Ticked off -- I hate thieves

Swazzle

So I get to work, open my email & have a statement from Express (the clothing store) for my credit card.  That's strange because I don't remember using my credit card at all lately. Actually, last month I bought a shirt & paid cash to avoid using my credit card because I paid it off earlier this year & have kept a $0 balance on it since then. 

I log in & open my statement to find out that on Saturday, November 12th "I" charged $517 to my Express credit card -- IN PERSON -- at the mall by my house.  

I pause for a minute to make sure I'm not losing my mind & no, I definitely didn't go on any shopping sprees lately.  In fact, I was not even in the state of New Jersey that entire weekend -- I was in Delaware -- so it's impossible that I made any purchases there that day.  

I just searched my wallet & sure enough I HAVE my Express credit card on me.  I tried to call them but customer service doesn't get in until 8am.   

I am so f---ing annoyed right now.  Why do people need to steal from others?  Get a job & buy your own shiit.  IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY I COULD SCREAM. 

How is this even possible? How does someone fraudulently charge $517 to my Express credit card when I have the card in my possession?!?!

Thanks for listening.

Blue & White

I wonder if one could request a copy of your credit card without you knowing...or maybe a really good fraud?

That's horrible, though.  I really hope express is able to take care of it for you, especially since you were ya know, in DELAWARE (and you probably have some kinda proof of that if they need it!) at the time.

Thieves are ridiculous.

becunning2

My mom had a card stolen from her where it was charged in person also at a gas station in another state. I don't know how they do it, but, on the flip side of that, I'm glad it's a skill I don't have.  That's really frustrating RDR, but I"m sure they'll take care of it for you here soon.  But BOO! for having to deal with it!

mookow86

Ugh that sucks!! Did you ever buy anything online with the credit card? That's so weird how they could use your card. In the past year I've had three notices from mastercard saying that they have detected fraudulent activity on my card and they send me a new card each time. I would see if they can give you a new card with a different number?

dwest2201

Oh NO!  That is horrible, usually when these things happen it is because they have your card, and rarely do retailers ask for id, even if your card isn't signed.  I don't know how they got your card info and made charges IN PERSON, but I'm curious to find out!   I am so sorry to hear this, especially right before the holidays, no one needs extra stress right now!

Swazzle

Phew. Ok I just called & she said that she can see my card wasn't used which means the cashier entered the card number manually & switched numbers around hopefully by accident & they so she opened a dispute for me.  She said it will be no problem at all disputing the transaction since my card wasn't actually used & it was most likely just a human error. 

Thank goodness!! 

alyaki

RFIDs are imbedded in the cards.  There are, unfortunately, devices which can get the codes from those without you knowing, which is all they really need in order to charge to the cards.  Theives really do suck though, I'm sorry you're going through this.

tuarceatha

I hate thieves too.

Human errors, I can understand.

Michele: "Hey, remember that time I barfed from bad mexican food? It was so gross."
Romy: "Oh my god, I hate throwing up in public."
Michele: "Me too!"

DanieKA

THAT SUCKS! My debit card was recently "stolen" from the safety of my wallet (same thing as you. I had my card on me, but someone decided to spend $300+ dollars at a TJ MAXX in freaking Delaware, plus over $50 on gas at a gas station. It was a giant pain in the A$$! It made me so mad! Hopefully it was just human error and someone didn't steal a copy of your card number. I still don't know how someone got my debit info. And it should be easy to prove it wasn't you since you weren't actually in the state. Hopefully this clears up fast! Good luck!

Swazzle

You know what makes me mad also? Even if it was human error on the cashier's part... That person just got $517 worth of Express clothes for free. Right? They're not going to be able to find out who made that purchase that day after I get the money credited back to my account. I think I'm jealous. LOL

[Deleted User]

It is so wild that you bring this up. I just found out I have 2 charges on my Chase ATM debit card on the day before and the day after Thanksgiving. My ATM CARD! I have the card in my wallet and hardly ever use it. I called Chase yesterday and the charges were for USPS purchases in 2 different towns in California. They showed that the actual card was swiped...but that's impossible. She said that thieves can actually make phony credit cards now. Crazy huh?

