S: ID Theft

[DarkFury]

Well... just got word today that my Mastercard was compromised.

Checking my electronic statement, I saw a charge on there to Office Depot that I had not made, so I called my credit card company.

They told me that recently the database at T.J. Maxx stores had been compromised just before Christmas (this includes T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, Marshalls, A.J. Wright, and Bob's Stores). Here is some more info on this just in case you might have shopped there during the holiday.

http://www.tjx.com

Turns out that my credit card was on the reported list of those known to be compromised, so now they have to re-issue me a new CC number and I have to fill out a security report of the fraudulent charge(s) that I see come out on my statement.

I guess I'm glad that I scrutinize every charge on my bill... as the amount didn't really stand out so much from other charges that I did make. So as a heads up... please check your statements if you did any shopping with T.J. Maxx in the past month or two!

[CornMonkey]

sucks dude. i'm gonna go double check all my charges right now...

[Napoleon54]

Sorry DF. Which number is yours? I'll take it off my list.

And anyone else- if you wanna post your CC number I'll take it off as well.

[ray]

Though I do fear somebody stealing my credit card information (I buy a lot on the internet) and spending thousands of dollars, I fear one of these days I will get a letter from some collections agency saying I owe them $100,000 on a defaulted mortgage. Because of my paranoia I usually check my credit reports once a quarter to make sure that nobody has taken out loans or credit cards with my identity and to ensure that my credit rating is still intact.

[Memo]

http://memosanchez.com/files/darkfury_idtheft.jpg

[Memo]

Oh damn, misspelled Theft. Oh well, was a quick one :P

[thresher]

damn - I tjmaxxed in January. I hope they fixed their screw up by then.

[brainsmile]

Sorry DF... didn't know it was your account I took :)

[Napoleon54]

Oh damn, misspelled Theft. Oh well, was a quick one :P

Damn DF, you look just like someone I know, can't put my finger on it.. hmm...


Oh, I got it! My grandmother!

[DarkFury]

http://memosanchez.com/files/darkfury_idtheft.jpg
Heh...

You know... I owe you one now. :D

[mcs328]

I heard they stolen information has already been used. They've taken either 20K or 200k worth of purchases. Good thing you're covered.

[guiseppewv]

Sorry that you had that happen to you, DF.

Thank you for letting us know about this. I pay attention to all of the charges on my cards but it made me double check. Thanks, DF.

[oblongmelon]

HAHAH nice chop memo.
DF, I hope everything works out for ya...

[DarkFury]

So far, so good...

Citi overnighted me a new credit card... so at least I'm not out in the cold.

Pretty much, when the bill comes, I'll just dispute the erroneous charges and then just let their "security team" deal with it.

Honestly, this is yet another reason why I don't use DEBIT cards for other than ATM transactions. If this had been a DEBIT card, the money for the purchase would already be gone with alot more hassle in trying to correct the problem.

[redcolours]

http://memosanchez.com/files/darkfury_idtheft.jpg
yo' momma.

:D

[Prngr44]

So far, so good...

Citi overnighted me a new credit card... so at least I'm not out in the cold.

Pretty much, when the bill comes, I'll just dispute the erroneous charges and then just let their "security team" deal with it.

Honestly, this is yet another reason why I don't use DEBIT cards for other than ATM transactions. If this had been a DEBIT card, the money for the purchase would already be gone with alot more hassle in trying to correct the problem.

I had a debit card stolen once and they took it for an $800 ride. I bounced a couple of auto-debit charges, but the bank ended up taking care of all the money, all the fees due to the bouncing in about 3 days. I thought that was pretty decent. I actually think I came out money ahead though because the thiefs tried to return some of the items purchased for cash but the store just credited my card; AFTER the bank had reimbursed me for the charges.

[guiseppewv]

Honestly, this is yet another reason why I don't use DEBIT cards for other than ATM transactions. If this had been a DEBIT card, the money for the purchase would already be gone with alot more hassle in trying to correct the problem.

I agree. I actually sent my debit card back to my bank and told them I wanted an ATM only card. You are protected much better with your CC than with a debit card.

[Jenny]

Honestly, this is yet another reason why I don't use DEBIT cards for other than ATM transactions. If this had been a DEBIT card, the money for the purchase would already be gone with alot more hassle in trying to correct the problem.

I know the bad stuff happens, and if it ever happened to me, I'm sure my tune would change. But I've been using debit cards for YEARS shopping online & offline all the time without ever having an issue, thank goodness. heh

Glad your card company is being helpful!

[DarkFury]

I know the bad stuff happens, and if it ever happened to me, I'm sure my tune would change. But I've been using debit cards for YEARS shopping online & offline all the time without ever having an issue, thank goodness. heh

Glad your card company is being helpful!
Honestly Jenny.. just because you've NEVER been hit by a bus, I still wouldn't advise walking into the street without looking both ways first.

ID Theft is on the rise... and Debit cards are really just too risky given the current situation with all the "techno crooks" out there.

But hey... you might just be a CHARMED person and never have anything happen to your debit card... but in my case, I'd never thought that my CC would be compromised either (since this is the first time and it happened through no fault of my own.)

As always... YMMV. :D