Credit Card incident, possibly Buds Gun Shop?

[NELSONs02]

First off, this may have little to do with Buds however it makes me quite suspicious about online payment methods.

I ordered a handgun from them Sunday night by using the "E-check" payment method. It's the first and only time that I've given my bank account and routing number to any online establishment. Six hours after ordering someone in Spain tried to deduct 1300.00 bucks from my account. There was also a small charge to a Super8 Motel that actually went through but it was only for about 5.00 bucks. A rep from my Credit Union called me this morning to let me know that my card and or account had been compromised and that I should basically change things up.

I'll also add that I don't really travel much. In fact, I've never been out of the country, nor have I ever been to a Super8 Motel. This is probably the most sketchy thing i've had happen to me and like I said, it may have little or nothing to do with Buds but it's a strange coincidence.

Seems like my Credit Union was really on the ball with this one. I had quite a bit of money in my checking at the time and I guess whenever there's something out of the ordinary (large deduction from an overseas ATM) they don't reward it. My advice to all of you is to watch your accounts closely and maybe try to avoid using direct payment methods all together. If you've had any similar experience recently please share it with me.

 

[docnyt]

That's an awful experience when you have your identity compromised.

(But I doubt if the mods here will let this thread stay in Legal).

 

[NELSONs02]

Now that I think about it, I do a lot of online shopping from this computer (no I'm not at work yet LOL). People could be hacking my info as I type. They might have already had my credit card numbers and just needed my account and routing number, who knows. Whoever did this is scum for sure and definitely deserves a kick in the mouth.

 

[quatin]

Are you sure your own computer isn't compromised? 99% of these cases, it's the user who had a key logger. It's much easier to infect millions of unprotected computers than it is to compromise a running server that processes bank information.

 

[NELSONs02]

That's an awful experience when you have your identity compromised.

(But I doubt if the mods here will let this thread stay in Legal).

Yeah I wasn't really sure where to put this thread. I for sure don't want it to turn into a flame-about-Buds-Thread. Buds Guns Shop is great and I will continue to do business with them.

It probably had more to do with my computer being hacked than it did with Buds Guns Shop.

 

[texas bulldog]

Were the fraudulent charges to a debit card connected to the account or by EFT to the account? If the former (which is far more common), then it wouldn't have had anything to do with the routing and account number.

I have had a card compromised once in the past and, like you, I wanted to know how the hell it happened. Unfortunately, you're not likely to ever get that answer. My bank told me it was likely my card was skimmed at some point. This could happen anywhere you hand your card to a store employee (gas station, restaurant, grocery store, etc). They swipe the card into a handheld device, which records the information. Often, that information is then sold illegally rather than used by the person who actually skimmed the card.

For a basic explanation of skimming, go here.

Good luck. Sounds like your bank caught it early. Mine wasn't quite as early but was still relatively small. A good bank (or credit union, in my case) will make this as painless as reasonably possible for you.

 

[NELSONs02]

Are you sure your own computer isn't compromised? 99% of these cases, it's the user who had a key logger. It's much easier to infect millions of unprotected computers than it is to compromise a running server that processes bank information.

Yeah that's what I just said. I'm probably going to wipe this computer out before I do anymore online transactions.

 

[Frank Ettin]

Sorry for your problem, and I hope you get everything sorted out.

I will only use a credit card for on-line transactions -- never a debit card or e-check. With a credit card, my exposure is limited to $50.00, so I'm better protected. This works because I'm able to pay my card balance in full each month.

 

[NELSONs02]

Were the fraudulent charges to a debit card connected to the account or by EFT to the account? If the former (which is far more common), then it wouldn't have had anything to do with the routing and account number.

I have had a card compromised once in the past and, like you, I wanted to know how the hell it happened. Unfortunately, you're not likely to ever get that answer. My bank told me it was likely my card was skimmed at some point. This could happen anywhere you hand your card to a store employee (gas station, restaurant, grocery store, etc). They swipe the card into a handheld device, which records the information. Often, that information is then sold illegally rather than used by the person who actually skimmed the card.

For a basic explanation of skimming, go here.

Good luck. Sounds like your bank caught it early. Mine wasn't quite as early but was still relatively small. A good bank (or credit union, in my case) will make this as painless as reasonably possible for you.

It's going to be as easy as getting a new card I think. Good info though, interesting. I thought the only way you could get skimmed was if someone physically scanned your card while in your pocket or something..... had no idea they could get the info from scanners at gas stations, stores etc...

