A Credit Card Fraud Story | brokeGIRLrich
**This post is not sponsored by Roomba or CapitalOne. But it should be.**
Roombas trigger an entirely different emotion in me these days.
At the end of last month, I logged onto my CapitalOne account to pay my bill and found it was roughly double what I expected it to be. As I scanned the charges, I found a nearly $700 charge to a company called iRobot.com and for the life of me couldn’t figure out what I would’ve bought from there.
Evidently, they sell Roombas – robot vacuum cleaners. Even a slightly scary looking one that will clean your pool… I think it looks like an evil, bug robot.
So on the plus side, this discovery made me laugh a little, because, really? $700 of robot vaccums?? But it also made me realize my credit card number had been stolen and that was a lot LESS funny. To add to the inconvenience, I was about to head out of town for a few days.
Fraud Lesson #1: It’s a good idea to have more than one credit card.
Sure, I could’ve used my debit card, but it was also the end of the month and that would’ve required things like stopping automatic transfers and possibly a transfer from my savings account to cover the cost of trip since I’d planned on using money from my next paycheck (which was well before the credit card payment was due).
Honestly, I would’ve been really stressed out and quite possibly opted to just cancel my trip had I not had a backup card to use.
Fraud Lesson #2: Check your statements regularly and report anything weird IMMEDIATELY.
Which I did. I grabbed the card out of my wallet and called the CapitalOne customer service hotline. I’ve got to say, my initial customer service rep experience left a lot to be desired. The woman on the line first told me that I would have to call iRobot.com and solve the issue with them, which did not sound right to me at all. Furthermore, even if I did that, my credit card was still compromised… to which she responded that she thought perhaps we should cancel it.
Perhaps? Yes, lady. Duh. Every single thing about my encounter with her made me certain she was reading off a script… quite possibly the wrong one. And she was insanely cheerful through it all – also, I suspect, part of the script. It could just be a pet peeve of mine, but when someone is calling about something like credit card fraud you don’t ask questions like “are you having a nice day?” or when the problem isn’t resolved by the end of the call “I’m so glad I could help you, is there anything else I can do?” Yes. You could solve the problem competently.
Honestly, I probably should’ve requested a manager.
Fraud Lesson #3: Clear about an hour for that first phone call. And have all the facts you need to back you up.
After several frustratingly cheerful questions (“yes ma’am, I am sure I did not order $700 worth of robot vacuums”) and a conference call with the iRobot.com guy and the CapitalOne customer service rep (in which the iRobot.com customer service rep told me I would have to contact my credit card company to resolve the fraud – shocker), my case was referred to their fraud department.
Fraud Lesson #4: Write down the number on your credit card and then cut it up.
I just cut up the card without thinking to write down the number (because the lovely customer service rep told me to), but in follow up phone calls with the fraud department, they wanted the credit card number to look up the case.
A few days passed before the fraud department got in contact with me, but after the initial phone call to CapitalOne, those charges were all temporarily removed from my account and the balance and all my rewards points were transferred to a new account number. I had been a little concerned about losing all my rewards points, but they were still there.
Fraud Lesson #5: Cancel all your recurring payments that are on that credit card.
I nearly missed my internet bill, because I realized the day before it was due that it automatically goes on that fraudulent card. Fortunately, I don’t have too many recurring payments going onto my credit card.
A few days later, I double checked the statement for the fraudulent card one last time and found a UPS charge that wasn’t mine. I called the customer service line again, got a much more competent service rep and she updated my report to them and took that charge right off too.
Once the case got passed onto the fraud department, life got a lot better. While I was on vacation, the fraud department tried to get in touch with me. I called back a few hours later and wound up leaving a message for them about the best times to get me. I never heard back from them and received a letter this week (about 3 weeks after the case was opened) that everything was resolved.
Overall, I’m really pleased with how easy it was to report and get the whole thing taken care of – it definitely made me like CapitalOne a little more. And maybe a Roomba too, after watching way too many YouTube videos of them lately.
Have any of you ever had your credit card numbers stolen? Did they at least buy something that made you laugh?
Oh no! I have never had this happen to me, but it sounds like a pain. Keeping this for future reference. Chances are, I’ll need it
Retired by 40 recently posted…Moto G From Republic Wireless
I hope not!!
I’m good about checking my credit charges because when I was on tour, the hotels I stayed in made mistakes at least twice a week with my card, over and double charging me.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life recently posted…Spending Snapshot: Personal Care
Ugh. I bet. I’ve noticed I usually have the worst issues when I’m trying to travel.
We had a debit card stolen once, but we called as soon as we saw it was missing. My husband had dropped it at a gas station and it was a good thing we called right away because it had already been used! Thanks for the advice!
