Some asshat stole my checking account

**doublediamond223** · 11-06-2006, 01:29 AM

I logged into my chase online statement tonight to see if my amazon.com book purchase had hit yet. My balance on checking read zero, and my savings had gone down by a hundred bucks. I looked at the history, and 2 western union payments for 500 each were sitting there, plus some other random charge from wisconsin, and numerous overdrawal fees because the assholes took more out than I had in the account.

I called chase to find out wtf was going on, and the only human I could speak to was in the debit card loss department. He confirmed that my debit card number had been stolen, and that I needed to contact the dispute department in the morning to sort things out. He assured me I would not be liable for the fraudulent charges or the overdrawal fees.

Even though I will likely suffer no monetary loss from this, it is a royal PITA.

I don't see how it could have happened, as I'm pretty careful with where I buy online. I hope the fuckers who did it get caught and charged with federal fraud.

**cj001f** · 11-06-2006, 01:31 AM

Originally Posted by doublediamond223

I hope the fuckers who did it get caught and charged with federal fraud.

Good luck finding a law enforcement agency that gives a rats ass. The cops don't care, your bank doesn't care, nobody cares but you. Fucking bullshit it is

**bio-smear** · 11-06-2006, 01:39 AM

Same thing happened to my dad. His van was broken into in a hotel parking lot and a few cards stolen from a bank bag. They'd spent a shitload of money before dawn. Cops didn't give a fuck about details or any helpful information that could have lead to busting them.

**mrw** · 11-06-2006, 07:45 AM

My wife runs retail stores. last Christmas, someone got into the back room and stole her Visa Mac. She discovered the loss within minutes of the theft.She was on the phone with the bank and they were saying well, there goes a $1000. at the Polo store ,there goes another $1000. there, on and on. Over $6000. was stolen before the card was shut down. My wife went to the individual stores in the mall that she worked and obtained the video footage of the woman using the card to make the purchases. she then called the Philadelphia Police who did.....nothing. They didn't even want to take the report. No one cares

**Cono Este** · 11-06-2006, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by cj001f

Good luck finding a law enforcement agency that gives a rats ass. The cops don't care, your bank doesn't care, nobody cares but you. Fucking bullshit it is

Sadly, this is true. I can personally vouch for the fact that nobody cares either. We fill up our jails with low level criminals, while the smart criminal, often operating offshore, steals big money everyday. And Western Union drives the getaway car everytime. It absolutely sickens me. I went throught the effort of hiring a PI to track all the people that were ripping me off, collected depositions, supeonaed westrn union records, found proof of every imaginable type of fraud you can find, no one gave a shit. My sister is a fed, and after she personally delivered my complaint to a collgue, she was told, that they do not prosecute these people unless it is greater than 2 million dollars and some kind of class action. In your example, forget it, the bank will cover their ass, and the feds will point the finger at them. You will get it back though, but even if you found the fucker who did it, they wouldnt do a damn thing.

When you personally see for yourself, what people are getting away with in this country, and how law abiding people have little protection from any of it, it changes your whole view of this fucked up country. Much easier to just lean on the working man and siphon away his money, than chase some pro.

The real irony though, is that if they caught the fucker, the fines the govt would impose upon them for wire fraud, would superceed any civil claim, or restitution you had against them. So even if they did go after these schmuck's, just like Elliot SPitzer's fines, the govt will end up with YOUR money first. Laughable.

**hick** · 11-06-2006, 09:16 AM

I found myself in a similar situation last week. Some fucktard spent $2300 on a Western Union money order purchased in MO and sent to the UK. I live in MT. Last time it happened to my wife through pay pal, this time it was my card # and I believe they accessed it through paypal also. FUCK paypal. I'm done with that shit. This is a pain in the ass and I know the dipshit who got my card # will never be caught. I just want my 2300 back!

**bio-smear** · 11-06-2006, 10:47 AM

But, if you pulled some quality Veronica Mars detective work, and located said criminal, went Wild West Saloon-style and beat the holy living fucking shit out of them, the police would not hesitate to haul your ass in. Violent crimes get all the attention. Pffft.

**Donkey Punch** · 11-06-2006, 10:52 AM

Same thing happened about a year ago to my GF she has her debit card and pin number stolen. AThe bank told her that they would not cover her losses and that she was responsible for them because she obviously gave someone her PIN number. Well she called her mom who works at a bank in Jackson and got all of the federal information that very clearly explained that the bank had to cover the loss till it was proven that she was responsible for the fraud. The dumb slut at the bank even looked at her statement and said "well it says here that it was just used in Romania yesterday, how do we know you didn't go there and just get back?" And right under that charge there was a local charge at a Laramie Mini Mart not 10 minutes later. I guess the world is just full of dumbasses.

