Today's rant (nothing to do with photography or gear)

[Lucky Duck]

Last evening I got a text from Capital One advising me there had been suspicious activity on my credit card. I called them as requested and in 20 minutes I accomplished absolutely nothing. After a few rounds of back and forth (gory details omitted) the end result was the rep would not tell me the nature of the activity or when it occurred until I agreed to upload a personal, government issued ID so she could confirm my identity. Now, bear in mind they already have my SS number, phone number, address, birthday and at least one of my bank acct. numbers. I drew the line at sending them my driver's license (front and back) because why, after ~15+ years, do they suddenly need me to prove my identity in this manner?

I called back again this morning, got the same spiel from a different rep and her supervisor. I offered to send them some other form of verification (utility bills, tax documents, pay stubs, etc.) but NO, none of those would do—ID or nothing. So nothing is what they get from me and my acct. is now locked. Capital One can kiss my derrière. I have numerous credit cards and C1 offers not one thing that I can't find elsewhere. Their interest rate isn't all that competitive either; I pay 5% less with Chase for those rare times that I carry a balance.

Ok, rant over or at least cut short. I feel a tiny bit better after pounding my mechanical keyboard to compose the above, but there's still some steam rising from my head. Time to go outside and enjoy what looks to be a pretty fine day.

 

[JeeperDon]

I use Citi, over 20 yrs, three CCs and online banking. Never a bad phone call or service, ever. Had a pickpocket hit me in London years ago, they overnighted a new card from the US to my hotel.

 

[Mike Buckley]

CitiBank has cancelled many of my credit cards over the years due to fraudulent attempt to use them. They told me when and where it happened. They never asked me to upload any form of identification and only asked that I verify my name and address over the phone. They then immediately sent me replacement credit cards.

When I'm going to place an unusually costly purchase on the credit card or am going to use it more than a 100 miles away from my local area, I call them to advise them so they don't temporarily block my use of the cards. Again, no identification required other than confirming my name and address over the phone.

 

[drr1531]

I'd dump them too. I've had the same experience as Mike with CitiBank. If they flag suspicious transactions they just notify me that they are blocking the card and that another is on the way. One time we were just about to leave on an international trip when it happened and it didn't make it to us in time. We used out secondary(and only other) card. Another time it happened about a month after we had returned from a trip to Europe and all of the fraudulent activity was in Europe. Apparently our card got skimmed(or whatever they call it) while we were there and the crooks didn't use it for a month.

On a side note, per above we only have two active credit cards, no mortgage, and no auto loans. I recently read on the Experian website that having less than six forms of credit active has a negative effect on your credit rating. Go figure.

 

[jbailey930]

FWIW, we were Chevy Chase Bank members that are now Cap One. They are closing many local branches and homogenizing the accounts for sake of customer acquisition. Lot of changes in online banking process for automated payments. We have not been happy with these changes.....perhaps time to shop.

As to the identity requirement, I work in online transaction service for mobile phones/service. We had to resort to similar process to validate if we were dealing with the identity holder. Fraudsters have practically ruined online transactions...they know out of wallet questions, social engineering, credit history, etc. Cap One is being reactive but what choice do they have to ensure you are not the fraudster trying to unlock the accounts.

Oh, and yesterday we got three phone calls from "Amazon" telling us we had a $249 purchase that needed to be verified by visiting a website if we wanted to cancel.

 

[bsinc1962]

Cap One also irked me earlier this year. I have several CC's but I prefer to use just one (Chase) for convenience. All my other cc's have zero balances. On my two C1 cards one had a $5k limit and the other a $10k limit. Out of the blue they send me an email saying they are adjusting my credit limit on one of the cards down to $1500 from $5000 "to better fit my profile". From a usage standpoint no big deal because I don't use it anyways. What irked me was that their move dropped my credit score by 15 points.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Cap One is being reactive but what choice do they have to ensure you are not the fraudster trying to unlock the accounts.

They have the same choice their competitors have. If they want to eliminate rather than minimize the risk they have that I as their customer am a fraudster, I would happily eliminate them as a vendor.

 

[Cleanimage]

Last evening I got a text from Capital One advising me there had been suspicious activity on my credit card. I called them as requested and in 20 minutes I accomplished absolutely nothing. After a few rounds of back and forth (gory details omitted) the end result was the rep would not tell me the nature of the activity or when it occurred until I agreed to upload a personal, government issued ID so she could confirm my identity. Now, bear in mind they already have my SS number, phone number, address, birthday and at least one of my bank acct. numbers. I drew the line at sending them my driver's license (front and back) because why, after ~15+ years, do they suddenly need me to prove my identity in this manner?

I called back again this morning, got the same spiel from a different rep and her supervisor. I offered to send them some other form of verification (utility bills, tax documents, pay stubs, etc.) but NO, none of those would do—ID or nothing. So nothing is what they get from me and my acct. is now locked. Capital One can kiss my derrière. I have numerous credit cards and C1 offers not one thing that I can't find elsewhere. Their interest rate isn't all that competitive either; I pay 5% less with Chase for those rare times that I carry a balance.

Ok, rant over or at least cut short. I feel a tiny bit better after pounding my mechanical keyboard to compose the above, but there's still some steam rising from my head. Time to go outside and enjoy what looks to be a pretty fine day.

If I were you I would look up Capital One's phone number from their website, call that number, and ask for their fraud department. Many years ago my identity was stolen. I got a call out of the blue about a credit application made in my name from a bank fraud representative; it may have been Capital One but I don't remember now. I didn't have an account with them and the representative said that I would need to verify my identity by providing my SSN. I told her I was wary about doing that and so she suggested that I hang up, look up the number of the bank, and go through the steps I described. I ended up back with the lady who had called and got the issue resolved. I also had the peace of mind knowing that I was actually dealing with an actual representative of the bank.

