hey everybody! this morning when i checked my bank account it said that i had used my card in georgia twice. i live in ohio. i have been working all week! i have not been using my card in georgia! i called the bank and had my card cancelled and talked to them about what i needed to do to dispute the charges. my bank does not require a police report unless the person that used the card was somebody i knew (some banks required a police report no matter what). they recommended filing a police report so i am planning on doing that after work.

what i found out when i got to work was that this is a pretty common thing. three of my co-workers have dealt with similar situations. i asked at the bank how this happens. she said sometimes it can be because you use your card on the internet (from now on i will buy a prepaid visa card from wal-mart) or someone can get the number from your card when you use it (like at a restaurant). i know there are two restaurants in my hometown that if you use your card your number shows up on the receipt. since noticing that i've always blacked it out. so be sure to always check the copy you are giving back to make sure your number isn't on it. i'm not saying it was them, i'm just giving you an example. i do know one of the restaurants had a worker that got in trouble for doing this though.

anyhow, just wanted to tell you guys to be careful, especially with the holiday's coming up! you know people get crazy around holiday's!!

Thank you for the reminder! That's scarry stuff. I'm sorry that happened to you.

Thanks for the warning
I never use my credit card in stores/restaurants. Only online. Mostly just for booking airline tickets, and purchases from Sears. Thats about it.
But people really do need to be careful.

Did you call Visa and tell them this is not yours. They will usually cancel the charge , I have had this happen to me, one time the charge was over $400, I did not have to pay it.

i went to my bank and disputed the charge. the money will be returned to my account w/in 5 business days. i have 60 days to dispute any other charges, which shouldn't be neccessary since the card is cancelled.

My card was canceled, too and several months later my bank called and said someone had tried to use it, of course it didn't work because it was canceled.

Interesting thing about people I know with card thefts. In both cases it was tracked down to a manual transaction. One in Brasil, the other at a local gas station. It's really important with a carbon transaction (old-style manual type) that you keep the carbons.

I've been through this several times. The last time, the offender actually used my checking account/routing numbers! Then it hit me, no matter how you pay your bills, our account numbers are everywhere for the general public to see. I have also been to restaurants where the account number is on the receipt. I won't leave it on the table, I give it directly to the waitress. I've even mentioned to the management before that account numbers show up on the receipt. It's hard to stay protected these days!

i always black out the account number outside of the last 4 numbers, which is what is usually on a card. it's a crazy world we live in!

Federal law states that restaurants and other merchants are supposed to remove all but the last five digits of the credit card from the customer receipt. I work in the restaurant biz and have had to reprogram a number of credit card readers to mask the number. It isn't required to remove the number from the restaurant copy (in case they have to reprocess the card for some reason and their CC company doesn't have the number on file) and that is where some get in trouble - they just make duplicate copies of the one receipt for the customer to sign one and keep one. The restaurant can pay pretty hefty fines for leaving the entire number on. It is considered a 'non-criminal offense' so they can't be prosecuted, but they can be sanctioned.

If you see your entire number on the customer copy or if you receive a duplicate with the number on it always tell the manager. I've had people tell me that they can't change the display, but they absolutely can if they put a little time into it.

Wow, I've never checked for that on restaurant receipts, I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

It's another good reason to not use debit cards connected to your checking account for much of anything... if someone gets that number, they can take actual funds right out of your account! I never use a debit card (even though I do have one)... always a credit card, and just pay it off online. One extra step that gets you a lot of added security.

Been there, done that...twice already! Actually, it was the hubby's card and we did have to file a police report before they would give us the money back. The second time some stupid person tried to pay their $400 electric bill, a $300+ cable bill and something else. No idea how he got the info and they wouldn't charge the guy even though they had his info. Anyway...it was a pain.

We also heard that another way people are doing this is when they are out of sight with your card they take a picture of your info with their cell phone.

I don't use my debit card often and have not had this happen but poor hubby, that's twice for him and he is being extra careful now, I hope.

Several years ago, I had my wallet stolen and the thieves used my credit cards and my debit card because it was also attached to a credit card. I now only carry one credit card unless I intend to actually use the other one and I had the credit card capabilities taken off my debit card so there is no access to it without the pin number. I am selective where I use the debit card. However, that is no protection. Not long ago someone at a supermarket attached a device to the debit machine at a cash register that recorded the account numbers and pin numbers. They were caught but you can bet there are other thieves out there doing the same thing.

thanks for the reminder!

I use "virtual" numbers for 2 of my cards when shopping online. You sign up for them on your credit card website. The number generated is not your account number. The merchant doesn't know that. It is just a number generated randomly but tied to your account and is a one time use only number.

It's great!