Just received a call from my Bank about an hour ago about an unauthorized use of my credit card at some Walmart in Connecticut (never been there). The Bank told me that they will send me a new credit card and that the old one will become invalid.

How did this happen? Did someone hacked one of my online accounts? I can only surmise that my credit card number must have somehow been stolen today when I ordered a toaster from Kohls online. If that's the case, what should I do to prevent an event like this from occurring in the future? I guess I could use those secure cards (one time use only credit cards generated by Paypal), but then I won't be able to earn these reward points through my bank issued credit card.

You can't assume when it was stolen. It could have been any time between it being issued and it being used in Connecticut.

A more interesting discussion, why does Connecticut have that middle c?

I personally am pretty irresponsible with my cards, and I've never had a problem with them.

I'm always surprised when I hear about people getting unauthorized use of their cards.
I'd say it's more bad luck of the draw, than anything.

I think it's weird that it was a store it was used in, and not ordering something online. Because wouldn't that mean they would need a physical copy of the card? It's either that, or a cashier simply made a mistake entering in numbers for a manual charge and it happened that way. But the chances of that seem slim.

Why does half the english language have letters where they do?

An even more interesting discussion could be why does bho have a Social Security number from Connecticut! Sorry, couldn't resist. Saw that news earlier this evening.

Sometimes the actual payment processor gets hacked, not the actual retailer. For example heartland payment systems got hacked a year ago or so and they literally got millions and millions of card numbers (including mine).

Not too long ago BoA had to cancel my card and send me a new one. A retailer where I had used my card (they didn't say which retailer) had been hacked and my card compromised.

Cloud it may not be related to anything you personally have done. Any place you use your credit card may store the number improperly and longer than necessarily, and then get hacked and have that data stolen. So there is nothing you can do to prevent it really, other than to not use credit cards. I had to get a new card after someone made like 20 charges on iTunes with mine (never used iTunes, never well, horrible piece of software), thankfully the CC company picked up on it.

I'd recommend only picking and using one or two (cause not everyone will take your favorite) and destroying any other ones cc companies send you. Also don't use debit cards, use credit. Harder to dispute a debit payment since the money is immediately removed from your account and you have to fight to get it back. With credit the money is still yours until you pay it.

yeah a few months ago my info was stolen and they charged about a thousand dollars or so on it.

Never had mine stolen, but when I bought all of the parts for the PC, and then Christmas presents, I felt really good when my bank called me to confirm the purchases because it wasn't actually all that much money, but it was far more than I normally ever spend. As far as being worried about having your credit card numbers stolen: It could have already happened, and it simply hasn't been sold or used yet.

English, how does it work?

Leicester ("Lesster") Worcester ("Wusster") Loughborough ("Luffbuhra") York ("OH HO I GOT YOU THERE").

I as an American think that the English language needs to be modified.

I went to the gym @ midnight one night for like 45 minutes. Someone broke into my car, and got into my wallet (which I assumed would be safe in my car).

They got my credit card, about 20-30 bucks in cash, and a $35 best buy gift card. I cancelled the next morning when I realized that my wallet was really light, but I found out they drove from Orange County to San Diego and charged 1 tank of gas before I cancelled the next morning. I got the bill and the bank didn't charge me for it after I called and explained the situation.

I'll bet they were surprised when/if they tried to use it again because I caught on within like 10 hours of it being stolen (and being stolen at midnight nonetheless), as opposed to discovering days later.

Most likely, someone was looking over your shoulder and wrote down your number.

I got a call a couple of weeks ago from my credit card company. It seems that ordering Bioshock on Steam got their suspicions up.:confused:

I only have the credit card since January of this month. Guess I'll attribute to my number being stolen to bad luck.



Thanks for the advice. I actually only use one credit card though I still have an old one associated with another bank. Haven't used my debit card to pay for stuff in a long time though.

So the people who steal your card numbers. Do they get caught and prosecuted?

One time, I bought a pizza at a local joint, and the guy took my card (the swiper was on his side of the counter) to pay for the food. He took out his phone, and tried to take a picture of it. He probably would have gotten away with it, had he not left his sound on. I heard the "chk-CHK" shutter noise that some phones make, and made a fuss and called his manager's attention to the matter.

When you pay for a meal at a restaurant, NEVER leave the card with the bill and let them take it back and process it. Always go pay at the front, or go with the waitress to the station.

Steven I've heard of that, but the version I heard it's usually people behind you in line taking the picture of your CC.

Search credit card skimmers. I think this is the primary way people steal CC info. Those, and people reading numbers off of those old-school CC machines that press down a sheet of paper on your CC to get the numbers.

My ex had his stolen at a gas station in the Britain. Someone tampered with the card reader at the pump, so when he swiped his card it saved his information and they were able to make online purchases with it.

And my Aunt had a credit card stolen from the mail. She had lost her card, they sent her a new one and she never got it. She was going to call the company but they called her first to ask about her recent erratic spending habits (she had apparently bought liquor, artwork and clothes in NYC). They canceled the card, didn't charge her, and sent her a new New card.