# My Credit Card was hacked!



## Emma (May 18, 2013)

Just received a call from CIBC fraud dept, someone used my card number in Quebec yesterday so my card has been cancelled. The rep said the number could have been stolen as much as six months ago and sold along with many others. Not necessarily somewhere I have shopped recently. 

Had the same thing happen with a Wells Fargo card we used in California two years ago. All the purchases were made after we had returned to Canada. I did not receive any notification, only saw the changes when I checked our account online. Needless to say I check the account more often now.

So disappointing.


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## supperfly17 (Apr 18, 2012)

Had the same thing happen with my td card. Someone spent 700 in France. Got the money back 3 weeks later after an investigation.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Had that happen to me before as well. Damn them!


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

It happens to me every few years (though hasn't happened yet with the chip card). I think three or four times in the past 10 years. The banks are very fast to catch it, and it's just an inconvenience (actually a big inconvenience for me since I have a lot of automatic payments and donations on my card). I've only had my debit card hacked once, and that was easier to sort out as my account number didn't change. When your credit card is hacked you have to get a new card with a new account number.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

supperfly17 said:


> Had the same thing happen with my td card. Someone spent 700 in France. Got the money back 3 weeks later after an investigation.


Got the money back?
I've had my card number used, never actually had to front the money. Don't they put the transaction on hold pending the investigation results?


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Emma said:


> Just received a call from CIBC fraud dept, someone used my card number in Quebec yesterday so my card has been cancelled. The rep said the number could have been stolen as much as six months ago and sold along with many others. Not necessarily somewhere I have shopped recently.
> 
> Had the same thing happen with a Wells Fargo card we used in California two years ago. All the purchases were made after we had returned to Canada. I did not receive any notification, only saw the changes when I checked our account online. Needless to say I check the account more often now.
> 
> So disappointing.


I had my new smart chip equipped CC hacked. What surprised me was that the charge was for $8100 from a Hyundai dealer in NB while I was in Mexico. My question was: What does it take to make you question a transaction?
Amount? No
Location? No
Lack of PIN entered? No

They immediately reversed the transaction and gave me 3 weeks to return our signed form.


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## daddybigbucks (Jan 30, 2011)

My question was: What does it take to make you question a transaction?

I'll bet the banks would rather pay the stolen amount then start inconveniencing cc holders with "rejected cards". If rejected, some cc holders might switch cards and cc are just too lucrative of a deal for banks.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I love what Amex does. When we first try to charge from another location like PV or Istanbul, they ask to talk to us and confirm our identity. 

I think the banks are just too lazy or cheap and would prefer to inconvenience their clients with bureaucratic forms. I like what Amex does and have never had a fraudulent charge. Plus the retailers never get stiffed with these charges either.


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## jcgd (Oct 30, 2011)

My Visa gets compromised every six months or so. Kinda a pain, but at least they call when I'm "at risk" and check to ensure all the transactions are mine. My card number doesn't actually need to be used, but only used at a place that is suspected in some way. Only once have I ever found a fraudulent transaction and it was someone buying $100 worth of facebook money or something. I would never consider switching because of the inconvenience. I sleep well knowing that it's not just me watching my back. I have my Visa through BNS.


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## Jaberwock (Aug 22, 2012)

Happened to me only once. The card was used at a car repair shop, the user should have been easily traceable. Credit card companies don't make enough effort to chase down fraud, they back-charge the merchant - why would they care?


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Keith - I am surprised that a dealership allowed a customer to put more than $5000 on a cc as well.


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## Haligonian (Nov 3, 2012)

Emma said:


> Just received a call from CIBC fraud dept, someone used my card number in Quebec yesterday so my card has been cancelled.


Due to telephone scams, I didn't think banks and credit card companies called their clients in these circumstances. I thought they lock the account after suspicious activity, reject tranactions thereafter and wait for the client to call them to find out why tranactions are no longer approved and sort things out from there.


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## Emma (May 18, 2013)

I received an automated call asking me to call Visa about my credit card. When I called back I was put through to the fraud department who asked if I had made a purchase in Quebec the day before. Since I had not they advised me to cut up my card. With Wells Fargo all the purchases were $50-75 and totalled less than $500. It did not set off any alarms as I had been using the debit/visa card for the previous 2 months in California and they did not know I had returned to Canada. They did an investigation and returned the funds to my account.


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

A show on TV a while back about credit card identity theft said one of the worst things people with credit cards do is pay for gas @ the pump with thier credit cards. They said never to pay @ the pump, only pay inside where you are out of view of high powered cameras the thiefs are using


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

They now have the new "wave at the machine" credit cards, that require no PIN or signature. 

The banks must be making so much cash.......they don't really care about losses.

Besides..........they are all in downsize mode and letting people go........so service is going to suffer somewhere.

And at the end of the day.........they probably get to write off the losses and the taxpayer pays for them.


