Good Morning DINKS. This is an impromptu post, it was not planned but last night something happened to me and I just have to share the story with you along with my feelings. I am feeling a whole slew of emotions about my recent Credit Card experience and I would love to hear from others who are been in or who are currently in the same situation.
Last night around 7 pm just as I was cleaning up after dinner I received a phone call from The Visa Security Department who wanted to verify some recent transactions on my boyfriend Nicks Visa Card. We have a joint VISA card but they didn’t want to speak with me, they only wanted to speak with Nick to verify some suspicious activity on his credit card. They wanted to confirm if he recently used his VISA card to purchase $400 at Home Depot and $500 at a Jewellery Store.
Have You Ever Been The Victim of Credit Card Fraud?
At first I thought that it was a joke, because Nick and I never shop at Home Depot. Then I thought that maybe Nick was shopping for a Valentine’s Day present/Engagement Ring…but unfortunately I was wrong. It turns out that both the $400 at Home Depot as well as the $500 at the Jewellery Store were both fraudulent charges. The worst part of this whole experience is that this is the second time Nicks Visa card has been flagged by the Visa Security Department in the last two months.
I am not sure exactly how Credit Cards are monitored and which transactions get flagged by the Security Department. We usually don’t make any large purchases on our Visa Cards, but when Nick purchased a new computer after Christmas at Best Buy for over $1000 the transaction was not flagged by the Visa Security Department.
I have mixed emotions about the recent fraud activity on my Visa because I was upset that even with advanced pin and chip technology there were still fraud charges on my Visa twice in the last 3 months. I was disappointed when I found out that the jewellery store charge was actually fraud. But I was happy and thankful that the Visa Security department was able to detect unusual spending activity on my Visa card and that they called to verify the recent suspicious transactions.
Did Your Spending Habits Change After the Credit Card Fraud?
Even though the fraud transactions occurred on Nicks Credit Card, Visa advised us that we both have to cut up our Credit Cards and wait for new cards to arrive in the mail. I don’t mind living without a Visa card for a few weeks, but it’s still a bit frustrating a little bit inconvenient.
I have made my share of financial mistakes in the past and therefore now I only use my Visa Card for transactions that I can afford to pay off in full each month. This helps me stay out of debt and helps to keep a strong credit score. Sometimes I use my Visa once a week, and sometimes I use it once a month; I usually use my Visa Card to buy groceries or purchase dinner at restaurants.
Now that our Credit Cards had fraud charges on them twice in the last 2 months Nick and I are deciding if we should stop using our Credit Cards throughout the month and only use them once a month at the grocery store. I am not sure if this is an extreme measure.
If you have ever been a victim of credit card fraud, did your credit card spending habits change?
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Photo by Mike Poresky
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Both DH and I have been hit with CC fraud over the past two years. It hasn’t changed our spending habits because a) we like buying almost everything online b) we spend enough on airline rewards cards (paid off every month) to score free tickets to Hawaii every other year.
I had somebody somehow find my card number before, and I was lucky that they didn’t spend any money on it. But I haven’t changed my spending habits.
It’s so common here with the fact that thieves can wire pinpads at stores to retrieve data, that I’d always be paranoid if I worried too much about it.The bank usually catches it really quick and lets people know.
It’s always a pain though!
I’ve been the victim a lot. I try not to use my card as much now because I’m so paranoid of waitresses and waiters taking the number.
I had 3 debit card numbers stolen last year – my card expired, the first card was stolen before I activated it, the second card didn’t show up, and the third card someone opened my mail, inked the card, then re-mailed the opened envelope to me (the bank loved that one). They were able to catch & prevent all the fraud because I only use my debit card for deposits & withdrawals at the bank. So my habits haven’t changed, but only because I’m so disciplined about when and where I use my card.
We don’t have the chip & PIN here (US), so I try to be equally careful about when & where I use my credit cards. I don’t think I’d stop using them completely, but I also don’t carry a balance on them, so if there is an issue I see it almost immediately. I think you’re better off figuring out if the number was stolen from the same place, and using cash if you have to shop there. My boyfriend had his credit card stolen at a gas station, he chooses to go an extra half mile & use a different station.
WOW I am not sure if it’s reassuring or really sad that so many other people have been in the same boat as me. It’s definitely inconvenient and I think that I am going to leave the VISA at home for a little while, at least until I regain my confidence in human kind. Credit Card fraud is kind of an invasion of privacy!
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