Make your credit cards less vulnerable to fraud

Last year, one of my family’s credit cards was used to rack up hundreds of dollars in bogus charges at Apple.com. Another card was compromised four times in a row, as thieves repeatedly charged merchandise and Uber rides.

We ultimately got our money back, but repeated credit card fraud can be frustrating and disheartening. Dealing with the aftermath taught me to prize security over convenience, and to change some bad habits that made me an easier target.

In my latest for the Associated Press, learn how to make your credit cards less vulnerable to fraud.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: What to do about the Fed rate hike. Also in the news: How to deal with credit card fraud, driverless cars, and how your credit card debt is costing you nearly $1000 a year.

Fed Rate Hike: Here’s What to Do
Don’t panic.

First Time Dealing With Credit Card Fraud? You Got This
Important steps to take.

Are Fully Self-Driving Cars Just Around the Corner?
Should we fear the driverless car?

Credit card debt is costing you nearly $1,000 per year
Interest piles up.

Q&A: Credit card fraud and automatic payments

Dear Liz: We’ve had three cases of credit card fraud. Each time, the credit card company issued new cards with new numbers and canceled the old ones (along with the fraudulent charges). We had nine monthly auto-payment authorizations set up, and we seethed at the fact that the card company would not offer to authorize our auto-payments via the new numbers. We eventually received late-payment notices and charges, since the old numbers were still on the record with payees. Are there companies that offer updates to payees when cards are canceled, and new ones issued, in such fraud situations?

Answer: Given all the database breaches lately, automatic updates to auto-payments might come in handy.

But it seems you’re on your own. Your agreements with your billers typically state that you’re required to update them whenever a card expires or its number changes. Many billers will alert you when an expiration date is near or if a charge doesn’t go through, but ultimately it’s your responsibility to keep track.

It’s a good idea to keep a list of your auto-payments so you don’t forget to update them all when this happens again. If you don’t have a list, simply checking your past statements should remind you which accounts are on auto-pay.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailToday’s top story: A surprising way identity theft can hurt your credit.
Also in the news: Tips on how to manage major bills, rethinking retirement for Millennials, and financial tips for veterans from military experts.

The Surprising Way an Identity Thief Can Hurt Your Credit
Pay close attention to hard inquiries.

Utilize the Half Payment Method to Budget Around Major Bills
Don’t pay all at once.

3 Ways to Rethink Retirement for Millennials
A different look at the bigger picture.

Veterans Day: 6 Financial Tips From Military Experts to Service Members
Welcome home.

Q&A: Debit card fraud follow-up

Dear Liz: Regarding your recent answer regarding a mysterious debit charge, I beg to differ with your quoted source, Odysseas Papadimitriou of Evolution Finance, who said it was unlikely to be fraud. It took me all of 30 seconds to search online for “credit card fraud small amount” and found multiple reliable sites dedicated to just the kind of small-amount fraud your reader was asking about. I’m amazed that anyone claiming the slightest amount of expertise in credit card scams wouldn’t be aware of this. Ironically, nothing would help the scammers more than purported experts advising the public at large to ignore this type of fraud and assume instead it’s the result of their own oversight. Why such clearly wrong-headed advice is appearing in your column is beyond me.

Answer: Small-amount fraud is a problem — for credit cards. The original question and Papadimitriou’s answer related to a debit card transaction. While small-amount fraud is certainly possible with debit cards, Papadimitriou said the far more common pattern was for thieves to attempt to steal as much as possible before the card was shut down. That, and other details of the transaction, led him to conclude the credit union was probably correct that the transaction wasn’t fraudulent.

Dear Liz: In reading the story of the person with the errant charges on a debit card, I had a similar issue. I found a charge in a town where I had not traveled, at a business I was unfamiliar with. My bank wanted me to contact the business and explain my issue. I said NO! It turns out someone had “keyed” in my debit card number for a $19 charge in error. My response to my bank was that they made the error on giving away my money and that if they wanted to continue being my bank, they would resolve this issue and replace my money. It took about two weeks, but the merchant complied with the bank’s request and gave back the money.