 

[quatin]

Yeah that's what I just said. I'm probably going to wipe this computer out before I do anymore online transactions.

If you were infected by a worm, it would report your IP address to whomever is controlling the network and make you a target for re-infection. The real solution is a proper firewall (not the windows firewall crap) and a virus scanner. Before you do anything, get SpyBot S&D/HijackThis and FIND the worm on your computer. Make sure you have something that will find that worm when it tries to re-infect your computer. Then you can format your hard drive to be completely sure you're clean, but first thing you install before you connect to the internet is a firewall and virus scanner.

 

[Sky]

A Few years ago I was doing some bill pay from my bank online. The next thing I see is $30,000 from my checking and business account was taken. I would not have known but a woman called from La. wondering what she had done to earn a $1500 check from me. I contacted the bank and they did return my funds. The scammers made several checks out to people all over the country/world. Weird...I do not use online bill pay any more.

I have ordered several things online as long as it is a secure connection; I use a really good anti-virus program also. Spy-ware and Trojans are found almost every day when the computer is scanned. I was using a different anti-virus programs when the funds were taken.

 

[NELSONs02]

If you were infected by a worm, it would report your IP address to whomever is controlling the network and make you a target for re-infection. The real solution is a proper firewall (not the windows firewall crap) and a virus scanner. Before you do anything, get SpyBot S&D/HijackThis and FIND the worm on your computer. Make sure you have something that will find that worm when it tries to re-infect your computer. Then you can format your hard drive to be completely sure you're clean, but first thing you install before you connect to the internet is a firewall and virus scanner.

Thanks for the info. I just use computers though and that's about as far as I go. I do have a proper virus scanner and firewall setup though, I think. My brother-in-law is the computer guru so I let him set this stuff up.

Honestly I think my incident was more along the line of what happened to Mr. Texas Bulldog up there. I rarely ever carry around cash so I'm constantly swiping my card at different locations.

 

[quatin]

A Few years ago I was doing some bill pay from my bank online. The next thing I see is $30,000 from my checking and business account was taken. I would not have known but a woman called from La. wondering what she had done to earn a $1500 check from me. I contacted the bank and they did return my funds. The scammers made several checks out to people all over the country/world. Weird...I do not use online bill pay any more.

I have ordered several things online as long as it is a secure connection; I use a really good anti-virus program also. Spy-ware and Trojans are found almost every day when the computer is scanned. I was using a different anti-virus programs when the funds were taken.

Did you have a firewall running? If your anti-virus program starts alerting you of infection, it means you're already infected. It might not catch all the infections, especially since new viruses are written daily to avoid the software. Hence the continuous cycle of patches.

 

[NELSONs02]

A Few years ago I was doing some bill pay from my bank online. The next thing I see is $30,000 from my checking and business account was taken. I would not have known but a woman called from La. wondering what she had done to earn a $1500 check from me. I contacted the bank and they did return my funds. The scammers made several checks out to people all over the country/world. Weird...I do not use online bill pay any more.

That is very strange. 30g's from a business account is no joke. People out to just screw up your life, not even to take your money.... sick.

 

[rondog]

I ordered some Jeep parts over the phone from my office one day, and gave them my CC#'s. Within 24 hours, my bank was calling me about suspicious charges. I'm 99.9% certain a co-worker in the next cube overheard my conversation and wrote the numbers down, then went shopping. All the attempted charges were directly in line with his interests and lifestyle. Not huge charges, but he was definitely trying to enjoy life out of my pocket.

All the charges were refused and I didn't lose any money, but the police refused to even bother with it. I filed a report online, since they don't do them in person anymore, and was told they "don't have the resources to pursue small cases like this. I didn't lose anything, and the bank doesn't want to pursue it either. Go away."

Told my manager about it, he couldn't do anything either because there was no proof and the police didn't do anything. So, I still have to work with the p.o.s., but our relationship is "strained", to say the least. I never said anything to him because that would just start huge BS, but I'm sure he knows that I suspect him. I may not have "lost" any money, but IMO a crime was still committed against ME, and the fact that the Denver Police Dept. and my employer couldn't care less really pisses me off.

But I've never had a problem ordering anything on-line. My wife did though, beware of doing business online with Sports Illustrated.

 

[Sky]

Yes was running Norton.

 

[rbernie]

BTDT, but also off topic for THR.