Discover card illegal purchase--anyone?

Hessian

Hessian

Well-Known Member
Got a warning from Disc Card that my card had been duplicated and a 560.00 purchase was attempted up in Columbia (Macy's).

I asked how that was possible since I had not lost the card: somewhere I shopped in So Md did a re-swipe on a dummy card...& then ran up to Columbia to try to use it.
My question is this:


My card has only been used at gas stations, rarely Walmart...and a few restaurants down here in So Md. NOTHING purchased on-line in over 6 weeks.

Lets assume that the WAWA & Walmart are not likely places to try this scam....
So: has anyone found an illegal purchase on your credit card after visiting a local restaurant? I will not name the TWO I went to in the 4 days before the fraud...Just want to see if anything connects.

BTW: Discover card was VERY courteous & helpful cleaning up the false bill. New cards on the way.
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
Hessian said:
Got a warning from Disc Card that my card had been duplicated and a 560.00 purchase was attempted up in Columbia (Macy's).

I asked how that was possible since I had not lost the card: somewhere I shopped in So Md did a re-swipe on a dummy card...& then ran up to Columbia to try to use it.
My question is this:


My card has only been used at gas stations, rarely Walmart...and a few restaurants down here in So Md. NOTHING purchased on-line in over 6 weeks.

Lets assume that the WAWA & Walmart are not likely places to try this scam....
So: has anyone found an illegal purchase on your credit card after visiting a local restaurant? I will not name the TWO I went to in the 4 days before the fraud...Just want to see if anything connects.

BTW: Discover card was VERY courteous & helpful cleaning up the false bill. New cards on the way.
Click to expand...

ATM machine? Used to be a big scam, where you would swipe your card in an atm and there would two readers.. crooks would come back and remove their reader and have ALL your card info.
 
Hessian

Hessian

Well-Known Member
Visit my BoA ATM,...maybe once a month....there was one visit 3 weeks ago. That trail might be a dead end. But: Good tip!!
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
Another that got me was a smart phone swipe.. at a Museum function.. Restaurant was using a small swiper mounted to the top of their phone, woke up to about $1200 of unauthorized charges the next day.. I saw the hardware and it wasn't a "Name Brand"
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
itsbob said:
Another that got me was a smart phone swipe.. at a Museum function.. Restaurant was using a small swiper mounted to the top of their phone, woke up to about $1200 of unauthorized charges the next day.. I saw the hardware and it wasn't a "Name Brand"
Click to expand...
This was a local restaurant as well...
 
blazinlow89

blazinlow89

Big Poppa
Didnt someone say something about this happening to them after visiting Applebee's. I personally have never had a problem though.
 
Radiant1

Radiant1

Soul Probe
Hessian said:
So: has anyone found an illegal purchase on your credit card after visiting a local restaurant?
Click to expand...

Yes, a popular restaurant in Solomons. I got a call from fraud the next day. Someone was attempting to purchase jewelry online and ordered a laptop from Best Buy for pick up at the Laurel store. The authorities were waiting for them when they came to pick up the laptop.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
The store employee things si much more likely than a skimmer. Not to say you shouldnt be aware of the skimmer threat, but servers wanting extra cash and being willing to do such things in return for a cut are much more common and less risky for the criminal than people with the technical skills to build a skimmer. Not super hard, but making one that both works, and blends well enough the machine to remain undetected isnt easy. And I can think of a few easy ways to make my ATM detect such crap and alert me, and I'm a simple ordie:)

Watch Season One of American Underworld : Car/ID Theft on Netflix. Dont pay too much attention to the car theft thing, at least if you live down here, but the second segment shows how this server thing works. Much more common than ATM skimmers. Easier with far less risk, since the server isn't the one duping the cards and making the purchase, those are the "corner boys" of this crime.

American Underworld Episode Guide 2011 Season 1 - Car/Identity Theft, Episode 2 | TVGuide.com
 
aps45819

aps45819

24/7 Single Dad
Hessian said:
So: has anyone found an illegal purchase on your credit card after visiting a local restaurant?
Click to expand...

blazinlow89 said:
Didnt someone say something about this happening to them after visiting Applebee's. I personally have never had a problem though.
Click to expand...

