OT more than a little scary

Dave H (MI) · Aug 19, 2014

Took my dottir out for her b-day on Friday and they told me my card was declined. Not possible sez I as it is tied to a brokerage account and has margin borrowing as backup should I get a little crazy or have an emergency. So I checks the account on my phone and it tells me all access is blocked. Call Schwab and the service guy goes all hinky on me...cannot tell me anything, have to talk to a fraud investigator on Monday. Called them yesterday and they put me thru the ringer getting information. Seems last Wednesday someone called them and gave them my debit card account number and FULL SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER and tried to access my balance. Schwab got wind of the fraud and shut it down. The card number he gave them has been inactive since early this year due to a problem with security at Target. Thing is, Target does not have my social security number so he didn't get the info from them. I don't give my social security number to anyone. No one sends me 1099's and I have virtually no debt. Trying to figure out who had access to both the card and my SS number? Has me a little freaked out.

paul · Aug 19, 2014

I believe we are in a meltdown state on all this identy stuff.

20 years ago I was ordering computer stuff from a mail order place, I often did. The gal said do you want to put it on your credit card, number x,y,z....

I said sure.

Hung up, and thought, um, wait, should she be reading my number to me? That isn't right....

Things have gone downhill since then. Every marketer wants a complete database on me, and link every bit of info together, it makes it easier to sell and market to me.

But they can't afford to keep up the computer security; their choice is to keep marketing and building data bases, and worry about the security when its a problem.

Target found out last Christmas.

But every shop everywhere has the same problems.

A friend of mine used to work in computer security at Best Buy decades ago. He says he is glad he doesn't do that any more, the bad people sitting in Russia and China are progressing a lot, lot faster than security options are on our side.

I guess it all needs to blow apart before it gets built back up safely again.

This is a real problem that is going to cost all of us, but we can't do much about it.

Paul

Wile E · Aug 19, 2014

I never use credit cards, rarely pay by check other than housepymt, elect payment, gas bill. ALL other stuff is done with cash. All my other money is tied up in CDs, real hard to get that money out of a bank without photo ID and the original certificate.
Gasoline, Cash,
Groceries, Cash,
Restaurant, Cash,
Hardware stort, Cash.

Dave H (MI) · Aug 19, 2014

Well now, at least they can't get there hands on everything I have invested in dirt and rust!

Finally! A justification for all this!

All kidding aside, this scared the crud out of me. We just received an inheritance also and I wanted to shoot that into the brokerage account. While Schwab did a stellar job stopping this guy, I am just a little nervous that he might have inadvertently gained more info. Not sure where to put the check. It makes you feel like a deer in the headlights...you want to run but you are just not sure what direction.

BillOHIO · Aug 19, 2014

Dave, I agree that is scary. At least if they just had your credit card number you could get a new one. However, if they get your SS number I have never heard of getting a new one.

Talk show guys such as Limbaugh and Hannity say LIFELOCK is the answer ? With all this stuff going on I keep thinking of signing up. But you know tight azz me I just put it off. If I end of with problem like you I will wish I had gone ahead.

Good luck, I feel your pain.

Bill

Farmall43 · Aug 19, 2014

WOW--that is scary as hell. At least it was caught. Hopefully they are able to trace the individual(s) responsible and take approriate action. To bad the government cannot issue a new SSN. Hopefully there are no other issues. Hope you have a good week and enjoy!!

JohnDY · Aug 19, 2014

Its getting to be a bigger problem with the Russians hacking millions of id's and here the other day the super Value Food chains were hacked. Makes a person mad when you look after your own things and find out all these big merchants are easy targets.

Mike M · Aug 19, 2014

Latest thing was some medical place got breached I think ?
All your doctors and insurance companies all have your ss #
Every form you fill out they all want it. Hard to not give it out.

tractorguy2 · Aug 19, 2014

My aunt has lifelock. Her exhusband keeps getting in and changing here Po box number and other info in her lifelock account. They can't figure out how. he even got a credit card in her name without lifelock knowing it.

