I'm a victim of skimming!

[VladTepes]

Well, I had a bugger of a day.

Bought a Leupold 'scope from a mate to pop on a .375H&H, and withdrew the money from my savings account online into my CBA account.

Went to withdraw it today so I could pay said mate and... only$50 bucks in the account ! What the ? I mean it's payday for chrissakes ! I know the budget hits the public service hard but jeez....

On further investigation it appears that 2 x overseas withdrawals were made from my keycard yesterday. (Unlikely since I haven't been overseas for 2 years eh)

I was not so surprised at all to learn they were ROM 200 and ROM 400.

ROM is the currency code for Romanian 'Leu' or some such.

Yep the Romanians are the kings of the skimmers.

(No - the irony, given my internet nick, is not lost on me)

Adding insult to injury are the bank fees charged for the overseas transactions !

Anyway I'm out of pocket $275 (managed to transfer the rest out of the account today before it too disappeared).

Naturally I lodged a "dispute" with the bank and they tell me that they will investigate and if (bloody well WHEN) they prove that it wasn't me that did the transaction they'll refund my money. How very :censored: noble of them. :rolleyes: This process we be done at the lightning quick speed of 4-6 weeks :angry:

For those that aren't aware of skimmers, or how sophisticated they can be these days, I'd highly recommend a look at this brief presentation. It's very interesting.

http://www.commbank.com.au/personal/apply-online/download-printed-forms/ATM_awareness_guide.pdf


I thought I'd post this as a warning to all those who thought "This couldn't happen to me" or "I've never known anyone it happened to". Keep an eye on those bank statements !

I'm always careful of these things - having worked in banking and in law enforcement I was well aware the problem was out there. Just goes to show it can and DOES happen.

Cheers all.

[rick130]

:eek::eek:

Bloody Hell

[TimNZ]

Ahh, you poor bugger!! I hope the bank comes to the party, and you get some of your money back.

Tim

[Treads]

That's crap mate! :mad: I'd be bloody furious if the bank took 6 weeks to get your money back!


BTW Did you finally get a Ruger No.1? :angel:

[hiline]

do you have a personal banker at your bank ?

if so go directly to him/her and explain the situation ..........

or head straight to the ombudsman's

stuff waiting around 6/8 weeks for whats yours in the 1st place:mad:

[Slunnie]

Which bank was it? I'm just interested to know where I can go to get such speedy and caring service and a genuine interest in protecting the money which is in their custody. I might even swap financial institutions!

I recall a fraud on my account about 3 years ago. The Teachers Credit Union called me to find out if fraudulant transaction was legit, and when I didn't know what they were talking about they then immediately refunded the money back into my account, and I had to make a police report and reference the report number back to the credit union. After chatting about security and accounts I then asked for a security token with a random number generator which needs to be used when accessing my account, and they supplied it for free.

[dullbird]

how do you think they got hold of your details is the important thing!

[isuzurover]

Bugger, sorry to hear!

Glad I am with a bank that doesn't have ATMs! I usually get cash at coles and woolies.

[350RRC]

That's crap mate! :mad: I'd be bloody furious if the bank took 6 weeks to get your money back!




Hi,

The bank doesn't 'get your money back', they cop the loss because it is cheaper for them to cop an estimated annual fraud total than to implement better security.

What they don't factor into the equation is the 'social cost' which can be substantial, and lead to their loss of business in years to come.

cheers, DL

[Jojo]

Sorry to hear that, mate!
Being aware of things can happen, I always check my statements. Regularly. So far, lo and behold, nothing has happened, but as you said, it can and will happen.
Hope you did not tell your bank manager about your forum alias, otherwise they mught think yo are just paying off some distant relatives :cool:. I wish you good luck in all negotiantions with your bank!

Cheers

BTW, any idas how they came over your card details???

[Sleepy]

That's a bugger mate!
I'm with DB, how do you think they got your details? Maybe it is a breach of bank security?

