Debit Card Theft

[Vihzel]

My friend (yes, an actual friend)'s car was broken into today and they took her debit card and ID. She told me that all but $20 of her money was taken out of her account and is freaking out because she has to wait like 10 days now to get a response after making the claim. She said that the thief or thieves withdrew multiple times from different banks and said that they tried to deposit a check into another account because I guess they somehow got a hold of her account #. Her bank is aware of this and I assume will be looking into it very soon or have already started.

I was telling her that there's really no way for them to get away with this since the banks have the faces of those criminals since they had to withdraw from them and that the deposit into another account is the paper trail that will lead to the account's info of whoever stole her debit card.

I just wanted to get your opinions on this. I feel that she's pretty safe and that she will get her money back with her protection program and there's definite evidence of unusual activity and now an attempted deposit. Is she pretty safe though with the events that have happened?

I have no idea how they were able to get her account information if they didn't ask the bank teller. Wouldn't the bank teller have to have definitive proof though that the person withdrawing the money was the actual person? If they showed the teller the ID, wouldn't the teller immediately know that it's not the same person withdrawing from the account? That's the only part that is really puzzling and seems to be a security breach.

I really do hope that she gets her money back because she had a few thousand that's now in someone else's hands.

 

[olbriar]

I hope your friend gets her money back. Plastic transfers can get ugly quickly. Last fall after a fun week in Vegas I was notified that two plane tickets from Vegas to Paris were purchased on my debit card. (not my charges) I had only used my card to buy a couple of cigars so I knew where my card info had been breeched. It took two weeks before the money was returned to my account by my bank. It was deposited pending their investigation. It was nearly two months later when I received an official notice that I was cleared of the charges and I could spend my own money without concerns of having to return it to the bank. My story is to point out that even if your friend wins her case of theft/fraud, it might be some time before she actually has her money returned and free to spend. I hope it all works out for her.

 

[karandpr]

Probably a pre planned theft
They get a look alike of your friend (Almost look alike )

Usually some pissed relative/friend/colleague gives those details about her .
Or some guy who just knows her daily routine

Is she safe .Nope ,not until you catch the guy who provides details .

 

[Bomfy]

Getting a account number isn't terribly hard. They are on checks and deposit slips. I've seen people us their last check and toss the register, still with deposit slips, in the trash.

Your friend will get the money back, it will just take a really long time. Even if they had a look alike there will be someway to prove it's not your friend.

I had my info lifted once. I made the mistake of using the ATM in my fiends store. His WiFi wasn't secure and someone jacked my info. I knew it was there because I really try to never us my card unless at my bank's ATMs. Luckily the idiots who got my info and made fake cards (I think) used them in two different states within an hour and that set things off and caused an account hold and for me to get a call. I had my money back in about 25 minutes.

The worst was my old boss used the guest computer at a resort in Cabo a couple years ago and there was a keylogger or something on it. They got everything; email passwords, credit card, banks, investments, and more. They waited until he was on his return flight and drained everything. It took about a year to straighten everything out. At least he found the humor in it, they spent over a grand on porn.

 

[batgeek]

thanks for deleting my post.

if the critisism can't be taken, it shouldn't be posted on a PUBLIC message board.

 

[EarlyMon]

The board may be public but rules for posting are dictated by the private individuals that own it, and you agreed to be responsible to them when you were granted an account here.

Chief point of those rules is to nurture an environment of politeness.

Questioning intelligence or social fitness under the circumstances did not seem terribly polite.

Neither is public sarcasm against a volunteer staff member. Our doors are always, always open. In future if you need polite consideration of deleted posts, a nice PM will be answered in kind.

 

[NYCHitman1]

How did they withdraw money from ATM with her card? Don't you ALWAYS need the secure pin in order to get into the account regardless?

 

[gamergotgame90]

The money takes about 2 weeks to be returned to your account which sucks. But that is the good thing about having a visa or mastercard backed card you will get your money back if it is used illegally. When I was on vacation in New Orleans someone got a hold of the # for my cc and make a dummy cc and had a shopping spree at Babies R Us Toys R Us Walmart Supercenter and Sports Authority. My card was frozen and I couldn't use it on vacation. Fortunately my family helped my boyfriend and I out but otherwise we would have been totally screwed.

 

[lordofthereef]

Who does she bank with? I bank with Well's Fargo (and while they suck in many ways), they have a great fraud program. I lost my wallet and something similar happened (it was online purchases, not an ATM withdrawal. They told me 10 days too, but they got the money back to me within 3. I just had to sign stating that I agreed that the account activity was, indeed, fraudulent.

