Three of the eight people I had lunch with had false
Bills on their credit card statements, last month.

All three got them removed / disputed prior to payment.

Two people called the phone number associated with the
Bill and allegedly talked to someone
with the company that was trying to charge them a few
for on line gaming. And the charge was taken off prior
to the credit card company got involved.
( within seconds).


One was going to charge $48.29 to automatically
enter a lottery number each month.

In addition to getting the charges removed, cancel the cards and get new ones (with new numbers) since the card has been compromised.

Maybe everyone already knows this, but I have notifications set up for my cards. As soon as a charge is posted, I get an immediate notice by text and email; no waiting for the statement.

I will probably jinx myself by saying it, but since setting up the notifications I haven’t had any bogus charges—something that used to happen about once a year or so.

These billings were not voluntarily signed up for, correct? I have never had a legitimate ACH transaction go bad. While not mentioned, the card companies would almost certainly have cancelled the cards and sent new ones. Also, don't respond to any spam e-mails purporting that an online billing has "failed" or some such language.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Maybe everyone already knows this, but I have notifications set up for my cards. As soon as a charge is posted, I get an immediate notice by text and email; no waiting for the statement.

I recently set that up, and it nearly gave me a heart attack after getting gas. The pump screen kind of locked up when I inserted my card so I cancelled the transaction. Then I did it again and it worked fine. After refueling I selected No Receipt, as I always do these days to avoid toxic chemicals in thermal printer paper.

On the way home I get a notification that the gas station put $175 pending on my card! The odd pump behavior had me wondering if somehow I was charged for people before/after me. Without a printed receipt I had no proof of the correct amount.

It turns out $175 is what they use to authorize the charge before filling. It is changed to the correct amount afterwards.

quote:

It turns out $175 is what they use to authorize the charge before filling. It is changed to the correct amount afterwards.

^^^^^^^^^^^

That is ridiculous,unless you drive a big rig.

Yes, notifications of preauthorizations can cause concern to say the least. I hadn’t experienced it in a long time, but recently got notice of a $20 charge for self-service car wash. That was a new thing for that business and I did call to check on it. After a couple of days the actual charge was $4.67.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Maybe everyone already knows this, but I have notifications set up for my cards. As soon as a charge is posted, I get an immediate notice by text and email; no waiting for the statement.

I will probably jinx myself by saying it, but since setting up the notifications I haven’t had any bogus charges—something that used to happen about once a year or so.

Yes.
I have that set up with two cards I have with my Credit Union.

BTW
I just had someone try to charge my card on the 18th of Dec. The Credit Union locked my card and it never registered with the app, but they messaged me as soon as the charge was attempted and told me to come in and get a new card in the morning.

But I am live out of state, so I called the main branch and spoke to card services and told them to cancel the card and send me a new one in the mail.

They have stopped several of these type of attempts (about 5 times in about 20 years), and have also contacted me a few times about charges I made, but tripped their system.

I've been with them almost 50 years.

Having had many accounts while in the military with local banks at every assignment, the difference with banks and this credit union are night and day.

I use virtual card numbers for any online or over the phone purchase. That way my actual CC number is unknown to those companies. They can also be set up with an expiration date, dollar limit, and one time use only feature.

If you have online access to your accounts - and if not, why not? - check them at least once a week. Also your credit score.

Got hit with charges from Papa John’s from all around the country, and a big one from Target.com. Scammers should be hung.

As infrequently as I use my card, I just freeze the account until I need to use it.

As previously mentioned here, setting up notifications for on-line/phone purchases is very easy to-do and a worthwhile exercise. You can also set up $ notification thresholds for in-person purchases as well. (wife, child, imposter)

Thanks for the heads-up bendable. I get an email anytime my card is charged, but still it is a good idea to check daily, just like I do with my bank accounts. Damn online scumbag criminals need to meet the Beekeeper.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Maybe everyone already knows this, but I have notifications set up for my cards. As soon as a charge is posted, I get an immediate notice by text and email; no waiting for the statement.

That is a really good idea; I just did that for my cards. Every 2-3 months, I was getting a ~$30-$40 charge on my CC for a local theater company that I've never visited. I've had the card replaced (with new numbers) 3 times because of this already.