Dick2 · Aug 19, 2014

Don't have firsthand knowledge of this, but I've been told that if a crook has your name and date of birth, they can get your SS number somehow.

DaninKansas · Aug 19, 2014

Did you apply for health insurance on the federal website - or just fill it out to see the rates? Everyone that did has given their information out to any hacker that cares to get it.

On it you gave your birthdate, SS number, income, address, and family members. Basically they had no security on the website until about May of this year and even now its pretty basic - certainly nothing like commercial entities have to protect your credit card information - and we all see how often they get hit.

BillOHIO · Aug 19, 2014

Thanks for the info. All I have heard is good things and how it was the answer...............Of course I am only hearing what the guys say that are selling it !

Bill

Traditional Farmer · Aug 19, 2014

Do you deal with Social Security,IRS,a doctor or a bank? Look how many folks work at these places that have access to your SS number.My wife used to work at a collection agency there is NOTHING about you they can't find out.

Dave H (MI) · Aug 19, 2014

But almost none of them have the debit card number. It has to be someone with both.

Dave H (MI) · Aug 19, 2014

Yes. After the security "fix" but, once again, no debit card number was given.

Dave H (MI) · Aug 19, 2014

I just discussed this with the investigator. The thing is that the debit card was issued AFTER my wallet was stolen in May 2013 (no SS# in that wallet). The card was revoked in Jan-Feb 2014 due to the Target scam (no SS# there either). I am unaware of any doctor I gave the card to in that time frame. I was lucky enough to have two cancer scares in one month so I had a new dermatologist and the urologist in that time frame. Have to check did I pay either with the card.

Dave H (MI) · Aug 19, 2014

Just got off the phone with the fraud investigator. They had a full SS# and a full former debit card number. They gave a phone number that is also mine...the only listed one I have. They get failing marks on all other questions which alerted the rep. Schwab rep asked for a callback number so he could get back to them. The number was out of Brooklyn, NY and had an answering machine with a message in Spanish. Nothing more they can do, obviously. I have had my credit reports flagged. Banks have been notified. Should it happen to you I can tell you it is not a nice feeling.

retired farmer · Aug 19, 2014

Probably got your card number there and then looked up your S.S. number online. I just checked the web and there are several sites that tell you how to find the social security number. Pretty scary.

JML755 · Aug 19, 2014

Happens to us every few years. Always on our cc's which they get from people who work at restaurants or any place you use them. Never cost us a nickel. Last time, they were pretty bold. In addition to running up a grand in charges, they tried to change the address and phone number on our Discover Card. Gotta say that the CC companies fraud prevention is excellent. We get a call within a day, sometimes within a few hours, of suspicious activity.

Goose · Aug 19, 2014

They are alert.

Our daughter recently moved from Virginia to Omaha. The mover's bill was $3200, and she put it on her credit card. Less than an hour later, she got a call from the credit card company asking if it was a legitimate transaction.

IndianaRed · Aug 19, 2014

Anyone that wants your SS number has it or can get it.

The worst part is that it's the perfect crime. Has happened to me twice, and neither time did the bank go after the crooks. It's got to be 5 digits before anyone cares, and even that isn't much. Costs more to investigate than what they took.

Welcome to life in modern day America.

Never happens in Europe. They've had different cc's than us for years, with different scanners.

American banks don't want to pay to change them all out across the country.

MarkB_MI · Aug 19, 2014

The beauty of the internet and computers is that information from many sources can be aggregated. If your old debit card was one of the thousands compromised in a recent breach like the Target fiasco, that information is widely available at bargain basement prices. So a criminal buys a few hundred thousand credit card numbers, which also gives him names and maybe a few other details. Then he buys a few hundred social security numbers from a different source, and starts matching that up with the credit card list. If he has a matching date of birth and name for both the debit card and SSN, bingo, it's payday.

OT more than a little scary

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