It is a pain how they stuff you around as if it is your "fault". As far as I am concerned they offer these wonderful services (and happily charge us for the privilege;)) they should make them secure. Don't let them push the guilt to you.

[VladTepes]

Which Bank ? Yep, that one !

They have processes to follow.. no immediate refunds possible, has to be investigated yada yada yada. Just peeves me totally.

No Treads, not yet.

[Tote]

A few years ago I had some suspicious transactions on my credit card to internet sites. I reported them to NAB and the money was refunded on the proviso that if the transactions proved to be mine a fee would be charged and the money deducted.
I doubt I'd be staying with an institution that did not immediatley refund the money from a SAVINGS account that, assuming owner had not lost his card, needed a card and a pin to access.Especially considering that if the card had been skimmed it was because of a failing of the banks security processes.
I suspect that my card was compromised by one of the old carbon imprints from a card machine in the days before a verification code was put on credit cards.

Regards,
Tote

[Ralph1Malph]

I have two linked but separate accounts. My hard earned cash lives in one which has no credit or debit cards, cheque or overdraft attached, that way it can't be stolen by Romanians. I transfer a small amount into my everyday account as required so as to limit the loss if I am skimmed, robbed, scammed or otherwise taken advantage of.
BTW, hope it all works out Vlad.

Ralph

[steveG]

Keep pushing the bank - there is no reason it should take that long.
A lady at work got done to the tune of about $2K and I'm sure it was sorted out within days.

My wife accidentally left her card in a ATM - got distracted by an account balance that wasn't what she expected.
In the 2 minutes that it took her to walk into the shopping center, realise what she had done and come back the account had been stripped - around $800. She spoke to the bank and then filed a theft report with the police.
The bank (Westpac) gave her the money back within a few days.

I also know of people that have had false transactions on their credit cards - particularly a few months after returning from O/Seas. In all cases the bank has refunded the money - and reasonably quickly.

If its an ATM card, then all you should have to do is show that you still have the card with you. If anyone else has used your card overseas it must be a fake.

Steve

[abaddonxi]

600 Romanian Ron is about equal to AU$300.

I've changed my mind about working for Customs.

Sorry to hear.

Simon

[It'sNotWorthComplaining!]

That Stinks>.
I'm with the NAB and have my accounts on a SMS alert.
Any transactions of funds transferring are blocked until I receive a unique SMS code to my mobile.... the transaction cannot proceed until I type that SMS code from my mobile into the tranfer of funds window.

[Jhonno]

Sorry to hear of your loss, time frame for the return seems a little rich to me.

Gave up the bank for credit union about 25years ago when they wanted the deeds to my home for a $2k loan to buy floor stock for my mower shop.

Hope for a speedy recovery of YOUR money.

JML

[Ferret]

The bank ... they cop the loss because it is cheaper for them to cop an estimated annual fraud total than to implement better security.

Have some personal experience with that - fraudulent charges on my credit card. On complaint, the bank reversed the transactions after about 4 weeks but were not interested in pursuing the matter with the people concerned despite many others also being affected by the same scam.

[incisor]

i am on the other side of the coin..

looks like i may be out of pocket about 4k on a card transaction that was approved by the bank for a mail order purchase....

even tho a bank may approve a mail order card payment to a merchant there is no real guarantee you will end up with the money...

fairly sucks imho

[dullbird]

i am on the other side of the coin..

looks like i may be out of pocket about 4k on a card transaction that was approved by the bank for a mail order purchase....


even tho a bank may approve a mail order card payment to a merchant there is no real guarantee you will end up with the money...
fairly sucks imho

did they buy it out of vlads account:p.....

Seriously though don't you wait for money to appear before sending goods?
I suppose when it happens they could be paying with someone elses card! victims might get there money back but harsh for other parties that also lose out:(

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Hi mate sorry to hear of your loss :( When you say skimmed do you mean they got you card details by skimming the card physically?

