We just got hacked-Fraudulent charges on debit card

[InfidelSerf]

The wife and I just discovered a couple of fraudulent charges on our checking account.
After a bit of investigation it appears that they were from her debit card.
Fortunately the account was low with just $120 in it and the two charges added up to about $100
However there are a few outstanding checks that will bounce.
I'm also more concerned with how they got the number, either by a scummy employee at a retailer.
Or if it was from a keylogger on her system.

The charges are as follows
DDA PRE-AUTH JUSTICE WEB 866-246-58 NEW ALBANY OHUS JUSTICE WEB         26.67
I spoke with a detective in New Albany, I didn't expect to accomplish much, other than placing them on their radar.
DDA PRE-AUTH JUST-EAT.CO.UK EDGWARE GB JUST-EAT.CO.UK         73.66
This place appears to be one of those delivery services for local restaurants.  I may or may not pursue talking with them
since it will cost about $1.50 a minute to talk with them.

At this point the bank says they can't do much until they become hard charges to the account and not just pre auths.
We killed her card (I had to keep mine alive because I needed to fill the car up and get a few groceries, before we close the account entirely)
We are also looking into moving her direct deposit salary to another account.  As I don't trust this one now.
Even if the card was the leak and that is stopped now.

I guess I just needed to vent.  But input from anyone else who has experienced this could be helpful.
        

[41magsnub]

My debit card that I rarely use was hacked last year.  I was able to dispute the charges with wells fargo and they were reversed.  it only took one short phone call to do the dispute and get the card reissued with a new number.  I did not have any overdraft charges to deal with because all that was stolen were small amounts though.

[Jamisjockey]

We've been hit several times over the last couple years.  Usually ours are large, $400 or more, one time hits.

[bedlamite]

Mine got hacked last year. Total charges: $12. No idea why they didn't try to charge more.

[41magsnub]

I wouldn't go closing your whole account over this.  All that was broken into was your debit card which infers that someplace that you used it was not careful or had a crooked employee.  Just get the cards reissued and use the bank's response to this to determine if you stay with them or not.

A common rule is to use a real credit card rather than a debit card for most things since it is easier to dispute those charges, plus when money is taken out it is not from your bank account.

[Declaration Day]

A few years ago someone cloned my business debit card and cleared out the account at an electronics store.  That was one hell of a shopping spree.  It only took one quick call to have new cards issued and the point of sale investigation started.   It took about three weeks to get the money back. 

We haven't had a problem since.

[InfidelSerf]

Well we may use this as the push to get a new bank.  Back in Nov they did a name change.
They sent all this literature about how NOTHING is going to change, just the name.
But there have been several significant changes.
And of course their excuse is that these changes went into effect a few weeks prior to the name change.
They are telling us that we will only be held liable for $50(I expected that to be the case)
It was also mentioned that new cards would be an additional fee.
More icing on the cake.

[GigaBuist]

A common rule is to use a real credit card rather than a debit card for most things since it is easier to dispute those charges, plus when money is taken out it is not from your bank account.

That's my advice.  The wife and I each had a credit card's info stolen last year.  In the 1st instance they shut the card down automatically after a single $20 fraudulent purchase.  If we'd disputed it I'd have probably gotten the money back but the yahoo shipped the package to our house as a test.  So, I actually got a chocolate shake mix out of the deal.  *shrug*

The 2nd time it happened (different card, different company) the charges never even posted to our account. 

Banks seem to a bit more persnickety about fraudulent charges occurring when it's their money and not yours on the line.

[Monkeyleg]

In most cases it's the merchant who eats the charges. Unless the merchant has every i dotted and t crossed, he/she gets the chargeback.

I got ripped off for $567 last week because I missed one detail. The credit card company doesn't care, because they're getting their money, and their customer doesn't have to pay.

I've called card companies when I've known that a charge was from a stolen card, and to tell them the address where the package will be delivered and the date on which it will be delivered. They don't care.

[never_retreat]

I had my amex hacked to the tune of 30,000. One call and it was taken care of.

[HankB]

A while back, a fraudulent charge was made to my Discover card in the amount of $0.97. 

That's right, ninety seven cents, to some karaoke place. 

