I HAVE BEEN PROBED!!
Paul Cooper Sr.
Retired Fraud Detective Sergeant at City of Atlanta Police Department
There was an attempt this morning to push through a .45c charge on my personal credit card. All of the fail safes with the issuer kicked in, caught the fraud, froze the card, and notified me immediately, and has led to my new card being issued. No payday today perp!
This incident goes to illustrate my number one point whenever I speak to anyone about fraud protection. Always use a credit card! I have not lost one penny as a result of this. I lose nothing while it is being disputed and reversed. If this had been a debit card attached to my primary banking account, then I could be in trouble. I could be without gas money, food money, and (GASP) beer money for days.
I still run into people who are "afraid" of having a credit card. They worry about going into debt, they worry about paying interest, etc. This all boils down to self-discipline. We are a society that moves money around willy-nilly (my grandmothers term) via the internet all day, every day. How much trouble is to avail yourself of the safe guards of your CC and then transfer the funds from your checking account directly to the CC issuer? I also run into a handful of folks who don't trust online banking services to pay their bills and still write paper checks, entrusting them to the mail service (don't get me started down this rabbit hole! That is a much longer story for another day!)
I don't know the legal ramifications of putting out the name of my card issuer in this format, but suffice it to say that I know what's in my wallet, and wholly place my faith in their fraud department. I am a little disappointed that they wouldn't let me allow this situation to play out and see where it went next. I am pretty good at what I do and have an extensive network of really talented fraud fighters who would love to track these folks down. But I understand that they need to protect themselves as well. Sort of...
Oh well, I am off to run malware sweeps on all of my devices! Bye.
Captain - Support Services Division
4 年I credit card all the time too just for that reason. You taught me well 10 years ago Paul! And I listened to everything you told me!
Senior Corporate Investigator | Ethics and Fraud Investigations | Compliance and Security | Workplace and Employee Relations Investigations | I Help Business Stakeholders and Law Enforcement Uncover The Truth
4 年The concerns of having a cc and keeping the debt rolling are understood, but agreed, it is a safer option as far as fraud protection is concerned than a debit card. The user just has to have the approach of using the cc as a debit card and pay it off immediately.
Training Manager and Public Safety Liaison at BOS Security, Inc.
4 年I like using my AmEx for buying anything online as well as paying some of my utility bills. Not only are transactions protected by AmEx but the frequent flyer miles are stacking up too for when this COVID crap finally eases up. You do a great job Paul and have always been a leader in the fraud prevention, as well as a leader to your peers. Keep up the good work. Hilde