Electronics

[HonnyBrown]

On 12/1/2014 chickenbutt said:

On 12/1/2014 StylishLady said:

For al the horror stories there are ones where the ending is more acceptable. Our bank card was "skimmed" one time a few years ago. DH thinks it was done at a gas station where the thieves had inserted a reader into the gas pump card reader. He checks our BOA account on a regular basis and noted charges to Netlix and a coupon booklet that we had not made. Notified the bank immediately and got it stopped. Fortunately the total was only around $80, which we did not have to pay. Being alert is the first line of defense.

(bolded by me) This!!

While none of us deserve to be ripped off, I still think it is absolutely our responsibility to know what is going on with all of our accounts. I keep quite a bit of money in my checking account (it's just a savings account I keep and write it off my regular balance, keeping track of it in the back of the book) and I look at my account online at least a couple of times a week.

Same goes for credit cards - know what your balances should be and make sure you can validate any charges posted.

VERY good advice!!!!!!

Credit and debit cards are easy to hack because the ones without the RFID chips are not encrypted. The new card readers (in places with the data breaches like Target, USPS, Michaels, etc.) encrypt the data from the magnetic strips.

Looking at your account activity and reporting anything abnormal to your bank will protect you.

[Lynnj]

On 12/1/2014 HonnyBrown said:

On 12/1/2014 chickenbutt said:

On 12/1/2014 StylishLady said:

For al the horror stories there are ones where the ending is more acceptable. Our bank card was "skimmed" one time a few years ago. DH thinks it was done at a gas station where the thieves had inserted a reader into the gas pump card reader. He checks our BOA account on a regular basis and noted charges to Netlix and a coupon booklet that we had not made. Notified the bank immediately and got it stopped. Fortunately the total was only around $80, which we did not have to pay. Being alert is the first line of defense.

(bolded by me) This!!

While none of us deserve to be ripped off, I still think it is absolutely our responsibility to know what is going on with all of our accounts. I keep quite a bit of money in my checking account (it's just a savings account I keep and write it off my regular balance, keeping track of it in the back of the book) and I look at my account online at least a couple of times a week.

Same goes for credit cards - know what your balances should be and make sure you can validate any charges posted.

VERY good advice!!!!!!

Credit and debit cards are easy to hack because the ones without the RFID chips are not encrypted. The new card readers (in places with the data breaches like Target, USPS, Michaels, etc.) encrypt the data from the magnetic strips.

Looking at your account activity and reporting anything abnormal to your bank will protect you.

I also agree 100%. And honestly, it doesn't really matter what kind of chip, or whether credit or debit card....even paper checks have security issues. It is on us to take responsibility for our accounts. If you have a comouter, and most people these days do,,there is no reason you are not logging on to all of your financial accounts several,times a week to check balances and activity. It takes 1-2 minutes, per account to login and check activity and balance.

[HonnyBrown]

Q4u, how is your son doing?

[Q4u]

Regarding credit cards, yes, knowing what is going on is prudent and something my son does (we all do it)... but the damage can be great with 30 days in between statements... but it's the hacking of your savings/checking account that is something that you don't "catch" until it's over and the bank calls you and asks if taking all this money is something "you've done". Nope... rarely is.... and then it's too late.

You can get hacked (easily) when the ATM machine is hacked and the ones doing so get your debit card information~!! You don't know that this has happened until it's over as well. Doesn't matter if your info is encrypted when you use your card because the hackers get into the machine itself (remotely) and have all the information they need.

BTW, everyone should understand that FDIC does not insure the individual saver. We found that out as well. No refunds or credit coming from the bank. FDIC insures the bank.

We are a small town here. The bank we frequent is a large enough bank but there aren't many to choose from. We're in the process of deciding whether or not to change banks.

So.... no one in this family will be using a debit card anymore. No one will be paying bills on line directly from our bank on line. We will have a first line of defense using RFID wallets and we're all now members of LIFELOCK. We are impressed with what we've already experienced with them. You all are right about being on top of things. The problem is being ABLE to be on top of things! This will enable us to be as on top of things as possible. Believe me, there are many, many ways for the scumbags to take our money and our identities....

