While I was sleeping someone used my Discover card to buy a JetBlue ticket from Boston to Orlando. I filed a dispute with both JetBlue and Discover. I’m figuring that neither side cares and Mrs. Xu Yun will still be allowed to fly to Orlando.

Discover used to just nix a disputed charge and ask questions later which meant you never heard about it because it was handled at the first call. Now you can’t even dispute the charge until it posts and then they grill you about “Are you sure you didn’t let anyone use your card?” They said it takes 30-60 days for the investigation. They weren’t even going to send a new card until I insisted as they said the person must have my billing address as well or it wouldn’t have gone through.

I didn’t know recurring charges, like subscriptions, work while the card is locked or I’d have locked it long ago.

I can't answer to what happens to Mrs. Xu Yun, but it seems like your relationship with Discover needs a breakup. I use a credit union and a mastercard through that credit union. It's nice to be able to go talk to a human face to face. Also, they have an app that will flag a transaciton immediately and you can say "nope". and it will be denied.

I've never heard of being able to dispute a pending charge. Only after it posts. But I've really only ever dealt with Amex.

Usually with them, the charge is credited until the investigation is complete.

And yeah, nothing will happen to the thief.

Nothing happens. I had something similar years ago - person bought tickets for Ryan Air. Nobody cared.

I was worried if they might have used my name - still no concern. I was refunded in the end but always wondered if they got caught.

quote:

I can't answer to what happens to Mrs. Xu Yun, but it seems like your relationship with Discover needs a breakup.

I don't think that's fair. I've had good customer service from Discover.

As to the OP question:
What happens to the person that steals credit cards to buy plane tickets?

I doubt that they are identified very often.
But, if someone boards a plane, they ought to be arrested and prosecuted. I just don't think it happens.
But they might cancel the tickets and prevent them from using them.

At a minimum, they ought to cancel the flight reservations.

How can they not be ID'd when they have to show real id to board? Bigger question, why are controls so bad for credit? Why not something like a thumbprint when you apply for the card IN PERSON, and one at point of sale for large transactions? I gotta use a fingerprint to open my phone.

With regard to this type of thing, Discover card seems the best. As a matter of fact, they're the best in overall customer service in my experience. I've had a Discover card for 25 years and so has the wife. I've never been hacked but recently, she had an unauthorized charge- some asshole ordering things online, that they didn't get.

The response you've gotten from Discover puzzles me. I wouldn't expect them to behave that way.

I have a CC that used to be a Visa and at some point, switched to a MasterCard. The account has been open since the early 1990s. Beginning around 2000/2001 IIRC, the card got hacked every couple of years. I finally had enough and now I keep the card locked, except for very brief windows when I use it, and I do mean very brief- two minutes or less. Since I started doing this, I've never had an issue with it.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
I've never heard of being able to dispute a pending charge. Only after it posts. But I've really only ever dealt with Amex.

Usually with them, the charge is credited until the investigation is complete.

And yeah, nothing will happen to the thief.

Yep. If you catch it before it post, they can't / won't do anything about it until it posts. If they catch it before you, they can cancel the charge. I don't know if Mark called to dispute the charge or if he called the fraud department. That might have made a difference.

I actually think credit card companies are more proactive now in catching fraudulent charges as it goes against their bottom line.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
With regard to this type of thing, Discover card seems the best. As a matter of fact, they're the best in overall customer service in my experience. I've had a Discover card for 25 years and so has the wife. I've never been hacked but recently, she had an unauthorized charge- some asshole ordering things online, that they didn't get.

The response you've gotten from Discover puzzles me. I wouldn't expect them to behave that way. …

I am also surprised as this happened once before and when I called, they immediately removed the charge and canceled the card. I had another in two days. There were no questions. Just immediate satisfaction.

Heck, the only reason that I have other cards is because not everyone accepts Discover. I’ve always been pleased with their customer service. They are handling it but the response is uncertain and less immediate. 30-60 days is enough to almost forget it happened.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Yep. If you catch it before it post, they can't / won't do anything about it until it posts. If they catch it before you, they can cancel the charge. I don't know if Mark called to dispute the charge or if he called the fraud department. That might have made a difference..

I called to dispute the charges and then they had me talk to the fraud department afterward.

When I first got the discover card i had to drive 25 miles to pick up some equipment and they declined the card because it wasn’t in my zip code. Now someone from Boston is using it. :shrug:

What's going to happen to the crook?

Well hopefully, one dark night the crook encounters a bunch of pillowcases containing doorknobs impacting his head.

Legally, nothing will happen because it is nigh impossible to prove against an individual, who likely is outside the US.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

With regard to this type of thing, Discover card seems the best. As a matter of fact, they're the best in overall customer service in my experience.

My experience with Discover --

I worked for the Education Services division of a major computer manufacturer, traveling and teaching. Travel, lodging, meals, etc. were all charged to my Discover card. Expenses were reimbursed by the company and I paid the hefty balance in full each month.

One month, the statement balance was $7,059.00. I mailed a check for the full amount. The following month, the statement showed a payment of $70.59 -- a data entry clerk had evidently slid the decimal point a couple digits to the left.

Discover actually received the full seven thousand and fifty-nine dollars; it was withdrawn from my checking account, but Discover only credited me with seventy dollars and fifty-nine cents.

I had the canceled check showing payment in full but it took nearly three years to get the matter resolved, with Discover adding interest each month. The problem was "fixed" several times, and would show up again a few months after the "fix."

Discover can bite me!

United A.L. charged me twice for the same flight and Discover card effed me on that deal.

20 years ago.

I still mention it when they ask me about " customer satisfaction"

Call me crazy but if you tell them that someone made a charge that you did not authorize and they know where that person is going to be, why don't they have the police waiting for the flyer? You would think it would at least make an example of them and the credit card company/state would actually be able to prosecute someone but no one cares anymore apparently.

This goes on because no one wants to go after the hackers. When my last hack took place, I tracked the stolen stuff to an exact house in a delightful neighborhood near D.C. I called the Montgomery Co. Maryland PD, gave them all the info I had, right down to the suspects name, which matched the delivery address. Zero Interest. None.

I guess Homeland Security hasn’t been advised that Mrs. Xu Yun is a suspected drug mule.

Call the airport and change the flight

quote:

Originally posted by patw:
Call me crazy but if you tell them that someone made a charge that you did not authorize and they know where that person is going to be, why don't they have the police waiting for the flyer? You would think it would at least make an example of them and the credit card company/state would actually be able to prosecute someone but no one cares anymore apparently.

Where did the offense take place? At the ticket sales office, at the place where the phone call was made, etc?

Where the offense took place determines which state, county, city, prosecutor, court system has jurisdiction to act.

Who committed the offense? Did the person using the ticket make the call, provide the credit card details, etc? How can that be proven?

No prosecutor wants to commit time, funding, effort to opening a prosecution that cannot be completed. No police department has resources to commit for arrests, reports, etc, for a case that cannot be prosecuted. No judge will commence a criminal action in which venue and jurisdiction is not firmly established.

Needless to say, no federal agency is going to mobilize a response to a few hundred dollars in credit card fraud. FBI (interstate crime), US Secret Service (financial crimes), good luck getting anyone to return your call.

Tens of thousands of these cases every day of the year. Unless there is some connection to a major investigation already underway you won't find anyone interested in doing anything.