PREVIOUSLY: I Am A Victim of Credit Card Fraud

Here we go again. This morning, at 9:56am, while I’m at work, I get an email on my phone, actually three emails, alerts from one of my credit card accounts, informing me of “card not present” charge, which was also an “international charge.”

$204 charged on the website HBX.COM, a “Globally curated fashion and lifestyle” site, based in Hong Kong.

The email also gave me the order #, but when I tried to look it up on the website (figuring I could then see the name of who placed it), it said I need that number plus the email used to place it, which I don’t have. Dammit.

This is a different card than the one last May, this one is actually from my bank, but once again a charge is made on a clothing website? That can’t be a coincidence, can it? Is this the same person trying to buy clothes online, using one of my cards?

Thankfully, my morning break hit right then, so I got on the phone with the bank, it felt like it took forever for me to get through all the automated prompts, and get to a live person, so I could explain the situation. They froze that charge, and closed that account, and are sending me a new card. So, good, that person is thwarted again. But, damn, why is this happening to me?

Even if it isn’t the same person or group, I don’t know how my info is getting taken. This time, unlike last May, it is a card that I’ve used more often in recent months, both for online and in-person purchases. So I don’t know, it could be from a website (but even then I pretty much buy from Amazon or Ebay, which should be solid sites), or someone stealing the info in person? Someone at Carl’s Jr. copying my info from that little swipe machine when I buy a burger and milkshake?

And I’m as careful as I can be. At least I thought I was. I got one of those special RFID blocking wallets, to protect my cards. And the ones I don’t use I just leave at home. And once again, I’m glad I’ve signed up for spending alerts on all my cards, so I can double-check every purchase, even my daily Uber or Lyft rides. So at least I’ve been able to shut these purchases down, so whoever it is isn’t getting those clothes they wanted, at least not with my cards.

I’m also signed up to Experians ID protection site, this can monitor and let me know if a new account gets opened in my name. That’s one of my bigger fears, at least when they try to use my own card, I can find out immediately, but if they open a new card on their own, using my info, and run that up, I may not know until months (or years) later, when it goes to Collections, and screws up my credit score.

But at this point all I can say I will be switching to cash, from now on, whenever possible for in-person purchases, and limiting my online buying. I’m also going to have all my remaining cards replaced, just to be safe, in case whomever this is has some more of my card info that they just haven’t gotten around to trying to use yet.

And btw WHOMEVER YOU ARE, STOP BEING A PETTY THIEF AND TRY EARNING YOUR OWN MONEY TO BUY YOUR DAMN CLOTHES!!!