Discover card flagged it and called me to ask if it was a legitimate charge. When I told them it wasn't they cancelled my card and issued a new one immediately. It turns out that some thieves probe an account with a small charge first; if it goes through, THEN they go for the gold.

I only used the card on-line at secure sites from reputable businesses, so I doubt those were the source of the leak . . . gas stations are automatic "pay at the pump" . . . and the only other places I use it are at restaurants and a few local businesses like Home Depot, Cabela's, etc.

I'm guessing a waitress or cashier at a local restuaurant was the culprit.

[Viking]

A while back, a fraudulent charge was made to my Discover card in the amount of $0.97. 

That's right, ninety seven cents, to some karaoke place. 

Discover card flagged it and called me to ask if it was a legitimate charge. When I told them it wasn't they cancelled my card and issued a new one immediately. It turns out that some thieves probe an account with a small charge first; if it goes through, THEN they go for the gold.

I only used the card on-line at secure sites from reputable businesses, so I doubt those were the source of the leak . . . gas stations are automatic "pay at the pump" . . . and the only other places I use it are at restaurants and a few local businesses like Home Depot, Cabela's, etc.

I'm guessing a waitress or cashier at a local restuaurant was the culprit.

Could be that somebody fitted a skimming device to the gas station pump or at the ATM. Very common over here, along with a small hidden camera to get your PIN as well.

[InfidelSerf]

I always use my debit as a credit card.. i.e. never enter my pin.
We have always resisted any desire to get credit cards because we both made mistakes when we were young and racked them up.
I'm sure weI would have the diligence to use it as a tool and not rack up unnecessary charges.

But my wife's situation makes it hard for even the debit card use. She is a flight attendant and makes charges all over the country.
It took a bit of convincing the bank we have now not to bat an eye at charges from one state to the next.
We do however check the account daily and know what and where our charges are.

At this point I'm more concerned as to where the leak of the number came from.  I'm going to buy us both new HDDs for our laptops and clean install OSes on them (finally a decent excuse for me to spend money on HDDs ) I can upgrade hers to a 7200rpm and mine to a larger 7200rpm drive.

I think we should also look into having a separate account for her to use while on the road. (as apposed to the credit card option, that and we are still rebuilding credit, it would be difficult to get one)
I would rather she have her own checking account that we place small amounts in at risk than the main one we pay our bills with.
And I may just go to paying cash for my occasional purchases. 

[geronimotwo]

we had our visa number scammed.  we received charges for a new laptop, and a fee for "christian singles".  i always thought that was somewhat ironic.  visa removed the charges when it was obvious that the laptop was not sent to our address.

[Lennyjoe]

I just joined the crowd.  Viewed my account online today and see 2 charges last Saturday that was not by myself or the wife.  Called the bank and they confirmed that they were fraudulent.  Cancelled my card, issuing me a new one and now I have to wait until the charges hit my account so I can get reimbursed.  Both are pending so I have to wait till they clear.  One was at some kind of resort for $50 and one at Itunes for $1 but I think it will be more than that. 

[MillCreek]

When my credit card was hacked it was used to buy skateboard clothing in Paris, France.  US Bank called me immediately and removed the charges.  They said that they had a real run of fraudulent charges happening, and they said that people in Eastern Europe were using credit card number generators and then selling valid numbers. 

[GigaBuist]

It turns out that some thieves probe an account with a small charge first; if it goes through, THEN they go for the gold.

The Ron Paul camp saw a bit of that action in the 2008 election cycle.  Well, I'd imagine everybody did but Ron Paul got singled out for it for some unknown reason.  Stolen CCs were used to make a small $5 contribution to the campaign just to verify that the card was legit and then they did God knows what with it.

[KD5NRH]

we had our visa number scammed.  we received charges for a new laptop, and a fee for "christian singles".  i always thought that was somewhat ironic.

Where could you find a more generous and gullible woman than on a religious dating site?  Find one with a bit of extra income, and you can scam her for more than you would get out of the card thefts.

[erictank]

The wife and I just discovered a couple of fraudulent charges on our checking account.
After a bit of investigation it appears that they were from her debit card.
Fortunately the account was low with just $120 in it and the two charges added up to about $100
However there are a few outstanding checks that will bounce.
I'm also more concerned with how they got the number, either by a scummy employee at a retailer.
Or if it was from a keylogger on her system.

