My morning goes something like: I wake up (thankfully), get coffee, watch the news, read news-feeds and blogs (by now on at least the 3rd cup of coffee with a nice caffeine buzz going), and log into online banking to make sure everything looks right.
Only last week, everything did NOT look alright. I couldn’t immediately understand why my account overview available balance was significantly less than what I expected when I couldn’t for the life of me recall an ultra-fun shopping spree.
Upon looking at the in-depth account details, fraud was apparent. I’m no stranger to this world; I report on fraud activities often. But as cautious as I am, this just proves it can happen to anyone. And having it happen to me personally 1. Is a shock and 2. Really ticks me off.
The fraudulent purchases were all for fun stuff and travel. Ok, I do travel for a living, but have NEVER done business with one of the merchants who debited my account; in fact, I don’t use my debit card for travel. Nor have I ever bought over a $1,600 in concert tickets – I don’t know that many people; I’m not that popular.
The purchases drill down to: Travel Reservation USA (i.e. Expedia.com) for two EXACT same dollar amounts on the SAME day far exceeding any single transaction I’ve ever done; Pipeline Ticketing based in Lawrence, KS (sells tickets for MO and KS events) and ApplePay. ApplePay apparently put thru a tentative authorization, but ultimately didn’t process the transactions. Guessing they picked up on fraud.
Yes, I called the Issuing Bank, who informed me it would be 5 business days to reimburse my checking account. I know Regulation E, and I know the trials and tribulations that Issuing Institutions go thru (I am a former banker), but as a consumer, 5 business days for provisional credit for this dollar amount is not acceptable. Even more frustrating is the bank didn't even pick up on suspicious activity.
What if I hadn’t looked at my account for a few more days? I’m not obligated to. Let’s face it, the average consumer doesn’t look at their account every day. Were they going to continue authorizing these large dollar transactions to merchants I’ve never done business with that FAR exceed my average transaction? There are frankly two other banks in the area who give NEXT DAY provisional credit for fraud claims; what keeps me with this current bank? Well, I’m now questioning that honestly. So all this is rolling through my head when I call the merchants associated with the fraudulent changes. And it just got worse.
The Investigation: Expedia.com
I can’t just leave it at calling my Issuing Bank about the problem. After 52 minutes on hold and two transfers later with expedia.com, whose customer service stated “we can’t help you without a booking confirmation number” (which I obviously don’t have because I didn’t book a reservation), I finally talked with a “supervisor.” Another 15 minutes of explaining the situation (because she too kept asking for a booking confirmation number, and asking me which airline or hotel the reservation was for), and another 15 minutes on hold she finally came back on the line.
After an experience I will liken to what I imagine a root canal with no Novocain would be like, I got nowhere. I finally hung up on her, frankly, but not before telling her this wouldn’t be the last they hear from me. They kept insisting I should have an account (duh, no) or a confirmation number emailed to me (uh, not that either). I kept explaining it is fraud, but they really couldn’t seem to grasp this.
I’ve honestly never had an account with Expedia, but today’s experience seals the deal: I never will. And I’ll never recommend anyone else does either. And after this blog, I’m writing their company and reporting to a few national friends of mine. Just saying.
Lesson #1 – train call center staff on how to deal with reports of identity theft. Expedia apparently has not.
The Other Investigation: A VERY Different Experience
So after a cool-down period, I called Pipeline Ticketing in Lawrence, KS. First, let me say this – THANK YOU! Thank you for answering promptly (total call time, 4 minutes). Thank you for letting me know that the fraudster who attempted nine different transactions using my card on your site also used random letters for my city (GHGHGH to be exact) and the postal code of 88899. Thank you for quickly letting me know that the transactions were declined by Pipeline because the information provided did not match the Issuing Bank’s information on file. Thank you for using today’s available security technology!
Message for Pipeline Ticketing – if I need tickets to a local event, you are my first call (with a new card number I can confirm of course). I appreciate that, in today’s fraud-riddled age, you are looking out for me, and of course, yourselves. I’ve already posted to friends to give you a call for a hook up on future ticket needs.
In Conclusion
I am left wondering: if the “card owner” information provided to Expedia was similar to what was provided to Pipeline, then nothing matched. Not the billing / shipping address, name, etc. So that makes me very curious (and frustrated) as to what my Issuing Bank and Expedia used to authorize the purchases. And where someone is traveling thanks to MY card number. I suggest somewhere warm, and with non-extradition terms.
As a friend recently reminded me, I’m a consumer protected under Regulation E, so I guess what the Issuing Bank decides to use as authentication is their problem. My new issue: trying to remember what companies I do business with that have this card number for auto-debits. Now that is a true nightmare.
Thank you for listening to my very personal experience; I'm still following a few things. I guess Lesson #2 is: check your accounts, daily if possible. No matter how cautious you are, you never know...