Be careful with your bank accounts

[atroop711]

Yesterday I went online to check out something in my account (checking acct) and noticed there was an authorization for a debit for $1.79 made to some man (who I googled and is a Dentist in Oregon). The debit caught my attention because I never use my debit card for such a small charge. I remember this happened to my husband 2 yrs ago and also to my sister. What happens is someone gets a hold of your debit card number, they make a few small charges to see if anyone will notice before they go in with "the kill" and debit a large amount from your account. I immediately called my bank and spoke with the Fraud Dept.

I'm just posting this to give you all the heads up and hopefully this won't happen to more ppl if they're made aware of this scam.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

This is very true. I work for a bank in auditing and have helped out in fraud prevention. They will test your account with small amounts first, sometimes as small as a few cents. This often happens 2 or 3 times before they go in for "the kill." Keep a close eye on your bank account and never let even mysterious pennies slide. Fraud happens with both debit cards and checks so neither is immune to it. One of the best things that a person can do to protect themselves is know their bank. I work for a small community bank and as such we are able to monitor our customer's cards more closely than a large bank. We receive alerts when anything outside of 50 miles of the normal spending radius has occurred. If we are unable to validate the purchase (this is where that three digit code on the back of your card is so handy) we immediately call the customer about the charge. They have until the end of business day to return our call or else we shut down the card that day. Yes, we've pissed some people off before, but we've also saved a lot of people and the bank THOUSANDS of dollars from loss by doing that.

 

[atroop711]

This is very true. I work for a bank in auditing and have helped out in fraud prevention. They will test your account with small amounts first, sometimes as small as a few cents. This often happens 2 or 3 times before they go in for "the kill." Keep a close eye on your bank account and never let even mysterious pennies slide. Fraud happens with both debit cards and checks so neither is immune to it. One of the best things that a person can do to protect themselves is know their bank. I work for a small community bank and as such we are able to monitor our customer's cards more closely than a large bank. We receive alerts when anything outside of 50 miles of the normal spending radius has occurred. If we are unable to validate the purchase (this is where that three digit code on the back of your card is so handy) we immediately call the customer about the charge. They have until the end of business day to return our call or else we shut down the card that day. Yes, we've pissed some people off before, but we've also saved a lot of people and the bank THOUSANDS of dollars from loss by doing that.

I'd rather have my bank shut my card down then allow hundreds of dollars to be stolen from the acct! Now I'm paranoid and will be checking my account often.

 

[Dancing Fire]

that's reason why i don't have an ATM or a debit card.

 

[megumic]

that's reason why i don't have an ATM or a debit card.

How in the world do you function without any sort of plastic??? Isn't it a pain to go to the bank every time you need cash, no less during daylight hours when the bank is open??? I'm actually impressed -- the only other person I know who refuses to use a debit card is my grandmother, and she's 95.

 

[purselover]

that's reason why i don't have an ATM or a debit card.

How in the world do you function without any sort of plastic??? Isn't it a pain to go to the bank every time you need cash, no less during daylight hours when the bank is open??? I'm actually impressed -- the only other person I know who refuses to use a debit card is my grandmother, and she's 95.

My mom just got a debit card a few months ago but couldn't figure out how to use it! The first and I believe only time she used it her banker called her and congratulated her for figuring it out! Btw my mother is very intelligent with several advanced degrees, just a touch old fashioned. She doesn't believe in online bill pay either.

*threadjack over, sorry*

 

[Dancing Fire]

that's reason why i don't have an ATM or a debit card.

How in the world do you function without any sort of plastic??? Isn't it a pain to go to the bank every time you need cash, no less during daylight hours when the bank is open??? I'm actually impressed -- the only other person I know who refuses to use a debit card is my grandmother, and she's 95.

believe or not the lines are short nowadays,cuz most people are using plastics.

 

[diamondringlover]

I have heard of this and I check my accounts weekly and always check all the charges on my account!

 

[Dancing Fire]

that's reason why i don't have an ATM or a debit card.

How in the world do you function without any sort of plastic??? Isn't it a pain to go to the bank every time you need cash, no less during daylight hours when the bank is open??? I'm actually impressed -- the only other person I know who refuses to use a debit card is my grandmother, and she's 95.

My mom just got a debit card a few months ago but couldn't figure out how to use it! The first and I believe only time she used it her banker called her and congratulated her for figuring it out! Btw my mother is very intelligent with several advanced degrees, just a touch old fashioned. She doesn't believe in online bill pay either.

*threadjack over, sorry*

nor do i...

 

[Tuckins1]

that's reason why i don't have an ATM or a debit card.

DH has an ATM card, but doesn't use it. He never has and says he never will. He prefers going into the bank. I don't have time for all that.... When I need cash, I just ask Mr. Tuckins!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

So glad you were able to catch that!

There are more scams out there than I can really wrap my mind around. I'm very diligent in stores that offer "cash back"...I make sure to check my receipt. Maybe it's an urban legend, but I have heard that some employees will click "cash back" without your permission and pocket the cash, especially on big check out's like the grocery store Target where $5.00 just fades into the background and doesn't jump out.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I don't have plastic. I'm not responsible enough for plastic and I know it. The only difficult part is getting gas. I always wait until DH is with me to do that. Otherwise the other places that I shop all take checks still.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

So glad you were able to catch that!

There are more scams out there than I can really wrap my mind around. I'm very diligent in stores that offer "cash back"...I make sure to check my receipt. Maybe it's an urban legend, but I have heard that some employees will click "cash back" without your permission and pocket the cash, especially on big check out's like the grocery store Target where $5.00 just fades into the background and doesn't jump out.

I have never seen this happen before. What I have seen happen more than once is at a gas station, Car 1 pays for gas, the transaction doesn't complete as it should and Car 2's gas gets ran on Car 1's card EVEN if car 2 swiped their own card. Always push cancel after your done pumping gas! The other one that really ticked me was when a dollar store accidentally ran a card for $1,006.00 instead of $1.06. That was such a mess to clean up

 

[atroop711]

So glad you were able to catch that!

There are more scams out there than I can really wrap my mind around. I'm very diligent in stores that offer "cash back"...I make sure to check my receipt. Maybe it's an urban legend, but I have heard that some employees will click "cash back" without your permission and pocket the cash, especially on big check out's like the grocery store Target where $5.00 just fades into the background and doesn't jump out.

I have never seen this happen before. What I have seen happen more than once is at a gas station, Car 1 pays for gas, the transaction doesn't complete as it should and Car 2's gas gets ran on Car 1's card EVEN if car 2 swiped their own card. Always push cancel after your done pumping gas! The other one that really ticked me was when a dollar store accidentally ran a card for $1,006.00 instead of $1.06. That was such a mess to clean up

Oh my...I will have my husband be very careful in the gas station from now on. Thanks for this info