Debit Card Fruad

[ggiese]

If I had to tak a wild guess ??????? Ordering cigarette's from the Ukraine.
As most of the tobacco vendors I use in Europe are above board, and use well know CC processors.
I trust the merchant in the Ukraine. I think the problem lies with the CC processor they use.

I'd say there's a 99.9% chance you're right on the money. Eastern Europe is loaded with very highly educated IT folks that are also largely unemployed. They have been turning to other means of "employment". I've been chasing those ghosts around for quite some time. Some of the most incredibly "state of the art" malicious software has been originating there. Hackers groups in Eastern Europe actually totally shut down the entire financial sector of the country of Muldova just to prove a point.

I would suggest if you want to order cigarettes from the Ukraine - consider using a credit card that is only used for that purpose, not something you rely on. Something like a pre-paid Visa card or a very low balance credit card that can be easily shut down without affecting you like your checking account debit card. I have a $500 limit Mastercard I use for all of my online purchases (I have to keep telling them NOT to raise the limit), or I use a third party (PoopPal) so that I don't expose my information.

Also - as a heads up - The bank may just end up taking the loss (if they like you), but be cautioned that banks do not like taking losses... Your bank may be frowning on you making purchases like cigarettes or cigars in Eastern Europe. Kind of a two edged sword - one being that you're making purchases in a very high risk environment and also that you're purchasing tobacco products outside the US. They COULD (not that they will) refuse to reimburse you the losses. If they do reimburse, they will try to charge that back to the retailer that took the bogus credit card (who is likely going to object because they want their money). If that's true - and the bank eats it - they might not be so willing to do it next time.

Here's a link to some useful information (the best out there) in dealing with identity theives.

Federal Trade Commission - Identity Theft site

Good luck!