Buying an M, suspicous activity ... who would have thought!

[Keith]

This is so bizarre I had to share it ... nothing like a good laugh on a Monday!

A few weeks ago I started having trouble with my credit card which also accesses my cheque account via a PIN for eftpos transactions. I was on the way home and stopped in at Aldi for a couple of minor things ($14.00) and went to pay at the checkout with my card because unusually for me I had no cash in my wallet. I seldom shop this way and always prefer to use cash where I can. The transaction was rejected twice so embarrasingly I had to hand the stuff back and slink off home without my few items. I was convinced I'd forgotten my PIN and had entered an incorrect one and this had to be the problem ... anything's possible at my age so no big deal. 😱

I went into the bank a few days later and told them what had happened and they said no problem, just reset your PIN and all should be OK. I chose a new PIN and wandered off thinking all was good. Because I use my card so infrequently I hadn't got around to using it again until a day or so ago when the ATM at the shop next door to work rejected it instantly when I tried to get an account balance ... W T F! Then last night I went to order an adapter from B&H for the 240 so I can use my Zuiko lenses on it ... transaction declined again though I've dealt with B&H several times previously for various items and had no problems.

Another trip to the bank today (third time and getting pissed) has revealed that when I used my card to pay for my 240 on line from Ted's Cameras here in Oz five weeks ago it bought up a red flag as a suspicious transaction with Visa and they deactivated my card but failed to notify me ... W T F again! Strangely Ted's got their money for the sale but a day later I had a dead credit card.

The very pleasant young girl at the bank explained to me that they were just doing their job and reacitivated my card for me straight away but I must admit I was 'steaming' there for a little while and I suspect they were quite relieved when I left! Who would have thought buying a digital Leica could be regarded as 'suspicious activity!' 😛

 

[Sparrow]

... I have to admit I wondered if your RFF account had been hacked at the time 😀

 

[daveleo]

Happened to me as well, a few years back. The credit card company was "saving me from credit fraud" but *neglected to tell me* !!
Purchases rejected, account shows lots of money in it. Sellers questiong my credibility.

After days of confusion . . . ."We're sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you." .... sh#t !!!

 

[oftheherd]

It may have been the amount of the purchase, or the item. My wife and I have had our credit card company here in the USA question purchases after the fact. Once they actually did freeze the account prior to calling us.

Frustrating as that must have been, I prefer that since it is so easy for banks to be hacked, or cashiers to go bad and sell information for stealing credit information. Also in my area there has recently been a gang putting devices on some ATMs to steal account and pin information.

Here, the banks have to make restoration. But to solve the possible problem of a credit card being frozen, we got a second account and credit card at another bank. Even so, we really try to use cash as often as possible.

 

[YYV_146]

I have to say, the bank made the right call. A large transaction (as large as a digital M) is often the sign of credit card theft. Bit of inconvenience on your side, but they could have saved you from a lot of pain and trouble.

I try to not raise red flags myself by using bank-approved methods of moving large amounts of funds (e-check, bank wire .etc)

 

[mfogiel]

I went to Warsaw in August to see my mother, and while in town took a coffee and croissant at a cafe'. They did not have the rest from a 100PLN bill (25EUR), so I was asked to pay with a card. When I put the code in, the message came, that the transaction was refused: on close inspection, I have mistaken my company card for my private one, so the code was wrong. After one wrong code attempt in EE, the card got blocked, I could not use it for the rest of the holidays, and back home had to destroy it and am waiting for a replica ( cost: EUR 20 ). All that for wanting to spend EUR 4 in the center of Warsaw... ( a city of 2,5 million people ). I wonder what happens Keith, when you will want to pay with your card for a beer in Alice Springs...

 

[Roger Hicks]

I have to say, the bank made the right call. A large transaction (as large as a digital M) is often the sign of credit card theft. Bit of inconvenience on your side, but they could have saved you from a lot of pain and trouble.

I try to not raise red flags myself by using bank-approved methods of moving large amounts of funds (e-check, bank wire .etc)

No they didn't. Blocking a card without notifying the owner is bad enough. Letting that go on after attempts had been made at straightening it out is sheer incompetence.

Cheers,

R.

 

[drinkingeye]

had exactly the same situation when I bought the Monochrom....
With the difference that the dealer did not get the money and started to think I AM THE FRAUD ;-( After many phone chats with Bank, Credit card co. and dealer we could finally clarify the whole story....

 

[Thardy]

A large part depends on your spending habits. If you're a guy who spends $14 here and there, a $7000 purchase raises red flags. It is a but irregular that they allow the suspicious purchase then deactivate the card.

Also it depends on where you use the card. My wife and daughter traveled to Miami a few months ago and both of our major cards rejected for low amounts.

