I feel so violated.
 

So my credit card was denied at Walmart today. I called my credit card company thinking perhaps it had something to do with an online purchase I made last night and that all I would have to do was verify the purchase and my account would work again. No, it was because of some purchase made in Italy, another in London and a few on Napster. None of these were mine. So I had to close the account and file a fraud claim. I have no clue who has my card number or how they got it and I am wondering what else I should be doing to protect myself? Could this person have other information about me or have access to my other accounts? Would I be better off without a credit card altogether?

Do any of you have experience with this situation and advice you can offer me?

Thanks!

This kind of thing really bothers me. I hope you're fine that I am pretty ticked off about it, as I consider all on this site a friend and I don't like to see bad things happen to friends.

I have no advice other than closing that account and filing a fraud claim and I'd also send Napster and the other merchants who allowed this to happen a very pointed e-mail. They are just as much to blame in this as the perp.

Sorry to hear that, it would really tick me off.

The bank I have a Visa with has a service (free!) that will send me an email if more than X amount is charged in a single transaction or if more than Y amount is charge in a single day. The cardholder can set the level of X and Y. You can optionally have it send you a text mesg to your cell. This is set-up via their online account access service. This would help you stop the bleeding faster. I don't think anything is 100% foolproof for stopping the card theft except maybe not using the card at all. Even at a restaurant someone could copy all the info on your card and make a phone or online transaction.

I had my wallet stolen while I was wakeboarding a few years ago. They watched us put our boat in the water and drive off then they busted out our windows and stole all of our wallets and phones. They spent about $4,000 on my credit cards, one of which was my debit card to my personal savings account.

The good news is that it's the perfect crime. Nobody seems to care, including your credit card company. So you just file your claim and they pretty much rubber stamp it. You'll owe absolutely nothing in the end. In fact my only out of pocket cost was $10 for the police report, and only my personal bank wanted that. I had about a 1 week period where I was out $2,000 from my own savings account until they reviewed the police report and ruled in my favor. The funniest part was that they dropped charges from prior to the reported theft. I had to actually call my credit card company and tell them that some of those charges were legit. That's how little they care; they have insurance.

The most amazing thing is that the criminals managed to spend that much money almost wholly on gasoline, cigarettes and beer in about 12 hours. They must have had friends lining up to fill their tanks.

Oh, one other thing. You can contact the companies who keep credit scores (Experian et al) and have them flag your name. I think the flag lasts several years. Basically anytime anyone applies for credit in your name the lender is required to call your home phone to verify that it's you making the application.

I thought the violated part was the embarrassment of having to walk out of Walmart because of a denial.

We had a ring of kids in High School doing this. What they are doing is selling fill ups for half price. If people ask questions, they usually have a starving student type story.

My account has been cancelled and I filed a fraud claim. I guess tomorrow I will notify the credit reporting agencies.

Yes, it was embarrassing to have my card denied at Walmart. I had some cash on me so I put the less important groceries back and was still able to buy the things I need the next few days. Luckily no one was in line behind me and the sales clerk was really nice about it.

Sorry. That sucks. Even if you're not out any money, it's still a hassle - probably not something you were planning to do today.

On the bright side, the best part about having the flag on your account with the credit reporting agencies is that you won't get unsolicited credit card offers in the mail for about 3 years.

My business credit card was compromised last week. I got a call from Chase bank's fraud department. I have used the card twice since I have had it and all the sudden there were charges popping up in New York City. They cancelled the account immediately, froze those unauthorized charges and sent me a new card and account number.

I have no clue how it happened except that I made one payment to my engineer last week. So I notified them as to what happened and to check their security measures as that is the only way my info could have been phished. It sucks bad.

That is why I keep my credit cards maxed out... that way nobody can use them. ;)