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## uptoolate (Oct 9, 2011)

I must be doing something wrong. 30+ years of credit card use all over the world and never had an issue. Unless you include mislaying my card for days at a time on occasion or just plain losing it, but that is on me. I pay at the pump all the time and would actually be reluctant to go inside as I'd figure that it is the human element that is the most likely weak point. I do agree that the new NFC cards may present a tempting target but they have been using them for some time in Europe and seem to be doing ok. The banks probably don't want to limit fraud too much - how else can they justify there loan sharking 21% rates. :chuncky:


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

So was mine about nine months ago. A real PITA to contact all those folks who take a chunk from my credit card every month. $700 charged to a garden centre/nursery in Quebec and a few charges from Rogers in Montreal for pre paid cell phone cards. The fraud was not picked up by Visa-I reviewed my charges on line, saw them, and called their fraud dept. I had to sign an affidavit to the effect that these were not my charges-and they were immediately reversed.

A former colleague of mine had $3700. charged in Croatia for a boat of all things. This charge got through MasterCard security and was accepted as a charge. They called him after the event to see if the charge was legit. Of course it was not.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

The problem is that the merchant eats the charge. If I were a merchant, I would be very careful about charges. In Mexico, they ask for PIN entry and a signature at retailers, not restaurants.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

When I was delivering for a Chinese restaurant, I had to be sure the person listed on the credit card was the one who signed for the order.

Many times.........people sent their kids to the door with the card, and were perturbed when I told them the cardholder had to sign the credit slip.

Every month, the restaurant had people trying to have charges reversed.........even though they had received the food.

The credit card reverses the charges back to the retailer..............and the only acceptable proof for the retailer was possession of a signed slip.

With these new cards............I don't know how a retailer would prove the charges were legitimate.

Maybe that is why some retailers don't have the machines to recognize them.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Cal said:


> ... I am surprised that a dealership allowed a customer to put more than $5000 on a cc as well.


I wonder if this is changing ... as I recall, when my sister bought either the first or second year the Focus was available - the dealer limited them to $10K.

Maybe the amount is the dealer's decision?


Cheers


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Haligonian said:


> Due to telephone scams, I didn't think banks and credit card companies called their clients in these circumstances. I thought they lock the account after suspicious activity, reject tranactions thereafter and wait for the client to call them to find out why tranactions are no longer approved and sort things out from there.


A few years ago they called, however they call you and they are VERY specific about it. In any case when they call, tell them that you won't disclose any information and ask if you can call them back at the number on the back of the credit card.
If they say yes, go ahead and call them. If they say that's not possible hang up and call the fraud department, via the number on the back of the card.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

My parents' credit card had a fraud incident just a few days ago, and the bank (a person) called them up to inform them. My mom was rightfully suspicious about getting a call like that.

I've had my mastercard cancelled "due to fraud" twice in a period of 5 months, but it's been OK since then. They have never told me any details of what kind of fraud they detected... I guess it's a secret!

I now make sure I always travel with two credit cards. One that I use for everything, and the other as a backup that I will never use unless the first one is cancelled. It can be really inconvenient if your card is cancelled while you're on a trip.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

james4beach said:


> I now make sure I always travel with two credit cards. One that I use for everything, and the other as a backup that I will never use unless the first one is cancelled. It can be really inconvenient if your card is cancelled while you're on a trip.


It's also worth notifying your credit card provider before you travel, especially overseas, because foreign transactions are one of the flags they use to detect fraudulent activity. A friend of mine had both his regular card and his backup card frozen when he traveled to Europe without notifying his providers first. I've traveled in the past without notifying and never had a problem, but after hearing his experience I now notify my card providers before taking overseas trips, unless I'm going somewhere I've been before.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

james4beach said:


> My parents' credit card had a fraud incident just a few days ago, and the bank (a person) called them up to inform them. My mom was rightfully suspicious about getting a call like that.
> 
> I've had my mastercard cancelled "due to fraud" twice in a period of 5 months, but it's been OK since then. They have never told me any details of what kind of fraud they detected... I guess it's a secret! ...


Interesting ... I've been called for specific transactions but so far (knock on wood) the only cancellations have been at my request. The first was due to a breakin at the house I was renting [I could not be sure the thief didn't grab the CC info off of my bills] & when I lost my wallet.

I did the corporate Amex card reject transactions every 18 months or so as at the time, the Amex system would flag everyone's card are in arrears, ignoring that sixty days to pay had been negotiated by the company instead of the run of the mill thirty days.


Good plan to have a backup CC with you.


Cheers


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## LondonHomes (Dec 29, 2010)

kcowan said:


> What surprised me was that the charge was for $8100 from a Hyundai dealer in NB while I was in Mexico.


So how do they get away with this? You think it would be a simple matter to track down the car and repo it.

So are they using your identity to register the car and then immediately shipping it out of Canada?


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

LondonHomes said:


> So how do they get away with this? You think it would be a simple matter to track down the car and repo it.
> 
> So are they using your identity to register the car and then immediately shipping it out of Canada?


The CC company just reverses the transaction. Then it is up to the dealer to seek compensation from the perp. My concern is that the CC allowed the TX in the first place. It failed on any reasonable test.


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## pnky (Jul 16, 2012)

Whats it with Quebec and credit card fraud? I have heard/read about a lot of stories of fraudulent charges which trace back to some place in Quebec. I currently work in Quebec and an american colleauge warned me on my first day - he had his cc replaced thrice in 4 months since he came here - to not use my cc at restaurants and taxicabs.