I'm sorry about the charges on your card. Hopefully you can get everything straightened out with Express. Sounds like maybe this was a pretty common holiday scam this year.

ETA: I noticed you said yours ended up being a typing error...but I still think it's interesting that thieves can make  cards now. And I agree, I'm a little jealous someone got over $500 in free Express clothes!

dwest2201

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ticked-off-hate-thieves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:a345cab2-4451-477f-8810-e6c1b7bfd08bPost:301425a2-afef-4f81-b541-f495bb405ba6">Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves</a>:
[QUOTE]You know what makes me mad also? Even if it was human error on the cashier's part... That person just got $517 worth of Express clothes for free. Right? They're not going to be able to find out who made that purchase that day after I get the money credited back to my account. I think I'm jealous. LOL
Posted by rdr716[/QUOTE]

I was just thinking the same thing!  My old debit card was sooo worn out that it didn't scan for a while at lots of places and they manually entered it...I never got any free shiit...especially not $500+ in free clothes!  Darn them!  Hahaha!

But seriously, I am so glad to hear that it was not a huge hassle and should be resolved quickly!

DanieKA

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ticked-off-hate-thieves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:a345cab2-4451-477f-8810-e6c1b7bfd08bPost:cfb56d13-8088-4690-94b2-92331be2adc2">Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves</a>:
[QUOTE]It is so wild that you bring this up. I just found out I have 2 charges on my Chase ATM debit card on the day before and the day after Thanksgiving. My ATM CARD! I have the card in my wallet and hardly ever use it. I called Chase yesterday and the charges were for USPS purchases in 2 different towns in California. They showed that the actual card was swiped...but that's impossible. She said that<strong> thieves can actually make phony credit cards now.</strong> Crazy huh? I'm sorry about the charges on your card. Hopefully you can get everything straightened out with Express. Sounds like maybe this was a pretty common holiday scam this year. ETA: I noticed you said yours ended up being a typing error...but I still think it's interesting that thieves can make   cards now. And I agree, I'm a little jealous someone got over $500 in free Express clothes!
Posted by allusive007[/QUOTE]

<div>My bank told me this too. They get your card number and they can actually make debit cards with your info on them. They don't even have to use your name, as long as they have your card #'s they can slap any old name on the front of their fake card and sign away under John Smith or Anastasia Beaverhousen. </div><div>
</div><div>The lady at my bank said if someone gets your number, let's say a waiter or someone who can double swipe your card, or for some legitimate reason has access to you number, a lot of times they sell that info on the internet. Yup, people can buy "your info" and then make fake cards. D@mn, technology is a blessing and a curse. I HATE IDENTITY THEFT, and mine was relatively small and cleared up quickly.Thank heavens I had about $2 in my account at the time.  </div>

Swazzle

Danie & Allusive -- That really sucks. Was it resolved easily? I mean it must be easy to prove when the charges are NO where near you, right?

lunarsongbird

That bites.



This is happened to me a couple of times. Fortunately, the banks/creditors are always really good at getting your account back to normal.

But yes...I'm always pissed that the thieves get stuff for free. Sometimes they are caught with video surveillance, but mostly I just hope karma catches up with them.

