I need a Pelican sleuth

[M.D. Holloway]

or do away with all CCs...tough but not impossible.

[GH85Carrera]

I have my Credit cards and checking account all tied to Quicken. Every evening I open Quicken and tell it to sync with the accounts. It download any activity on the accounts and puts them on the register. If it is something I don't remember shows up, I log onto that account directly. If I still don't remember it I call the CC company.

My CC that I use for all on-line purchases recently had a $100 charge from a Merle Norman store in Chicago. Since I don't use much make-up and I have not been in Chicago in 6 years I disputed the charge. My card has the fancy new chip and they said it was swiped at the store. The card has not been out of my possession.

I disputed it and had to sign an affidavit that I did not make the charge. It was removed from my bill and my only loss was the time to notify the CC company.

I have been synchronizing my checking account and credit card registers using Quicken since the 1980s. My first version of Quicken came on 5.25 inch floppies.

[gassy]

Originally Posted by winders

It appears to be some kind of medical alert system. Did you sign up for one of those recently?

Weird. No medic alert system. Didn't get to the bank yet but soon.

[impactbumper]

Originally Posted by M.D. Holloway

or do away with all CCs...tough but not impossible.

I did. True story.

2011, American Express pissed me off so much, I closed them as well as all my other credit cards. I have a bank card, and that is it. My money is my credit. Large sum purchases, I save, negotiate and buy. If I don't have the means why would I need it?

I do not understand a single logical reason to own a credit card. Maybe I am old school, but I am only 37.

I have mortgage though.

[Por_sha911]

Bank statement is different from credit card statement. Report as fraud and they will shut down your credit card and re-issue. If a checking account that may be different. Either way, if someone has your numbers you have to change numbers to avoid being taken by other scams (they sell good numbers to each other). A regularly occurring small charge sounds like some buying club or membership like Sirius. Hackers normally charge one or two small items and then go big.

Why have credit cards? Travel backup, internet purchases, and a biggie: Fraud protection. A hacked credit card is one thing but if your bank account is hacked you will eventually get your money back but not until the end of the investigation and in the meantime you have no funds.

[impactbumper]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Why have credit cards? Travel backup, internet purchases, and a biggie: Fraud protection. A hacked credit card is one thing but if your bank account is hacked you will eventually get your money back but not until the end of the investigation and in the meantime you have no funds.

True, but there is equal protection on that also.

[aigel]

I have had one of these charges. Similar sum. It is designed to fly under the radar. People that use CC for everything may have a couple hundred small charges - every coffee, sandwich, parking fee etc.

One online message to my bank was all it took to clear up my charge. Of course, I noticed the first month, as CC statements still arrive on paper and are checked line by line. We have a pretty short list of purchases aside from Amazon. Most small items are still paid for in cash in our family and it helps keep the CC statement readable.

G

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by impactbumper

True, but there is equal protection on that also.

The protection on a checking account is the same but lets look at the process:

Credit Card: report theft, get a new card in 24 hours, keep trucking along until the investigation shows you are right and not responsible for purchases.

Checking: Find out your account has been emptied, bounce checks, bank account stays empty until the bank investigates and decides you should get your money back. In the meantime, you have no funds and bounce legit checks and have to explain to merchants why they have a rubber check from you.

[jhynesrockmtn]

When I quit netflix, a fake mexican based version of it started charging my account. Caught it the second month, all charges refunded by paypal.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by LeeH

As a money guy, my advice is to check every charge on every credit card statement every month.

as I broke guy im with him too.

[juanbenae]

oh, and I have no wife...