We got back from Singapore last Sunday. Someone pilfered the wifes purse and did such a good job we don't know where or when. The first indication was my card got knocked back. The bank stopped the card after some slimy person had run up $4000 aud in jewellery purchases.

I'm assured by the card people that we won't have to pay it but until they have completed the process we have to find 4k :(

If there is one thing that gives me some comfort is the crime was committed in Singapore and they don't muck around with crims like we do here. Apparently they don't cane women but none the less if they find them I don't think it will be pretty.

On the flipside, the merchant that sold the jewellery to the crim might not get their money like Inc. :(

[lardy]

I had a similar event a few years back i was looking at buying a Dell computer.
I changed my mind as the service centre was in Delhi india (is that where the name of the company comes from ??? just kidding) it was hard getting the call centre chick to understand what it was i wanted to purchased but i pursiveered and then it dawned on me if it was this bad to order it imagine the help desk if anything went wrong !
So i rang back and cancelled it. two weeks later the call centre called back to say the laptop was on its way !
I said it better not be as it's been cancelled.
Three weeks later "hello Mr -------- your laptop is on its way ...again i told them the go.
Five weeks later i got a call from my bank "hello Mr ---------- have you recently been to delhi .....it would seem 5 star hotels are very cheap in that part of india, they did over a thousand quid (u.k. at the time) and bought heaps of really crappy designer badness.
The bank re-funded me straight away and the fraud dept got me to do a report with the cops ...why is it taking so long for you ?
Australia is a modern western country how can it take 4-6 weeks bizarre

[incisor]

Seriously though don't you wait for money to appear before sending goods?

of course, but 30 days down the track the bank can just take it back saying it was a ripped off card.... even tho they have approved the payment and put the money in the account in the first place...

makes it a bit hard...

[Bushwanderer]

To be fair to "That Bank", they contacted me before my statement arrived, questioning the validity of two transactions in Italy. I assured them that neither was mine, and my account was corrected immediately.

I suspect a lot depends on your record of purchases worldwide.

Best Wishes,
Peter

[Ace]

Not good at all vlad. There were a couple of young Asian guys doing cheque fraud in lithgow for a while. My grandad is the strata manager for a block of units and was in the bank one day lining up when a bank employee came up to him asking about a cheque that had his signature on it for the strata account. The reason for her asking was that the amount on the cheque was more than the amount in the account, he told her he didnt write the cheque and told him that it was that man over there who had tried to cash it so grandad approached him and he bolted. police never caught them but they had already taken $2000 from the account no problems and would have gotten away unoticed until grandad got a statement had they have not been greedy and gone back for more.

[Newbs-IIA]

that sucks mate, i think it's bad enought that "internet banking" can take up to three days to transfere between accounts with different banks...

On a more positive note we'll have to go for a shoot down at belmont some time ;) my .223 needs sighting again after the last trip plus the .375H&H will be lots of fun haha

[Barefoot Dave]

Vlad, I hope it ends up the right way for you.
A couple of years ago my uncle, who maintains fast food equipment returned after doing the back blocks rounds (a 3 week trip) to discover $15000 missing from the business account! Thought his partner would answer the phone in Tahiti but he was mystified as well. Backtracking purchases, they discovered the culprit was a servo that had the security cameras angled to record PIN entry and a scimmer behind the counter. As they say though, crooks are dumb. Big mate bought stock for his shop with the card!?! $800 worth of nappies etc. All over, red rover. Reimbursed.
Dave.

[George130]

Sorry to hear the news.
As for the wait????
M bank knows the response I wold give them and I have in the past when they had a claimed system crash and didn't credit my pay. I offered them 1 hour to get back to me with a solution or I would be collecting my family to move into the branch until I had my money. I also asked them to have our dinner ready by 5:30pm.

Within the hour they had a solution.
I was so convincing that my boss even offered to loan us money till the bank sorted things out.
A couple of days max or I would make their lives a real pain. One of the reason I dislike which bank.

