Gransnet forums

Legal, pensions and money

Fraudulent charges on credit card

(16 Posts)
Maniac Tue 19-Nov-13 22:45:11

This has just happened to me.Anyone else had this experience?

janeainsworth Tue 19-Nov-13 22:52:11

Yes. There were 3 or 4 charges for online gambling shock, fortunately I check my statement online frequently and alerted the card company straight away.
They were very good and refunded the money immediately.

Eloethan Wed 20-Nov-13 00:53:50

I had it happen a long time ago with a store card - about £300-worth of stuff showing on our bank statement, having been bought in a completely different area of the country. I couldn't see how it was done because the card was still in my possession. I wondered if there was some way that an employee of the finance company could have done it. Anyway, it was refunded.

thatbags Wed 20-Nov-13 07:24:23

Yes. But my bank is very good at recognising dubious activity and stopping the card. They then ring me. I don't give any info but ring them back and get everything sorted. They put a new card in the post straight away.

It has happened a few times over the years and for this reason I find it useful to have two credit cards, with two different banks, so that I'm not without a working one at any time. I don't carry much cash around with me.

thatbags Wed 20-Nov-13 07:27:06

NB I ring them on a different number. I've explained to them that I'm not going to "press any button to continue" if I've answered a phone call from an unknown number!

BAnanas Wed 20-Nov-13 09:35:35

Yes, a few years ago on opening our Barclaycard statement saw it was maxed out, loads of transactions in Kingston, which I didn't pay too much attention to when I first glanced through it as we frequently shop in Kingston. However, on closer inspection this turned out to be Kingston, Jamaica as opposed to Kingston-on-Thames. There were all manner of things that had been paid for, jewellery, expensive meals out, hotel bills, petrol. When we reported it to Barclaycard they asked us whether we had been abroad and we had been in America a few months prior to the statement being received. They were of the opinion our card was somehow cloned over there. We were fortunate enough to prove chapter and verse that whilst this spending spree was going on, we were in Wales where we had used the card for a few minor purchases. We didn't have any problems as far as not having to accept any responsibility for this extravagant spree, but friends of ours who had the same thing happen to them in the Far East did when trying to prove that they didn't make the transactions that were fraudulent.

BAnanas Wed 20-Nov-13 09:37:29

We now always advise them of trips abroad including arrival and departure dates.

Maniac Wed 20-Nov-13 10:38:02

I went to fill up with petrol - card declined.Fortunately I had enough cash to pay .
Went to my card account online to find £3,700 charged to my a/c from Kuwait,Germany,Paris etc.
Rang card company Mon 18th to find my card had been blocked because of unusually high items.All were between Nov 3rd and 10th -since my last statement!so no way I would be aware of them.
A new card is being sent to me and these charges cancelled.
P.S. Received letter today (dated Nov 15th)from credit card co.informing me that card had been blocked !!!

grannyactivist Wed 20-Nov-13 13:12:17

My card was used to (successfully) fund a car rental in Ireland, but when the fraudsters tried to book flights to Spain they couldn't supply the three figure security code and so were thwarted. The first transaction was queried immediately it showed up online as I usually only use the card for emergencies or travel (for the free insurance) purposes. The bank investigated and discovered the attempted flight purchase, they immediately cancelled the hire car charge and sent a new card to me. I always tell my bank when I'm going abroad as I once had my cards blocked on holiday. I'd gone to Thailand and as it didn't 'fit' with my personal profile it was assumed my cards had been stolen or cloned.

Aka Wed 20-Nov-13 13:42:40

Because I've had two instances as above of 'fraud' on my account my bank is somewhat over zealous now and I've had my card blocked several times by them. And if I try to set up a direct debit they always query it with me.
It's really annoying but better I suppose than having large sums removed from my account.

MrsSB Wed 20-Nov-13 14:16:18

We have had this 3 times, the first being when an unrequested credit card cheque was stolen from our post and written for £3000. The second time my card was used to pay a London parking fine, and the third to buy a Blackberry from Play.com, the latter also managing to change the password and email address on my account (Play.com were adamant it was nothing to do with their systems, but they also gave me the name and address of the person who had bought the item so I imagine the Police paid him a visit!).

On each occasion I have noticed it quite quickly and the card company have dealt with it very efficiently, though it is a pain to have to have your card cancelled and wait for a new one. We, too, always tell the bank when we are going abroad, and we also keep a close check on transactions on our account.

ninathenana Wed 20-Nov-13 14:49:16

A few years ago our card details were used to buy a mobile phone in Windsor. We had spent a few days there and used the card in other shops and for the hotel. I can only assume one of these places had cloned the card as it had never been out of my possession. I thought I might have trouble as we had obviously been in Windsor at the time.
The car company gave us a refund without any hassle.

petra Thu 21-Nov-13 13:09:55

We have had this happen severally times.
The best one was when they used it to have a takeaway delivery of over £150. We went to the police to get an incident No. for the bank. The officer on duty said: that's ok then, you'll get your money back.
My OH said: hang on, a crime has been committed here and they delivered to an address. Mr Plod said: so do you want to report this as a crime.!!!!

Bez Thu 21-Nov-13 13:21:09

We are still in USA at the moment and using our credit card for most things - did tell the bank etc. before leaving home. Here we have not been asked for our PIN number at all - sometimes we need to sign with one of those electronic pen contraptions but in other places nothing at all - the card is swiped and that is it. I can sort of understand it at one place where we have been a number of times but we do find it a bit worrying. Also they have not had any of the mobile devices for paying at the table in the restaurants we have used. DS says this is normal here for them to just take the card away and bring it back for you to sign the paper. I am now neurotic about checking the C Card statement on line every morning to ensure all is well!!

sunseeker Thu 21-Nov-13 16:22:54

Fortunately this has never happened to me, but I have to say I don't check my credit card statement online - I have a quick look when the paper statement arrives but as I don't use my cc much there is never much on there. I think I will start checking online on a regular basis now!

Wheniwasyourage Thu 21-Nov-13 19:16:23

We've had trouble a couple of times with our card number being used by someone else, presumably after cloning, but the bank has phoned and told us. Rather, they asked if we had, in fact, booked flights through an Indian travel agent (we hadn't). They sent new cards and cancelled the fraudulent charges with no problem. We have been very impressed, and the times when they have phoned to confirm that DH had bought a computer (he had) or booked train tickets (he had) are worth it, just to know that someone is looking after us.