Unsecure chicken perches

[Jillus]

Check your bank account now. Having been really busy over the holiday period I never got round to checking my account. I just did and noticed that a relatively small amount (£30.50) had been debited from my account a few days before Christmas . I contacted the bank and was told it was for Parcelforce World Wide in Milton Keynes and had been a phone transaction. I did not not order any pickups etc from Parcelforce, do not live in MK so concluded it must be fraudulent. My card has been cancelled and I will obtain the money back and a new card in due course. The bank were brilliant, very helpful and answered the phone very quickly.

 

However when I queried the relatively small amount involved I was told it was a 'test' fraud and had the card not been stopped then larger amounts would be debited once it was seen to be safe. Apparently the telephone call debiting and the use of a seemingly unremarkable firm is par for the course. I still do not know how using a firm like Parcelforce was going to make anyone any money though!

[Ness3103]

thanx for the warning

[Mrs Frugal]

We had this before Christmas and had nearly £8000 of purchases on our debit card which weren't made by us . We're still going through the fraudulent card use process and hope to get all the money back soon but we're sure LSH's card details were stolen from an internet shopping site as the fraudster used our address for billing . Check bank statements minutely and only use internet shopping sites with secure payment areas! Our first fraudulent claim was for a £12 National Coaches bus ticket. Easily missed if you don't check regularly.

[Jillus]

When this happened to me once before the first transaction was also for a National Coaches bus ticket, I think that is the small 'test' purchase!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

My credit card company now makes an automated phone call which asks you to confirm that the transactions they've flagged as possibly suspect are yours .

[Eggquisite]

Blimey that's a little scary Thanks for warning

[docsquid]

I've had this happen twice in the last year and several times overall. It was spotted by the credit card company. Both were Vodafone pay as you go top-ups for a small sum of money. I don't have a Vodafone phone, so it was easy to spot.

 

Other ones they've used are Tesco mobile, and Blockbuster video hire.

 

I suspect crooked terminals in petrol stations rather than internet shopping sites, mainly because each time it has happened I've just filled the Land Rover with diesel.

[whoopsie]

I had this happen to me last year and the bank spotted it before I did! Mind you they were large amounts used abroad so maybe it was more obvious. Top marks to the bank for sorting it all out though.

[Lesley]

Carl had his card stopped on the Saturday before Christmas which we found out when we went to the Farmers' Market and a few last minute items but there was no fraudulent activity.

 

"Ooops, word censored!"ody phoned and Carl had a job to find out that it was due to unusual use of the card - erm...........yes, it was Christmas? We're glad they were on top of any potential fraud but annoying to find out in a shop when the card was refused.

 

Good reminder to keep a check on statements though.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Guest

[Egluntyne]

Thanks for the reminder. It really does pay to check regularly.

[theherd123]

This seems to be such a common thing now which is very worrying

 

Unfortunately we were caught out in 2008. A small transaction of around 11 pounds appeared on our statement but we didnt notice it at first as Isabelle had just been born & we were otherwise occupied with nappys and lack of sleep!

We didnt get round to checking the statement until after Christmas by which time nearly 1000 pounds had been spent on the account! Grrrr!!!

[Charlottechicken]

Thank you for this, I've just paid my December credit card bill and even though it is a small amount (£122, last of the big spenders ) I've doubled checked the statement. I'll check my bank account in a mo, but don't use my debit card online or otherwise.

 

After I purchased my new car in 2007, I had the limit on my credit card reduced significantly, as I realised I wasn't ever getting near to that amount (I think it was near 10k) and I had read that it was wrong to have a high limit on your card.

[sparkysmum]

Thanks for the warning, am off to check right now

[Chucky Mama]

Don't think that your details are only vunerable when buying online. We had 1 card cloned when booking a bowling lane online - know for a fact that it was then. The other time we are fairly sure it was cloned when it was taken to pay a bill in a cafe. We never let the card out of our sight now when paying out for food. Making sure that your card is registered for Verified by Visa can help with security when buying online as you can set up an online pin number. If you don't do it the person stealing your card details can register a pin number for you - the difference is that you wont know it!

[chelsea]

. Making sure that your card is registered for Verified by Visa can help with security when buying online as you can set up an online pin number. If you don't do it the person stealing your card details can register a pin number for you - the difference is that you wont know it!

 

 

Good advice!

[Valkyrie]

Had a call this morning from my card fellows. He was enquiring about 2 Vodafone payments - I thought one was mine, but he asked about the shopping bills yesterday which I confirmed and then there was another top up payment - asked Murray and he said there were 2 done. All well and good and I thanked the young man at the other end of the line. I told him that I had heard about the Vodafone frauds - and he said it's all the mobile phone companies that are being used at the moment. So still be vigilant folks.

[Happy chickens!]

But how did you know it was Vodaphone calling?! I always take their name and ext and phone them back on a number from a statement!!

 

Worst fraud I had on my credit card was after I left it in a hotel safe once!

[Valkyrie]

It was mastercard - all OK, not the phone company.

[C&T]

Introducing PINs at point of sale was a great step forward in reducing fraud in the real world.

 

Unfortunately this "forced" the fraudsters into the online world.

 

"Most" respectable online companies now ask for your 3D Secure credentials (i.e. VBV for Visa), but it is amazing how many people do not like having to set up and use their passwords, and either won't set it up, or won't use websites that have this step as mandatory in their checkout process. It does take the user longer to check out - but it really is worth it - as anyone who has suffered the effects from fraud will tell you. And don't blame the website if the 3DS screens aren't working - they are hosted by Visa and MasterCard, not the company the website belongs to!!!

 

Certain card types (maestro for example) now ask merchants to make sure that they only accept Meastro as an online payment method IF they can do the 3DS steps as part of the checkout process - i.e. in theory you cannot buy online with a Meastro without registering - but that is not fully enforced yet and it is possible on many sites still. This is likely to extend out to other card types.

 

There are many rumors about what Visa and MasterCard are planning to implement next in the fight against online fraud. Certainly having a seperate device (like many people have for online banking) is a likely one. But who knows!

 

Interestingly (or not!!) you don't have to enter very far into Europe before people just don't use Credit Cards, and websites have to find other ways of accepting payments. Germany especially! And as for India and S America there are some really bizarre methds of payment - many with very very little fraud!

 

Sorry... Will be quiet now!

[Happy-Mama]

just checked my cards online and all ok thankfully. I tried to set up the 3D Secure credentials for my card but can't see how to. Do you have to do this over the phone?

[C&T]

just checked my cards online and all ok thankfully. I tried to set up the 3D Secure credentials for my card but can't see how to. Do you have to do this over the phone?

 

 

No. Next time you buy online you will be able to set it up - you should be given the option at the time.

[Happy-Mama]

Thanks will look out for it , bought a calendar yesterday but didn't see the option

[docsquid]

3D secure is very good, and I use it (our company also uses it for the goods we supply via internet shopping). I buy goods from Germany sometimes and it is noticeable how they don't do online credit cards - you have to ring them up, quote the invoice number and give your credit card over the phone.

 

Problem is, I think this is much more prone to fraud - how do you know that they aren't noting it down and using/selling the details, or even being overheard taking credit card details? I've not had a problem with it, but I feel much better using chip and pin or 3D secure than giving details over the phone.

[Happy-Mama]

Just had a look on the credit card website and you can only use the online secure code if your credit card issuer supports it and mine doesn't so even though the credit card company does I can't get it, I find this odd to be honest why would they choose not to support it.....