My husband was a victim of credit card fraud!

visa cardWow! I just cannot believe the scam that was almost pulled on my husband! This morning when he woke up, Super G. checked his online bank account to make sure that our electric and phone bill payments went through. When I heard him cursing out the computer at five o’clock in the stinkin’ morning, I figured it was time to get up and see what was going on. There was a mysterious $400 pending transaction in his account. All it said Was “VISA – Walmart”, which in itself is strange because whenever we use our card at Walmart it usually has the location and string of numbers in the statement details. What’s even weirder is the fact that all day yesterday hubby and I were building a chicken coop pen and running around to various feed mills and lumber stores looking for 4 foot tall chicken wire – you can’t imagine how hard it was to find 4 foot – not three foot –  the point is, we were nowhere near a Walmart yesterday.

Odd? This is the point in time when I start racking my brain trying to make sure I hadn’t “forgotten” about a too-good-to-pass-up-deal I had found online, or a bill I paid but forget to tell hubby about. Nope, after running through all possible scenarios in about 5 seconds flat, I KNEW I hadn’t withdrawn or paid $400 to anyone, let alone Walmart. So strange! 

Super G. said he would stop at the bank during lunch (he’s pouring and spreading a few ton of concrete on a job today) to see if they knew what was going on. Well it’s almost 2pm and he just called me to tell me the scoop. I am shocked! Apparently the bank was already on top of things (way to go PNC!) and had filed a dispute for him and started fraud proceedings. What alerted them was the fact that we were using his debit card to buy that four feet tall/150 foot long roll of chicken wire fence we finally found, at the same time as the $400 transaction was taking place in Tyler, PA. Where the heck is that at? 

Apparently there have been a ton of complaints and similar stories over the past few days from the surrounding small towns in our area. The explanation? Scammers have been, and continue to get away with, using handheld electronic devices that can automatically scan the magnetic strips on your bank, credit and debit cards, I believe it’s called “Skimming”.  O.M.G. that is so scary! They think that this particular instance is either a scam that carnival persons may be doing, or someone at the carnivals in our area. Since our annual fair was less than a month ago, this makes perfect sense. It also saddens me to think that one of the carnival workers could be doing this. 

The moral of the story is to be ever more vigilant about your cards! I’ve even read of clerks, waitresses and other retail workers scamming people out of their information using these portable “skimming” devices! Be careful people!

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About the Author

Henrietta Newman is a self-loving empty-nester into smudging, nature, yoga, fitness, healthy living, hunting, camping, hiking, tech, video games, gadgets, recipes, reviews and more.
With a love for the outdoors and visiting local attractions in and around NW PA and Lake Erie, you never know what you'll find in my nest! Subscribe to A Hen's Nest so you don't miss the fun!

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Comments

  1. 1
    JoeyfromSC says

    WOW, so sorry that happened!!! I have heard of this!! I watched a show about the skimming once, and I saw that sometimes at Walmart, the cashiers are IN ON IT!! so sad:(

    They have a friend come through the line too and they can get your number that way! crazy!!

  2. 2
    JoeyfromSC says

    Oh and they make some type of holder for your cards, that prevent the skimmer from getting your number(I knew part of the name of it and google helped me lol)

    http://www.rfid-shield.com/

    Very important!

  3. 4

    Oh my goodness! I really need to get better about checking our account to make sure all is well! Glad ya’ll caught that.

  4. 5

    It’s a shame that this type of thing still goes on. I think it started getting worse around ’07 when layoffs and whatnot started happening. People are getting desperate and we’re paying or it. I noticed banks are really on top of the suspected fraud. My bank card, which I hadn’t had that long, called me before I could leave the store. LOL… It was embarrassing (especially since I had the money!) that the transaction didn’t go through, but it was exciting and comforting as well.

    Glad your bank called you and that you found the chicken wire you needed.

  5. 6

    Thank goodness for chicken wire, huh?! I’m glad your bank (and husband) were vigilant in watching the account.

    My husband ordered wrestling shoes for our then-middle-schooler on the telephone. He actually called in the order because he didn’t want to use his credit card number online. The person taking the call also took his credit card number and used it to rack up charges in his home town of California (we live in the mid-west). You just never know… and it really is scary.

  6. 7

    So glad they caught it right away. I’ve heard of instances where thousands have been charged up. I’m sure it will get worse with the economy.

  7. 8

    Your lucky your bank are on top of it, its scary how bad things have got. I worry that this new contactless technology that we are seeing is going to make things even worst. Good luck getting things sorted!

    • 9

      Technology is not making the things worst. We people makes it worst. If there are pros of something there are cons as well. It is in our hands how we make it-better or worst.

  8. 10

    Chase banks in a particular part of CA had a bad case of CC fraud too. Great thing is that your bank was proactive and dealt with it before you can. I like a bank like that here!

  9. 11

    This kind of scam is increased day by day…Very sad and try to aware of this kind of scams….

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  1. […] about your personal identity safety and security. Last year, my husband was the victim of having his debit card information stolen by a "skimming" device. We are still not sure who did this or where it happened at, our […]

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