Answer: In the original question, the transaction occurred in the questioner’s home town and the credit union said a PIN was used. It’s highly unlikely that both a debit card number and its PIN would be randomly entered in error.

But your experience highlights the problems inherent in using a debit card. Fraudulent transactions come directly out of your checking account, and you sometimes have to fight with your financial institution to get the money back.

With credit cards, you don’t have to pay the questionable charges until the credit card company investigates.

It’s vitally important to review all transactions on both debit and credit card accounts, and to question any unfamiliar charges. In this case, the merchant wasn’t clearly identified and the customer certainly has the right to push the credit union for more detail. But when all indicators point to forgetfulness rather than fraud, the reader may have to accept that the charge was legitimate after all.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

avoid-pitfallsToday’s top story: Retirement planning pitfalls you need to avoid. Also in the news: 2014 scariest credit cards, protecting yourself against credit card hacks, and three proposed changes to Social Security.

The Five Scariest Retirement Planning Pitfalls
Try to swing right over these.

2014’s scariest credit cards
How terrifying is a 36% interest rate?

7 Ways To Protect Against Credit Card Hacks
You can’t afford not to protect yourself.

Congress Proposes Three Changes To Social Security That Make Sense
For a change.

5 Things You Own That Cost More Than $500 a Gallon
You’ll never look at eye drops the same way again.

Q&A: Fraud or forgetfulness?

Dear Liz: I think I’ve been scammed, but my credit union has decided I’m simply forgetful. I noticed a debit to my checking account that I did not recognize from a merchant I cannot identify. The merchant name appears on my statement as simply “Portland Portland OR.” My credit union can tell me only that it is a used-merchandise store or secondhand store. I questioned the charge by email and replaced my card. Then I got a letter from the credit union upholding the charge, saying that my card and PIN were present at the time of the transaction. I never did learn the merchant’s name. Can this merchant really not be identified? The $10.48 in dispute is unimportant compared with the complete opacity of the supposed purchase. No name, no address, only a day and time. Is this mystery the best the banking system can do?

Answer: Your credit union could identify the merchant by contacting the card network that processed the transaction, but has apparently decided it’s not worth the effort, said Odysseas Papadimitriou, chief executive of Evolution Finance, which operates the CardHub.com card comparison site. You can demand the credit union identify the merchant for you, but there’s reason to believe this transaction is legitimate, he said.

It’s not just because a personal identification number was used, however, since PINs certainly can be stolen. Hackers have compromised keypads at Michael’s stores and Barnes & Noble, among other retail chains, while Target said encrypted PIN data were stolen in its massive database breach.
But the use of a PIN combined with the small amount of the transaction indicates the culprit here likely is forgetfulness rather than an identity thief, Papadimitriou said. ID thieves are unlikely to make one small transaction and then wait, he said.

“They try to extract the max they can before they get shut down,” Papadimitriou said.
Still, your experience should make you think twice about using a debit card for a retail transaction. With debit card fraud, you may have to fight with your financial institution to get the money back, since the transaction comes directly out of your checking account. With credit cards, you don’t have to pay a disputed transaction until the card company investigates.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

siblingsToday’s top story: The fear of outliving your retirement savings. Also in the news: Credit scores reach new highs, fun ways to teach your kids about money, and steps to protect yourself against credit fraud.

Big retirement fear: Outliving your savings
What you can do to prevent it.

Credit Scores Hit New Highs – But You Should Aim Higher
The higher the better.

4 Fun Ways to Teach Your Kids About Money
How to make teaching your kids about money fun.

9 Steps to protect against credit card fraud
Lessons from the Home Depot and Target breaches.

Help! 2 Debt Collectors Are Calling About the Same Debt
Twice the annoyances with none of the fun.