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Confused/angered over credit card fraud!

by DavidO
10 replies
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Just the other day I detected fraudulent use of my business acount ATM card and I'm completely flabbergasted about how my bank is handling it. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience and if the way I've been treated is standard procedure.

Reviewing my account online I discovered a charge of $3.32 to my business account ATM card. The payment was to a McDonalds in Mexico City! I've never even been to Mexico!

Even though the amount was small it's still fraud and these *******s have my card number. So I called Bank of America to report it. They were very nonchalant about the whole thing and told me I had to file a claim with VISA to recover the funds.

Now is when it gets more interesting. The following day I had a second charge from Mexico City but this time for $208. The payment still showed "pending". I immediately called B of A and they said unusual activity had already been detected and the account was flagged. Apparently the fraudsters had been trying higher amounts. Luckily, my account balance was low at this time.

So then I asked them to confirm that the $208 charge would be cancelled, due to the fact that it wasn't paid yet and was identified as fraud...

But NO! The answer was that the only one who could cancel it is the merchant in Mexico City (who could very well be in on the fraud!).

So I watched it for two more days in pending status and finally today it was paid. Now my only recourse is to make a claim with Visa for a refund.

I'm totally taken aback by this... a clearly illegal transaction, detected well in advance, but they're unwilling to stop it and prevent my loss!

Is this just the way it works? If so, something is very wrong!
  • Profile picture of the author jmidas
    Funny you mention it was BofA. About 18 months ago, I had a BofA checking account with visa debit card I didn't use much - in fact I had not used it for almost a year. It had about 500-600 dollars in it and it was my fault for forgetting about it. Then, I noticed a charge for $32 on the card for the previous month and the current month. At first, I ignored it (my fault) as I thought it was maybe something I had done (I have several continuity subscriptions, but didnt think I would use a debit account for one, but who knows, I could have).

    Then the next month, another one for the same thing was there. I first called the number on the statement and found out that "I" had ordered one of those online free credit reports and that was the monthly charge for the membership "I" had signed up for. They would not cancel it, as they said I did not know the name who set up the account (no kidding). So, I called BofA, who told me I needed to call the police in the area where the fraudulent charge occured. They would not reverse or dispute the charges - basically they told me I was on my own.

    I called the police, too. I had to leave a message with he so-called fraud unit. No response. A second call, no response. Another call back to BofA, no help.

    Finally, I just went in and closed the account. Problem solved. I was out about $90 but it fixed the problem. The police never did return my call, but BofA called me a week later to find out why I closed my account. A-holes.

    So, to wrap up this long story, just go in and close the account this morning and tell BofA to screwoff.
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    Its an interesting story. It shows me that the US is not the only country now that makes the laws of the corporations more important than the laws for the consumers.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Well, I once SWORE I would NEVER do business with B of A! They had TOO MANY problems. Alas, I started a corporation, and the resident agent used THEM! Further, I was in Virginia, without a car, and B of A was the ONLY bank I knew of that I could easily get to, so I opened ANOTHER. I have over $3000 of stale checks!

    Another company I HATE is MBNA!!!!!!! They create TONS of affiliate arrangements, have a HIGH "default rate"(The rate they pay "BY DEFAULT"), and are VERY strict! A day late, and they could switch to the default rate. A 5% card can become a 35% card VERY quick. Well, I guess MBNA had some problems. Any guess as to who bought them?

    YEP! B of A! And B of A seems to have adopted MBNAs way of doing business, so their credit cards are WORSE! I now check my credit lines TWICE a month!

    BTW the banks are REQUIRED to handle the credit lines properly. STILL, I had this same EXACT problem with American Express. TECHNICALLY though, they weren't considered a credit card. Maybe they skirted by on a technicality. And I once had an account at security pacific, and the "merchant" did ALSO! They sided with that merchant. I wouldn't fight over the ~$30 charge. They ALSO tried to steal a paycheck of mine! That was about $400, so I countered EVERY claim, and when they "provisionally credited" me, I closed the account! TODAY, both SPNB AND the merchant are BANKRUPT! Interestingly, B of A bought Security Pacific!

