I felt like such a credit card fraud virgin today. I looked online at our AmEx bill, which I do with a freakish frequency. We've never before had anyone try to charge anything to a credit card, though I know friends with personal horror stories, but I do like to watch that balance. So, looking online, blad-de-blah, and suddenly spy a charge to Dell Computers. A fairly large charge, just five days ago, and it was on Carl's card (we're on the same account, different card numbers, and yes, he definitely wants me looking at everything, he hasn't paid a single bill or opened a single piece of mail in 22 years by his own choice)... so anyway, I call him to make sure he hadn't just bought something and forgotten to tell me and nope, he had not. So I call AmEx, who gives me a Dell number, and I went through a series of people until someone finally transferred me to the credit card fraud department (which I had asked for in the first place), and I explained to them what I was questioning. The nice guy helping me looked it up and said the computer we ordered was on its way... to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Monica M----.
Monica M---- honey? If that's your true name, which I doubt. You are so not getting a computer today or tomorrow. You will probably be calling and bitching about it not being delivered, and I really really hope you do, because I think they are going to try to "re-deliver it" courtesy of the Ft. Lauderdale police.
I called AmEx back, let them know there was definitely credit card fraud and which charges (Omaha Steaks from Nebraska!) weren't ours and they've flagged them and they're not going to pay them, so we won't be harmed. In addition, I cancelled the cards and new ones are on their way, so hopefully, that will be the end to that one.
Still, it makes me wonder just how that person got the credit card number. Since it's Carl's number, he never uses it online and he never calls it in to anyone -- he strictly uses it at places of business, which means someone got it when they waited on him somewhere. Then gave it to someone in Florida. Grrr.
Luckily I caught them in progress before too much damage was done (just under $2,000), but now I'm going to go get our credit reports to make sure nothing else funky is going on.
Funky, freaky world. (Is it weird that I'm sort of disappointed that M*nica the fraud didn't at least go for the flat screen for the computer? I mean, geeze. She'd already popped over the $500 felonly limit, why stop? Of course, she may have been trying to see what the spending limit was and if anyone would notice that big of a single charge.)
Yikes, well done you for checking so thoroughly. I check bank statements thoroughly and keep a careful record of transactions throughout the month so that I can check off each but I'm a little wary of online banking because of the security scares - more than one UK bank has been hacked already, and those are just the ones that have made the press.
Posted by: Daisy at August 17, 2004 08:42 AM