Debit Card hacked

[pbm]

My daughters debit card was hacked and $6000 was withdrawn in 3 withdrawals. The 'fraud dept.' of the bank (a major bank) told her that she's responsible for everything over $500 because they had her PIN #. The guy in the 'fraud dept.' sounded like he was in India and wasn't very nice about it.
She has made a police report. I know that these type instances are protected with credit cards but I've never dealt with 'debit cards'. I'm sure they can pull video at the 3 banks in question to see that it wasn't her withdrawing the cash. Has anybody had a similar experience with a 'debit card' and how was it resolved? Are the protections on a 'debit card' that different than on a credit card? Thanks for any info you have.

 

[John105]

Similar…my debit card was used to buy jewelry from a mall. It’s never left my possesssion, so not sure how it was done. And I don’t use it either.

Through the experience I learned from the web that unlike credit cards, a person can still be responsible in the event of fraud. Didn’t make sense to me but told me don’t use them. Use credit instead and pay in full. Today, more merchants are in fact charging 4% to use credit.

At any rate, never did my online bank assure me or coddle me and say the charge would be reversed, but it was. It was around $3k so I was perturbed. I would still try to fight it with your daughter or blast the institution on social media or with the local news. Good luck.

 

[dishdude]

How'd they get her pin?

 

[loneryder]

My debit card number and pin was used to make several purchases in Italy. I saw it right away and called my bank. They put me through the third degree interrogation. No I've never been to Italy or Europe. I only use that card to get money from that banks machines and nothing else. They eventually credited the money back. One of their machines must have had a reader in the CC slot and then it was sold on the dark web.
I would add that CC companies are getting real sensitive to purchases out of your regular vicinity. I tried to make a purchase from Hong Kong and Citibank blocked the charge and sent me emails and text. I checked that it was me and they said put the charge thru again . Well the merchant flagged this card and wouldn't take it. I had to use another card thru PayPal.

 

[Drifter]

My debit card was hacked a couple years ago. Get alerts pretty quickly so we/they canceled the card asap. Under a grand if I recall. Velocity Credit Union , Covered every penny. Took about 7 days before money was available. About 10 days for a new card. I had some savings luckily to tide me over. Thieves can't/couldn't access savings account. But you should be covered is my take. I am pretty sure it at a gas pump. They didn't care as their insurance would cover the loss. So it continues on and on. Good luck to ya. Fight them tooth and nail..

 

[Elkins45]

This is why I refuse to have a debit card. If your credit card gets hacked $50 is the most you have to pay. If your debit card gets hacked you can lose everything and then have to beg them to give it back.

 

[Rmay635703]

Never have a debit card

CC are bad enough

It’s a sad state of affairs but cash and actual checks tend to be more secure because the criminal has to actually be nearby and not overseas and if stolen or misused your not on the hook

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Really sorry to hear you have to deal with this type of mess. Happened to us when Covid pandemic struck and everyone started to shop online etc... Hope your issue gets resolved quick and painless.
I consider us very lucky how our theft worked out.
I placed an order for about $110 from our local Walmart for delivery the next day. For some reason ? (probably because I normally would not shop that way) I caught some strange purchase activity for around $300 to $400 on my card in another store in another state. The charges I did not make were placed on the card over 400miles from where we live. I called the bank and Walmart very next morning.
Both responded fast n well I thought but Walmart was kind of a strange encounter.
Two days after , a Walmart employee tells me they could tell already who did that and it was a local employee here who sent my card # to a family member who worked at the Walmart in another state where charges were made. He told me they were to be "dealt with?" but likely not charged!? No idea why not.... Anyway, got a new card , charges were removed and I was not held accountable for anything at all.
I was told by the bank I was very lucky to have found & cleared it up so very fast.

 

[samven]

I try to tell my siblings and children to never get a debit card even if you only plan to use it at the cash machine at the bank. The response I always get is that they get instant notification on their phone if any purchases are made. That maybe the plan but now hackers have figured out how to get around 2 factor auth. by intercepting your text for the authorization number but preventing it from reaching your phone. They make a purchase or drain your account and you wont know about it until you get a statement. Then you get to fight to get your money back and how do you prove someone hacked your phone. Never give anyone direct access to your money.

 

[Pablo]

I don't have a debit card. I don't get the point.

That said, everything above $500 doesn't sound right.

 

[JMJNet]

The place where she used the card last time may be the culprit.
There are a lot of reels on YT showing hacked card reader at gas station convenience store and at the gas pump.
That place may be where they put some of this hacked card reader to steal the info including pin.