    So three of the banks I hate the WORST are rolled into B of A!

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I have had fraud on my accounts a few times - I'm with US Bank. All I had to do was fill out a form with the fraud dept and things got fixed. One took 4 months because it was a subscription that charged me after I had already cancelled. I almost didn't get that one approved but I changed my account and let that one just simmer until the money came back. I was able only to dispute that time because they had charged me but did not give me access to services - and a few other cute tricks. Bitch that ran the company told me I was stupid - the ensuing investigation came close to shutting her butt down completely. She shouldn't have pissed me off like that. LOL.
    The other two fraud incidents were just real quick fixes.

    If you are going to open an account anywhere, it really pays to find out how they handle fraud before handing them your money. If you have been defrauded and they won't do anything about it, you need to open a complaint with your local bank regulatory dept - if congress hasn't shut em down since the bailout.
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  • Profile picture of the author derekwong28
    It looks like that either your credit card details were hacked or that it was copier from a precious receipt. It is obvious that MacDonald's was a test transaction. Once the theives knew that it worked, they went on to higher and higher amounts.

    You must first make sure that no further suspicious transactions will be incurred again. You have to make absolutely sure with BofA, or else you should cancel you card immediately. It seems that the merchant reserved the second charge and then carried out the transaction when he felt that it was "genuine". You will definitely win the chargeback.

    Still the service from BofA is horrible. Another thing which many people do not know is that it is very dangerous to use credit cards to pay for subscriptions. This is how so many people got scammed by rebills or forced continuity. The merchant can keep on rebilling unless he agrees to cancel the subscription. Of course, you can always raise a chargeback but it is a lot of work. If you find yourself in such a position, I would recommend that you report the card as lost straightaway.

    Derek
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    • Profile picture of the author DavidO
      UPDATE: After waiting nearly a week with the fraudulent charge on pending status it was finally paid to the merchant in Mexico City.

      So I then spoke to B of A claims as instructed. I have to say that they handled it very well and the money was back in my account the next day.

      But I still can't understand how they can let a fraudulent transaction close when it was recognized and reported days in advance. I just can't get my head around this.
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        Originally Posted by DavidO View Post

        UPDATE: After waiting nearly a week with the fraudulent charge on pending status it was finally paid to the merchant in Mexico City.

        So I then spoke to B of A claims as instructed. I have to say that they handled it very well and the money was back in my account the next day.

        But I still can't understand how they can let a fraudulent transaction close when it was recognized and reported days in advance. I just can't get my head around this.
        ALL the banks seem to claim they can't handle a charge until it actually appears on the bill. 8-( They ALSO claim they can never find you to pay back certain funds and that theey can't hold a credit on a credit card! Talk about FRAUD! Those 2 things have taken over $15,000 USD from me!

        Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author rpewitt
    easy solution if you supect faur is to close the card immediately by notifing the instuiion of the charge and request the card be canceled also notifiy th credit burios of possible credit faud using your name for they can put a watch on your credit.
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  • Profile picture of the author vagabondette
    This is why I don't do business with big box banks and why I recommend to my clients that they avoid them as well. I have yet to meet a person who had a problem with a box bank that was solved without huge frustration. I personally use a local credit union and I have an account with ING because I love how their savings accounts are set up (you can have unlimited sub-accounts under a single savings account which makes budgeting and goal planning a breeze).

    I haven't stepped foot in the credit union since I opened the account and I've lived in 2 countries and 4 states since opening it and it's never been an issue. I only had a problem once when the froze my card because I'd used it in Prague without telling them I'd be going there. I called them and it was unfrozen within an hour and they'd credited $20 to my account to cover my phone charges (I was calling from Europe).

    My suggestion: avoid box banks like the plague. Go with smaller banks or credit unions if you want any level of service.
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