Swazzle

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ticked-off-hate-thieves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:a345cab2-4451-477f-8810-e6c1b7bfd08bPost:5150278a-6a55-4889-867e-1545092458c9">Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves : My bank told me this too. They get your card number and they can actually make debit cards with your info on them. They don't even have to use your name, as long as they have your card #'s they can slap any old name on the front of their fake card and sign away under John Smith or <strong>Anastasia Beaverhousen</strong>.  The lady at my bank said if someone gets your number, let's say a waiter or someone who can double swipe your card, or for some legitimate reason has access to you number, a lot of times they sell that info on the internet. Yup, people can buy "your info" and then make fake cards. D@mn, technology is a blessing and a curse. I HATE IDENTITY THEFT, and mine was relatively small and cleared up quickly.Thank heavens I had about $2 in my account at the time.  
Posted by DanieKA[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>LMAO</div><div>
</div><div>That is insane & really scary to think about.  I have a lot of credit cards, most with no balance & I'm very careful not to lose any (I've never lost a credit card or wallet, etc). But in the past year this is the 3rd time something like this has happened to either me or Sean.  </div><div>
</div><div>My bank/Visa card number was used on some online dating websites a couple months ago -- both sites refunded me the money within days & my bank took care of it on their end also, I had to get a new card.  </div><div>
</div><div>Sean's was my favorite though: there were transactions at FTD.com (the flowers were delivered to our apartment) & Columbia House (we received some CD's or DVD's in the mail). To this day we have no clue what happened or how/why the items were sent to our apartment but it was kind of funny when the flowers were delivered haha</div>

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ticked-off-hate-thieves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:a345cab2-4451-477f-8810-e6c1b7bfd08bPost:a46d47b0-ccd6-4ddc-8fcb-fd4a1fba494b">Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves</a>:
[QUOTE]Danie & Allusive -- That really sucks. Was it resolved easily? I mean it must be easy to prove when the charges are NO where near you, right?
Posted by rdr716[/QUOTE]

Yes - Chase has already refunded my account. They were really great about it and had actually already flagged my account for fraudulent activity. I'm just really curious how the person was able to get my number. I don't use that card online except to pay bills from the Chase website, and I only made 2 purchases where I was right there the entire time. 1 for a bottle of water at a Kmart in Montana and 1 at a local coffee shop here in Denver. Makes no sense to me.

peekaboo2011

Well, I'm glad that it's getting worked out.  Although it is super obnoxious that the person is getting $500 free clothes.  I'd kill to get that.

It's crazy what people can do now.  I used to work somewhere where we dealt with identity theft, and it was so weird to see the fraudulent credit cards and ids and everything else that they can make.  And so completely scary.

DanieKA

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ticked-off-hate-thieves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:a345cab2-4451-477f-8810-e6c1b7bfd08bPost:a46d47b0-ccd6-4ddc-8fcb-fd4a1fba494b">Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves</a>:
[QUOTE]Danie & Allusive -- That really sucks. Was it resolved easily? I mean it must be easy to prove when the charges are NO where near you, right?
Posted by rdr716[/QUOTE]

<div>My bank was the one that called me and alerted me to suspicious activity on my account, so that was good on them (I actually hate my bank, but was thankful for this). It took my bank about 72 business hours to give me "provisional funds" aka replace what was taken pending the outcome of their investigation. So if they decided I was trying to scam them, they would have taken back those funds. But about 30 days later I got a letter that their investigation was complete and they had concluded I had been the victim of fraud so I could keep the funds. DUH! </div><div>
</div><div>I did have to get a new debit card, which was a pain in itself (the first lady I spoke to forgot to order it, 7-10 days later I called again and they re-ordered it. Then I got a temporary card at the bank to use until my permanent card came, then I got 2 cards in the mail. I cut up so many cards that week.) All in all, it was fine. I did have a bill that I had just mailed (I still use checks and stamps) and I was worried about my power company trying to cash the check and it bouncing before the provisional funds were placed in my account, but luckily that didn't happen. </div>

csousa1

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ticked-off-hate-thieves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:a345cab2-4451-477f-8810-e6c1b7bfd08bPost:4ec3133c-c696-4442-94d3-51310e248a75">Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves</a>:
[QUOTE]Phew. Ok I just called & she said that she can see my card wasn't used which means the cashier entered the card number manually & switched numbers around hopefully by accident & they so she opened a dispute for me.  She said it will be no problem at all disputing the transaction since my card wasn't actually used & it was most likely just a human error.  Thank goodness!! 
Posted by rdr716[/QUOTE]

Sounds to me like a store employee has been sitting on your card number for a few months, biding their time to enter it manually and walk away with $500+ worth of free shizz.

sparkles88

I recently had fraudulent charges on my debit card. I logged on to my bank statement and it said that I had $200 less than I expected. Someone had used my card to spend $200 on reloadable Sonic cards. Luckily, I noticed it right away, and since the charges were still pending, I was able to call and deactivate the card. They sent me a new card, and I was never billed for the $200, but I was still pretty pissed off.

