July 18, 2004

• Umm, sorry for the multiple [more inside]s. Any help appreciated, as I am now even poorer than usual.
• Does your key-card require a password to be used? (Thinking it's the equivalent of the US ATM card, which does.) If so, you have to wonder how they came up with it. If it is a bank account card you need to run, not walk to your nearest branch. And, man, that's tragic.
• [*comforts*] That sucks :o( And yeah, I'm with Path, run to the nearest bank and cancel it, or call their helpline number to report it stolen.
• After you report the theft to your bank and get the card deactivated, you might also think about notifying the local law enforcement agency. If for some reason you can't deactivate your card immediately, move all of your money into a different account for the time being. Whoever has your card info is likely to use it again, so get all of your money out of the thief's reach.
• afaik, notifying the bank via their 24-hour number is the best thing, followed closely by "The Authorities". Report times/dates are key. In the case of credit cards, often you won't be liable for more than US$50, although I don't know how it plays out on the planet you're on. If it was all withdrawl, and it was from an ATM machine it can easily be disproven that you did it via closed circuit camera, providing you've notified them.
• And try to backtrack more info for your report: used the card lately in some out-of-the-way, funny looking ATM? (many units here now have a sticker on them, warning about bolted-on contraptions that copy your card) Paid with it on some establishment where they 'had to fetch it to check' or something that involved it being away from your sight for some minutes?
• Definately get in touch with your bank ASAP and tell them what's happened.
• This doesn't help you, but I read a story a long time ago about a scam where thieves would set up fake atm machines to record people's pins. These machines even distributed cash. Quite impressive.
• Sucks, Quid. Get the Law on it, and maybe they'll earn their kippers.
• Yes, I had this happen. It was a paypal thing; the person paid for $1,500 worth of "web design" with my paypal account. My bank took care of it by the next posting date; paypal did next to nothing (for me, anyway). Make SURE to report it to your local authorities, your bank, the people who got paid, and anyone else you can think of who might possibly be involved in any little way whatsoever. Dispute the charges RIGHT AWAY. Like... NOW.
• An anecdote that may cheer you: a friend, banking at an otherwise loathsome Canadian bank, had her PIN stolen and $1500 withdrawn before she noticed. She complained to the bank, arguing that they had taken insufficient privacy precautions. After they checked the CCTV of the withdrawal ABMs, they returned her money. Since the "privacy precautions" at most UK ABMs are non-existent, you may have some luck. Good luck truly, you have my sympathy.
• Yeah, quid, it happened to me too a few months ago. About £800 went due to a cloned card (unfortunately, I didn't visit a cash machine all weekend, otherwise I'd have noticed something amiss). So long as you a) notify the bank as soon as possible, and b) are able to give them a decent enough account of your card usage over the days the cloning might have happened, you will get your money back. A friend of mine had problems getting the money back when his card was actually stolen when his room was broken into, but that was because the bank assumed he must have either left his PIN lying around somewhere, or withdrawn the money himself. He wrote them a very angry letter - how dare they suggest that he was trying to defraud them, he hadn't even been in the country at the time - and they relented. (He had actually left his PIN lying around...) But, if the card was cloned and your PIN info taken either from a rigged machine or by somebody observing you as you type it in, then it's not your fault (as ilyadeux said), and the bank are obliged to refund your money in full. But it makes everything much easier if you're able to give them every possible detail of where, when and how you used the card.
• A subsidiary note about the banks in my two anecdotes - The Co-Operative Bank were, well, very co-operative; HSBC nowhere near as much so. How many hoops you have to jump through will probably vary depending on who you're with...
• Mostly unrelated but while staying in North Carolina the hotel clerk where we stayed took our credit card number and used it to buy stuff online. We disputed it as soon as we got our statement (which was a week or two later) and got the money reimbursed, and the credit card company took care of the police work, as well. Complain enough to your bank and they may do more than you'd expect. Good luck, that really sucks.
• yeah let us know how it goes eh?
• Monkeys, infinite thanks for all your comments/sympathy/advice - especially your in-depth comments, flashboy. Umm, yes I should have pointed out that I called the bank (HSBC) as soon as ... although I find it terribly sweet that some of you imagine my first move after finding out I was inexplicably poor was to immediately rush to the computer to frame a curious george post! ;) Anyways, went to see the Bank, cops etc today in person after getting the run around from various HSBC call centres in Bombay (or somewhere). It all looks cool, the paperwork is filled in and the Bank and "the Man" are on the case. Plus, Monique at the Bank who took my hand and sorted me out was totally ga-ga gorgeous. Mmmm. Ahem - err, yes well ... thanks again for your advice, O wonderful monkeys!
• This Monique - it vibrates?