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Originally Posted by marsupial
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!
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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.