Mastercard fraud

I’m not entirely sure if this belongs under the economics section, but I figured I’d just drop it here. I buy plastic models and hobby supplies from overseas online shops all the time, and honestly, I’ve never had a single issue with my transactions until today. I was browsing an American hobbyist forum earlier and saw a post saying some online shop over in the USA got hacked and credit card info was stolen. Since I actually ordered something from that specific shop maybe three or four weeks ago, I thought to myself, okay, better check my Visa statement. So, I log into my Chase online banking, scan through the recent activity, and everything looks fine at first—until I spot these three suspicious charges. There were two tiny test transactions on October 23rd for $10 each, and then a massive one on the 24th for about $900. I called the bank immediately to cancel the card and explain what happened, and they basically told me to go ahead and file a formal written dispute at a local branch and then just sit tight while they run an investigation. It seems like most people who get hit by this kind of thing manage to stop the payments because their banks actually flag the suspicious activity beforehand. But, in America, that just doesn't happen. I mean, what am I actually supposed to expect from my bank here? My gut feeling is that I'll probably end up stuck footing the bill for this myself. Has anyone else dealt with something like this before?

Brian Anderson8 said:I’m not entirely sure if this belongs under the economics section, but I figured I’d just drop it here. I buy plastic models and hobby supplies from overseas online shops all the time, and honestly, I’ve never had a single issue with my transactions until today. I was browsing an American hobbyist forum earlier and saw a post saying some online shop over in the USA got hacked and credit card info was stolen. Since I actually ordered something from that specific shop maybe three or four weeks ago, I thought to myself, okay, better check my Visa statement. So, I log into my Chase online banking, scan through the recent activity, and everything looks fine at first—until I spot these three suspicious charges. There were two tiny test transactions on October 23rd for $10 each, and then a massive one on the 24th for about $900. I called the bank immediately to cancel the card and explain what happened, and they basically told me to go ahead and file a formal written dispute at a local branch and then just sit tight while they run an investigation. It seems like most people who get hit by this kind of thing manage to stop the payments because their banks actually flag the suspicious activity beforehand. But, in America, that just doesn't happen. I mean, what am I actually supposed to expect from my bank here? My gut feeling is that I'll probably end up stuck footing the bill for this myself. Has anyone else dealt with something like this before?

It happened to me just the other day—I’d dropped a massive amount of cash on four plane tickets and a huge haul at the Nike store.

Just follow whatever instructions they give you at the bank. Once you file that formal dispute for the transactions, they'll reverse the charges and hook you up with a new card.
Honestly, don't sweat it too much.

graniteviper37 said:It happened to me just the other day—I’d dropped a massive amount of cash on four plane tickets and a huge haul at the Nike store.

Just follow whatever instructions they give you at the bank. Once you file that formal dispute for the transactions, they'll reverse the charges and hook you up with a new card.
Honestly, don't sweat it too much.

I wonder if anyone knows which bank it was? It’s great that they managed to void the charges for you, but I don't know, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic about how this whole thing is going to shake out.

You are fully protected against any kind of Mastercard fraud occurring online.
Generally speaking, when it comes to credit card misuse, you might end up being on the hook for a small portion of the loss—usually capped at around $50 total for any unauthorized charges that happen before you report the theft.
Once you’ve officially reported it, you won't have to worry about a single cent regarding any subsequent fraudulent activity.
There are a few exceptions, though... specifically if the card was physically stolen along with your PIN (which is why I always suggest keeping them separate!) or if someone uses your card before you report it and you neglected to sign the back... in those cases, the burden shifts to the card issuer to prove the signature was missing.

gentlecobra32 said:You are fully protected against any kind of Mastercard fraud occurring online.
Generally speaking, when it comes to credit card misuse, you might end up being on the hook for a small portion of the loss—usually capped at around $50 total for any unauthorized charges that happen before you report the theft.
Once you’ve officially reported it, you won't have to worry about a single cent regarding any subsequent fraudulent activity.
There are a few exceptions, though... specifically if the card was physically stolen along with your PIN (which is why I always suggest keeping them separate!) or if someone uses your card before you report it and you neglected to sign the back... in those cases, the burden shifts to the card issuer to prove the signature was missing.

That sounds great on paper, but I guess you have to wonder if it’s actually 100% true?

Well, I guess that’s the end of that whole saga, and honestly, I'm just relieved my checking account won't be getting hit by some random Mastercard fraud attempt!

