A Fraudulent Purchase
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (118368)
Gainesville, Florida
October 20, 2016 7:13pm CST
Today was "National Get Smart About Your Credit Day." Interestingly, about a month ago, I did get smart about my credit and enrolled in a free credit monitoring service my credit card company was offering. That smart move several weeks ago paid off dividends today when I received a call from the fraud division of my credit card company asking me if I made an $11,000 purchase at Neiman Marcus this morning!
It was funny though, because my initial reaction wasn't to tell her no, but instead I asked her, "Wow, what did I buy?" If I'm going to be on the hook for an $11,000 purchase, I want to know what nice things I bought!
I did get serious after a second and told the customer service rep that I had not made any purchases at Neiman Marcus this morning. My credit card was hacked and thieves tried to use it to make fraudulent purchases.
I asked her what I had to do to fix this mess, and she told me nothing, that she was handling everything! She was closing my current credit card account, and rushing me a new card overnight in the mail. Now that's great customer service!
Have any of you ever had your credit card information stolen? Or have you had fraudulent purchases show up on your credit card statement?
13 people like this
14 responses
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
21 Oct 16
I don`t have a credit card, never have.
BUT when I use to help my old people get their books together for income taxes, they passed away now, I found where people in there household was stealing from them and showed them. They kicked them out.
3 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
21 Oct 16
they wouldn't have known if not for you
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@hereandthere That is true. Which is kind of scary if you think about it, because it is so easy to commit fraud like that.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc Yes we all gave those relatives
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22412)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
21 Oct 16
Yes, someone in San Diego or similar got shoes and a shirt on my UK credit card, 900bucks or so. Whilst the card issuer would not tell me what I bought, a call to the store revealed my card had been used to pay for these items before the store staff decided that I should already know what I bought on my card and hung up. My card issuer sorted it all out once I flagged it as a transaction I had clearly not made as I was not in the USA at the time. It pays to be vigilant.
2 people like this
@pgntwo (22412)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc They said 'shoes and some shirts', as I recall. Shame on me for not spending that money on myself, yeah - some other bugger got to spend it for me, and I have no idea if he was ever caught.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
I can't believe you spent $900 on shoes and a shirt! Shame on you! Don't you know there are millions of starving kids in Africa that could have used that money for food?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Oct 16
@pgntwo My guess is that they're often not caught. These credit thieves are pretty smart crooks. They wouldn't go through all that trouble to steal your credit card numbers and then spend the money carelessly in such a way that they get caught.
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (95001)
• United States
21 Oct 16
That's crazy!
That person probably bought a Chanel purse, lol ! =)
I once had a fraudulent purchase on my card and it was only for $10 bucks but Chase contacted me immediately asking if I made the purchase on Zappos.Com? I said nope, I'm @ work at the time & never shop on there. They said thanks for confirming and they will handle everything + express shipped me a new card!
It was nice and I asked why would they even notice such a small amount? They said the billing address used was incorrect & those ppl were trying to see if they can get by first before charging larger amounts!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
Wow, that was really great that they took the time to pay attention to such a small amount!
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (95001)
• United States
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc Yep =) That was nice of them to notice such a small amount & shocked me that they cared. They said I was a loyal customer lol!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@infatuatedbby Do you carry a balance on your credit card? That's the loyalty they like to see in their customers! hahaha That's how they make all their money, charging interest on credit card balances.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (457480)
• Switzerland
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc Do not worry, I know very well. I think that at least one of the guys was a Jamaican, may be even two. They were dangerous young people who had killed an American man a few hours before.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@LadyDuck That's one of the hardest things about America...we are so welcoming of immigrants to our country, but often so many that come here are criminals that have no intention of ever making a good life for themselves here, other than by committing crimes.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
I am still so sad to be reminded of your attack in Miami. I know you told me about it a long time ago. It just really disappoints me that someone would do that to you. That's not how the majority of us Americans are.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64362)
• United Kingdom
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc That does seem like a mistake on their part, but at least you didn't have to pay for it.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@jaboUK I really want to know exactly what that $11,000 bought! I hope it was some very fine jewelry or something!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
I was in a panic for a second, because they said the charges when through, but they said they would credit the amount back to me. I still don't understand how a card with a $10,000 limit was allowed to accept an $11,000 charge?
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
21 Oct 16
Yes, the day before I was taking students to Europe. My credit card company sent a new card to me via a messenger. So cool.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
So you were able to get your new card before you left for Europe?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@ElizabethWallace I'm sure that was a big monkey off your back to get that new card before you boarded the plane!
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc Yes. The messenger arrived early the next morning, long before we left for the airport. I held my breath the whole time.
2 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc Oh yes, that would certainly go down well.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@Asylum Especially when I was trying to buy a lovely lady something. Quite embarrassing!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
I have all my credit cards set up so that I have to be automatically alerted anytime a purchase is made outside the state of Florida. Which is really great, except for when I travel and forget to call and let the companies know! It's pretty embarrassing the first time I try to use my card on a trip and it is declined!
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
21 Oct 16
on my debit card for fifty dollars for luggage I never ordered amd ,uy bank called me canceled my debit card and sent me a new card. neither my bank or I knew how they got my debit card information but I had used it to make several small purchases so we wondered if one of those companies did not have a secure place to do credit a nd debit transactions.
1 person likes this
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
21 Oct 16
Don't do credit cards. Had a debit card with Bank of America back when they weren't ripping people off. Talked to a nice gentlemen on the phone and he replaced my card and the money used by the thief.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
Interestingly, this was a Bank of America card. I pretty much hate BoA with a passion due to their role in the financial crisis during the Great Recession, but today they earned some of my trust back.
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85127)
• Valdosta, Georgia
21 Oct 16
That's good they are so on top of it! I have never had that happen to me thank God.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
This was the first time a fraudulent credit card purchase was made on one of my cards. The interesting thing is, I don't even have a spending limit that high, so why would the credit card company have even allowed that purchase to go through? That was just weird. I didn't even think to ask her that question.
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
21 Oct 16
I have, and it was handled the same way. We are protected by law with credit cards, but debit cards can leave you on the hook for certain.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@JamesHxstatic Yeah, me too! I wouldn't have been happy if I was on the hook for those fraudulent purchases!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
I actually had my debit card hacked last year, and when I contacted SunTrust about the situation, they handled everything for me, and told me I was not on the hook for anything. I was surprised, because the laws aren't designed to protect debit cards.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc That was great! I am glad it came out that way.
1 person likes this
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
21 Oct 16
Not with the credit card, but Husband's bank account details have been used before. The first time we got the money back. The second time the bank were more astute and rang him to check he'd made such an expensive purchase.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
This summer, when I visited New York City for a week, the first time I tried to make a purchase there with my credit card, the company called me as I was standing at the checkout register. They wanted to check and see if I was the one making a purchase in New York, since they knew I lived in Florida.
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (58113)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
21 Oct 16
Have you ever bought anything at Neiman Marcus?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@thislittlepennyearns They fixed the store? What was wrong with it? Prices too high?
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
I don't think I can afford anything at Neiman Marcus!
@thislittlepennyearns (58113)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
21 Oct 16
@moffittjc I've been in the store once. I have never bought anything there. But seriously I am glad they fixed it.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118368)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
Us Americans like to do everything in excess, including our "national day" celebrations! haha
1 person likes this