 

[Toy4x4]

About 5-6 years ago I tried to set up Zelle to go through a debit card. Didn't have one so I signed up and they gave me the card right there in the bank. They have a machine to do that, I guess. I took the card straight home and put it in a drawer as I was not going to use it for anything other than Zelle. I put everything on a CC to get cash back. Within one week, I saw there was a $10 charge on it. Not me. I went into the bank in person and told them what happened. Only me, the teller who gave me the card, and Zelle had the info. I was refunded and canceled the card because of that and Zelle required a cell number and Republic Wireless ones were registered as landlines. Still don't know how it happened.

 

[PandaBear]

This is why I only use it for ATM and never for purchase anywhere. There is no incentive for the banks to take care of debit card fraud. Sometimes they trust 2 factor authentication so much they never assumed people can steal your cell number just to get 2FA to steal your identity. (I remember that happened with a major cell phone company being hacked once for this).

To be honest the only way to protect yourself from this is to keep your money separately in different accounts, and only put in enough for frequently used one. Never mix nested eggs with the same account as regular debit card for frequent transaction.

 

[dishdude]

Most banks will let you lock your card and set daily limits. Mine is locked, everything goes on a CC and I generally don't use cash other than to pay my landscaper and window cleaner.

Everything goes on a CC, if it gets compromised it's the bank's money and their problem.

 

[Lubener]

There's very little recourse with a debit card. I would be surprised if the funds are ever restored. I never had one for this reason and use either cash or credit card.

 

[rszappa1]

I never ever use my debit card for purchases... I use only a credit card.....

 

[CDX825]

They have hacked mine a couple times now. They must have a random number generator or something because I rarely use mine. My bank has always spotted the fraud and locked my card when it happened. They also have always reimbursed the money taken.

The fact the "fraud department" was saying she is not covered for anything over 500 and the guy being outside of the country sounds highly suspect to me. She needs to go to her bank and talk to someone in person about the situation.

 

[rstcso]

The safest way to currently protect your accounts from being hacked when making purchases at Point of Sale (POS) is to use contactless payment, aka. tap-to-pay, and never let the card out of your hands, even at a fast-food drive-thru. Even safer, set up Apple or Google wallet. I have my Apple Watch set up to use this method. Besides being the safest method, it makes me think "Richard Tracy (D was blocked)". No card leaves my physical Wallet. Most use their phone making "wallet" transactions.

When using Apple/Google wallet or contactless payment, none of your account information is sent anywhere. A one-time token is transmitted and it's not used again. In a restaurant? Ask to use contactless payment. Most have the card reader they can bring to you, now often used when taking your order. Otherwise, get up and go to a terminal where it can be used, but do not let the card leave your possession. At a gas pump, many have a tap-to-pay option. The most risky thing you can do at a gas pump is insert your card into a reader. At stores, do not swipe your card. Use contactless payment, but if told you their reader isn't set up to do so, use the method which reads the imbedded chip. Many employees at stores aren't even aware you can use contactless payment at their terminal.

In the UK, your cards are not allowed to be touched by a vendor. Use of contactless payment is often the only payment method accepted. Many do not accept cash. Contactless payment is the only payment method for riding London transportation, e.g. buses, tubes, or shorter train/rail journeys. If you don't have a capable card, then you must get an "Oyster card" which is a pre-paid, contactless payment method built-in.

A couple of months ago or so, the FBI put out a warning on using two factor authentication, aka. MFA - Multi Factor Authentication. Hackers have figured out how to obtain/intercept authentication codes. MFA used to be the safest thing one could do to protect against accounts being attacked, but not any more. It increases the potential. I've turned mine off.

 

[demarpaint]

Another reason why I don't have a debt card. If I need to buy something it's either cash or a credit card with some type of reward program. My credit card was recently hacked. I believe it was somehow related to an online purchase. I get instant alerts saying when the card was used but not present at the place of the purchase. During this event it was used in Florida, within 20 minutes of the message, I was driving, I called the CC company. While on hold I got another alert that it was being used for a purchase in Hawaii. They locked the card, a new card issued no cost to me. I see no reason to have a debit card.

 

[John105]

Another reason why I don't have a debt card. If I need to buy something it's either cash or a credit card with some type of reward program. My credit card was recently hacked. I believe it was somehow related to an online purchase. I get instant alerts saying when the card was used but not present at the place of the purchase. During this event it was used in Florida, within 20 minutes of the message, I was driving, I called the CC company. While on hold I got another alert that it was being used for a purchase in Hawaii. They locked the card, a new card issued no cost to me. I see no reason to have a debit card.

I agree and I didn’t know about the lack of protection legally.

But now I see even car dealers charging for use of CC’s. Started with restaurants. The only other reason I guess is if a person is carrying a balance they don’t want to add to it and pay intetest. But it is annoying at Costco when a person is out of their car putting in a PIN getting gas (NJ full service/wastes time for all)