I logged into my bank account last night to make a transfer and discovered fraudulent charges on my card. Someone bought $260 worth of cosmetics at Sephora, $281 worth of cosmetics at Nars Cosmetics and $140 at Macy's! All of the purchases were on line. WTF?? Now I will spend money on lots of things but cosmetics isn't one of them. And I wouldn't spend that much on myself at Christmas time anyway!
I called the bank and followed their process for dealing with the mess. I will most likely get the money back within 10-14 days. The part that made me the maddest is that the loser who used my number will probably still get her cosmetics! Although the charges were only pending (not approved yet) the bank is obligated to go ahead and pay the merchant and then dispute the charges. There was no way to stop payment!
I even called the merchants and tried to stop delivery. We might have been able to stop the Macy's delivery - I'll find out today.
The bank believes that somewhere I have used my debit card (on line or in a store) the computer storing the number was hacked and that is how someone accessed the money.
Oh dear God! That's my husband's worse nightmare, and I did A LOT of online shopping this year! With the purchases being online and shipped to an address, can't they follow that lead? Or was the merchandise ordered online then shipped to the store for pick-up? How frustrating. I hope this doesn't ruin your Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWOW. That's scary! I use my debit card all the time and never worry about that happening. I also wonder why on earth anyone would want that many cosmetics... if I was going to have a shopping spree with someone else's money, it sure as hell wouldn't be on lipstick! ;) I hope that it gets straightened out soon. And I'm glad you don't have to pay for it!
ReplyDeleteActually the bank said it is just as likely that a brick and mortar store was hacked into as an online store. So I guess using the debit card is risky in either case. It definitely won't ruin my Christmas. :)
ReplyDeleteBig ol' Bummer!
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