I continue to use my cc though and its been ok so far but I am paranoid that I will see some odd charge come up on my card at some point in time.

Will I be at a disadvantage as I am actually working here - like will it be extra difficult to prove a fraudulent charge (if it happens) ? I use my corporate amex which is not even a chip card 

I should probably make it a point to inform Amex once my work here is done and I go back - though I did not tell them before I came here ?


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## 6811 (Jan 1, 2013)

pnky,

Aside from my military service I have lived in Quebec all my life and (like uptoolate in #16 above) have never had a bogus charge against my credit cards in probably 40+ years of use, and have never had a problem with my debit cards either. Quebec may be the car theft capital of Canada, I did have one stolen years ago, but I suspect that it's no worse than the rest of the country as regards credit card fraud.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

pnky said:


> Whats it with Quebec and credit card fraud?


Quebec seems to be a Canadian hub for various sorts of frauds and rackets (for instance there is also lots of spamming operations based in Quebec). I'll make a wild guess that it has something to do with the significant organized crime presence there. Organized crime is heavily involved with credit & debit fraud, it often includes installing specialized equipment.

My girlfriend's debit card was skimmed once at a movie theater in Scarborough. Once the debit card details were stolen, someone in Quebec made cash withdrawals from her account. She discovered that you can actually lose money even when nothing is in your account, as the scammers first make a fake deposit and then withdrew from that.


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## pnky (Jul 16, 2012)

6811 said:


> pnky,
> 
> Aside from my military service I have lived in Quebec all my life and (like uptoolate in #16 above) have never had a bogus charge against my credit cards in probably 40+ years of use, and have never had a problem with my debit cards either. Quebec may be the car theft capital of Canada, I did have one stolen years ago, but I suspect that it's no worse than the rest of the country as regards credit card fraud.


Thank you, this is encouraging. I have literally been going through my CC charges online daily for the last week or so to see if there is any fraud - I have been that worried.


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

The tools that the banks use can be quite effective. I was buying insulation to finsh my basement some years ago, and I live quite near the home improvement store. I was buying bales a few at a time, tying them on my small truck, and then dropping them off and going back for more. 

They called me at work the next morning to inquire if I could confirmed that the same dollar value was charged every 20 minutes of so at the same vendor 6 times in one night. 

Yes, it was. I called them in advance when it was time to do the dance again when I was ready to buy drywall.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

pnky said:


> Thank you, this is encouraging. I have literally been going through my CC charges online daily for the last week or so to see if there is any fraud - I have been that worried.


I don't know if daily is necessary, but do check it once in a while.

I've never had outright fraud with my card, but I can recall 3 times in the last 10-15 years where a company I had done business with accidently either double charged me or created an extra phantom charge later on by mistake.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Four Pillars said:


> I don't know if daily is necessary, but do check it once in a while.
> 
> I've never had outright fraud with my card, but I can recall 3 times in the last 10-15 years where a company I had done business with accidently either double charged me or created an extra phantom charge later on by mistake.


No real fraud here as well BUT this just happened a few days ago at a popular coffee chain.
I ordered my coffee and paid with the near field "card tap". Here is where a potential scam/mistake occurs, not all machines show the amount when you go to "tap" your card and most people I see never ask for the transaction receipt! Now I always ask when the amount is not shown on the screen and sure enough an extra $2 was on the receipt which they promptly handed over the cash for. Now was it a scam or an honest mistake .... I'll never know but the person could have easily put that $2 in their pocket if I had not asked.


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## blin10 (Jun 27, 2011)

so far I had it happened once, someone went shopping in home depot and somehow used my card... credit card company was pretty fast to catch it though, refund everything back in few days...


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

use credit card
phone put credit card on hold
phone take credit card off hold
use credit card
phone put credit card on hold

repeat cycle


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Four Pillars said:


> I can recall 3 times in the last 10-15 years where a company I had done business with accidently either double charged me or created an extra phantom charge later on by mistake.


Yes and sometimes it is timed to be one month later so the duplicate does not show on the same statement. This was a common practice a few years ago. Now I think the CC companies trap it.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

kcowan said:


> Yes and sometimes it is timed to be one month later so the duplicate does not show on the same statement. This was a common practice a few years ago. Now I think the CC companies trap it.


That didn't happen in my cases. Two were charged right away. The third was odd because it was a cleaning service we had hired and then stopped using them. If was about a year after we last used them the charge (same amount as our old regular charge) appeared. When I called, they said it was a system problem because they had upgraded something.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

james4beach said:


> Quebec seems to be a Canadian hub for various sorts of frauds and rackets (for instance there is also lots of spamming operations based in Quebec).


Seriously, what's with Quebec?

Is there something in the water?

Huge story today, that the new Montreal mayor (the one who was supposed to be clean and on the level) faces 14 criminal charges. "Applebaum faces 14 criminal charges, including fraud against the government, breach of trust, conspiracy and municipal corruption, the provincial anti-corruption unit UPAC announced."


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