For the one who kindly asked how DS is doing. He's still extremely angry. He works incredibly hard and the helplessness he experienced was horrible. He doesn't make much money either and to have it taken from him (especially at this time of year) didn't help. He'll be ok....

[Q4u]

If you have a comouter, and most people these days do,,there is no reason you are not logging on to all of your financial accounts several,times a week to check balances and activity. It takes 1-2 minutes, per account to login and check activity and balance.

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I mentioned 30 days between statements and I agree about checking your account on-line. But when the money is there one minute and gone the next there still ISN'T MUCH YOU CAN DO AFTER THE FACT. If the money is gone... it's GONE! There are no protections as there are with credit cards when someone uses your card. The bank does not put the money back. As I mentioned upthread, FDIC insures the BANK, not the individual saver. This information was imparted by the FBI agent that spoke with us. The money is gone.

[NickNack]

On 12/2/2014 Q4u said:

If you have a comouter, and most people these days do,,there is no reason you are not logging on to all of your financial accounts several,times a week to check balances and activity. It takes 1-2 minutes, per account to login and check activity and balance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I mentioned 30 days between statements and I agree about checking your account on-line. But when the money is there one minute and gone the next there still ISN'T MUCH YOU CAN DO AFTER THE FACT. If the money is gone... it's GONE! There are no protections as there are with credit cards when someone uses your card. The bank does not put the money back. As I mentioned upthread, FDIC insures the BANK, not the individual saver. This information was imparted by the FBI agent that spoke with us. The money is gone.

I had someone make $200 worth of charges on my debit card, and the bank refunded my money. It took about ten days. I wasn't sure they would refund it, but the manager said they always did. They cancelled my debit card immediately and issued me a new one.

[chickenbutt]

I also had the same hack as NickNack and it was handled the same way. I didn't suffer any financial loss. I only wish that they would pursue the thieves instead of just writing it off. That's my one peeve about the whole thing.

[Iambeezer]

On 12/2/2014 chickenbutt said:

I also had the same hack as NickNack and it was handled the same way. I didn't suffer any financial loss. I only wish that they would pursue the thieves instead of just writing it off. That's my one peeve about the whole thing.

You can't. The internet is the wild west. How do you think hacker groups like anonymous can overtake twitter accounts among-st other things and nothing is done about it? The money and resources it takes to try and track people who do this stuff is far more costly than a 3,000 dollar tv.

[elated]

You should check your credit reports once a year on annual credit report.com. Also, place a freeze on your credit reports so no one can access the information. You should check your bank account on a regular basis. You can catch these thieves early. My bank called me when a charge came through that they knew was bogus. You have to be very alert when it comes to your accounts.

[Q4u]

On 12/2/2014 NickNack said:

On 12/2/2014 Q4u said:

If you have a comouter, and most people these days do,,there is no reason you are not logging on to all of your financial accounts several,times a week to check balances and activity. It takes 1-2 minutes, per account to login and check activity and balance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I mentioned 30 days between statements and I agree about checking your account on-line. But when the money is there one minute and gone the next there still ISN'T MUCH YOU CAN DO AFTER THE FACT. If the money is gone... it's GONE! There are no protections as there are with credit cards when someone uses your card. The bank does not put the money back. As I mentioned upthread, FDIC insures the BANK, not the individual saver. This information was imparted by the FBI agent that spoke with us. The money is gone.

I had someone make $200 worth of charges on my debit card, and the bank refunded my money. It took about ten days. I wasn't sure they would refund it, but the manager said they always did. They cancelled my debit card immediately and issued me a new one.

I wasn't talking about hacking your debit card and the thief charging. Yes, those fees are returnable. I'm talking about the hacker hacking INTO the ATM itself and retrieving ALL THE INFORMATION it has on you!!! Once that occurs, you're dead in the water. NO REFUNDS. They consider this theft as though the guy physically took the money out of your pocket. There are no guarantees from the bank. It's totally different.