't have to worry about your bank account being compromised, build credit, and you can get free rewards. I have earned close to $1000 in cash back rewards just by using a credit card and never paid a cent of interest.

9/10/2011 6:03:16 PM

yea, why the resistance to a credit card, especially after having your debit card compromised before? I almost never use a debit card.

9/10/2011 6:26:21 PM

Everyone in here is a troll. These same people were saying the exact opposite in the other credit card threads.

All of a sudden, they're smarter than you in every way by using the opposite of what you're using.


If you'd like real help identifying how your card is being compromised, start with looking at your past transactions. Look for a correlation in the timespans between your last purchase and the first compromised purchase. If there is a correlation, then the debit card number was compromised on the merchant side.

If there is no time correlation to be found, most likely there is a virus on your computer. IF YOU'RE LUCKY, a virus scan might tell you you have a virus. Do NOT count on the virus scan to clean your computer of the infection. I'm afraid the only real way to know if your computer is clean is pure logistics and knowing the behavior of the virus BEFORE you delete it.

If those two are not the answer, there are other, more obscure, ways of obtaining your card.
1) If someone is digging through your trash, someone can get your number off your billing statement.
or
2) The credit card was skimmed. You should be able to determine if a place skimmed your credit card by the statement though. Most places that skim have 100's of credit cards and I doubt you wouldn't hear about it on the news when 100's of people accounts are compromised.

9/10/2011 7:05:33 PM

^Why don't you just charge more to people that use a credit card to cover whatever extra costs you incur? There's a reason consumers like credit cards. They're convenient, and if they are compromised, it's not your money that gets spent. I don't get the bitterness. Either charge more, don't accept them, or quit your bitching. You're not giving people good advice. I'm not trolling one bit ITT.

9/10/2011 7:33:23 PM

what's the problem? doesn't your bank cover any charges you dispute?

i had some bogus charges to match.com and some porn site subscriptions show up on my debit card. called bb&t up and cancelled the card. stopped by a branch and filled out a quick simple form (actually, the lady filled it out and all i had to do was sign it) and had my money back. 99.9% sure the number was stolen at that mexican place where rockola used to be.

Quote :

"Why don't you just charge more to people that use a credit card to cover whatever extra costs you incur?"

i've heard that's illegal, but rarely enforced

[Edited on September 10, 2011 at 7:45 PM. Reason : fs]

9/10/2011 7:44:59 PM

Quote :

"^Why don't you just charge more to people that use a credit card to cover whatever extra costs you incur? "

It's my understanding that that's generally not allowed by the credit card companies.

9/10/2011 7:45:45 PM

actually, maybe it is legal b/c there's all those truck stops that have a cash price lower than a credit price for fuel

9/10/2011 7:47:39 PM

^Right, and there's several restaurants I go to that charge an extra $0.50 if you pay with plastic. Nobody has shut them down yet.

9/10/2011 7:55:11 PM

most the gas stations near us in SC have separate prices for cash and credit. When I have 5% cash back on gas though, it's still usually cheaper just to use the credit card

9/10/2011 7:57:38 PM

Quote :

"There's a lot of information below, so here is an executive summary: •Regardless of who the merchant uses to process credit card transactions, merchants that add a surcharge or require a minimum purchase to accept a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card are violating their merchant agreement, and you should report them to the bank that issued your card. •American Express does not forbid minimum purchase requirements, but they require parity with the other credit cards, so a minimum purchase requirement just for American Express, but not for Visa, is not allowed. American Express does not allow surcharges, unless they are assessed as a convenience fee... •Convenience fees are allowable surcharges for specific types of payments, generally to schools and government entities (like taxes or fines). "

http://consumerist.com/2008/07/more-on-minimum-purchases-surcharges-and-other-credit-card-merchant-agreement-violations-from-the-co.html

9/10/2011 8:10:19 PM

At any rate, I'm not going to rat out my favorite restaurant. There are other options. Charge more to everyone or flat refuse to take cards.

9/10/2011 8:16:17 PM

Quote :

"•Regardless of who the merchant uses to process credit card transactions, merchants that add a surcharge or require a minimum purchase to accept a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card are violating their merchant agreement, and you should report them to the bank that issued your card."

Does it say anything about cash discounts? hehe. Loophole.

My pizzas are $24 with a 50% cash discount.

9/10/2011 10:56:16 PM

If you discounted them even more, you might actually sell one.

9/11/2011 12:47:34 AM

Thanks GeniuSxBoY, I'll be scrutinizing my transactions a little closer. I've looked around the internet for some information for people going through a similar ordeal. The first time this happened, someone in Montreal was making purchases. With the fraud alert from my bank, someone in Canada again was making purchases. I guess these kinds of purchases from Canada has been going on since 2008. I'm still not sure how they are getting my debit card no. though. I guess I'll have to be more careful next time...