 

[Vihzel]

She banks with Bank of America, so it's a good thing that it's a big name bank in this case. I always feel safer dealing with big banks when something goes wrong vs. a small bank with less resources.

How did they withdraw money from ATM with her card? Don't you ALWAYS need the secure pin in order to get into the account regardless?

They didn't withdraw from an ATM. They withdrew with a bank teller. That's most likely how they got the account # because they could've just asked the teller, pretending that they forgot.

 

[lordofthereef]

They didn't withdraw from an ATM. They withdrew with a bank teller. That's most likely how they got the account # because they could've just asked the teller, pretending that they forgot.

At BofA you still slide your card and enter your pin, even at the bank teller. Does your friend have an evil twin that looks like her? I wouldn't think having the id would matter if you look nothing like the person in the picture.

Not trying to call BS on your friend's story, but that would have been a pretty abysmal teller...

 

[melim]

This falls under identity theft. Have your friend report it to the FTC: Deter. Detect. Defend. Avoid ID Theft and file a police report, if she hasn't already. Getting her money back is one thing; what can happen down the line since the thief has so much of her info is quite another. Having all that in place now may help if things get really ugly. Also have her keep a close watch on her credit reports.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I'll say it again: simply take it as gospel from God's own mouth that every transaction you make, every account you open up, every email account you have, every time you use your plastic, every post you will ever make, every load of trash containing personal information you toss out, every comment you will ever utter on a mailing list or forum, every private message you send.... ALL will either end up on the web or used against you in ways you are not clever enough to see (And I include myself here) and you will suffer in ways you can't begin to imagine if your personal security is lacking in something.

I think many people do use a little smarts, but many do not and it becomes a problem. They are out to get us, so take care. I am NOT a fan of on-line banking.

Shred your personal info, use your CC on the web with extreme care, and do not say something in a forum that the Democrats will use against you when you run for president of The United States in 2424.

And tinfoil hats, plenty of HD Tinfoil Hats.

Good luck to us all, the battle is only just beginning.

 

[ashykat]

Wow I'm surprised at how long it takes for some banks to deposit your money back.

About 2 weeks ago my debit card info was stolen and used to make a fake card (I assume) because some charges from a macy's went through. They must have sent the info out to multiple places though because someone tried to make a purchase in another state the same night which triggered suspicion on the account so luckily they froze it. I had about 4 transactions more they tried but were denied do to the account being frozen, but they still made out with some of my money. Long story short I had the money back in my account the next day (I reported this all at about 9pm) and about a week later received a letter that the investigation showed the transactions were not authorized. I bank with Chase.

I think your friends money will be safe though, even though it seems like a pretty big breach. I think the fact that whoever did this was able to go into a bank and withdraw money means your friend needs a new bank.

 

[NYCHitman1]

At BofA you still slide your card and enter your pin, even at the bank teller. Does your friend have an evil twin that looks like her? I wouldn't think having the id would matter if you look nothing like the person in the picture.

Not trying to call BS on your friend's story, but that would have been a pretty abysmal teller...

Seriously.. any major bank I have ever banked with (BoFA, Citibank, Chase, and TD) always made me swipe my card and enter my pin before any kind of transaction.

 

[lordofthereef]

Seriously.. any major bank I have ever banked with (BoFA, Citibank, Chase, and TD) always made me swipe my card and enter my pin before any kind of transaction.

I would go as far as filing a complaint with that specific bank. If the teller physically handed out the money and there was no swipe, I feel they should be responsible for that breach in security.

 

[cableguynoe]

Long story short I had the money back in my account the next day (I reported this all at about 9pm) and about a week later received a letter that the investigation showed the transactions were not authorized. I bank with Chase.

I also bank with Chase and recently had five $49.95 unauthorized transactions posted to my account. One was from a month ago that I hadn't even noticed.
Anyway, I had all the money credited back to my account within 24 hours of calling them. Then they conduct an investigation, and if they were to find I did authorize them, they would take their money back.If not it's their loss. But getting the temporary credit right away is great.
I'm surprised all banks dont do this.

 

[Vihzel]

Debit card charges are so unusual sometimes and it really makes you wonder how they even happened in the first place. I once had almost $500 stolen from someone who used Paypal as the method of choice. According to my Paypal transactions, I spent $50 increments on iTunes. I called Chase, Paypal, and Apple and had it quickly resolved. Apple said that there have been no charges from them on my card. Paypal tried contacting the seller (supposedly Apple) and received no response for 3 days and as a result, got my money back.