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no_hypocrisy

(55,263 posts)
Sat Apr 25, 2026, 10:10 AM Apr 25

Beware of credit card skimming

and review each item on monthly statements.

More than $5,000 of unauthorized/illegal transactions declined and $500+ that made it into my statement.

Credit card fraud department was great. Getting credit for all and a new credit card.

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Beware of credit card skimming (Original Post) no_hypocrisy Apr 25 OP
Assuming your card was cloned? hlthe2b Apr 25 #1

hlthe2b

(114,488 posts)
1. Assuming your card was cloned?
Sat Apr 25, 2026, 11:24 AM
Apr 25

I had that happen on Thanksgiving several years ago. The only place i had used it were at outdoor Safeway gas pump--literally on Thanksgiving and Costco's pumps a week earlier. ON Thanksgiving, I reported it, got the card blocked and spoke with all my other credit card holders--especially Target that had a debit connection to my primary checking account. Their chief security officer (National) happened to be working and spoke with me at length, providing the usual education, but taking it a few steps further. Afterwards, I vowed NEVER to use an outdoor ATM or outdoor card-swiper--even one that reads the chips. This was before the other fast-swiping technology was common, but he indicated concerns over those as well. His advice? Use only ATMs inside and well surrounded by staff at grocery stores or inside banks, pay cash for gas or provide them a debit/credit card to swipe inside AT the cashier's own station or on their electronic registers. And, as for self-check outs (another real issue, even with chip readers, use only those where an attendant remains there throughout, manually palpate the reader for any lose parts or unusually bulky "additions," and if in doubt, make the attendant take the payment at their station.

I know all this is advice I have taken to heart, but when I have tried to share it, I get eyerolls or yes, yes, I know kind of responses. Or they look at me like I'm a dinosaur and curtly tell me they have "Apple Pay" for their "swipes." Well, so do I. And even years ago, my Target Security guy told me how they could be compromised.

It's tough out there, but as you did, check those account balances daily. One nice thing about my primary credit union's app is that you can easily check balances on the "front" page with just a simple id/password or fingerprint validation, while performing any transactions requires far more time-consuming validation. The former makes it easy to check for "problems."

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