I logged onto my Discover card account today and glanced through the transactions. I do all of my online shopping (and some of my offline shopping) with my Discover card, primarily because it racks up a load of Cashback Bonus awards for me, but also so that it is the only card that will be compromised in the event that I am hacked. And since I use it so often, I keep well on top of the charges I make with frequent visits to my online account. When I saw a charge from Walmart, I wasn't immediately alarmed. After all, I'd just been there on Saturday. But still, a thought occurred to me: I'm pretty sure I paid cash for that purchase.... The dollar amount seemed just around what I'd paid, but I was certain I'd paid cash. How would anyone have gotten my Discover card when I hadn't even taken it out that day? Then, I notice a second transaction, identical to the first, but still pending. And they were both from Walmart.com, not a Walmart retail location. I hunted up the receipt for the weekend's purchase anyway, just to confirm my suspicions and then I called Discover to report the suspected fraud.
Happily, the Discover people reassured me that I was never responsible for charges that occurred by fraud, and that they would immediately close out my account and issue me a new account number and a new card. Although the charges were both under $30, I'm sure, had I let it pass, that the next charge would have been even larger.
I'm a careful person online, but it's scary to know that even being careful doesn't keep you completely safe.
2 comments:
Happens to us all the time. Last time, they didn't even post those feeler transactions; they just went straight for the $3000 hit (from London, England). I called, but the bank had already flagged our account, and it was all taken care of in a couple of minutes.
It's not always from an online source, either, though that would make you feel a little better. We had our card numbers stolen from a brick-and-mortar army gear store down in GA once. Last time, I googled for "credit card theft hack" or some such thing and found out it was from Davey's online game. He'd never purchased anything, but they had his number. Itunes gets you, too, often enough that I bought a gift card and stopped giving them credit card numbers.
It is truly amazing how easily people can get your info. Thankfully, the card companies are very good about catching abnormal behavior!
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