How to Deal with Credit Card Fraud - Part 2

I finally got a replacement credit card today! If you didn't know, I got a credit card fraud alert call from Bank of America more than a week ago telling me that they had declined a charge for a purchase in New Jersey due to suspicious activity (I was home in California when the card was charged). I called the activation number thinking that it would be a 2 minute process of pressing buttons, but i was dead wrong.

After typing in the last four digits of my new card, the robot directed to wait to “speak to the next available representative” who’ll be right with me. Right…I waited for almost 10 minutes. Either they're trying to vamp up their customer service, push new "promotions," or get market research data, I got a live person on the other side of the line. Bank of America, if you plan on starting to charge fees to customers, you should really think about cutting down on live person credit card activation. The rep. chatted me up on the benefits of the card (which I’m well aware of) and tried to dig deeper into my spending habits.

How to Deal with Credit Card Fraud - Part 1

I received a "Fraud Alert" email from Bank of America on Saturday night, letting me know that my credit card was declined at a Bed Bath & Beyond for a $25 charge. Hmmmmmmm...interesting. I was near a BB&B earlier that afternoon, but I sure as heck did not go into the store, nor did I attempt to make a $25 purchase. My card hasn't left my wallet in a week, so this is a little absurd. Okay, can i go back to the Bed Bath & Beyond thing? I mean seriously? That's what they stole my credit card information for? I'm kind of insulted! Anyways, stuff happens, so I figured it's a a great opportunity to blog about what to do in situations like this one.

1. Check the validity of the email/call: You don't want to compromise your accounts because you thought a fake fraud alert was real. There are scams where an email with a false link or phone number is sent out to alert people of suspicious activities on their credit card accounts. Then, when you use the contact information given to confirm this, the con artists will ask for sensitive information such as your social security number, account number, and date of birth in order to steal your identity. Don't let this happen!