MidwayUSA - possibly compromised.

[Art3]

I got a fraud alert notice from APGFCU a month or so ago. They figured whoever was trying to buy $700 worth of Verizon stuff in Florida wasn't me. Thankfully, they shut my card down and I didn't have to pay for it. Midway was one of the last purchases I made with it.

I want to buy from them again soon, but is there anything I can do to protect myself? I was thinking about trying to get another credit card with a low limit (like <$500) and just pay it off every month. If it got compromised, I couldn't be out much...but there would still be the hassle of locking and getting a new one.

Should I just use this card and be vigilant (and have faith that they'll take care of me next time like they did this time?)

Add to that the worry from that other thread about cc skimmers in Harford County...great

 

[gutshootem]

I just ordered from Midway a few hrs ago. I honestly don't care at all if my CC gets hacked. Not my money. They send me a new card in 2 days and I keep it moving. Debit card on the other hand never gets used online, gas stations, restaurants etc.

 

[lazarus]

I got a fraud alert notice from APGFCU a month or so ago. They figured whoever was trying to buy $700 worth of Verizon stuff in Florida wasn't me. Thankfully, they shut my card down and I didn't have to pay for it. Midway was one of the last purchases I made with it.

I want to buy from them again soon, but is there anything I can do to protect myself? I was thinking about trying to get another credit card with a low limit (like <$500) and just pay it off every month. If it got compromised, I couldn't be out much...but there would still be the hassle of locking and getting a new one.

Should I just use this card and be vigilant (and have faith that they'll take care of me next time like they did this time?)

Add to that the worry from that other thread about cc skimmers in Harford County...great

Unless it'll screw your credit or having more than one credit card leads you in to spending money poorly, I'd make sure you have at least 2.

Leave one at home most of the time, or if on a trip, tuck it away in your glove box, or ash tray or something.

Your CC gets compromised or your wallet stolen or lost (which is kind of the same thing), you can shut the account down immediately and you still have a spare card you can use.

I did that a few months back. Over the last 10 years I've had my CC info stolen once and fraudulent charges, my wife has lost her wallet once and had it stolen once. The later when she was on a business trip, which hurts as she had no cash, no ATM card any longer and no CCs and I had to shut down all of our CC accounts. Which meant all I had was my ATM card for 2 days (they couldn't overnight a new one as hers was stolen at like 7pm). Fortunately a friend was on the business trip with her and paid for everything (we paid her back of course), but it sucked big time.

Not sure having a spare CC you don't leave in your purse/wallet would have helped as she wasn't in her car, but a rental, which doubly sucks as I generally leave a few bucks tucked away hidden in both our cars, just in case of a lost/stolen wallet/purse (not like hundreds of dollars, but get home gas money amounts).

Anyway, a spare CC with like a $500-1000 limit is a great idea. Or even a somewhat higher limit if you use it for stuff, but don't carry it with you. Example, get an Amazon credit card if you buy a lot of stuff on Amazon, 5% back on Amazon purchases and then ONLY use it for Amazon and hide the physical card in your car somewhere, or just leave it in your sock drawer or whatever. Then if you regular CC gets stolen, you've got that one as a back-up, and it is saving you some money using it some (supposing you ever shop on Amazon).

 

[Sticky]

I have ordered several times from Midway lately and have had no issues... yet.. lol

 

[gizzard]

I contacted midway, they assured me that they have no such problems, they were even unpleasant about it.

 

[gizzard]

I directed midway to this forum and others. coworkers told me I was stupid for ordering from them, this is an old and ongoing problem.

 

[outrider58]

There really is no way of knowinghow your CC info gets stolen that I'm aware of. There are probably hundreds of ways it can happen.

I average 1-2 cc number thefts per year. I always carry two cards in case one gets locked by the carrier.

 

[BigSteve57]

There really is no way of knowinghow your CC info gets stolen that I'm aware of. There are probably hundreds of ways it can happen.

I average 1-2 cc number thefts per year. I always carry two cards in case one gets locked by the carrier.

Ditto. We were in FL for vacation 2 years ago and stopped by a Publix on the way from the airport to the hotel room. VISA CC was denied at the register but the MC worked without a hitch.

A call to VISA security revealed they thought the FL purchase was suspicious. Charges in FL after that on the VISA went fine.

It sucks you can't travel to another state without your CC being thought to be fraudulent.

Plus I just HATE standing in line at checkout and having my CC denied. It makes me think everyone in line behind me is whispering "deadbeat" under their breath.

 

[outrider58]

Actually, when we travel and or are preparing to make a large purchase, we notify our carriers before hand. It works perfectly.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[threegun]

I use one card for everything. Each morning I check online for fraudulent purchases. This morning I found two fraudulent charges from yesterday ($1999.00, $1589.99). I am now waiting for my third card for this year. There is no if, it is just a question of when. I have been able to stop all the items before they ship, but it usually kills half a day with the bank and the merchants.

 

[TapRackBang]

I average 1-2 cc number thefts per year.

What in the heck are you guys doing that your CCs get stolen so frequently?

I have four CCs with mid-high credit limits and have yet to have any fraudulent charges. I've had them since the 1980's. I use them for everything, online and in-person, and even bought from Midway last year and this year. The only difference I can think of is I rarely go to sit-down restaurants.

