Credit Card Fraud - Share Your War Stories, and Play "Futurist for a Day"

[Ericandblueboy]

So I was perusing my Capital One credit card charges last night and I see a $3,600 charge from Progressive Insurance.  Hmm....(I) I don't insure anything with Progressive and (ii) nothing I own costs that much to insure.  So I call Capital One, and Capital One conferences in Progressive.  They all agree it's a fraudulent charge.  I ask Progressive on whose behalf did I pay the insurance for and they wouldn't tell me, citing privacy concerns.  I'm a little shocked that Progressive would accept payment on someone else's credit card for such a large amount.  Capital One is usually pretty good at detecting fraud and e-mailing me of suspicious activity.  I'm surprised they let such a large charge go through.  Will Progressive open an investigation?  Will Capital One open an investigation?  Does any credit card fraud get criminally investigated? Googling suggests that I file a report with the police?

[dcs]

I once had someone steal my identity and open up a cellular phone account in my name (among other activity).  After discovering the fraud I called the cellular company and asked them to cancel the account because I did not open it and it was obtained by fraud.  They initially told me I could not cancel the account because I was not the one to open it (it has been a few years but I believe the problem was that my current address did not match the address on the account, although the rest of the account information matched me and it was showing up on my credit report).  I said that was exactly the point.  It took several rounds of escalating customer assistance to get a resolution.  I felt like I was stuck inside an Abbott & Costello routine.  I filed a report with the police for this and other fraudulent activity but the police basically told me there was nothing they would do with the information, but that it would be on file if any creditors checked.  Bought myself a big-ass paper shredder after this experience.  Nothing leaves my house with any information on it that is not shredded.  Pull your credit reports and check what is listed and get a new card number from Capital One.  I generally have to change numbers on each of the two primary cards I use about once every year or two because of fraudulent charges.  If you report a fraudulent charge promptly the credit card company removes it from your bill.  What they do after that, I have no idea.  I just know I do not have to pay it.  I would not file a police report for one bad charge.  Just change your number and move on.  In fact, I would be surprised if Capital One did not already cancel your card and issue a new one.  Even when my card company catches a bad charge before it is approved, they cancel my card and send me a new one.  It is not an option to keep the old number.

[zgast]

2 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

So I was perusing my Capital One credit card charges last night and I see a $3,600 charge from Progressive Insurance.  Hmm....(I) I don't insure anything with Progressive and (ii) nothing I own costs that much to insure.  So I call Capital One, and Capital One conferences in Progressive.  They all agree it's a fraudulent charge.  I ask Progressive on whose behalf did I pay the insurance for and they wouldn't tell me, citing privacy concerns.  I'm a little shocked that Progressive would accept payment on someone else's credit card for such a large amount.  Capital One is usually pretty good at detecting fraud and e-mailing me of suspicious activity.  I'm surprised they let such a large charge go through.  Will Progressive open an investigation?  Will Capital One open an investigation?  Does any credit card fraud get criminally investigated? Googling suggests that I file a report with the police?

I didn't realize Capital One allowed balances that high.  They're infamous in the industry for keeping credit limits low.

[Ferris Bueller]

The likelihood of anything being investigated is slim.  Unfortunately as you have witnessed, despite the fraud, credit issuers will not release information even though it stems from a crime.  It can be very frustrating especially since FICO scores and revolving credit rule us in many ways.  Having been a victim numerous times despite many preventative measures, my guess is it is so rampant, credit issuers delete the charge, and go about business as usual.

 

[DonRocks]

On 2/28/2018 at 8:53 AM, Ericandblueboy said:

So I was perusing my Capital One credit card charges last night and I see a $3,600 charge from Progressive Insurance.  Hmm....(I) I don't insure anything with Progressive and (ii) nothing I own costs that much to insure.  So I call Capital One, and Capital One conferences in Progressive.  They all agree it's a fraudulent charge.  I ask Progressive on whose behalf did I pay the insurance for and they wouldn't tell me, citing privacy concerns.  I'm a little shocked that Progressive would accept payment on someone else's credit card for such a large amount.  Capital One is usually pretty good at detecting fraud and e-mailing me of suspicious activity.  I'm surprised they let such a large charge go through.  Will Progressive open an investigation?  Will Capital One open an investigation?  Does any credit card fraud get criminally investigated? Googling suggests that I file a report with the police?

I haven't read any follow-up posts yet, but my first impression upon reading this is, "insider job." Why else would anyone fraudulently charge something and not receive a tangible asset like a TV set? I can see an airline ticket, but an insurance policy? My guess is that it's in your best interest to just let it go - I suspect Progressive's investigators are handling this internally. Who knows, maybe your phone call will set off a chain reaction that will unearth a massive fraud operation, or maybe that operation is already being investigated.

About 5-10 years ago, I left my credit card at The Hen House. After I figured out where it was, I called them, and they mailed it back to me - unfortunately, that month, a couple of charges showed up at Best Buy totaling about $2,000. It's fairly intuitive that an employee took the card, went on a shopping spree, and then put it back - credit card companies are amazingly good at "no hassle refunds" in situations like this, but a couple of times recently, when I've left cards at restaurants, they've cut them up, and I've had to get a new number (this is annoying, but it's probably for the best).

It's interesting that fingerprint and retina scanning have come such a long way, but can't be used for identification over the internet - if you think about it, all these "security questions" you get asked are a fairly primitive method of security (a family member, for example, might know a great deal of the answers).

[Al Dente]

I was dinged twice in 6 months at the same gas station and again at an ATM. Since then, I'm very cautious about sticking my card in any slot. However, the careful look can detect a skimmer device, but evidently you also have "shimmers" which you can't see because they're inside the machine.

How to Spot and Avoid Credit Card Skimmers by Max Eddy of PC Magazine

Fortunately, my credit card company shut down the card, notified me, and removed all charges. 

[Ericandblueboy]

Yesterday the Huron Michigan police department called me.  Apparently someone impersonating me placed a large order by phone at some kind of building supply store.  From what I gathered, someone was gonna come pick up the order.  However, the store smelled fraud and called the police.  The Huron police found my phone number thru the address given by the identity thief and confirmed that it's a fraudulent transaction.  The charge was never gonna go thru because it's on the Cap 1 card that I already canceled.

[DonRocks]

6 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

I'm very cautious about sticking my card in any slot.

This is not what I've heard.

[Al Dente]

54 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

This is not what I've heard.

That was the old Al-- or, more accurately, the younger Al. I pay with cash now.