Fraudulent Charges Affecting Chase Checking Account Customers

I make a point of checking all my accounts (credit card and checking/savings alike) daily.  On 3/5 I detected a fraudulent transaction (a $1 pending charge dated 3/4 from Apple Online US) on a Chase credit card account and called Customer Service to report it as fraud.  The CSR didn't appear to be overly concerned and told me "it (is) just a hold and may not become a "real" transaction".   When I continued to insist that the transaction was fraudulent, she finally relented and transferred me to a security specialist.  He immediately closed my account as a preventive measure and overnighted me a new one.   

It amazed me that I could detect the fraud because I was actively monitoring the account but that the CSR didn't have the common sense to see the broader picture and transfer me to their security area within the first 10 seconds of the call. 

 

I have never use debit cards and won't do so, because once the money is out of your bank account (immediately), it is so much harder to get it back, and the protections on debit cards are much more limited than credit cards.  Pearlbrown, I applaud you for checking daily, but with a credit card, I think you have 60 days after you receive the statement to "dispute" any false charge.   My experience with that is, if you didn't receive the item (which would be the case for a fraudulent charge), the credit card company will remove the charge from your account and charge the amount back to the seller.  But, I understand your being ultra cautious about this.

Foggy, I (used to and still do) share your reluctance about debit cards, but since they are required for reward checking accounts, I have had to adapt.  As you say, once the money is out of your account, it is much harder to get back, so I check my accounts every day, and where possible also set up alerts as well informing me of transaction activity. 

Credit cards, as you rightly point out, have far greater consumer protections, but I verify them also in order to head off trouble at the earliest possible opportunity.