I had a credit card fraud investigation initiated on my Capital One No Hassle credit card this morning. Someone tried to charge $72 and change to tigerdirect.com at 2 am this morning. Somehow, someway, the credit card fraud investigation team knew it was not of my doing and denied the charge. Good for them. I received an email this morning with a phone number to call the Capital One credit card fraud investigation unit. I never know if these emails are real or not with all the phishing going on these days. So I pulled my credit card out of my wallet and called the number on the back of the card. They transferred me to the credit card fraud investigator working on my account. She asked me to verify my identity with my home phone number.
Mrs Happy and I recently joined millions of other Americans by canceling our land line and going with just our cell phones. The only calls I ever got were from police unions looking for non tax deductible donations to support their cause, what ever that is. She then asked me to hang up and she called me back on my cell phone. This credit card fraud investigator then told me that a 2 am charge to tigerdirect.com (an online electronics dealership) was declined. I'm not sure what flagged the charge but they did and thankfully they declined it.
I just realized I was a victim of credit card fraud. She canceled my account and issued Mrs Happy and I new cards (5-7 business days). She said all recurring charges should transfer and I didn't need to do anything else except reenter my bank information for online payments. They said they would open up an investigation into the activity.
I just realized I was a victim of credit card fraud. She canceled my account and issued Mrs Happy and I new cards (5-7 business days). She said all recurring charges should transfer and I didn't need to do anything else except reenter my bank information for online payments. They said they would open up an investigation into the activity.
Until we get our new cards, we're going to have to use our debit cards. I guess that means no rewards dollars for the next week or two. I haven't used my debit card in years. There's no reason to use a debit card when you have all the protections of a credit card and you get money back with every purchase. I've built up hundreds of dollars in cash back rewards just waiting to be spent on something fun. And I haven't paid a cent of credit card interest in years.
People love to hate credit card companies because they take advantage of people. But people take advantage of credit card companies as well. People who use credit cards responsibly can sit back and enjoy all the benefits without the risk of credit card fraud knowing that merchant payments and other people's interest payments help pay for the security of a strong credit card fraud investigation system.
I've been a victim twice before of credit card fraud. Once in medical school I accidentally left my credit card at a bar and the next day I realized someone had charged $100 worth of midnight snacks on my card. The other time I had a fraudulent charge show up from an ice cream shop. I've lost my wallet once before, but fortunately no fraud came out of that. A big thank you goes out to the credit card fraud investigation team at Capital One for a job well done.
