@Arlene Richards I spoke of this before, in my case my "card" being used clear across the country for menial everyday purchases, specifically, gasoline and McDonalds. In talking to the security agent who called me, I managed to get him to admit that such buying required a "card in hand". He confirmed that there were possessors of card-making equipment, the hardware and software both, making fake cards based on good folks' cards. The entire card information stored is copied and placed on a NEW CARD, complete with name and number, then offered to folks on-line who need a credit card, but are credit unworthy. I get many such "offers" in my spam, "You are approved for a VISA......". Go there, send a hundred bucks (or however much they think they can get), and they mail a "credit card" to the person having YOUR information on it! In my case, it went like this. Voice on the phone calling me, identified with my credit card, verified my identity, readily gave me his name, badge no., and company name, asked if I had bought gas, purchased McDonalds, in Lansing, MI yesterday (2000 miles away), I said hell no. That person had a CREDIT CARD with my information on it! Mine was here in my wallet in Arizona! Took a bit of persuasive probing to get the guy to admit there were possessors of card-making equipment making and selling on-line fraudulent cards. The buyers are: either ignorant, or, hope to get away with use of the card for awhile since the REAL card holder is bonafide, and won't know of the scam for a month (one billing cycle), or even more. Frank
I had my identity stolen many years ago. It was via one of those pre-approved offers that credit card companies send to everyone, and they had sent one to an old address of mine. Someone had gotten a credit card, but a very astute employee at the credit card company noticed (back in the day of hand written applications) that the handwriting on the application looked as if it had been written by an African, not an American, and so she approved it only for $200, while she investigated. Thankfully, they found my parents phone number somewhere on my credit report and called that, and my dad let me know, so we nipped it in the bud, with only $200 having been lost. It was a big pain in the butt, though, because I had to notify the postal inspectors, SSA, etc. My mom's credit card was recently used in Jordan, of all places. My Mom hasn't left New England in decades, so it set off red flags with her credit card company.
Oh, this is so horrible, @Arlene Richards , absolutely. It happened to me earlier this year... not a credit card, but a debit card that was supposed to be so safe. I went to pay an online bill and there weren't enough funds. Well now isn't that interesting since I'd just put $800 on it?! Turns out it was a communications company in India. Took forever to get my money back but that wasn't even the end of it. The card company did their thing they have to do and determined I hadn't made the charges (formality, I know, but annoying!) and my money was put back. Would you believe that the thief place reversed the charges and tried to take it AGAIN??!!! I didn't even have to report it that time because they were watching, but it makes a person feel violated, doesn't it? My physical card wasn't stolen either... one of the places I'd used the card online was apparently hacked. Still don't know which one, but I rarely used it anyhow... so one of 3-4 places.
That happened to me earlier this year to with my PayPal debit card. It had me wondering because it was used at Staples in Richmond, and I had been to Richmond earlier that day, but I know I hadn't purchased anything at Staples. After checking to make sure I had my card, I notified PayPal who closed down that card, and sent me another. I had gotten some gas, so I was wondering if there was a skimming device on the pump. Not sure how someone got a hold of my card, number I am just glad I noticed it in a timely manner.
@Arlene Richards I wondered the same thing, but then decided there just might be some obvious difference between the two writing techniques, which I did not know about....
Yes, @Frank Sanoica is correct. Apparently, at least at that time, Africans had a specific way of writing that was different, although obviously they were forming the same letters. This was back in the 1990s, and it seems they were taught that in their investigative techniques training. I thought it was pretty clever that they could distinguish American writing from that of someone living in/from a country with a high rate of fraud. I believe it was Nigeria, but I can't remember for sure. Incidentally, someone posted in our neighborhood Facebook group yesterday that there's some sort of theft activity going on at some of the local gas stations, I believe through the use of skimmers. I always go inside to pay when I'm gassing up these days.
There are various online scams, and many of us know to be cautious when answering ads and making purchases from individuals we don't know. Here's a story about a woman who purchased a vehicle via Craigslist, then later found out that the vehicle had been stolen from a dealership. It's a cautionary tale, but has a happy ending. Here's some information about how to handle such a transaction.
I'm very careful. I don't do Craigslist or buy online unless it's from Amazon or a well known store. I've heard to many horror stories about Craigslist.
I used to buy things off Craigslist, but that was a long time ago, before the many horror stories hit the news. I was still cautious, though, it's just part of my nature. I never had a bad experience, and seeing as it's still very popular, apparently the majority who use the site do have positive transactions, but there's always a few who spoil things. There's been a rise in sales apps, and they seem to have taken some of the business away from Craigslist and the Facebook and other local sales groups. So far, I haven't had good luck with them. The people who've contacted me on the apps about items I'm selling seem to be scammers in a lot of cases, or just people unwilling to meet my terms, so I haven't completed a transaction on them.
In the earlier days of online shopping, I have a colleague who was almost scammed. The transaction was the sale of a Korean made microwave oven that is very cheap. But my colleague was not wary of such scams that she would have proceeded with the payment - it was via a cellphone loading station where you can send money to an anonymous person with the phone number as the only identification. We still have that here, it is called Smart Padala. When my colleague's husband asked why not a bank deposit which is the norm when paying for an online transaction, that got her thinking. And when she inquired of a bank account, the reply was.... the item was already sold, sorry.
Thanks for the information. Though I relinquished my license and won't buy a car any longer, it's good to read articles about purchases of any kind, I feel. I went with my old boyfriend when I was buying a second hand car and wasn't comfortable with the second hand car, so I didn't buy it. I always go with someone knowledgeable about buying what I'm buying and I don't go alone ever for in person purchases of cars. I was lucky for my cousin became a mechanic and I could rely on him too for second hand car purchases. With the sale that KIA had selling brand new cars for under a hundred a month payments I'd buy a new KIA on sale and wait for these kinds of sales.
One thing I don't do is "Like" everything I read about or see on Facebook. Also, don't "Accept" (Friend) everyone that Facebook says I should know. If we don't know the person, we don't "Friend" them. One thing I'm not is "gullible"!