The CC company shot me an email and asked to confirm purchases. Miami, who'd a thought it?

 

[Thardy]

No they didn't. Blocking a card without notifying the owner is bad enough. Letting that go on after attempts had been made at straightening it out is sheer incompetence.

Cheers,

R.

Yes, I've never heard of these tactics before.

 

[YYV_146]

No they didn't. Blocking a card without notifying the owner is bad enough. Letting that go on after attempts had been made at straightening it out is sheer incompetence.

Cheers,

R.

Maybe they tried, but could not reach Keith for some reason. It is highly unusual to lock a card without immediately notifying the card owner - I had the same issue when I was in Hong Kong, and the bank told me later that they had called but could not reach me, because I was in Hong Kong.

😀 Just saying, in this crazy age of data theft and card fraud you can't be too cautious...

 

[lynnb]

I'm surprised they didn't send a text to your mobile asking you to confirm the purchase, when the transaction didn't fit in with your purchase history profile...

 

[john neal]

Happened to me twice - first time somone in the US was buying rail tickets using my card no (I live in the UK and had bokked no tickets), they then tried to set up an online gambling account - good one for the bank.

Second was buying a car - preagreed purchase which the bank was primed to expect - amount, day and approx time advised to their branch manager in person. Still failed an left me making the embarrassed call to the bank to sort out the payment via a string of security questions and mucho looks from the salesman.

I would rather they get it wrong in my favour though....

 

[Keith]

The thing that made me a little cranky was the fact that I'd headed off to the outback of Queensland with a certain amount of cash to see me through the ten days with the assumption that if I did get into strife and needed more money for any emergency my card would be my safety net.

Two days into the trip I hit a fair sized Kangaroo in the Citroen at 100 kilometers per hour but luckily was only a kilometer or so from the next town and managed to limp to a servo and buy a few rolls of duct tape which I used to reassemble the front end of the car. If I'd smashed the intercooler or similar I'd have been in deep p00 without access to more funds! 🙁

 

[NY_Dan]

I wish OP had documented the event with photos. Man at counter with items. Salesperson holding card and looking at man with suspicion. Man leaving store scratching head in bewilderment. Man at computer shot shows back of computer and man becoming livid. Man storms out of house and slams door behind him while wife looks with apprehension from side window. Man in car zooming through intersection while pounding on horn. Man taking huge strides toward bank with evident purpose. Shot from over man's shoulder as he looks down at seated bank rep -- you see his partial right profile and his arm is outstretched toward bank rep and holding credit card near her face. Close up of bank rep -- she has sympathetic calming expression - head tilted to camera right. Next -- man and bank rep's heads tilted close together as bank rep points at computer screen. Man and bank rep are both standing, shaking hands, and all smiles. Man exits bank and is skipping and carefree. Final shot, man is by his front door, inside, wearing plaid bathrobe and holding a cup of coffee in left hand -- he's bending forward with a big smile as he retrieves a large B&H cardboard carton with purchases made from his newly liberated card. There is a nearby stack of similar mail order goodies. The circle of life through consumerism is restored and all is right with the world. Now that is the way to feature this type of triumph over adversity on a photography website.

 

[newsgrunt]

While it was a PITA, consider yourself very lucky that the bank killed the card. They should have informed you however, no doubt. I've gotten a few calls from the bank where they inquired as to some purchases I'd made.

As well, it never hurts to let the bank know if you'll be travelling out of country, esp if you don't do this often or make very few, large cc transactions.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Maybe they tried, but could not reach Keith for some reason. It is highly unusual to lock a card without immediately notifying the card owner - I had the same issue when I was in Hong Kong, and the bank told me later that they had called but could not reach me, because I was in Hong Kong.

😀 Just saying, in this crazy age of data theft and card fraud you can't be too cautious...

But surely the point is that he had already queried it once. That was when it should all have been sorted out; that was where the bank's incompetence lay.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Sparrow]

... this is what you need :nods-head:

 

[willie_901]

Assuming you gave your contact information (phone, email) to the CC company, they were remiss not to contact you... no excuses.

At the same time, their risk algorythms flag unusual spending patterns. This purchase have been a significant deviation from your prior behavior. Since the CC company has (almost) all the risk, the freeze was reasonable.

My cards have been frozen at least half a dozen times in the past three years. The causes were either preventive – due cyber theft of data from stores I frequent – or reactive because the card data was actually used to make trivial purchases far from my home. In the later cases I received a phone call from the CC company and the a new card via overnight delivery.

When I travel I call the card company and inform them I ill be using the card away from home.

 

[pete hogan]

Credit card outfits are geared for suspicious activity. For years we traveled a lot. Calling their security folks before leaving always got us smooth transactions. They recognize your profile's phone number and can then calm the machinery.