How Could I Be SO Stupid!

Thanks everyone for your advice.

We're on record, having reported it on Friday and then again today. It's my husband's debit card so there's not alot of damage they can do with only a few dollars in the account but I'm just uncomfortable with the bank's attitude. I can recall them going into action immediately under such circumstances in the past and don't understand why now they can't do anything until the transaction is completed. But the person my husband spoke with assured him that it's duly noted. It's on the books.

I've been trying not to feel foolish about it but still haven't been able to figure out how and why I fell for this one. I get dozens of emails every day and many are solicitations with bogus addresses and websites. If curious, I'll google them to determine their legitimacy but, I was just so taken with this offer, all sensibilities went right out of the window. As someone said in an earlier post "if it seems too good to be true, it usually is." That's what's been going around and around in my head since Friday. And I KNOW this. It's my mantra for pete's sake. I just don't know what happened.

That was me. But, I am now curious as to whether it was a credit card as originally mentioned or a debit card that is mentioned in the latest post since a debit card can't be used online. Or can it?

Don't be too hard on yourself. Take heart that you caught the mistake in time rather then find out when this fraudulent company emptied your bank account.

It was his Visa debit card issued by Wachovia and you can certainly use that online as I have for years.

My debit card is my number one financial resource for online purchases.

One thing that strikes me is that you say ". . . the person my husband spoke with". Maybe you keep good records, but in any dispute, always get the persons name, and record it with the date, time, and substance of the conversation. Probably you have, but having this information to refer to later always adds credibility to your claim. It also informs them that you know what you are doing and intend to be in control.

absolutely

I never would use my debit card - money will be taken out of your account
immediately and it's gone until you prove that the charges are unfounded.

My debit card was cloned last summer.....the bank told me that I should have a separate account and a separate card for online use, as it is so risky now. Internet based debit card fraud is rapidly on the upswing. So far the banks are eating the losses, but you will notice that on credit cards we have limited liability for fraud, on debit cards the bank could choose to charge us for the fraud transactions.

I no longer use debit online

Right, the liabilities between a debit card and a credit card are completely different. The maximum liability for unauthorized use on a credit card is $50 (zero, sometimes, if reported quickly and you're a good customer), whereas the liability on a debit card is between you and your bank.

A purchase made on a credit card is a contract between you and the credit card company. You make the purchase, they pay the seller, you pay them. You have no contract with the seller. That's why the banks take credit card fraud so seriously. It's their money being stolen, not yours.

Debit cards are a contract between you and the seller and involve your funds. It should be easier to cancel a debit card (perhaps changing the PIN is all that's necessary the prevent fraud), but the funds in the account are at risk and can certainly get usurped by someone with the account # and PIN.

right, and with the government cracking down on the banks for abusing their customers on debit overdraft fees and refusing to adjust mortgages you can bet the the days of the banks being willing to write off all debit card fraud are on the way out.

Gotta love bankers, no matter what happens in the society around them they are going to get their cut. And as we have talked about else where checks are on the way out, and credit card issuers are raising rates/fees and cutting limits. WTF are we supposed to do now? Carry around wads of cash again?

I d0n't know about the U.S., but in Canada you are covered if someone uses your credit card. You are not covered if there is debit card fraud.

We are advised to use credit cards for all purchases because the monies can be recovered if fraudulent activity occurs. Not so for debit cards.

That was the reason for my question to eoe

has anyone suggested this yet.. ?

Um cancel it.

if they wont , call back and tell them you lost it.
They close lost cards in seconds.
LIE if you have to
close that m-f

Yes, I did mention that to her before - I would definitely go that route.

Intrepid, it is similar here and with a debit card, every bank handles
fraudulent charges differently, so it would be wise to check with your bank
prior to using the debit card online.

the account can not be closed until the pending transactions post, but the card can be deactivated so that the numbers no longer access the account. I am assuming that eoe has misunderstood, that the card has been shut down already. If not then she is getting screwed over.

The same advice as everyone else has alreadyoffered, eoe. Cancel!

And good luck!

Can we run one through just to show me how it works? I'll put the money back right away, promise.

Never lie, because the good position that you are in can turn to a bad one mighty quick.

I had the same thing happen to me, Eoe, with a fake website that was dazzled up with "limited time offer" from Google, yes that Google, for a well known virus protection package from a well known virus protection company.

The price wasn't so super low. In fact, it seemed to be priced very close to the normal prices.

The logos and everything looked exactly like the real Google/McAfee logos, etc.

I can't recall how I ever got tho the page where I ordered, but I ordered because I thought I probably should, my McAfee had expired.

It was so real that I didn't know I had been scammed until I contacted McAfee a few days later to discuss some technical issues with them.

My bank said the same thing, register my complaint to them, my CC company would start a file, let the transaction go thru, and then I would have to negotiate with the company.

The funny thing was, I couldn't ever access that original page again, even after asking this "company" to give me the website address. The negotiations with the "company" consisted of a song and dance routine; I'm quite sure that they rely on the fact that people will just get tired of trying to get back $50 to $75 and forget the whole thing.

What finally worked for me was telling the "floor manager" it was just a boiler room operation, that I needed the physical address of the "business" because the Better Business Bureau wanted the physical address to launch an investigation.

Money back within two days, though even then I had to lean on them; they had promised it earlier.

The name of their game is delay delay delay and then delay some more. There'll be those who give up. It was never worth my time for the money, but it sure as hell was worth my time to make that manager squirm when I confronted him time after time with the truth.

You know what was so odd in all this. Google and McAfee didn't give a rat's ass when I emailed them to tell them even when I offered to give them all the info.

Bank in Canada are not priviate as they are in the U.S. All banks operate on the same premise.