Amex called me this morning, as their fraud alert saw my card was charged $15 at RPM Pizza in Denham Springs this morning. I've barely heard of the place, let alone ordered pizza there; and certainly not at 8 am.

The crooks are getting more clever all the time. I'm going to close all extra card accounts I have, just to have tighter control.

I'm sorry to hear that Ralph. Hopefully that's all they got and you caught them in time. Good luck!

There is always, some bastard out there, trying to get something for nothing. Thanks to the fraud alert, you were aware of what could have been a bad situation.
I was traveling, buying gas for my gas hog, every 200 miles, got up in Tennessee and the card rejected my purchase. The card company said, it was unusual purchases and was questioning the purchases. Unhandy, but a good safeguard. They gave me a phone no. to call next time to authorize the use of the Credit Card to purchases ahead of time.

Richard, we had a similar thing happen with the middle daughter. When she was first out of college and on her own working as a flight attendant we would get calls from her credit card company cause she was jumping around so much. Yes, it is a good safegaurd.

Hey Richard, are you coming up my way?????

And while I'm at it, did your dad own the Mack dealership on the north edge of Kokomo on the east side of US 31/35??? the blue building????

About two years ago my wife and I had, within about a six month period, this experience with our cards three times. I'm convinced that they were "harvested" at a gas station and then used almost immediately. Fraudulent charges in excess of $1,000 racked up almost instantly. Fortunately our bank stood good for it all, but it took a few weeks to sort it all out.

Reducing the number of cards you have is certainly a good way to limit exposure. However, if you use a card at all I'm not sure there is any way to completely prevent the possibility of fraud. I suggest you talk to your bank or credit card company and be knowledgeable in their policies concerning this matter. Also, I now keep a close eye on things online. If something pops up I'll know it very soon, regardless of the fraud unit's detection of the matter.

It's a sad state of affairs......

Fred;
That was my uncle in Kokomo. My dad and uncle ran the Mack Agency in Marion, till Kmart bought the property and my dad retired. My uncle, then, started the agency in Kokomo, Indiana.

You know I left here in nc in 08 to go to Oklahoma to the swap meet and used my debt card for gas,food and lodgeing.And was not challenged for anything but my pin number till I got back to Tennesse!
Then I had to punch in my zip code.That aint worth a pinch of monkey do.If I steal your ID,I would probably have your zip code,social,the whole 9 yards.

At gas stations, when you pay outside at the pump, you have to put in your zip with a C.C. Don't know about a debit card. never used one at a pump.
They always told me not to use your debit card at a gas station. Always use a credit card or cash.

Here is a good explanation regarding exposure for unauthorized use of credit and debit cards or numbers.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-ca rds

For credit cards, exposure is zero or limited to $50 depending on the situation (theft of card number vs unauthorized use of lost or stolen credit card).

Debit cards are more complicated because it depends on how many days have passed between the discovery of the unauthorized use and the reporting of the fraud and whether it was simply theft of card number or unauthorized use of a lost or stolen card.

Also, with debit cards (and bank accounts in general) even if you limit your exposure by reporting unauthorized use within the prescribed time frames, it can actually take a long time for the bank to "unwind" the transactions and restore your account to its correct balance.

DO NOT cancel credit card accounts.
It will harm your credit record rate.
Instead, call the credit card company and have them put a stop on any future use.
I forget what the service is called but they will know what you want.

I'm sorry Ralph...I was hungry...it was only one little pizza.

Dennis,

Shame on you ....

Rick,

Could be worse - they could have been trying to buy a CHEVY .....



Jim

I got banged for $1.54 a couple of months ago from some hunting club in OK and then a schmuck tried to get airline tickets in the UK. Card bounced LMAO!