You can never be too careful. The other day I was checking my credit card accounts online, when I noticed an unfamiliar charge for $440. This was very strange, because the charge appeared on a closed account! (A couple of months ago, Chase had closed my MasterCard Ink Plus card and swapped it for a Visa Ink Plus.)
I called Chase bank, and we determined that the charge for a car rental in the Ukraine was indeed fraudulent. I was assured by the customer service rep that I would not be liable for the charge and that the account would in fact be permanently closed.
A week later, the Ukrainian car rental charge appeared on my statement. I called again, and this time I was referred to the fraud department, and then to the investigations department, to rectify the situation. Again, I was told that account would be closed and that I would not be responsible for the fraudulent charge.
The Gigantic JP Morgan Chase Hack
Chase told me that this fraudulent charge had nothing to do with the hackers that broke into JP Morgan Chase’s computer systems and stole more than 80 million customers’ personal information, including their names, emails, physical addresses and phone numbers. According to the bank, hackers didn’t manage to steal usernames, passwords, account numbers or Social Security numbers. This was not very reassuring!
Guard Against Credit Card Fraud
Here’s a word for the wise: check your online statements frequently and be on the lookout for unfamiliar charges. This is especially true if your credit card bills are on automatic pay.
Here’s an article from the Federal Trade Commission on what you can do to protect against credit card fraud.
Has your credit card account ever been compromised? How did you handle it? Please share in the comments.
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Sorry that happened to you; I can relate. My SPG Amex card has been used fraudulently three times since I’ve had it. In my situations, I think employees were the ones responsible for the false charges; the frauds occurred at Costco, Neimans and Williams-Sonoma shortly after I had shopped in those stores. I’ve kept my credit frozen since the first fraudulent charge, and have always been neurotic about checking all of my accounts daily. Definitely worried about the big Chase security breach.
Ouch! I’m glad you spotted these hits on your credit card.
Several months ago I had a fraudulent charge on my AmEx. I hadn’t read about any big hacks on the AmEx database; so it was a one-off situation. Don’t know how they got my number. AmEx cancelled that card number and issued a new account number. However, I was without my credit card for several days till the new one came in the mail. That hurt, since I like to use AmEx for gasoline–I get 2% cash rewards.
The nice thing about American Express cards is that my husband, who is on the same account, has a different card number. Therefore, his card did not have to be canceled and re-issued.
What a royal pain!
I’ve had two hacks recently. One was on an Ink cards ($1000s spent at a tractor store) & the other was on my club Carlson card (someone tried to use it in another state at a grocery store). The CC one was caught and not allowed to go through. The Ink one I had to call about, but they removed the fraudulent charges. Both cards were in my possession, so I’m not sure what happened.
There have been so many breaches this year — Target, Home Depot, Chase, and now Staples. One really has to be careful!