Brian Anderson8 said:I’m not entirely sure if this belongs under the economics section, but I figured I’d just drop it here. I buy plastic models and hobby supplies from overseas online shops all the time, and honestly, I’ve never had a single issue with my transactions until today. I was browsing an American hobbyist forum earlier and saw a post saying some online shop over in the USA got hacked and credit card info was stolen. Since I actually ordered something from that specific shop maybe three or four weeks ago, I thought to myself, okay, better check my Visa statement. So, I log into my Chase online banking, scan through the recent activity, and everything looks fine at first—until I spot these three suspicious charges. There were two tiny test transactions on October 23rd for $10 each, and then a massive one on the 24th for about $900. I called the bank immediately to cancel the card and explain what happened, and they basically told me to go ahead and file a formal written dispute at a local branch and then just sit tight while they run an investigation. It seems like most people who get hit by this kind of thing manage to stop the payments because their banks actually flag the suspicious activity beforehand. But, in America, that just doesn't happen. I mean, what am I actually supposed to expect from my bank here? My gut feeling is that I'll probably end up stuck footing the bill for this myself. Has anyone else dealt with something like this before?

If I may be so bold, there is a massive amount of distrust and an incredibly pessimistic vibe coming from you, regardless of the few people saying you shouldn't worry.
Furthermore, the conclusion drawn in those quoted sentences is flat-out wrong, mainly because you're making such a sweeping, baseless generalization...

I'm glad everything turned out fine. Though, let's be honest, we all knew it might end up that way.👍

So, I picked up some stuff online using my Mastercard the other day. It was for a few hundred bucks. Almost immediately, Chase reached out to check if it was actually me making the purchase, just explaining they were double-checking to make sure it wasn't any Mastercard fraud.

A few years back, I had someone skim about $25 off my Mastercard through a series of tiny charges—ten separate transactions for about two bucks each.
I got in touch with JPMorgan Chase, the bank that issued the card, and filed a dispute stating I didn't authorize those purchases. Within maybe two or three months, the money was back in my account. Honestly, it was seamless; the bank didn't grill me or act suspicious at all. From start to finish, it was a really smooth, positive experience with their fraud department.
I ran into a much more intense version of this with American Express. Someone somehow managed to get a hold of my card number—this was a brand-new card that hadn't even been used yet!—and they immediately went on a massive shopping spree, burning through $8,000 at a retail store here in the States. Thankfully, American Express caught it and blocked the card immediately, and I wasn't out a single cent.

Yeah, they actually have insurance policies specifically designed to cover those kinds of situations, so they just pull the funds from there.
Btw, you should always keep that customer service number saved in your phone just in case your card gets swiped, so you can freeze everything immediately. I learned that the hard way once—if you don't report it right away, they might try to hold you responsible for the charges.

Someone hit my account at 3 AM last Friday and drained my cash. First, they swiped $300, and then they kept pushing until they managed to pull another $100 out. My bank froze the card immediately, but I didn't even realize what happened until today. I called them up, and the guy told me I have to head down to a local branch to file an official statement. My biggest worry right now is that when I asked if I’d actually get my money back, the guy just shrugged and said he didn't know. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I'm dealing with the Federal Reserve

Andrew Howard6 said:Someone hit my account at 3 AM last Friday and drained my cash. First, they swiped $300, and then they kept pushing until they managed to pull another $100 out. My bank froze the card immediately, but I didn't even realize what happened until today. I called them up, and the guy told me I have to head down to a local branch to file an official statement. My biggest worry right now is that when I asked if I’d actually get my money back, the guy just shrugged and said he didn't know. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I'm dealing with the Federal Reserve

In the absolute worst-case scenario, you're looking at being liable for maybe $100 max.

How do you think you're responding?

Gerald Palmer66 said:In the absolute worst-case scenario, you're looking at being liable for maybe $100 max.

Yeah, sure, but—and this is a big but—that's only the liability amount *after* you've actually reported the card as lost!

If they don't give me my money back, I'm taking this straight to the newspapers and the news stations!

So, how exactly did the person pull the cash out? Did they use a physical card, or are we looking at a skimming operation—whatever the reports might be saying?

The ATM was compromised—they’ve installed some kind of skimmer on it. I have no clue how they pulled it off, but I know I'm not the only victim here, and I'll be getting my money back!

So, we're talking skimming here.
In cases like this, they always refund your money.