[Ace]

Sorry to hear the news.
As for the wait????
M bank knows the response I wold give them and I have in the past when they had a claimed system crash and didn't credit my pay. I offered them 1 hour to get back to me with a solution or I would be collecting my family to move into the branch until I had my money. I also asked them to have our dinner ready by 5:30pm.

Within the hour they had a solution.
I was so convincing that my boss even offered to loan us money till the bank sorted things out.
A couple of days max or I would make their lives a real pain. One of the reason I dislike which bank.

George130 would look nice parked in the bank with all the camping gear spread out. :D

[VladTepes]

Thanks all.
I'll let you know how it goes.



On a more positive note we'll have to go for a shoot down at belmont some time ;) my .223 needs sighting again after the last trip plus the .375H&H will be lots of fun haha



Indeed !

[DiscoStew]

To everyone complaining that the refund should be immediate keep in mind that the bank has no idea if you are a scammer or not. They have to be allowed some time to investigate to prevent further fraud. How does the bank know that you haven't just come back from overseas? And they need to request transaction details from 3rd parties that they have no arrangements with. I would rather the banks limit fraud rather than up everyone's fees, again.

I went to an IT Security conference a couple of months ago and it is now becoming common for the scammer to nick your money, lodge the complaint for you and when it is refunded skim that too.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that if the bank detects the fraud themselves then they refund quickly but if you report it then it takes longer. Makes sense to me.

They also have hardship processes, you just need to ask assertively. You don't need to go into an auto-rant.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

To everyone complaining that the refund should be immediate keep in mind that the bank has no idea if you are a scammer or not. They have to be allowed some time to investigate to prevent further fraud. How does the bank know that you haven't just come back from overseas? And they need to request transaction details from 3rd parties that they have no arrangements with. I would rather the banks limit fraud rather than up everyone's fees, again.

I went to an IT Security conference a couple of months ago and it is now becoming common for the scammer to nick your money, lodge the complaint for you and when it is refunded skim that too.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that if the bank detects the fraud themselves then they refund quickly but if you report it then it takes longer. Makes sense to me.

They also have hardship processes, you just need to ask assertively. You don't need to go into an auto-rant.

With our theft they detected it and cancelled the card. When we talked to them they were adamant about which transactions were fraudulent and they were right.

They advised us not to pay the fraudulent debt and said they would cover all charges and interest in the meantime. To be honest - for an unpleasant experience I can't complain about the treatment so far.

I think if they made it too hard then people would stop carrying and using credit cards and that's obviously not what they want.

[Disco300Tdi]

I am surprised the media in Australia other than Victoria hasn't reported the Romanian Mafia using skimming machines at ATMs

Do a search on "Romanian ATM skimming" you will be astounded to see that they are operating all over the nation, not just in capital cities but regional centres as well.

Unsuspecting ATM customers are using an ATM with the skimming machine attached to it......actually sliding their card straight past it

Millions in Victoria have been fleeced, so how much Australia wide ??

$700,000.00 of ATM users money was taken from one ATM in the Melbourne CBD alone

[CaverD3]

There is a good case for NOT using a Debit Card. If something goes wrong it is your money you need to get back. With a Credit card it is their money until you pay the bill. It is in the banks interest to use a Debit Card in dodgy countries. My Uncle was persuaded by his bank to get one when he went to China.:o

[VladTepes]

I got my money back yesterday !!!!!

[Sleepy]

Not too bad - 2 weeks - good news.!:D

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I got my money back yesterday !!!!!

good stuff :)

[VladTepes]

Did I mention I got my money back !!!?

[CaverD3]

:arms::banana::ehand::ehigh5::eek2::thumbsup: :BigThumb: :clap2::spudnikheadstand::spudnikboogie: :spudnikguitar: :spudnikparty::spudnikbeanie:



:D

[Sleepy]

Did I mention I got my money back !!!?

Yes you did. Why do you ask? Did you spend it all!:D