**Cono Este** · 11-06-2006, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by bio-smear

But, if you pulled some quality Veronica Mars detective work, and located said criminal, went Wild West Saloon-style and beat the holy living fucking shit out of them, the police would not hesitate to haul your ass in. Violent crimes get all the attention. Pffft.

You took the words right out of my mouth. Reminds me of that movie Pacific Height's. The smart fuckers, know how to trap you good, and use the law to protect themselves, whiel they fuck you.

Open season on America, criminal's have right's here.

**Stone-Free** · 11-06-2006, 10:58 AM

That sux DD, I hope they get it resolved for you quick.

Originally Posted by Donkey Punch

The dumb slut at the bank even looked at her statement and said "well it says here that it was just used in Romania yesterday, how do we know you didn't go there and just get back?"

I would have went Norman Bates on the biz-natch...

**bcd** · 11-06-2006, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by doublediamond223

I don't see how it could have happened, as I'm pretty careful with where I buy online. I hope the fuckers who did it get caught and charged with federal fraud.

I don't know if that necessarily how people get your info. I recently had someone putting charges on a card that I hadn't used in 18 months, and never used for online purchases (and was still in my possession).
That's why they questioned the charges and called me about it. Luckily I wasn't responsible for anything.

In cases like this I think the retailer is responsible for the charges, since they failed to get the proper information (ID, CVV2, or even the correct exp. date). That's probably why the credit card companies don't seem to care.

**upallnight** · 11-06-2006, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by hick

I found myself in a similar situation last week. Some fucktard spent $2300 on a Western Union money order purchased in MO and sent to the UK. I live in MT. Last time it happened to my wife through pay pal, this time it was my card # and I believe they accessed it through paypal also. FUCK paypal. I'm done with that shit. This is a pain in the ass and I know the dipshit who got my card # will never be caught. I just want my 2300 back!

that sucks. why do you believe/know it was paypal?

so much of our information is out there, daily, in 1000s of places. in most cases it would be very difficult to track down a single source that is at-fault.

**upallnight** · 11-06-2006, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by bcd

In cases like this I think the retailer is responsible for the charges, since they failed to get the proper information (ID, CVV2, or even the correct exp. date). That's probably why the credit card companies don't seem to care.

speaking of which, everyone and their grandmother asks for the CVV2 these days, so that information is floating out there.

is the CVV2 not encoded on the magnetic strip, which is what made it effective since one had to have the card in possession to get a valid #, whereas in the past all one needed were valid visa/MC 16-digit #s?

just about every online/phone purchase requires the CVV2 now, so i'm imagining that is stored everywhere and will easily be compromised.

**Staggerwing** · 11-06-2006, 11:40 AM

The only way to get any action cooking on this issue would be for the criminal types started pulling this BS on some high level politicos, law enforcement types, judges and prosecutors.

On tomorrows local ballot is a sales tax increase to fund a new county jail, with the promise that it will make our hood safer. Yeah, right. The majority of currently housed inmates are lower level hoodlums and minor drug offenders; people that would be better, and more cheaply, served by rehab, psychological intervention and work training. They are far easier to catch and incarcerate. And, they can always point to a full jail as evidence of doing a bang up job.

**hick** · 11-06-2006, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by upallnight

that sucks. why do you believe/know it was paypal?

so much of our information is out there, daily, in 1000s of places. in most cases it would be very difficult to track down a single source that is at-fault.

Yes, I'm making a leap of faith accusation, but paypal is deffinately where my wife's account info was compromised (got it through ebay and the crooks were having a hayday bidding on Barbie dolls, bid 10 grand on one!) We have closed our ebay accounts. I have recently recieved a bunch of paypal spoofs, or (maybe real) saying my account has been compromised. Past experience just led me to believe it was through paypal. I havn't used my card online in quite some time, I guess I just enjoy hating paypal and since I'll never really know where my info was taken from they will be the target where I will vent my frustration. HA!

**dk_alaskan** · 11-06-2006, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by bcd

I don't know if that necessarily how people get your info. I recently had someone putting charges on a card that I hadn't used in 18 months, and never used for online purchases (and was still in my possession).
That's why they questioned the charges and called me about it. Luckily I wasn't responsible for anything.
.