 

[Lucky Duck]

If I were you I would look up Capital One's phone number from their website, call that number...

The thought arose yesterday evening that this was a scam. As she was in the process of preliminary verification of my identity, I asked, "How do I know who you are?" She asked me to verify the number I called was the same as the number on the back of the card, and it was, but I had dialed that number via the link in the text so it possibly could have been spoofed. That's one reason why the process ground to a halt shortly thereafter. When I checked my acct. online after the call I saw it had been restricted and then this morning I got the same routine when I called the number directly (only without the Indian accent). So Capital One, genuinely, legitimately does not want my business. I'm OK with that.

 

[Lucky Duck]

For a moment this afternoon, there was a brief glimmer of hope. I had sent the following message via Capital One's document upload link:

Case number
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

There will be no document upload. Capital One's representatives were offered the
opportunity to verify my identity using some other, mutually agreeable method. Capital
One's representatives refused. Therefore, this account will remain in limbo for the foreseeable future or until such time
as Capital One reconsiders its position on alternate methods of identity verification.

Most sincerely,

And that was that. Or so I thought until I received a voicemail instructing me to call a different number than I had used previously. I did, and I quickly wound up right back on the same hamster wheel I had traveled previously: you must send us your ID or no soup for you!

Needless to say, I remain soupless.

 

[Growltiger]

For the sake of greater security, it is important to understand that if using a landline and you are called by what may be a scammer it is NOT adequate to end the call, look up the genuine number and phone it. You may simply end up speaking to another scammer who will connect you to the original one.
It does depend on who initiated the first call and the phone system. In the UK if you are called, you can hang up the phone and quickly pick it up again and the call will not be lost, this is what makes the trick possible.

The way it works is this. The scammer encourages you to check they are who they say they are, and they make you get the real number ready. When you put down the phone they keep the line open and the moment you lift the phone to dial their computer plays a dial tone. Then as you dial it plays the sound of the DTMF tones. Than it plays a ringing tone. Then scammer number 2 starts talking and pretends to be the switchboard. They transfer you back to scammer 1 by again sending convincing sounds and handing the phone to scammer 1.

The safe option is to always make the new call using a different circuit, for example a cellphone instead of the landline.

 

[Keithj34]

Last evening I got a text from Capital One advising me there had been suspicious activity on my credit card. I called them as requested and in 20 minutes I accomplished absolutely nothing. After a few rounds of back and forth (gory details omitted) the end result was the rep would not tell me the nature of the activity or when it occurred until I agreed to upload a personal, government issued ID so she could confirm my identity. Now, bear in mind they already have my SS number, phone number, address, birthday and at least one of my bank acct. numbers. I drew the line at sending them my driver's license (front and back) because why, after ~15+ years, do they suddenly need me to prove my identity in this manner?

I called back again this morning, got the same spiel from a different rep and her supervisor. I offered to send them some other form of verification (utility bills, tax documents, pay stubs, etc.) but NO, none of those would do—ID or nothing. So nothing is what they get from me and my acct. is now locked. Capital One can kiss my derrière. I have numerous credit cards and C1 offers not one thing that I can't find elsewhere. Their interest rate isn't all that competitive either; I pay 5% less with Chase for those rare times that I carry a balance.

Ok, rant over or at least cut short. I feel a tiny bit better after pounding my mechanical keyboard to compose the above, but there's still some steam rising from my head. Time to go outside and enjoy what looks to be a pretty fine day.

I use USAA they alert me when anything goes on and if I have to make a large deposit or withdrawl over 3k, I have to contact them to increase limits which Ive had to do a few times since I been off the road.. I cant say they ever asked me to verify who I am by means of photo ID though

 

[Growltiger]

I was very impressed when my card supplier phoned me to ask if I had made a charitable donation to a US charity of $0.50. Their system had immediately flagged this as a likely fraud, not because I'm mean, but because making an initial tiny payment is a technique used by some fraudsters to check that a card works and is safe to use.

 

[F15Todd]

I use USAA they alert me when anything goes on and if I have to make a large deposit or withdrawl over 3k, I have to contact them to increase limits which Ive had to do a few times since I been off the road.. I cant say they ever asked me to verify who I am by means of photo ID though

Also use USAA. We ditched credit cards a few years ago and just use our USAA debit cards. Only once has this caused an issue when I tried to do a last minute rental car at the counter. They would not accept debit card at the counter, only credit card. But if I did the reservation online I could use debit card. So I pulled my laptop out and placed it on their counter and did the transaction online right in front of them. Gave them the confirmation number and off I went.

 

[JeeperDon]

When I'm going to place an unusually costly purchase on the credit card or am going to use it more than a 100 miles away from my local area, I call them to advise them so they don't temporarily block my use of the cards.

I do that too, like last summer when I charged $10 grand for a new HVAC system for the house, or when I'm out of the country on vacation for a week or two.

 

[frdjohns]

I use USAA as well. Once I traveled from Pennsylvania to Ontario on a photography trip. I had bought gas with my card in Erie, PA and then stopped to top off when I arrived in Ontario. The card was rejected, and my cell phone rang less than a minute later. It was USAA calling to see if I had just made the charge. I told them what was going on and they immediately turned the card on. I paid for my gas and left feeling quite secure.

 

[Lucky Duck]

Capital One seems to be one of the difficult ones to work with!

For sure. During my last call I asked about cancelling the card and sending out a replacement, a typical recourse in instances of fraud. The answer was no, that can't be done in this situation. When I asked what was different about this particular situation I was informed that in order to learn that, I had to send them my ID.