CC Security Breach

[sunflower.mama]

We were contacted yesterday by the fraud division on one of our credit cards. Apparantly they placed a hold on the account when someone randomly charged $7 at a Mexican convienence store. Since we're nowhere near Mexico...it's clear that someone got ahold of our card and this was a test charge. At any rate, the cc co did their job and are canceling out the card. My issue is how the breach occurred. As it happens, I don't carry that card. It sits in a drawer at home, but every month our oil company charges our budget plan to it. They offer a discount if you use a mastercard so there you go. Do I assume that the breach occurred on their end? Or are there otherways that bad guys can get ahold of the info...as in if I log into the account to check my balance? I spoke w/the oil co and of course they reassured me that their system was secure. However, I can't help but hesitate before giving them another cc in the future.
Also, my hotmail email acct was compromised last week - one of those things where a company sends emails to everyone in your addy book claiming that you are selling electronics. Could these things be related? I didn't link that email address up w/that credit card in any way. The whole thing makes me uneasy.

[Cheshire]

It could have come from anyplace you've ever used the card.

I've had my Amex account stolen over the internet. They had enough info on me to reset my online password. From there they were able to change my mailing address to theirs so that I wouldn't get my paper bills and figure it out for a while (so they thought). After changing that info they went on a buying spree online.

I check my account online weekly and when I wasn't able to log in I called. They wouldn't talk to me except if I called from my home number (that is the one they had on file for me). So, when I got home I called and got my info reset, a new card number issued and had to fight the charges the thieves made online. A huge hassle. How did they get my info - I have a good suspicion because I was part of a group whose info was stolen from an information clearing house that they got it from there but honestly, who knows???

Good thing your CC company caught it and called.

I've found I have to watch my info like a hawk.

[Gray's Mommy]

I would call your cc company back to verify that it actually was someone from their dept. calling you yesterday. I just don't trust people when they call/email information out of the blue.

[sunflower.mama]

I watch my info too...in fact I called them because I was unable to log on to my account to check it that day. They had left a voicemail earlier the same day which I hadn't received yet. So it's clearly the the cc co since I initiated the call.
It's just strange seeing as I haven't used it in 6-8 mos except for the auto charge by the oil co. That's what makes me wonder about that company.

[marisa724]

We had something similar happen with a MC we never use either (it was an airline card and we were planning to cancel it once we converted the miles to a ticket or something).

In our case, it seemed that there was a database compromised at some point in one of the places we *used* to use the card -- like maybe a year or more earlier. It doesn't matter when you used the card, if the merchant still has your info on file somewhere it's accessible to a hacker. The only way to be truly 100% safe is to not use cards at all, I think. Otherwise, staying on top of the account by checking online, etc., is probably best.

[sunflower.mama]

Originally Posted by marisa724

We had something similar happen with a MC we never use either (it was an airline card and we were planning to cancel it once we converted the miles to a ticket or something).

In our case, it seemed that there was a database compromised at some point in one of the places we *used* to use the card -- like maybe a year or more earlier. It doesn't matter when you used the card, if the merchant still has your info on file somewhere it's accessible to a hacker. The only way to be truly 100% safe is to not use cards at all, I think. Otherwise, staying on top of the account by checking online, etc., is probably best.

Thank you! This is the info I was interested in. I don't want to blame the oil co unnecessarily, nor do I want to be a dummy for giving them another cc.