I had something similar happen me about 5 years ago. I recieved several calls from my bank asking me if i was in Peru. It turns out someone had found an old credit card laying aorund with the same numbers on it, the only problem being the expiration date was OLD. They shut it down right away and i was not responsible for any of the charges. Guess i got lucky

**pappag** · 11-06-2006, 02:02 PM

For credit card instances, carry American Express next time. You are not held accountable for any fraudulent purchases.

**StormDay** · 11-06-2006, 02:56 PM

That sux.

I have been hit with 2 cases of check fraud in the last 14 months. Both times Wells Fargo Fraud dept found it before me. The first time the whole process was pretty painless to get a new account number. This time (still dealing with it after 3 weeks) things got all fucked up and it has taken me hours on the phone with Wells to things straighten things out. (2 hours today alone)

I will not lose any money directly, but the time hit for me (self-employed contractor) is huge. Plus, I really don’t need any more stress in my life.

DD – Good luck. Hopefully, things get worked out quickly.

**cj001f** · 11-06-2006, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by dk_alaskan

I had something similar happen me about 5 years ago. I recieved several calls from my bank asking me if i was in Peru. It turns out someone had found an old credit card laying aorund with the same numbers on it, the only problem being the expiration date was OLD. They shut it down right away and i was not responsible for any of the charges. Guess i got lucky

No shit you did - people DESTROY ANY CREDIT CARD YOU ARE NOT USING

**doublediamond223** · 11-06-2006, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by snoogens

For credit card instances, carry American Express next time. You are not held accountable for any fraudulent purchases.

I just ordered one. I'm switching to it in all instances where I would have used my debit card. They are also great about reversing charges when you get screwed by ebay/paypal.

**dk_alaskan** · 11-06-2006, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by cj001f

No shit you did - people DESTROY ANY CREDIT CARD YOU ARE NOT USING

the card was not mine, some dumb ass forgot to destroy their old card and someone looking to thieve decided to give it a try i guess.

**dk_alaskan** · 11-06-2006, 04:02 PM

Amex gaurantees everything you buy, from what i have read, for life. Another good reason for Amex. If you get the Costco Amex. you get 2% back on all purchases to boot

**rideit** · 11-06-2006, 04:13 PM

Originally Posted by dk_alaskan

I had something similar happen me about 5 years ago. I recieved several calls from my bank asking me if i was in Peru.

Man, I was SO pissed off at you!

**pappag** · 11-06-2006, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by dk_alaskan

Amex gaurantees everything you buy, from what i have read, for life. Another good reason for Amex. If you get the Costco Amex. you get 2% back on all purchases to boot

Not sure if for the platinum only, but almost all purchases (excluding animals and the like) are guaranteed for up to 3 months. You get your money back if lost or stolen, up to $50,000 per year.

Originally Posted by doublediamond223

I just ordered one. I'm switching to it in all instances where I would have used my debit card. They are also great about reversing charges when you get screwed by ebay/paypal.

Their customer service is, in my opinion, second to none. They almost always give you the benefit of the doubt and rarely question you about disputes involving unathorized charges. If a merchant ever refuses to accept a returned item, American Express refunds you the full amount almost all the time.

And for those that balk at the annual fees ($85 for gold and $395 for platinum), believe me, it is WELL worth it and you will actually end up getting it back.

**mnflyfish** · 11-06-2006, 05:01 PM

You'll never find a law enforcement person that will give a shit about this. I had my car broken into a number of years ago, pre-online shopping, and the jackass got my Saks card, which I only opened 'cause the chick was hot at the "open a credit card counter". I get a call about 3 weeks after the break-in, I had no idea what was even in the car, I was in college and the herb was still under the seat so I wasn't too worried.

Well, the person on the other end was from Saks confirming the shipping address for my new $3000 suit. After a ton of time on the phone canceling the order and getting the account closed, I was smart enough to write down the shipping address for the purchase. Got off the phone,called the cops,and they said because the suit wasn't delivered technically there was no crime committed. WTF??? So after 5 phone calls to those who are there to protect and serve, I took matters into my own hands, got a reverse phone book from the library, and paid a visit to our fashionable criminal. Lets just say I got all my shit back and a great deal of satisfaction.

So, good luck to you. I know folks take this more seriously now than they used to but you're pretty much on your own here. Might I suggest dog shit and car door handles!

Good Luck,
Jay