This is the third time in about eight years my Chase/Amazon Prime card has been hacked. Seems to happen every three years or so. I'm very careful about web sites I use it on. The only entity I allow to keep the card on file for repeat billing is Blue Cross Blue Shield to pay my monthly premium. As a matter of fact 90% of it's use is on Amazon.

So I get a text about midnight last night from Chase Fraud Alert asking if it's me charging $28 for Uber Eats to which I replied NO! They shut the card down. Go online in the morning and there are three other charges that are not mine. Chase deals with this with as little heartburn on my end as possible. Five minutes on the phone and they credited back the charges in question and had a new card on the way.

Last time this happened it was a Uber charge as well about the exact same time of year. Uber must be a testing ground for the fraudsters. Lady at Chase says it's most likely random number generators the fraudsters are using. Damn people get a job!

Same just happened to me with Discover.

Only three times in eight years? You're nowhere near eligible to join the Frequently Hacked Club.

You can stop this from happening.

There is an app for most major credit cards these days- Windows, MAC or mobile devices. You can keep the card locked until you use it, then lock it immediately afterwards. I have a card, started out as a Visa in the 1990s, then it changed to a MasterCard. OK, whatever. From the time I got the card in 1994 up until a few years ago, I had no issues. Then, every 18 months or so, I'd get bogus charges. Now, I keep the card locked. Right before I use it- and I do mean right before- seconds before- I unlock it. As soon as the charge goes through (you can set up text or email notifications for this), the card gets locked.

If anyone- including me- attempts to use the card while it's locked, the charge is declined.

Also, I have my account set to send me a text whenever there is a charge above a certain amount, and whenever a charge is made without the card physically present, although is is superfluous, since I keep the card locked. It's a safety net, in case I forget to re-lock the card.

What about recurring charges, such as a monthly subscription fee? Those go through, whether or not the card is locked.

The only fly in the ointment is that there are some places that do things the old fashioned way. Brownells, for instance. I bought an item from them last year with the card. It looked like the charge went through, so I locked the card. Two days later, I got a polite email from Brownells saying the charge was declined. I had to call them and they resubmitted the charge while I was on the phone with the card unlocked.

It's now been about three years since I started using this technique and it's worked great. I like the idea of these thieving assholes inputting my CC info and then getting declined. Ha ha, fuck you.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
Same just happened to me with Discover.

Discover has the same kind of app. Keep it locked.

Have you ever lost your wallet? Remember what it was like, frantically calling your CC company? Use my technique and you'll have peace of mind.

Used to be, these crooks wasted my time, but now, I waste theirs.

I've moved to the Apple pay system for everything except Costco (which does not accept the apple card since it's Master Card or some such thing)

Honestly Apple Pay is pretty darn secure.

I keep the physical plastic card (actually it's metal) locked, and use my phone to pay for most everything. I just start the app, hold my phone to the card reader, and that's that.

if I want a new card number, I just press one button on the app, and I get a new card number. The psychical card has no CC number on it, so I can keep using it even after I change the CC number.

Hack my credit card all you want, just dont mess with my debit card.

I use a credit card for everything so im sure it vulnerable. Its really pretty simple to resolve with a single phone call to the CC company.

Have them send you a new card every year

Three text messages this week that my card is locked. Two from a bank I use one from Navy Federal where I do not even have an account. Any way to stop this?? I just delete the message.

Mine got hacked. Now I get a text message if the card is used for any purchase at all, even one dollar. They may hack it but I’m going to know immediately and have it shut down. Last time they used it for two days before the CC company caught on.

Some credit card issuers offer a feature called "Virtual Cards." Here's the way it works with Capital One (I use this).

Any time that you buy something from an online merchant, you have the option of creating a Virtual Card (or using an existing one, if you have previously created a Virtual Card for this merchant).

The Virtual Card has the three attributes that you need for a credit card:

1. A card number,
2. A CCV, and
3. An expiration date.

Each Virtual Card that you create has its own set of these three attributes.

The Virtual Card is valid only for the merchant for which you create it. Any attempt to use it for any other merchant will be declined.

Each Virtual Card can be locked or unlocked by the user at any time. A Virtual Card can be destroyed (deleted from your account) at any time.

The Virtual Cards are associated with a real Capital One card. Any purchase made with the Virtual Card is charged to the real card, and any refunds are credited to the real card.

I have several dozen Virtual Cards, keyed to my real Capital One card. I use these for insurance, cable bills, cellphone bills, purchases at places like Top Gun Supply, etc.

This is pretty secure, as even if a Virtual Card is hacked, it is only valid at the vendor you created it for, and you do have the option of locking the card when not in use, so it can't even be used at that vendor.

There is no cost to use the service at Capital One, and all of the cash-back features of the real card do apply to this.

The only possible drawback that I can think of is keeping track of these, if you have a lot of them, but that's not a problem for me; the password manager that I use has a feature for organizing credit cards. A simple database would do the job, or even a spreadsheet.

If you use a credit card that supports this feature and you haven't used it yet, give it a try.

Some credit cards are not hacked - they are scanned with a portable reader while you are in public. Do you keep an RFID blocker in your wallet?

My guess is that it was not stolen from an online merchant. More than likely it was skimmed at a restaurant or some other place where you handed them your credit card.

Thanks for the replies all. This particular cc is for online purchases only. Local purchases are debit card. Para do you mind if I ask what specific app you are using?

I receive notice whenever mine is used for anything.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
Thanks for the replies all. This particular cc is for online purchases only. Local purchases are debit card...

Can I ask why you choose to use your debit card locally? With all the perks and protections of a credit card I cant see any reason to risk your own money being compromised.

The bank covers my debit card for fraud same as cc. Other than that no particular reason I guess. Just the way we have done it for years. Never a problem with the debit card just the cc that seems to get compromised so I’m guessing it has to do with being online.

I have a credit freeze in place and don't use a debit card.
I don't store my credit card on websites and especially the 3 digit code.
There used to be a problem every few years but it has gone away since the chip readers for me.

The debit card thing is something I don't understand. I know many banks claim to cover you just like a credit card but it's optional and there is zero advantage to using them-the law doesn't require them to give the same protections.
A credit card payment is one simple online transaction that I have to approve before any cash leaves my account. A debit card is everyone potentially having access to my cash without me seeing it first.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Some credit cards are not hacked - they are scanned with a portable reader while you are in public. Do you keep an RFID blocker in your wallet?

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quote:

A debit card is everyone potentially having access to my cash without me seeing it first.

you can actually set 'limit amount' per each transaction;

I for one never have financial data on my phone, and never use the various X.pay programs, it simply doesn't fit my needs.

I'll be looking into the 'locking account' option, I was unaware of such.

If you use my technique, it doesn't matter how they got your CC info. The odds of someone attempting to place a charge on my card in that sixty second or less window I have my card unlocked every few days at most are right next to zero.

Keep it locked, and worry about something else.