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life recently posted…Mexican Appetizer: Roasted Tomato, Corn and Shrimp Quesadillas
I wish I’d actually lost the physical card! I think that would’ve been more of a giveaway about what was happening.
Capital One needs to do better with their security. I had the same thing happen to me but it was $400 worth of sales to some gaming company. They actually brought it to my attention. It was $50 charges here and there that I normally wouldn’t have paid attention to. Now I go through my statement with a fine tooth comb every chance I get.
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That’s great they brought it to your attention. I actually wondered if it was part of that whole Target/holidays thing, more than being a CapitalOne issue. I know it’s been a few months, but I did shop there over a few times around Christmas.
oh, that sucks. I learned my lesson following up on my bank statements, since my yoga studio still charged me after I had cancelled my account. Fortunately, they were understanding and I got my money back (which is why I’ll go back as soon as I can 🙂
Debby recently posted…Day 159 – Debt Poets Society – March Edition.
Yeah, it definitely made me glad that I always give it the once over. Although now I do it a little obsessively ;o)
Last month I purchased a $2.50 photo from a clip art store on line for the blog. The next day i went to Michaels to purchase some arts supplies for the youngest and the card was denied. It is my bank card and I knew that there was money in there. I wandered over to the bank across the street, and they informed me that because of the $2.50 transaction that was out of the ordinary a hold had been placed on my account! Urgh, I made the purchase RELEASE my money…. Years ago the hubbies card was stolen and they had a $10,000.00 dollar day on it before the bank put a stop on it. We were not responsible, but really they should have stopped that a lot sooner…
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It would be nice if they could develop a better system for placing holds on cards. I used to travel all over for work and I would notify them of my itineraries and they would still stop my card. “It was suspicious that you made a purchase in Greece on Wednesday and Russia on Saturday.” No, not if I TOLD you that’s where I would be. It sucks getting stranded in foreign countries with your card not working.
This happened to me once. It was the most nerve racking thing for me almost ever. Someone in Cali {across the US} opened a little coffee shop. I know this only because the lease company called me asking for payment. I hope this never happens to you again. Haha, your photo made me giggle.
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Oh wow. That’s stressful. Seems like full out identity fraud at that point, instead of just a credit card.
#5 is key! I had my debit card number stolen a couple of years ago, and totally forgot to switch my recurring payments (I only had a few of them), but those late charges were a pain I totally could have avoided.
Ryan @ Impersonal Finance recently posted…recognize your opportunities. then seize them.
Thankfully, I have never had my credit compromised. I check it regularly and actually Credit Karma seems to be a quick way to check your credit regularly. It does not provide your reports, but it says what changed from the previous month, including inquiries or increased credit limits. So far, I’m liking it. We’ll see. Thanks for sharing these awesome tips with Countdown in Style.
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Someone used my account to purchase food in Florida, stuff from Home Depot in Arizona,and a baby toy in Ohio. But the person used their real name and address for shipping, which completely amused me.
Wow. That is pretty stupid.
It seems like both lesson #1 and #2 sound about right to do and maybe on a daily basis. Since those tips are also what my father would counsel me on when it comes to catching a suspicious fraud activity. If you’re a target of a credit card fraud and you were able to catch the culprit, how would criminal law play out in this scenario in order to bring justice?
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Good question. I suspect it’s the credit card company that really worries about the criminal law, since they would press charges to get the money back – fraud is usually covered by the credit card company and once you can prove you’ve been a victim of it, they reimburse your account.
A credit card fraud story like this one is something that actually happened to my son. Somehow he used his credit card on an online dating site. Somehow though the car d information that he gave out was from a third party that he didn’t know about. Because of that, he’s wanting to contact a criminal defense attorney to help him fight this fraud and get his money back.
Had this happen to me also, but the fraud department resolved it rather quickly. It still sucked because of how much time it wasted. Also CapitalOne.
Yeah, definitely. All credit cards/banks seem to need a much better phone system to get you right to a representative.
Seriously! The fraud department should have a direct human operator. I had another experience with Capital One, where they proactively cancelled my card because of a possible breach at a grocery store (Target or Walmart, can’t remember). That experience was still a hassle but much less painful than the first since I didn’t have to do as much in terms of trying to contact them.
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Your recommendation about 2 card use is a good one. Having a backup on trips, especially, can help you out in emergencies.
Goodness yes, I can’t tell you how many times it’s saved my behind with all the business traveling I do!
Credit card fraud is the absolute worst. It can be a nightmare to deal with but luckily many credit card companies make it painless now. Thanks for sharing.