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* My bank shut down my debit card last month because somebody tried to withdraw money from my account in Portland, Oregon. I’ve always wanted to go to Portland, but never have. Some of my money did, though. They successfully withdrew $88 from an ATM machine and then the bank locked down my card. The bank told me the fraudsters somehow had my pin number, which I never share and don’t even have written down.
Credit card fraud is at an all-time high. That’s according to the Federal Trade Commission’s latest Consumer Sentinel Data Book, which tracks and summarizes consumer complaints about fraud, identity theft, and other consumer concerns. In 2017, there were 133,015 reports of credit card fraud across the United States—nearly a 7 percent increase over the year prior. This trend corresponds with a simultaneous sharp rise in data breaches where personal information was compromised. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, 2017 represented an all-time high of 1,579 data breaches—a nearly 48 percent increase over 2016’s 1,091.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines credit card fraud as the “unauthorized use of a credit or debit card, or similar payment tool (ACH, EFT, recurring charge, etc.), to fraudulently obtain money or property.” Interestingly, the Federal Trade Commission categorizes credit card fraud as a type of identity theft, since it can only be accomplished by stealing credit card numbers, usually by means of an identity theft scheme.
* More…
The risk to individuals isn’t spread evenly across states. Instances of credit card fraud range from a low of 17 per 100,000 residents in Mississippi to a high of 81 per 100,000 residents in Washington D.C. The average across all states is just under 33 per 100,000 residents.
There is a slight positive correlation between median household income and instances of credit card fraud per 100,000 residents. This suggests that higher-income states are potentially more attractive to scammers, representing a better chance of “striking gold.”
Median household income is also positively correlated with the percentage of identity theft cases that are credit card fraud. In other words, credit card fraud appears to be occurring more frequently relative to other types of identity theft in higher-income states. This again might be due to the high payout attached to a successful scheme on a wealthy resident. This trend could also be explained by lower credit card approval rates in states with higher levels of poverty.
Higher levels of poverty also correspond to lower rates of credit card fraud. This may be attributable to lower credit card approval rates, ownership, and credit limits in less wealthy states.
* As the headline says, Illinois ranked 6th…
Credit card fraud complaints: 48 per 100,000 residents
Total identity theft complaints: 130 per 100,000 residents
Credit card fraud percent of total ID theft complaints: 39%
Household median income: $60,960
Percent below poverty level: 13%
Thoughts?
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 3:12 pm
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You got skimmed, Rich.
Comment by Name/Nickname/Anon Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 3:14 pm
We should create a private right of action to recover damages from credit card theft so our trial lawyers can go after the thieves.
Comment by Dan Johnson Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 3:22 pm
So the folks that want to reduce our pay are just trying to lower the crime rate. Who knew?
Comment by a drop in Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 3:27 pm
So if we make the same amount and move MS will we get scammed more less
Comment by Annonin' Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 3:28 pm
Rich. Sorry but I didn’t know where to go with this. My friend SIUC chancellor Carlo Montemagno passed away. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but he always listened. His time here was short. He faced an uphill battle to restore SIUC to its former self. I think, given enough time, he would have helped. RIP C.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 3:45 pm
===the fraudsters somehow had my pin number, which I never share and don’t even have written down.===
Doesn’t matter. There’s technology out there that can read PIN numbers when they’re entered at any location. Sorry you got hacked but glad the damage wasn’t worse.
Comment by Cubs in '16 Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 3:50 pm
It probably was a skimming device. Skimmers get a lot of people every day, affixed to things like ATMs and pay-at-the-pump gas pumps. The devices are easy to miss, but they are also usually not securely attached. I’ve gotten in the habit of always tugging at the plastic thing where you insert the credit or debit card before I use a machine.
Also, I definitely recommend a trip to Portland. I’m there about 6 times a year for work, and it’s beautiful.
Comment by Leslie K Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 4:12 pm
Good tip, Leslie!
Comment by Streamwood Retiree Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 4:33 pm
This isn’t credit card fraud, but four times over the last five months I’ve received a notice from Facebook that someone has tried to log-in to my Facebook account from Sunnyvale, CA. Each time, Facebook has locked my account and required me to change my password each time. Oddly, it happens around the 7th or so of each month, and it seems like whoever or whatever is doing this must be the same person or thing, so why can’t Facebook block this for me?
Comment by Christopher Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 4:54 pm
Credit card and identify theft are planned crimes with some abilities. They need to be pursued vigilantly and punished severely.
At DCFS we had a problem with wards ID being stolen and finding huge debts when they turned 18.
Comment by Last Bull Moose Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 5:05 pm
They’re different issues, but credit card fraud and identity theft are both major headaches. If it takes a private right of action to go after them, so be it.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 5:47 pm
Dealing with some today.
My card got charged 35 bucks out in California.Never been out there.
Comment by btowntruth from forgottonia Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 6:58 pm
My bank account was hacked in June and I had charges in Portland also. I was lucky I caught it right away, and they got less than fifty dollars. My debit card had never been out of my possession, nor did I use any ATM or pay at the pump, so I’ve no idea how it got stolen.
Comment by Used in Portland Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 7:08 pm
As a retired LEO, my advice to everybody is to never use your debit card anywhere except your own banks ATM. Use a credit card for the things you would use your debit card for and pay it off each month.
Comment by In_The_Middle Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 9:03 pm
My credit card was hijacked years ago. The bank called me and asked if I was somewhere in Wisconsin, as a bunch of suspicious charges were being charged. I had not been up there in years. Then, as they were talking to me, someone was charging a $1500 garden tractor at a Sears in Wisconsin on MY card. They were able to stop the sale, but the suspect got away. I asked how they could have got my card number. They said someone hacked the bank and downloaded thousands of accounts, not just mine.
Comment by DuPage Thursday, Oct 11, 18 @ 9:44 pm