My credit card info was

STOLEN!!!

I went to Wal-Mart today to pick up more kitty litter, and a few other things, and my card was denied. I told her that was impossible as I was just in there last night and spent almost $150--and now it was being denied for $33.00
So, I spent the next hour at the Bank talking to them to see HOW it was done.I do NOT order many things on-line.
I am sooooooooooooooo upset and mad at the same time.Thankfully they saw the activity and put a halt on the card.But, it was soooooooo embarrasing to try and use the debit/credit card and be told it wouldn't go through.
The charges are for such stupid stuff and for such a small ammount,but they are uncommon for me-so they red flagged it.
Now, I am sooooooooooooooooooo leary of buying anything via the net.

Since I am computer illeterate, how do you know if you have a firewall?
PLEASE do NOT laugh!!! I don't know if I do or not.
So, my word of advice is to be VERY VERY VERY careful when using your card via the net.

What is your operating system?

Also, card numbers can be stolen by all sorts of other means such as throwing away statements, unscrupulous waiters or sales clerks.

Here are some resources. Page down and you will see some links.

Wow, that sucks! My mom's credit card number got stolen once too . We got a phone call that somebody had used it to buy some stuff in the Bahamas, like a whole bunch of flowers! A halt was put on it and my mom cancelled the card. She wasn't liable for any of the fraudulant charges, thank God.

As for the firewall, if you have installed one, you have one. Or, if you have activated the Windows Firewall, you have one. To activate it in Windows, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, and there should be an icon or something called "Windows Firewall". You can go there and check if it is on. If you think somebody got it over the Internet, a firewall won't really help you. Some people are very skilled with computers and can put themselves between you and the system you are sending your information to and get it like that. You should probably stick to using websites that use Paypal or something like that. Paypal is a very secure payment service. I've used it lots of times and never had a problem. Sorry this post was so long! Good luck with everything!

Tammy i'm soo sorry

Something else I was thinking of - Do you have any virus checking software? You may want to look into the McAfee or Norton Security packages. Both have anti-virus and firewalls.

Also, who is your ISP provider? Comcast in our area provides McAfee to their cable subscribers so check with your provider to see if they give you something.

Also, be very careful opening any email attachments from sources you are not familiar with. If you have no anti-virus or it isn't up-to-date, don't open any.

OMG I would lose it if that happened to me!!

Who do people think they are, using others hard earned money for their own greedy purposes?..That just burns my rear

Mine once was also (and a card I had never used on the net). I was in England at the time and my bank called me on cell to ask if I happened to be in New York as someone was shopping at the Disney Store there (with a replica card - not just my card number!). Thankfully I had just used my card for groceries at my usual grocery store so they knew I was not abroad and denied the transaction

A couple weeks ago my Debit card was redflaged. I was buying Cat food and the machine came up saying "Go to your bank" SO I did. ONe of the places bought somthing was under investigation for stealing debit cards and pin #'s. My Bank gave me a new card and I was away. They had tried to call me the day before but I had not been home.

I have Peoplepc.com for my ISP
I just checked my account on-line and there are a total of 6 charges that I did NOT authorize.

O.k. it says my firewall is on
It is for a reservation rewards,Video Professor and another one.

It looks like Peoplepc.com has a security package that is an extra $5,$6 per month and it requires Windows XP Service pack 2.

If you are using Windows Firewall, be aware that it only is blocking traffic coming in. If you end up with a virus or trojan, it could be sending all sorts of stuff out without you knowing. This is why an update-to-date virus package is important.

But one has to be careful. Not only with shopping at sites that are trusted, but with emails that claim to be from a bank, E-Bay, Amazon, etc. They never ask you for information to be re-entered. If you have any questions about something (like the threatening email that says your account will be shut down now), call the vendor or bank directly. Don't click on any URLs in the email. Go to the site with the links you normally do.

That really stinks Tammy, but at least you found out about it early.

One other thing to watch out for is using your card at store that print the entire credit card number on their receipts. Most companies do ************1234. I'm leary of the ones that don't because some places are careless with receipts and who has access to them.

Credit card information can be stolen in a number of ways as already stated.

For your own peace of mind you should do an online trojan scan, an online virus scan and a malware scan to get rid of adware. The following are links to help you out:

Download Adware. It's a utility that you should run daily to clean your computer of spyware / adware. After installing it, do a full system scan and delete everything it finds. Then you only need to do a daily partial scan which takes just a few minutes. The free download is in the upper right area:

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

Download Dr. Web Cureit: This is an excellent utility that scans for virus, trojans and adware. Download it and install it and then run it. It takes awhile for it to initialize before you can select to scan. The scan takes awhile too. Don't use the computer while it's running. Delete everything that it finds. The free version does not include the Dr.Web Automatic Updating utility. Dr.Web CureIt! stays actual until the next release of the add-on, then it gets a bit outdated. To scan your computer with the most up-to-date Dr.Web virus bases next time, you need to download and install a new Dr.Web CureIt! each time you want to scan your computer.