The charges are as follows
DDA PRE-AUTH JUSTICE WEB 866-246-58 NEW ALBANY OHUS JUSTICE WEB         26.67
I spoke with a detective in New Albany, I didn't expect to accomplish much, other than placing them on their radar.
DDA PRE-AUTH JUST-EAT.CO.UK EDGWARE GB JUST-EAT.CO.UK         73.66
This place appears to be one of those delivery services for local restaurants.  I may or may not pursue talking with them
since it will cost about $1.50 a minute to talk with them.

At this point the bank says they can't do much until they become hard charges to the account and not just pre auths.
We killed her card (I had to keep mine alive because I needed to fill the car up and get a few groceries, before we close the account entirely)
We are also looking into moving her direct deposit salary to another account.  As I don't trust this one now.
Even if the card was the leak and that is stopped now.

I guess I just needed to vent.  But input from anyone else who has experienced this could be helpful.
        

I got hit in the summer of 08 for a total of about $200 or so - subscriptions to 3 porn sites, an unspecified charge (well, I knew how MUCH it was, just not what it was FOR) to some nail place in Nebraska or something like that, and one other charge I can't recall off the top of my head, to my Navy Federal debit-card account.  One call to them got me my money back and a new card with a new number tied to my current accounts.  No trouble since then.

My sympathies to both you and the merchants involved, as it's a pain for the consumer and frequently a loss for the merchant, as I understand it.  Thieves suck.   

[sanglant]

i don't know how much space you need, but it might be worth going a little slower that's double what i have in my desktop

[InfidelSerf]

i don't know how much space you need, but it might be worth going a little slower that's double what i have in my desktop

I picked up a 500GB 7200 RPM drive awhile back.  Our laptops came with 5400rpm drives, so if we are going to change the drives we might as well make them faster. 


Update on the situation.
We are not going to close the account (the bank is confident it was the debit card number) they issued a new card.
We are now going to keep this account solely for her to use on the road. We will be opening a new joint account to use as our primary bill paying account. As well as looking into a credit card for online purchases and various other uses.

It appears that the larger of the two charges dropped off and did not hardpost.
Leaving us with at most a loss of $26.67 (since we are liable for the first $50)

Not bad considering what could have happened had they hit it just a week later.

This has certainly been an eye opening experience.

[slingshot]

I had a problem with one card which amounted to about $500.  It is a card I never use so it sort of stuck out.  My guess....  mafia especially since it was to a gambling site.

[InfidelSerf]

Well now the other charge just dropped off too. 
So at this point I'm not sure it was fraud, but possibly a bank error.
Of course they don't want to admit that.

And they did state that there are no longer fees to have new cards issued.

I chalk this up to one big PHEW!

And a reminder as to how  vulnerable your money really is when held in a bank for convenience.

[apgdcg01]

I just got hacked this week too! Here is a surprisingly similar transaction to yours;

01/17/2010   SIGNED PURCHASE JUSTICE WEB 866-246-58 POS   27.97   

What is going on??? My bank has actually been quite good in their response. But, I'd rather stop this from happening to the next guy, wouldn't you? I've tracked down other charges during this guy's week of purchases on my card. I'm bound and determined to catch them, since it definitely sounds like they are getting away with it!

[InfidelSerf]

I just got hacked this week too! Here is a surprisingly similar transaction to yours;

01/17/2010   SIGNED PURCHASE JUSTICE WEB 866-246-58 POS   27.97   

What is going on??? My bank has actually been quite good in their response. But, I'd rather stop this from happening to the next guy, wouldn't you? I've tracked down other charges during this guy's week of purchases on my card. I'm bound and determined to catch them, since it definitely sounds like they are getting away with it!

If it makes you feel any better our charge like that dropped off.. so we ended up not being out anything.
Other than the $26 I had to spend to send my wife money on the road since her card was cancled.

I'm assuming that's the same justice web out of New Albany OH  if so please give their PD a call 614-855-1234
ask for the detective that handles fraud.  I don't recall his name but when I spoke with him he was appreciative of my information.
At least we can put these scum bags on his radar so he can work towards finding them.  He was not aware of a legitimate business with any form of that name.