9/11/2011 4:32:56 AM

Are any of the websites you shop at located in canada?

Did your virusscan pick anything up?

9/11/2011 4:36:45 AM

That's the thing... no... None of them... OWC is in illinois and I always select Amazon.com when they hold the product because of their super saver shipping. I haven't shopped on ebay...

I'm using OS X, and so far it's not showing any virus anywhere in my system...

I also always shred my paperwork when the bill is found paid...

This is really killing me man...

[Edited on September 11, 2011 at 4:46 AM. Reason : a]

9/11/2011 4:45:41 AM

Never thought I'd be saying this... but dude... I totally just got approved for a credit card pretty fast and easy... Never thought that would happen again...

9/11/2011 5:25:53 AM

and now we see why your dumbass is using a debit card

9/11/2011 10:06:01 AM

For those positive folks... thanks for the genuine remarks!

[Edited on September 11, 2011 at 4:38 PM. Reason : spelled it wrong]

9/11/2011 4:37:33 PM

get a girlfriend & then blame her when it happens next time

9/11/2011 4:41:22 PM

Set up the credit card with spending limit alerts and stuff to keep yourself in check if you think you will have a problem. I don't want my comments to be partially responsible for a financial tailspin.

9/11/2011 4:56:25 PM

hahaha! No worries bro! It's a solid plan actually. I guess some time has passed since I totally fucked up on paying my credit card when I was in college. Since then I've been keeping up with payments on time and been responsible.

All because I wanted a free t-shit credit card companies were giving out when I was freshman. Long time ago...

Instead of robbing money right out of my account, if it happens again, I can hope the credit card companies will have the resources and other kinds of magic to bring thieves to justice. It's criminal practices like this that will really kill and destabilize the economy.

9/11/2011 5:02:30 PM

Quote :

"FREE T- SHIT"

9/11/2011 5:24:11 PM

use a credit card instead

9/12/2011 7:48:49 AM

My debit card was also compromised this weekend. My bank called me to ask if they were legit charges of me using a car wash and something else up in like MA. Obviously not so they closed the card, but the thing is, I NEVER use this card.

9/12/2011 8:04:17 AM

as far as visa goes...

merchants can offer cash discounts but cannot charge fees for using credit cards.

9/12/2011 8:42:50 AM

I get a notice that somebody may have lost my info like 3 times a year, its starting to get annoying but I've gotten to the point where I'm not going to worry unless I see something actually happen.

9/12/2011 8:34:30 PM

^^What's the difference, really?

9/12/2011 9:16:58 PM

Quote :

"That's the thing... no... None of them... OWC is in illinois and I always select Amazon.com when they hold the product because of their super saver shipping. I haven't shopped on ebay... I'm using OS X, and so far it's not showing any virus anywhere in my system... I also always shred my paperwork when the bill is found paid... This is really killing me man... "

You have a virus. 98% certain.

9/12/2011 9:45:13 PM

Sorry I didn't mention it earlier, but I think I narrowed it down to paypal... There's a pattern in when I update my information on there, and when my card gets used next... Paypal update... two weeks later, loss of funds due to Canada...

9/13/2011 2:05:11 AM

100% certain you have a virus now.


Paypal hosts 100 million accounts, including mine. It is unlikely for your account to be targeted more than once in a timely fashion after renewing your credit card information from paypal's end.

Therefore, I surmise, more than likely, your card was compromised when you typed your credit card into the input box and pressed enter. The operating system saves your input in its history and the virus will send an email of the history file to the hacker who designed the virus thus obtaining your information.

9/13/2011 2:53:50 AM

Quote :

"^^What's the difference, really?"

semantics. it matters to idiots and credit card companies.

people don't like paying a "fee". however, if it's just the "normal" price, but there happens to be a cash discount, then they don't feel screwed over... at least that's how visa sees it.

9/13/2011 1:29:09 PM

Quote :

"The operating system saves your input in its history and the virus will send an email of the history file to the hacker who designed the virus thus obtaining your information."

The operating system doesn't do this. Keystroke loggers do.

9/13/2011 9:39:21 PM

So how do I find out if I've got keystroke loggers on my ass?

9/14/2011 6:47:56 PM

Easiest way is to wipe your hard drives and start fresh

9/14/2011 7:05:48 PM

Stop using paypal, wipe HDD.

Use paypal again.

Result?

9/14/2011 8:04:47 PM

Man, people giving terrible advice in here.

Run these.

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/10267/macscan

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/15850/clamxav

9/14/2011 9:13:32 PM

^why does mac need a virusscan? They're supposed to be virus free.

9/14/2011 9:48:06 PM

You're the one telling everyone he has one. Maybe this will prove you right. I've personally never had an issue, but I am aware of the existence of such programs. Lounge, not Chit Chat.

9/14/2011 10:06:55 PM