And so begins a recent email and voicemail both received by Capital One. At issue was the increasingly common - point of purchase fraud . So where did they get our card number from - they didn't get our card from us just the number. An article from MSNB Money last November explains:
Crooks are targeting gas pumps across country in skimming attacks to steal customers' credit card and bank account information. The gas pump you use to fill up your car might look innocuous. But trouble could be lurking inside.
Credit card and debit card skimming scams
If you think high gas prices are a rip-off, just wait until you get your credit card bill or see your bank statement after falling victim to a gas pump that has been tampered with.
Investigators say it takes crooks less than a minute to install the equipment. They return after a time to retrieve the equipment or, in some cases, use wireless devices that transmit the data directly to them. Then they use the information to make counterfeit cards and run up purchases or empty bank accounts.Here's how it works: Crooks attach an inexpensive device called a skimmer inside or onto a gas pump. The skimmer captures credit and debit card information every time customers swipe their cards. Sometimes a secondary PIN pad is installed to capture PIN numbers, or a tiny camera is attached to record video of customers punching in their PINs.
The solution, or way to avoid this particular scam is simple - go inside to pay and don't use pay at the pump.
Using your card while traveling can occasionally create false alarms with fraud monitoring service.Unless you're a frequent traveler or you called your credit card issuer beforehand to let them know where you were going, you could find your credit card declined when attempting those transactions. Calling your credit card company in advance may allow them to place a travel advisory notice on your account, which will typically allow your card to be used without issue.
What will trigger a suspension of credit? That's a secret. Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover all use formulas and rules to rate the risk of a transaction being fraudulent, but will discuss them only in generalities to prevent countermeasures by the bad guys. What it boils down to - they prevent fraud by looking for unusual card transactions and things that are outside of a cardholder's usual purchasing patterns. They "use models that perform up to 200 tests on a transaction to determine the risk and likelihood that a particular transaction is fraudulent. The tests compare to results of transactions that have proven to be fraudulent in the past and the models return a score from 0 to 99 to allow retailers to make an informed decision on whether to accept or decline the charge." (Yeah mathematicians) In this case the purchases were still in Illinois but not where we shop nor at the level we shop.
So lessons learned:
- be careful with that card
- pay inside where they have to swipe your card in front of you
- listen to your credit card company when they call - don't blow them off thinking their call is the scam (though it could be and that's a separate blog.)
