Well, it’s been awhile since one of my credit cards had been hacked. But not to worry. It’s one of those things you can count on if you have 30 of them like I do.
No, it’s not me. But to all of my male readers: You are welcome!
Anyway, it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” it will happen. I wrote a post on how once I had two hacked Citi credit cards within weeks of each other. A record of sorts, I must say. But then again, it’s Citi we are talking about.
This time, I had an automated message on my answering machine. At first, I thought it was a scam. It just said: “Your card with last digits “so and so” may have been used fraudulently” and to call them. No name of the bank or anything. Nevertheless, I decided to check into it. The first challenge was to find the credit card in question. I went through my huge stack and couldn’t locate it. Then I logged in to my profiles with various banks, and still nothing. Bank of America, Chase, Citi, US Bank didn’t give me any clues.
Finally, I checked on my Barclays cards. Bingo! There is the card in question (Wyndham Signature) and it even had a fraud alert at the top. Sure enough, there was a $55 charge from Walmart that I didn’t recognize. I shop their frequently, but I knew that Wyndham Visa hasn’t been used since I’ve met the spending on it to get the bonus. The crazy thing is, if there were other charges on it, I wouldn’t have even questioned that purchase from Walmart. Interestingly, the card wasn’t stolen because I did eventually locate it among all the other junk under my desk.
I called, and the agent was happy to cancel it and remove the fraudulent charge. I’m very impressed how quickly Barclays flagged it to begin with. I do wish they gave more details in the message because I almost didn’t pursue it. Still, well done, Barclays. So, once again, be vigilant when it comes to your credit cards. Check the charges and make sure to follow up on anything that looks suspicious. While this hobby isn’t rocket science, it requires attention to detail. Virtual credit card thieves are everywhere, and they are sophisticated devils.
This incident also made me laugh and realize how ludicrous this world of ours really is. Imagine a normal person getting this type of a message on their answering machine. They would know exactly what card it is because it’s probably one of only two or three in their possession. In fact, it might be their only card, period. They wouldn’t have to log in to multiple banks’ websites in order to hunt it down. Please, call us about your card, the card. But that’s not how things usually work in The Hobby, do they?
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Image courtesy of marin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
That’s why I have all my cards in an Excel spreadsheet, so I can search on the card numbers!
Tscateh, that’s definitely the right way to do it! I’ve said many times that I’m extremely disorganized. I am working on improving in this area and even registered for Cardwatchdog tool. But I still have a long way to go. I’m OCD, ADHD and Wacky rolled into one.
Just happened to me last week – $600 worth of fraudulent charges though. I got an email and a phone call.
Card actually was in my wallet and I had been using it but not for those charges. I am still waiting for the new card – they asked me if I wanted it expedited, but I said no
@Hilary It’s crazy how sophisticated identity thieves have become, right? You have to be very careful. And some charges don’t even look suspicious as was in my case. Definitely a huge downside to this hobby, since many of us switch credit cards on a regular basis. The more accounts we have, the more chance of fraud there is.
I got a text message about a possible fraudulent charge too! It was 2 weeks ago on my IHG card. Just a dollar or so on a phone transaction. I wonder if they were testing it.
@Leticia My MIL actually had the same thing happen with her IHG card, and Chase caught as well! It’s crazy, it used to only occur when you lost the card or if waiter in a restaurant copied the numbers. Now the thieves can retrieve your data without ever seeing the card in-person.