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I don't know if this will help anyone except as a cautionary tale and maybe a warning to frequently check your bank accounts.
I came back from holiday a little more than a week ago and went to the ATM to withdraw some pocket money, only to be told that my account was now invalid, so I went into the branch and asked what was going on. The nice lady at the Help desk took my card and called up my details on the computer. She turned the screen towards me and I immediately saw that I had been hacked and robbed.
Between Christmas Day and New Year's Day my account and associated Visa had been emptied and all my money had been spent in London! As my last legitimate transaction had been a withdrawal on 23 December and I had been away since then I was blissfully unaware of the theft.
Nobody, including the bank, has any idea how this happened. The best theory is that the thieves used an algorithm and I was just unlucky. As far as I know I didn't do anything unusual or untoward.
The outcome was that my account and card were immediately cancelled with a promise to reinstate my account and card with new numbers and that the stolen money would be refunded. All of this has since happened and I can't fault the bank for their efficiency and courtesy in restoring my position. While I'm glad to have my money back the worst thing was that a number of my autopay arrangements failed to go through so now I have to go round paying them manually and reinstating the autopays to the new account. Some of these failures resulted in loss of the particular service until I paid the amounts outstanding. That was a real pain in the butt.
The only advice that I got was to let the bank know if I was going away so that they could put a watch on the account for unusual activity. So, if any of you are about to travel, maybe that's good advice. Other than that, check your account frequently and if you can, don't keep all your money in one account.
Comments
sorry to hear about your problems
You get a horrible feeing in the pit of your stomach and there is nothing you can do about it apart from what you have done already.
I might be slightly paranoid but I'm always wary of using my credit cards and debit cards. I have two credit cards that are only used for internet purchases. I don't even know the pin numbers. I have another that is only ever used to buy Petrol.
And I pay cash for things I buy in a shop or restaurant.
I try to not use an ATM outside a bank etc. If possible I use one inside as these are less prone to having skimmers attatched.
I hope that you get things sorted out to your satisfaction very soon.
Samanrha
Like you.......
I reserve one credit card for all of my on-line purchases and use it only on-line. That segregates it from all of my other accounts. I also pay that account via a paper check through the mail. This further segregates it electronically from any of my bank accounts.
I also use one other card for all of my business expenses. As travel has been a large part of my career for the past 18 years, those expenses can add up very quickly. The card I use is a Capital One Professional Card which requires that I input additional information when it is being used for specific types of purchases. Additionally, Capital One is very good about contacting me immediately - while I am still standing at the cash register - whenever I make a major purchase, travel to a new area, or any time they see something that comes across as suspicious. I have had many people comment about the verification calls; most are impressed, although a few have been annoyed that it means they have to stand in line for a few extra minutes while the verification process takes place.
I have actually had several instances where the account has been frozen by Capital One due to fraudulent use, whereupon I get both a phone call and a text informing me, and a new card is overnighted to me wherever I happen to be at the time with a new account number. Because of this, I actually have both a Capital One Visa and a Capital One MasterCard just in case one gets frozen temporarily. The rewards for both cards are tied together so that no matter which I use, I get credit to the same rewards account. This is a very nice little feature as I generally get five or six free plane tickets per year from the account - or whatever reward I choose, including cash back, but I usually take them as plane tickets as it offsets the cost of flying my family wherever on vacation each year.
There are a lot of options out there - especially now that most US banks and retailers are starting to use chip cards versus the old magnetic strips. Additionally, I would suggest getting an RFID-proof holder to hold your cards and go in your purse or wallet; this prevents anyone from using an RFID reader without your knowledge.
Unfortunately, nothing except the bank's own cyber security will protect you from the type of theft that apparently occurred here. If the bank is hacked, the type of card you use or how careful you are in using it, will not really matter.
D
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
do you use facebook?
skype or any other video chat program or twitter?
These leave a port into your computer that an accomplish hacker can use to steal any information stored on your computer. I would advise to only do bank transactions on a device that is never left unattended. This is NOT a mobile phone connected to the cellular network. Maybe an old phone that you have hooked into your private network.
Credit cards and debit cards also leave information on reciepts. Any time you use one of thse get the reciepts.
Third most common is card readers. If you use your card at a store it should only be read once and once only. If it is read or swiped twice cancel transaction immediatly and report the store to authorities.
Sorry but your probably not secure yet if you use all those above.
Information on computer
I have no information regarding finances stored on my computer. Aside from a banking app on my smart phone, I have to enter all information manually every time I do anything electronically even with the banking app, I have to enter the password manually. I get alerts, both email and on the banking app, every time a purchase over $ 300 is made and every time the card is use without being at retail point of purchase. (IE online)
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Our account was drained of $700 last year...
a skimmer at one of the local restaurant's ATM's sent the money to California. The bank refunded the money and apparently the nation-wide scammers were being rounded up .... last week....
Love, Andrea Lena
I have had similar things hapen
I had over half me checking account go MIA while in college, it was returned 2 days after i went the bank and complained.
They money had been taken out of my account instead of the intended account due to a clerical error of my account number being the same as the persons drivers license number.
Since then I have had all my Credit Cards numbers changed no less than 4 times each. Each time the fraud was committed without my card ever leaving my wallet. The last time it happened my Bank told me how they had been told about how the crooks were just using random generated numbers with computers over and over till the get a good hit then they would use it till it was maxed out or overdrawn.
The banks do not like this because in this day of electronic banking it is very easy to do this and when the crooks figure out how to do it without raising a red flag it will go un-noticed till you the victim see it and report it. The crooks right now are ahead of the preventative measures and law enforcement is playing catchup.
"Cortana is watching you!"
All Good Advice
Thank you all for your helpful comments and advice. I think/thought I was pretty careful.
I don't do Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (although I fart occasionally) or any form of social media, and I keep my phone isolated from any banking activity.
I do have an RFID device in my wallet but when you use an ATM this could be out of range and one theory is that the ATM had a skimming device attached. The last ATM that I used pre-skim was in the storefront of the bank in a shopping mall and the branch was open. That probably wouldn't have made any difference.
I try to limit card purchases as much as possible, preferring to use cash for everyday purchases, so my major interface with electronic banking is via ATM, but it's almost impossible to cut out card use completely, and some transactions like purchasing airline tickets just cannot be done any other way.
I still pay most of my major bills by cheque, but more and more organisations are either making this option quite difficult or actually cutting it out altogether. For regular debts like utilities and phone I have set up autopay facilities because I travel frequently and it's just too easy to forget them.
On this particular account I have a single card for bank access and credit card facilities. On my main account which I use for most of my business activity I have a separate card for banking and a VISA card for credit transactions. That may actually be a better option although a thief could still clean out either one, although I have a limit on the credit card.
So I guess electronic theft is just something we're going to have to live with as part of the price we pay for our convenience society.
contactless Cards
Can have their details skimmed without the card leaving your wallet/purse. So, I have a wallet that blocks RFID scanners. These are pretty cheap to buy from the likes of amazon.
There was a demo on a BBC TV show a few weeks ago where the 'thief' got the details of the presenters cards without even touching him.
I do use my iPhone and Apple Pay for some purchases. Something like that is far more secure. I can even leave the card at home and payment is controlled via my fingerprint.
You can and should take precautions to make life hard for the scumbags.
Samantha.