http://www.drweb-online.com/en/cure_it.asp?rpid=


Do an online Trojan scan here: Even though you have already used Dr.Web's utility, not every utility will catch everything, so for a first time cleansing of your system, it's better to try 2 separate programs to make sure your system is clean.

http://www.windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/

Do an online Virus scan here: Some malware and trojans and viruses disable virus scanners, so an online one wouldn't be affected by an infected computer. Do the security check scan that is there too.

http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/d...d=ie&venid=sym

Do an online Port scan: This scan checks the security of your computer. Stealth is what you are seeking. That means your computer is not visible on the net. You have to enter a user name and password. According to the site you enter the word scan

http://www.derkeiler.com/Service/PortScan/



Some of those may seem redundant, but do them anyway just to make sure you aren't infected with something malicious that is allowing someone to hack into your computer and steal your information.

As for a "firewall". Do any of the names mean anything to you? Do you see anything with those names in your programs list in "Start/Programs"?

McAfee
Norton
e-Trust
AVG
Zone Alarm

If you don't have a firewall, you need to get one. Windows XP has a built in one that you can turn on in Control Panel. There is an icon for the XP Firewall. Click on it to open the window to turn it on or off. I have mine turned off because the firewall in XP interferes with a number of programs...largely graphic programs. I use a firewall from e-Trust. But you can use a free one from Zone Alarm which is also very good. If you already have a firewall other than the XP one, you do not need to download and install the Zone Alarm one. Multiple firewall installs will only hinder each other.

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...=dbtopnav_zaav

Another thing to consider is a router if you don't already have one. A router is a piece of hardware that you connect your internet to and then you connect your computer to the router. It hides your computer and computer IP address from the net and has it's own IP address. I have one and I wouldn't connect to the net without it especially with Windows XP or Windows 2000 which are like virus magnets. Click on Products, then Wireless and then Basic Networking.

http://www.linksys.com

Another tip for credit cards. Always take the carbon paper from the credit card receipts. They get thrown out and the credit card information is very visible on it. Anyone can pick it up and use it.

When I use my credit card in a store I always ask the clerk to verify my signature and tell her/him why. So many just go through their jobs mindlessly and don't even bother. I hope that by my asking them that they will be more careful and verify addresses for all of their customers who use credit cards.

I'm sorry you have had to go through credit card theft. It's not a nice thing to have happen, especially at this time of year. Hopefully some of the information I've provided above will help you.

I found out 2 of the charges.1 is through Yahoo---which I do NOT nor have had a Yahoo account.
and the other is through Classmates.com---I have gone there.But, have NEVER authorized ANYTHING from there.
My card was shredded right at the bank in front of me.I have a new one ordered and a new password.
I am just so darn mad right now and so upset.DH doesn't know about it yet, when he does..............he's gonna throw a fit too.

I have Windows firewall and it is on
But,there is NO virus protection
Natalie, thank you for the info.!!!
My BIL will be in from Missouri and he works with computers for a living.So, I am going to ask him to come and look at this and set up anything that I need.
I'm just so upset.

I should say that I DO have virus protection with Peoplepc.com though.

Originally Posted by crittermom

I have Windows firewall and it is on
But,there is NO virus protection

Click to expand...

Then I think you should look into the resources Natalie_ca gave to you. Unfortunately, virus protection is a necessary expense for any machine connected to the internet.

I'm so irritated that Microsoft and these computer companies sell a product that the average consumer has to work so hard just to protect themselves.

(sorry for the rant).

Originally Posted by katachtig

Then I think you should look into the resources Natalie_ca gave to you. Unfortunately, virus protection is a necessary expense for any machine connected to the internet.

I'm so irritated that Microsoft and these computer companies sell a product that the average consumer has to work so hard just to protect themselves.

(sorry for the rant).

Click to expand...

So am I!!!!!!

Originally Posted by crittermom

I have Windows firewall and it is on
But,there is NO virus protection
Natalie, thank you for the info.!!!
My BIL will be in from Missouri and he works with computers for a living.So, I am going to ask him to come and look at this and set up anything that I need.
I'm just so upset.

I should say that I DO have virus protection with Peoplepc.com though.

Click to expand...

You're welcome.

You don't really need your BIL to help you with what I posted. I tried to give you pretty clear instructions on what to do. You should do it as soon as you possibly can. If someone has access to your computer through a trojan, they can do a great deal of damage by acquiring passwords, etc.

If you need more information that what I've provided above, just post back. Though you should be able to manage just fine. It's just a matter of installing and running the program.

If there is any consolation here, because you are disputing the charges and they can see that you did not charge them, you will NOT be liable for the amounts of money. Of course, they never reimburse you for the embarassment or the work YOU have to do to straighten it out.

Mad at thieves headbuts and don't pick on my TCS friends licks from KittenKiya's Clan