# Chequing Account Hacked



## Rickson9 (Apr 9, 2009)

Hi guys, I bank with TD and I've had my chequing account hacked twice for about $500 a pop. I only knew about because TD "loss prevention" called me with an automated message telling me to visit my nearest branch and contact the branch manager; "a note has been put on your account."

I guess I should stop swiping my card at truck stops and peeler bars. LOL JK. Has anybody had this happen to them this year?


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

Fortunately I have never had my accounts hacked. Any reason given as to why you were targetted?


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## Rickson9 (Apr 9, 2009)

lb71 said:


> Fortunately I have never had my accounts hacked. Any reason given as to why you were targetted?


The bank specifically said that accounts aren't targeted. This has been happening a bit more recently.

In order to combat this, the bank issued me a new fangled interac card with a microchip in it. I'm not sure why this would help, but that's what they're doing.


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## canabiz (Apr 4, 2009)

Rickson9: Did you log on to your online banking account and find out where and where those $500 transactions took place ?

Use credit cards when you can.


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

Rickson9 said:


> Hi guys, I bank with TD and I've had my chequing account hacked twice for about $500 a pop. I only knew about because TD "loss prevention" called me with an automated message telling me to visit my nearest branch and contact the branch manager; "a note has been put on your account."
> 
> I guess I should stop swiping my card at truck stops and peeler bars. LOL JK. Has anybody had this happen to them this year?


How often do you use your debit card Rickson?


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## msimms (Apr 17, 2009)

Rickson9 said:


> Hi guys, I bank with TD and I've had my chequing account hacked twice for about $500 a pop. I only knew about because TD "loss prevention" called me with an automated message telling me to visit my nearest branch and contact the branch manager; "a note has been put on your account."
> 
> I guess I should stop swiping my card at truck stops and peeler bars. LOL JK. Has anybody had this happen to them this year?


I bank with TD and Citizens, and use both debit cards for everything. Only once did TD put a lock on my account citing it was breached. No money went missing luckily.


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## drh (May 20, 2009)

> Use credit cards when you can.


This brings up a good point, would this underscore that using credit cards (assuming you pay them off every month) should be the payment method of choice?


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## Rickson9 (Apr 9, 2009)

canabiz said:


> Rickson9: Did you log on to your online banking account and find out where and where those $500 transactions took place ?
> 
> Use credit cards when you can.


The first transaction took place in Montreal. Simultaneous transactions occured in Toronto they flagged the account since I can't teleport.

The second transaction was flagged because it was used at a non-TD bank ATM machine. This was unusual and the account was locked.

I'm not particularly worried. More curious. The money has been refunded.

I did ask the branch manager how often this happens. He said it normally happens once per month per branch, but there's been an uptake recently.


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## Rickson9 (Apr 9, 2009)

FrugalTrader said:


> How often do you use your debit card Rickson?


All the time. I almost never use my credit card.


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## Retired at 31 (Apr 20, 2009)

lb71 said:


> Fortunately I have never had my accounts hacked. Any reason given as to why you were targetted?


When fishing, it's worth trying to land the big fish 

Sucks to hear. It's probably a slight inconvenience - the bank replaces the funds and off you go. Having a credit card compromised is a pain as you have to update all the pre-auth places again. I've never had either hacked and love the cashback that the cc's give me.


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## Ben (Apr 3, 2009)

I had this happen at a sketchy depanneur in Montreal last year. Swiped a debit card late at night, and next day had a empty $1000 deposit and real $500 withdrawal - oldest trick in the book. Bank returned the funds, no questions asked.

However, I don't think the apparent trustworthiness of the establishment has a lot to do with your likelihood of being compromised. In my local area, there's been several cases of the Interac/credit machines being replaced overnight in their entirety with fraudulent machines by sophisticated criminals. They've embedded transmitters etc in the machines that communicate the required information elsewhere. All this happens (in most cases) without the knowledge of the establishment or proprietor. Gas stations, fast food, convenience stores, etc.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

Rickson9 said:


> The bank specifically said that accounts aren't targeted. This has been happening a bit more recently.
> 
> In order to combat this, the bank issued me a new fangled interac card with a microchip in it. I'm not sure why this would help, but that's what they're doing.


I just got one of those too. They have new debit card readers that are supposed to help prevent fraud.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

Ben said:


> However, I don't think the apparent trustworthiness of the establishment has a lot to do with your likelihood of being compromised. In my local area, there's been several cases of the Interac/credit machines being replaced overnight in their entirety with fraudulent machines by sophisticated criminals. They've embedded transmitters etc in the machines that communicate the required information elsewhere. All this happens (in most cases) without the knowledge of the establishment or proprietor. Gas stations, fast food, convenience stores, etc.


I read about a ring that was recently busted doing such a thing. Someone would distract the clerk and another would switch machine. They would retun a few days later, distract the cleck again, and leave with their machine full of data. I think it was a spa in this case.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Rickson9 said:


> Hi guys, I bank with TD and I've had my chequing account hacked twice for about $500 a pop. I only knew about because TD "loss prevention" called me with an automated message telling me to visit my nearest branch and contact the branch manager; "a note has been put on your account."
> 
> I guess I should stop swiping my card at truck stops and peeler bars. LOL JK. Has anybody had this happen to them this year?


"Hacking" would seem to be a misnomer in this case. I would associate that with someone fraudulently accessing an account on-line. Sounds more like your debit card and PIN number were fraudulently copied and reproduced, and then used to purchase things. This can happen anywhere, but tends to happen most at all-night gas stations and convenience stores, where supervision of both equipment and personnel is more tenuous. The new chip&PIN cards are harder to duplicate, but I imagine crooks will find a way one day.


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