My wife and I have a AMEX platinum account that we both use with each of us having cards the card numbers are different on each card but drawn through the same account. This morning my wife received and alert from AMEX for a purchase without card present as well a call from an office depot in Atlanta in regards to purchases made online set for pickup at the store. Being we live in NC the store called her to confirm the purchase? It was not us some thief so the purchase was canceled and the card has been turned off and set for replacement with a new number I would assume from AMEX.
This is the 3rd time this has happened to my wife’s card in the last year and a half never any issues with my card. I am trying to figure out how the F??? This keeps happening to her card? Whenever we are out for dinner or anything we use my card so one would think if we were to have issues with stolen credit card info it would be me being at restaurants and such the card leaves my person for the waiter to run the bill?
She does a lot of shopping online some on her work laptop but she also uses her kindle fire often when lounging around the house or in bed. How secure are these kindle things for shopping? I really want to figure out how the heck this continues to happen one time ok but now three times is just messed up IMO.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated
The way card numbers are obtained, it isn't necessarily something the card holder did - it is increasingly because of underground deals where card numbers are sold, hacks, or just phishing.
LOL...no, this is not how it happens.
There have been so many data breaches at so many retailers that chances are your card was involved at one. Ever buy anything at Target, Home Depot, etc. etc. etc.? There's really not much you can do to stop ID theft, just be glad it got caught early and that Amex agreed to remove the charges right away.
So it was not a phishing purchase it was a large amount. The past 2 other tries were also for larger amounts.
I will update our wifi password I am not sure how one would go about updating the encryption for the wifi any insight?
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make sure your WiFi has the highest available encryption and a really annoying password
LOL...no, this is not how it happens.
There have been so many data breaches at so many retailers that chances are your card was involved at one. Ever buy anything at Target, Home Depot, etc. etc. etc.? There's really not much you can do to stop ID theft, just be glad it got caught early and that Amex agreed to remove the charges right away.
It was kind of an "inside joke"....haha....
Good luck.
I got a lifetime subscription for, I think, $70.
I disable it otherwise as it adds overhead.
See if you can Google hacked retailers and match to your wife's purchases. Some retailers are more security minded than others- after they get hacked.
I've been forced to use a debit card for the last few years and have just been plain lucky.
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It wouldn't hurt to suspect a neighbor with that 3x/1 year fact. If it is a neighbor, you really need to ask around locally (a few homes in all directions) to see if they have had recent issues. Good luck.
I have had Kindle fire for several years. I've never had a problem. I've only purchased books through it directly from Amazon. Not sure if buying from another retailer would make a difference.
Shopping on a Kindle is no more risky than shopping on a laptop or any other device. The danger is the sites you visit or the security of your passwords. While it could be some sketchy sites she's shopping at, it seems unlikely given the number of times it's happened.
Much more likely is her passwords have been compromised. If she's like most people, she uses her email and the same password on every shopping site. And she has her credit card number saved in her account. Once that password has been compromised, the thief can just log in and steal the new credit card number over and over.
She should change her passwords on all her online accounts. Use strong passwords, and optimally different ones on every site. A password manager like Lastpass would help manage this.
Also, get a low limit credit card strictly for internet purchases.
And, don't use your debit card for anything except ATM's(especially if you carry a large balance). I learned the hard way on that when my bank froze my account because of suspicious charges(which were thankfully refunded).
Finally, if you need a debit card, set up one with a low balance, to keep any fraud small.
Example: you have a $100 purchase to make. You could generate a new Card # with a $100 limit to use just on that transaction.