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+--- Thread: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention (/showthread.php?tid=177758)
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AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - Mr Downtown - 03-26-2015
I took the bus out to Menard's last night to buy a new refrigerator, and put it on my AmEx card. The $1,016 transaction failed—but at the same instant, my pocket phone vibrated. It was AmEx calling to have me confirm the transaction. Once I did, I just swiped my card again and it went through.
I had never had this happen before, though I guess I must have signed up for the service at some point. At any rate, much better than my credit union calling my house in Chicago to confirm that I was, indeed, desperately trying to withdraw cash from an ATM in Dublin.
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - cbelt3 - 03-26-2015
The card companies are definitely stepping up their fraud prevention. I got an email from Citi this morning asking about a transaction my son made this morning.
They've also started buying card numbers at dark net sites and data mining transactions to figure out whose POS system got penetrated.
We should see a landslide into chip and PIN cards this year. At that point the security model will change.
http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/10/28/coming-next-fall-more-chip-and-pin-cards-in-the-us
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - dmann - 03-26-2015
cbelt3 wrote:
The card companies are definitely stepping up their fraud prevention. I got an email from Citi this morning asking about a transaction my son made this morning.
They've also started buying card numbers at dark net sites and data mining transactions to figure out whose POS system got penetrated.
We should see a landslide into chip and PIN cards this year. At that point the security model will change.
http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/10/28/coming-next-fall-more-chip-and-pin-cards-in-the-us
I have received two new cards in the past month. One from Capital One and one from Bank of America. Both are chip and signature, not chip and pin. Better than what they had, to be sure, but not as good as CaP.
From the article cbelt3 posted:
As U.S. customer cards expire, some banks and financial institutions have already begun replacing the old magnetic stripe cards with chip-based cards. (The cards also have a magnetic stripe as a back-up option in case you visit a country or a merchant that doesn't accept chip-based cards.) Often, though, these are chip and sign cards rather than chip and PIN cards. "These have the anti-cloning benefits of the chip but lose the strong second authentication factor of the PIN," Camejo says. "These cards can also be very difficult to use at automated kiosks in European countries that utilize chip and PIN almost exclusively."
Nick Clements, a former banker and co-founder of MagnifyMoney.com, a comparison website for financial products, predicts that while chip and sign cards are the first wave of chip-based cards in the U.S., issuers will eventually shift to cards that require a PIN. "Card issuers don't have to issue the chips, but they very much want to, because it's better for security and consumers want it more and more," he says. As countries shifted to chip and PIN cards, he adds, their fraud losses decreased. “The United States right now is really the weakest from a fraud protection standpoint," he says.
DM
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - Robert M - 03-26-2015
Mr Downtown,
This isn't something you sign up for on your own. It's something the credit card providers are doing automatically. And, it isn't just credit card providers. All financial institutions are cracking down and making fraud a huge priority. This includes credit cards, investment accounts and checking and savings accounts.
Robert
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - richorlin - 03-26-2015
Amex and a lot of other credit card companies allow you to set up notifications. Amex texts me if a "charge without card present" goes through along with a text if a charge is over $200. I've set up the same notification with some of my other credit cards that provide this service.
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - Robert M - 03-26-2015
Rich,
Credit card companies and other financial institutions alike. I've set up notifications for every financial account in my family and business. Unfortunately, they tend to be most helpful after the fact. Still, despite that, notifications via email and/or text are useful and everyone should be using the alert features provided by their financial institution.
These days, fraud and identity theft have become rampant to the point that just checking out one's credit report and using a system like Credit Karma isn't going to cut it by themselves. Credit Karma, for example, doesn't provide you information or alerts about bank accounts. Credit reports, loans and credit cards and related items, yes, bank accounts, no. I, unfortunately, know this from personal experience.
Notifications and, if necessary, a more comprehensive indentity theft service like Lifelock have become a near necessity now.
Robert
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - ka jowct - 03-26-2015
Citi called me yesterday about a transaction. It was a legitimate purchase, less than $200. Makes me wonder if there's been another massive breach that has not been made public. I've been a bit nervous since the Anthem thing.
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - space-time - 03-26-2015
until now the money they lost was somehow compounded in their fees, so banks didn't really lose money. now that they improved security and will have lower losses, do you think they will lower their fees?
LOL, not going to happen.
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - GuyGene - 03-26-2015
I just got a new AmEx card with that chip thingamajig on it. Hope it works good.
But, I also just got a hotel points Chase MasterCard. No problems, but it got me to thinking...it was THAT easy to get a card?? All I needed was my SS number, etc. I was in. Of course it was me, but it seems anybody who has someone else's SS number could have gotten the same card that easy. Wha' say ye all?
Re: AmEx on-the-spot fraud prevention - Robert M - 03-26-2015
GuyGene,
It's pathetically easy to get personal information and use it for fraudulant activity. All someone needs is a name, birthday and checking account or ATM/Debit card number to do all sorts of damage with a checking account, i.e. hijacking it, transfer funds, etc. And, that info is readily available. Name and birthday? Easily found via a ton of methods. Checking account number? Look at a check or statement. ATM/Debit card? Get it from a skimmed card.
Heck, looking at a check gets a fraudster the routing number and account number. That's enough for the fraudster to set up electronic fund transfers from the account to whereever he/she wants to send the money. Fortunately, some places have controls in place to make sure the info is verified by the account owner before allowing the transactions to go through. Too bad that isn't the case with all of them.
Roert