That was me.

A couple of days after eating there, MasterCard called and asked if I had purchased a TV from WalMart.

Whenever you hand your card to a waiter/waitress and they walk off to print the receipt, you're trusting them not to copy down the numbers
 
Hessian

Hessian

Well-Known Member
I suppose I'll name names....

Two swipes before the theft:

a) Monterrey's Lusby

b) Genghis Grill Waldorf


NOW...to be clear, the illegal swipe might have taken place weeks before, and thus these TWO businesses could be entirely innocent. BUT, the perp is unlikely to hold a hot number for very long (logical??).

The problem is, if they didn't get caught after this,...they will do it UNTIL they get caught, and some of my fellow So Mders will also get robbed.

I KNOW that Macy's has lots of cameras...
I know that all swipes are dated & timed...
THUS: They have a photo(s) of the felon.

I just hope they are willing to put in the effort to nab them.
Anybody else have an illegal swipe from a local restaurant/business?
 
bcp

bcp

In My Opinion
Keep an eye on that Fraud part of it.
We had our card compromised at what I suspect but cant prove to be a local fast food place up in Edgewater.
same basic story as everyone else here.
Fast forward 2 years, Since we had not made any loan purchases we would never have known.
The Fraud people put our credit on a Fraud alert, when we went to purchase the daughters car everything was cool, it was on a Sunday. On Monday we got a call from the dealership telling us that the loan was denied due to fraud activity.
Took the rest of the week to get the bank to clear it and pass the loan through.
In order to actually remove the alert/hold, we have to fill out a few hundred tons of paper work including financial information and send it to some place in Georgia to be reviewed by God knows who.
 
struggler44

struggler44

A Salute to all on Watch
Had the same thing happen to my Dsc card when I bought from Ebay using PayPal. Dsc called and said that multiple attempts were made through Walmart.com. Figured PP was safe, not
 
Hessian

Hessian

Well-Known Member
Server took the card.

In retrospect,....it might be a little safer to buy gift cards (en masse) and use them for the day to day domestic purchases & dinners. Interesting strategy,...hmmm. I'd still get the bonus pts/credits on my credit card...but it would only be for one SWIPE per month at a kiosk in Giant/Safeway. (Drop $400+ on gift cards)

All the other purchases would just be fuel.

when the gift cards run out....its either cash or Campbell's soup & cheese sandwiches.

(Sounds like a way to cut back on spending....I think I am liking this...)
 
blazinlow89

blazinlow89

Big Poppa
Hessian said:
Server took the card.

In retrospect,....it might be a little safer to buy gift cards (en masse) and use them for the day to day domestic purchases & dinners. Interesting strategy,...hmmm. I'd still get the bonus pts/credits on my credit card...but it would only be for one SWIPE per month at a kiosk in Giant/Safeway. (Drop $400+ on gift cards)

All the other purchases would just be fuel.

when the gift cards run out....its either cash or Campbell's soup & cheese sandwiches.

(Sounds like a way to cut back on spending....I think I am liking this...)
Click to expand...

I used to use a reloadable debit card for online purchases before PayPal made it big. I will say Discovers fraud department is awesome, they denied a few charges when I first got the card. However luckily I have not had any issues with charges on any of my cards in about 8 years.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
GURPS said:
iPhone / Android CC Swipers are simple and cost NO Money up front
Click to expand...

Are those ones that let you download the cards data? Or just ones that process the transaction?

EDIT: just did some looking, some Square readers are unencrypted, they read the card data and send unencrypted through the headset jack and to the Square app, where it gets encrypted. That phone/tablert could conceivably have an app loaded that skims the data between the jack and the app. Competitor Veriphone did just that in under an hour.

To me, seems like chances are low that something like that might happen to you locally, whereas up around DC it could be a player at say a street vendor. I think your biggest threat is a server with an illegal reader in a pocket.

Former waiter at Laurel's T.G.I. Friday's indicted in credit card scam - baltimoresun.com

This story has a pic showing the sort of device in question. Most aboveboard card readers for phones will actually encrypt the card data before sending to the phone/tablet.
 
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