2 scams in a week

[rnet]

So I have had to cancel 2 credit cards in a week, both caught by the card companies and another that applied for credit with my info. I guess my computor got hacked, what do I do now?

[arntufun]

Sorry to hear that Ron......... Your business computers ?????

[rnet]

No, thank god, I don't have that online, nor have they hit my business card. Gm card which is now handled by capital one and my princess cruise card. These were caught right away. I worry about the stuff they don't find. I will be checking statements closely now.

[ARtraveler]

Please keep us posted. There is so much identity theft going on these days.

[arntufun]

Good to hear your business is ok !!!! Thats the good thing about Bank of America. If anything like that happens they will not make you pay for any fraud charges.

[rnet]

No charges on anything. I do have a Bank of America card (RCL card) so far clean. I'm woundering if changing my log on password would be a good idea.

[CyncySpyder]

I was just looking over my homeowners policy & it does cover Identity fraud which I was unaware of til now. Can't hurt for you to check tho

There's also companies like LifeLock that protect your Identity for like $10 bucks a month

Good luck to ya

[rnet]

I'm trying to figuir out how they got my wifes princess card as well cause she does not use my computers and I don't use her's. Guess I won't lose any sleep over it unless it gets worse.

[DynamoBT]

I would definitely change any banking passwords. Reset security questions too. I might even go so far as changing passwords to any social media and e-mail. Identity theft is my worst fear. Do not let any websites save your data. Sign in as a guest for each purchase.

[rnet]

The one tonight, same thing, I got denied, but I called to find out what the problem was. Funny thing was one was $1 and another was $2 and change.

[rnet]

I would definitely change any banking passwords. Reset security questions too. I might even go so far as changing passwords to any social media and e-mail. Identity theft is my worst fear. Do not let any websites save your data. Sign in as a guest for each purchase.

Marilyn, that sounds like very good info, a lot of which I have not done as of yet. maybe best to go back to phone orders.

[mowin]

The little $1 and $2 dollar charges are a test. Once the crooks get the little amounts, they start spending...

[juliantrost]

I had that happen few times; twice in US and once in UK. The toughest part is remembering where you truly used your card last, cause that is where it most likely got "snatched". Basically, how it works is this: you walk into a store, use your card, the guy behind the counter swipes the card on a machine that reads your magnetic strip and bingo, you are done. Next thing is easy... They take that information and stick it on to the card made up with any name from any bank, the key is lining up the first 4 digits of the card with the name of the bank, like 4147 is Visa from First USA, or 5124 is a Master Card from the Chase bank or 6011 Discover. The ironic thing is that after 9/11 when Patriot Act and KYC acts came into power, I wrote and sold KYC and Anti-money laundering system, so I spent months learning about little things to look out for that would make one suspicious in these things, yet I got caught literally in a blink of an eye. For me it was easy to think backwards on charges I was making and figure out where it was actually swiped. Close to $20K in charges made on the card across 3 different Home Depots in Long Island, only because my wife bought $12.00 worth of groceries in some small shop in Brooklyn.
As for what to do... The recommendations of making changes to passwords are good, contacting your banks and asking for extra protection, double passwords, secure ID cards, etc., is also good. Places like PayPal have secure keys that they can send you, so when you pay with it, you have to punch in a special number that gets regenerated every time. Also, strongly recommend contacting companies in charge of monitoring your credit history and they can help. Experian is one of them and I believe their number should still be 888-397-3742.
Finally and I strongly recommend that, contact your credit cards companies and give them your pattern usages: most frequently used stores, restaurants, Internet sites, etc. Basically everywhere where you normally shop. Then ask them to contact you if they see anything not in that pattern. I did that, although my C/C company hated me, since I spent 70% outside of the country, which made it hard to monitor. The way out of that was to always let them know when I was going out of country.

Sorry for the long rant and hope it can be of use. Crappy thing to go through and good luck!

[bobbobtar]

My wife got a call from Capital One two days ago saying someone in France was trying to make a purchase with her card numbers ( she never uses her card on the internet ) sounds like Capital One may of got hacked.

[Chupaca]

I would definitely change any banking passwords. Reset security questions too. I might even go so far as changing passwords to any social media and e-mail. Identity theft is my worst fear. Do not let any websites save your data. Sign in as a guest for each purchase.

that's the best..and your wife as well.

[YIRYDE]

I would also check my credit report. Everyone is entitled to a free report annually.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

[rnet]

Thanks everyone for your input as I have already moved on some of your advise.

[Captain Fin]

I

The one tonight, same thing, I got denied, but I called to find out what the problem was. Funny thing was one was $1 and another was $2 and change.

Many times when they get your data the thief will make small purchases to test the account before they make major purchases. You should get new cards and change your pass words.

[Bob Denman]

If these worked half as hard, as they do figuring out how NOT to work...

[SpyderLady]

I worked at MasterCard and they have many securities keyed into their systems. If and when you travel, call your credit card company and let them know you are traveling, to where and for how long. As for your computer passwords, make them as long as possible, mix in capital letters as well as small letters, numbers and some symbols.... example 07HAlyTj06. Yes it gets complicated to remember them all, but I keep mine in a safe place and don't have the same password on very many sites. As long as you notify the credit card company of the issues they should not be charging you with any of the "fraud". Use credit cards instead of Debit cards. Debit cards do not have the same protection against charges that credit cards do.

Last but not least get a good Internet Security system. I use AVG which was recommended to me by a computer geek. They have a free one and one they charge for. Really like it better than any of the others out there.

Good luck.