Yeah, I said it.
Apparently, we were hi-jacked over the weekend.
Hubby went to the local home improvement store on Saturday and when he tried to use his credit card for his $17.00 bill it came up flagged. Needless to say, this freaked him out completely. And honestly? I don't blame him.
After spending an hour and a half on the phone (thank GOD I wasn't home - or it would have been ME stuck on that phone!) it was determined that somehow, some way, some evil bastard had gotten a hold of our credit card number (the how is completely beyond me!) and tried to use it to buying $800.00 worth of stuff at a KMart in another town.
The folks at Visa noticed that this wasn't our spending pattern (I mean hello - I don't even think we have a KMart here...) and denied the purchase and flagged the card.
Yes, this was great. But. . . .how come no one from Visa called us to say "Hey. By the way, some evil bastard just tried to use your credit card number. You might want to do something about that."
What if the next time the evil bastard tried to use it someone at Visa was on his coffee break and it was accepted?
The guy at Visa told Hubby that evil bastards are everywhere stealing credit card numbers (instead of the actual cards) and making counterfeit cards.
Now riddle me this....if you are going to go through all the trouble of stealing credit card numbers and somehow creating a credible counterfeit card why don't you just get a real job and use that creative talent you've got to make money in a legit fashion? Obviously you are devious enough to get into middle management at the very least - and if you are very devious you could even weasel your way into upper management (or, I know! Go to work for the government!)! And you know, most larger companies usually have a very good health plan and additional perks. About the only perk I can think of for criminals is the three square meals they get in JAIL after they are caught - because eventually they are all caught.
And this particular evil bastard that had the nerve to try and steal from me? Well, I'm hoping there is a special place in hell for him/her.
I'm glad Visa declined their purchase, but I too am wondering why they didn't call you?!
ReplyDeleteI'm really surprised they didnt call you. I always thought that was the way the worked if they saw an unfamiliar 'spend'. I'm glad they declined the big purchase, but I hope you complained to them about their lack of customer service in not calling you.
ReplyDeleteThere is a special place in hell for people who do this. Oh yes. There is. We had it happen to us too. NO FUN.
ReplyDeleteGrr, shame on that person who tried to steal your info.
ReplyDeleteWow, thank God Visa caught it. When we went away to Florida for 3 weeks, I called our credit card company and let them know so they wouldn't freeze me out.
ReplyDeletePeople are up to all the angles to steal from others. Seems like an awful lot of work to me too.
This is a crime that really scares me I have known a few people it has happened to. My husband is scared the company wouldn't notice as they would probably spend less than me xxx
ReplyDeleteWe had this happen several years ago. My card ended up missing from my granddaughter's first birthday party. I told Mastercard I would identify anyone I knew on the surveillance cameras, where they had used it. (it had to be someone from the party) They never pursued it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree, bad people suck. I noticed some pending charges on my credit card (I look at the charges on my computer) and called to find that it was somebody who got ahold of my card number and was charging furniture on it. I never paid anything for it but had to get a new card. Grrr! And I think they should have called you.
ReplyDeleteIt's a horrible thing to happen to you! Love Wilderness's comments - my husband lives in hope of our card being stolen because they'd definitely spend less than me! In fact he regularly just drops it in the street or leaves it in the cash-point machine just hoping...
ReplyDeleteWow. Un-freakin'-believable. And incredibly scary.
ReplyDeleteYeah...why DIDN'T Visa get a hold of you? That makes no sense at all.
There's too many ways the bad guys can screw us up...
Yes, bad people do indeed suck.
ReplyDeleteI always worry that Visa wouldn't notice weird activity on my account, because it's not that strange for me to charge a large amount at a store. We use our card for LOTS of purchases so we can earn miles, then pay it in full every month.
My wallet was stolen in November. You can read about it here if you're interested. The stupid theif used my credit cards at a bunch of stores and the even stupider retailers did NOT check her ID with the card. She is a different race than me! I know this because the wal-mart (where my wallet was stolen) people have her on surveillance camera.
It's just one big crappy mess. i hope you get it all sorted out!
I had the opposite happen... I went abroad and didn't think to tell my credit card Co. I used my card in a few shops until suddenly it got declined (they'd cancelled it due to this 'strange activity'). To be fair they'd tried to phone me but I didn't have my phone on. Good to know they do notice these things!
ReplyDeleteThis happened to us at Christmas time!! They didn't call us either.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness they declined it. Terrible they didn't let you know.
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