Swazzle

Sousa -- I was thinking that also.  After this is settled I am just going to close my account.  I've been meaning to do that anyways since I don't really shop there anymore & I'm trying to cut down on my number of credit cards anyways. 

Lil B Mama

Damn, that sucks! Unfortunately this stuff happens all the time. A coworker of mine had a cash advance taken off her card and money spent at a gas station one thursday night in Montreal. We live in Toronto. The credit card company reimbursed her for the stolen money, but no explaination was ever discovered as to how someone a province away got her info. 

bsidebella

That happened to me once a few years ago. I hadn't charged anything to my debit card in weeks, and then all of a sudden, my balance was negative $300. I freaked out, because I am very, very careful to never have a negative balance. I looked at my statement and someone had charged money to World of Warcraft! >_<

I also had my card the entire time. Turns out, my debit card number was stolen. Apparently, the really sophisticated thieves have number generators and they'll just keep entering in numbers until one hits. Then they just take all your information. Sweet, right? /sarcasm

Luckily, I caught it early enough that I could cancel my card and the charges were disputed. I got my money back a few weeks later, and then my bank tried to charge me $7 for a new card processing fee. I disputed that too, and won. My card number was stolen and you a-holes wanna charge me for a new card? You're out of your mind.

Lil B Mama

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ticked-off-hate-thieves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:a345cab2-4451-477f-8810-e6c1b7bfd08bPost:bea3108a-c45b-40d5-bbbc-d012bf86472b">Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves</a>:
[QUOTE]That happened to me once a few years ago. I hadn't charged anything to my debit card in weeks, and then all of a sudden, my balance was negative $300. I freaked out, because I am very, very careful to never have a negative balance. I looked at my statement and someone had charged money to<strong> World of Warcraft!</strong> >_< I also had my card the entire time. Turns out, my debit card number was stolen. Apparently, the really sophisticated thieves have number generators and they'll just keep entering in numbers until one hits. Then they just take all your information. Sweet, right? /sarcasm Luckily, I caught it early enough that I could cancel my card and the charges were disputed. I got my money back a few weeks later, and then my bank tried to charge me $7 for a new card processing fee. I disputed that too, and won. My card number was stolen and you a-holes wanna charge me for a new card ? You're out of your mind.
Posted by bsidebella[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>
</div><div>WOW junkies gotta get their fix I guess! Lol, crafty nerds :)</div><div>I've heard of this too, I guess thats how the charges can occur far away from where you live. 

</div>

Peaseblossom55

Glad you are getting the money credited to your account, but identity theft really sucks.  It happens to my clients as work as well.  I check my online bank account every day just to see the charges and make sure nothing there is fraud.  Too bad it wasn't me though-  I wouldn't have minded the $500 of free Express clothes.

ravenray

Glad everything worked out.  I would have been pissed too! 

jaycee7389

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_ticked-off-hate-thieves?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:a345cab2-4451-477f-8810-e6c1b7bfd08bPost:9fdb3e43-8556-41b4-9ecf-897b48d821be">Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Ticked off -- I hate thieves : Sounds to me like a store employee has been sitting on your card number for a few months, biding their time to enter it manually and walk away with $500+ worth of free shizz.
Posted by csousa1[/QUOTE]

This. 100%. I don't really buy that they manually entered in the wrong cc number. I worked numerous retail jobs when I was younger and it is frightening how many ways your info can get stolen.