Last Christmas it was my card,this year my wife's.
My wife's card has a low limit,and it was maxed out from Christmas.
I was on-line yesterday to pay the bill,and noticed 2 airline tickets from Frontier Airlines charged 2 days ago to the card.I called Visa ,and was told to call back in 7 days and dispute the charges.I also called Frontier Airlines.The tickets had already been used ,and they told me to call Visa.

My wife used the card on-line over Chrismas to buy some L.L. Bean and Keurig products.

With all the security,I'm wondering how a maxed-out card used by people with different names,without knowing the security number,were able to charge 700USD in Oklahoma ?? Visa couldn't/wouldn't tell me.

I'm heading to my bank on Monday to get another Credit card with a very low limit to use for on-line purchases.

Unfortunately, it happens.

Online is probably the most secure of all credit card transaction types.

But as some point an actual real live person sees the information, copies it down, and uses it. That's likely what happened in your case.

I only buy at shops I can pay with PayPal no paypal I shop elsewhere.

But as some point an actual real live person sees the information, copies it down, and uses it.

Actually, a human should never see it. The transaction should be handled entirely electronically.

Accepting Credit Cards on Your Website (http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/creditcards.shtml)

I have disputed a number of charges that I considered invalid and have found my credit card companies to be very responsive.

In one circumstance I objected to a transaction for gas at what turned out to be a cardlock in Ontario. The service rep told me that people just enter numbers until they get one that works. In this case it was for a card number that is not used online so the number was discovered via some other method.

I believe that no matter what your card number someone elsewhere knows what it is and your only real protection is the integrity of your card company in dealing with disputes.

My latest dispute involves a transaction that was done using a deactivated card number. So far the card company is unable to explain why they processed the transaction.

Was the airline able to identify the persons who used the tickets?!

Wonder how much of this gets reported to the cops and what's the action on the banks towards the criminals? Just seems it's not getting better.

The airline did give me the two names and asked if I knew them,but that was all they gave me.

I had a problem one year ago with some charges in Ontario and Baku,Azerbaijan (!).Visa was execellent that time.

Honestly the fear people have using their card online is misplaced... if your smart with your browsing habits, check reviews for sites, and make sure your own machine isn't loaded with viruses. I've used several cards all over the place online for 10+ years and no problems... then a few months ago the cashback card we use for all local purchases gets hacked! An easy way for crooks to get your numbers is the machines at the store, replace one with a modded one and they can collect thousands in a week, (though chip cards will be the end of this I think).

With all the security,I'm wondering how a maxed-out card used by people with different names,without knowing the security number,were able to charge 700USD in Oklahoma ?? Visa couldn't/wouldn't tell me.

I agree! In our case I aparentlly bought $200 in gas in ontario about 5 minutes after useing my card in alberta :rolleyes:, you'd think the system would redflag things like this.

^^^^
Fast car? ;-)

Actually, there may be more than one legit card on an account, so using them in different locations is possible.

My experience with CIBC Visa is that their fraud detection algorithms are pretty good.

Once I bought gas on the way to the airport in Ottawa and then paid for something in California after I arrived and they had left a message at home asking to call and confirm the transactions.

Mastercard is pretty good with denying odd patterns as well. When I decide to drive home from work in Red Lake I used to fill up in Dryden, top off in Thunder Bay and the fill up in Wawa would get flagged. A quick call and the person would apologize, I would thank them and fill up. With my current vehicle I fill up in Dryden, then Marathon gives me enough to make it to Sudbury and I don't have any issues. :)

more to watch out for as you try to protect your credit cards - The newest strain of the notorious Zeus malware family is capable of defeating common methods of user authentication employed by financial institutions. source (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/zeus-returns-fbi-warns-of-gameover-id-theft-malware/10002?tag=nl.e589)

I had some guy call me today and thank me for my business with Scotiabank. I asked him what business that was. He says he'll tell me, and he's shuffling papers....and he asks me, do I have a loan with them. I told him maybe, I guess could be a car loan thing (I have a Mazda car loan, could it be a Scotiabank thing?). He just agrees with me and tells me that must be it. He then proceeds into his spiel where he says that in order to thank me for my business, I can get a 1% credit card. Anyway, I told him I wasn't interested and then he starts asking me if I have any credit cards, so I just hung up.

Capital One disallows all out of home province physical purchases by default.

One of the security questions my brokerage always asks me to verify who I am is do I have a certain type of account or loan with my bank. They know the answer since my brokerage is associated with my bank.

I just read this article about 7 quick steps to identity theft (http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/how-to-steal-an-identity-in-seven-easy-steps/9487?tag=nl.e550) and the question you were asked could be considered as part of an attempt to get enough information to access your brokerage account or bank account.

but then I'm probably paranoid

^^^^
Credit cards don't have a password. They only have the account number, expiry date and a security number on the back, which are required for on-line charges. If you have the card, you have all three.

New VISA Chip cards have a PIN for Chip terminals at the point of sale.

http://www.visa.ca/chip/cardholders/index.jsp

My bank sent me a Chip/PIN card last summer but I have primarily used it for online purchases.

I have yet to actually need to use the PIN for a purchase.

There is also the Verified by VISA service which uses a password.

http://www.visa.ca/en/merchant/products/vbv/howitworks.jsp

All my CC's have chips, pins, and passive RF now. Pay Pass,etc.)))
The new game is to get the card back into my wallet before it is approved, or worse....declined!;)

I found an article that mentioned a credit card developed that had an electronic CTV number. It would change after every transaction. You enter in a pin number on the front of the card to generate the CTV number. There is a small keypad on the front to enter in the pin. This also fools someone who steals your card. It will give them a ctv number, but when the ctv number is entered, it would alert that the card is stolen. I have been trying to find the tweet I got about this, but have had no luck. Have anyone else seen any information on this?