Bold New Scammers

[aehurst]

Got a call yesterday from a guy who said he represented Windows operating system. Seems Windows is rife with viruses and such and this was a new Windows service to protect me from identity theft and loss of personal information.

He had my full name and address (it's in the phone book). I played along to the point he asked me to log into a web site so they could sweep my computer clean.

Started to cooperate to a point. But, alas, I am not comfortable enough with my computer skills/knowledge to get too close to the edge, so I backed out without going to the web page. Told him I was on a Mac; he hung up on me.

[benwiggy]

There's lots of that about. There are some very good articles on ArsTechnica about people who have played the scammers, setting up a virtual machine for them to get into, and then serve them up viruses named "Bank Details".

Sometimes I play along, or ask them to clarify what they mean. "You are leaving error messages on the internet." I figure if they're wasting their time with me, they're not hooking some poor sap.

[aehurst]

It's getting scary. I get several emails a week from my bank saying there has been potentially fraudulent charges to my credit card and I should click on the link. Three weeks ago I got one of those only with a phone number to call, not a link. I instead called the number on the back of my credit card.... damn thing was real. Had two fraudulent charges to my card a couple hours earlier. Bank picked up on it and sent me an email. CC closed immediately and the charges reversed.

And that's why I never use a debit card for anything but an ATM machine at my local bank.

[benwiggy]

For a genuine fraud on your card, the bank will refund you the loss, as you say.
I use my debit and credit card everywhere and never once been cloned.

I did have a new card mysteriously fail to turn up in the post, and it got used up and down the High Street till my account ran dry. But the bank gave me emergency funds and restored all the money, as it was clearly linked to the new card.

[freelunch]

Quote: Originally Posted by benwiggy I did have a new card mysteriously fail to turn up in the post

Same thing happened to me. In the process that followed to recover all my money, the bank insisted all correspondence be by registered post. I said if they sent my card to me by registered post in the first place, none of this would have happened.

In the end, as you say, I was not out of pocket. Only out of patience.

[aehurst]

Quote: Originally Posted by benwiggy For a genuine fraud on your card, the bank will refund you the loss, as you say. I use my debit and credit card everywhere and never once been cloned.

If the bad charges go to your debit card, the money is taken from your checking account opening the door for bounced checks, for say the mortgage, car payment, plus all the associated charges for bounced checks. It will be refunded by the bank if you act responsibly in reporting it.... but you will have a mess to clean up if you don't catch it almost immediately. A bad credit card charge, however, need only be rejected when you get your monthly statement.

In the US, credit card fraud is governed by federal law. The most you can possibly lose is limited to $150. On the other hand, the debit card is guaranteed by your bank with the BANK'S policy and procedure which can vary from bank to bank. If, in the bank's opinion, you were careless with your pin number, delayed reporting loss of the card or the fraudulent charges, or allowed someone else to use your card, etc., you could be in a fight with your bank over the refund.

Suspect in most cases one card is as good as the other, but I feel better knowing I have the protection of federal law, and I will not be left without any funds while trying to settle the dispute. Yeah, I'm a bit paranoid.

[NovaScotian]

I have always had two credit cards, one with a rather low limit and the other reasonably high. The low one is for online transaction and places I don't like the look of. I use my debit card only at ATMs, a provincial liquor store, a trusted tobacco shop, and the dentist. The best safety check in my opinion is to look at your PC banking page at least once a day. Mine shows both credit cards, my checking account and my savings account.

[aehurst]

Nothing beats a daily check of your accounts. I keep a spare credit card I never use in a lock box at home.... just in case I lose the wallet or something I won't miss a lick.

[Jay Carr]

Quote: Originally Posted by NovaScotian I have always had two credit cards, one with a rather low limit and the other reasonably high. The low one is for online transaction and places I don't like the look of. I use my debit card only at ATMs, a provincial liquor store, a trusted tobacco shop, and the dentist. The best safety check in my opinion is to look at your PC banking page at least once a day. Mine shows both credit cards, my checking account and my savings account.

That's pretty sharp. I keep thinking of doing a similar thing but with two separate bank accounts, one with discretionary spending money and one for bills.

Though these days mostly I use Pay-Pal for anything I'm not entirely certain of (for example, when I recently bought Windows 8 for Boot Camp, I don't trust this Microsoft company). Though I do wonder just how secure PayPal actually is.