I do not have a debit card. They are pointless and very high risk. Girlfriend in the late 80's had her account cleaned-out. That was enough of a lesson for me to learn that they are stupid. Every time a bank tries to give me one, I go rows with them to make sure they are cancelled.

BTW, there is no point in checking your cards daily for fraud. It's not necessary. You are only responsible by law for the first $50 of fraudulent charges if you report it within two days of "learning about" the loss. That means you have two days after you open your monthly statement to report the loss. I reconcile mine every month and that is plenty. Most issuers waive the $50 if you report it within a few days of getting your statement.

This page is worth reviewing: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards

 

[outrider58]

What in the heck are you guys doing that your CCs get stolen so frequently?

I have four CCs with mid-high credit limits and have yet to have any fraudulent charges. I've had them since the 1980's. I use them for everything, online and in-person, and even bought from Midway last year and this year. The only difference I can think of is I rarely go to sit-down restaurants.

I do not have a debit card. They are pointless and very high risk. Girlfriend in the late 80's had her account cleaned-out. That was enough of a lesson for me to learn that they are stupid. Every time a bank tries to give me one, I go rows with them to make sure they are cancelled.

BTW, there is no point in checking your cards daily for fraud. It's not necessary. You are only responsible by law for the first $50 of fraudulent charges if you report it within two days of "learning about" the loss. That means you have two days after you open your monthly statement to report the loss. I reconcile mine every month and that is plenty. Most issuers waive the $50 if you report it within a few days of getting your statement.

This page is worth reviewing: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards

Usually it has been my AX card that gets 'swiped' because I basically use it as my cash. Just two weeks ago, my Visa was getting hammered by some bloke in New Zealand. I only use that card through PayPal and security has been solid. The purchases attempted by this "person" were not through PayPal so not the culprit. As I said before, there are probably hundreds of ways to get CC info. This card has never been through a swiper or chip reader. I never use ATMs and have not(will never) owned a debit card.

I wanted to add, we keep track of all of our purchases monthly. We keep a log of every thing we buy with our cards so as to help track any wrong-doings. Also, both my wife and daughter(and I) were nd are victims of the big OPM breech, so there's that.

 

[KJackson]

I have had a couple of my cards used in the past. One was just a couple tiny purchases, usually done to see if the card works. The other time, there were a couple of bigger purchases that my credit union caught. I guess they figured that since I have a joint account with my wife, that I probably would not be putting a membership for eharmony.com on our joint card. Strange purchase for a stolen card, don't you think?

 

[TapRackBang]

Usually it has been my AX card that gets 'swiped' because I basically use it as my cash.

Hmm. I use my Discover like that. I've never had an AMEX, I've never seen the value in it.

I have been lucky. I wonder if another factor is I have effectively zero social media presence? If you get my name, you can't learn a thing about me from Scroogle, Faceballs, or Twatter. No two sites have the same email address or username for me. I wonder if the scumbags need a nugget or two other than the card number and name?

I wanted to add, we keep track of all of our purchases monthly. We keep a log of every thing we buy with our cards so as to help track any wrong-doings.

That's what I do. I enter every transactions into Moneydance (like Quicken except no ads or spyware) to help me keep track of where the the money goes (guns and ammo, duh! ). When the statement arrives, I can reconcile it just like a checkbook. Only takes a couple of minutes.

 

[outrider58]

I agree with the "Zero social media". This is my only forum I go to. No Twatter, Fakebook, nor Instantmassage. As for AX, if you pay your monthly balance, no need for AX. For us, we use the points.

As to keeping track of our usage, we use pen and ink, just like you said, just like a check book(matter of fact, wifey uses her checking transaction booklet for this).

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[BeoBill]

Y'all do know that you can set just about any cc to "squawk" to you whenever a charge is made, yes? Saved my bacon a time or two.

 

[Art3]

Y'all do know that you can set just about any cc to "squawk" to you whenever a charge is made, yes? Saved my bacon a time or two.

Please elaborate...is this "squawk" like a text message or something? If so, how do I do that?

 

[Art3]

So, I guess the overall feeling is that "it happens" and, as long as I'm careful, I should just keep going on with my life? I have a handful of cards, but they all have fairly high limits. I'd rather not open another as a "burner" with a low limit because of the hassle of another account to keep track of, but, more imporantly, I hope to be buying a house soon and don't want to mess with me credit.

I placed a Midway order today...

 

[TapRackBang]

Please elaborate...is this "squawk" like a text message or something? If so, how do I do that?

Again, why bother? You have a month or more to report fraudulent charges and not be responsible for more than $50. Most cards even waive that cost.

If you get notices for every transaction, eventually you will get "crying wolf" fatigue and start ignoring them. What you want is exception warnings where they are outside normal parameters. The credit card companies already have those in their internal fraud prevention systems, and will do a much better job than you can do because they have to absorb the cost of any fraud.

 

[Mark75H]

Again, why bother? You have a month or more to report fraudulent charges and not be responsible for more than $50. Most cards even waive that cost.

If you get notices for every transaction, eventually you will get "crying wolf" fatigue and start ignoring them. What you want is exception warnings where they are outside normal parameters. The credit card companies already have those in their internal fraud prevention systems, and will do a much better job than you can do because they have to absorb the cost of any fraud.

I've had it on for some time and have NO FATIGUE ... its more like a simple signature confirmation. I expect it and never ignore or miss it.