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ventaUrgh. Feeling this rubbish with a cold, for this long, ought not to be allowed.
However, while I've been lying in bed, whinging, my credit card's been off having fun.
MBNA rang me yesterday, and explained there were some suspicious transactions on my card. Before going into details, they'd need me to answer some security questions. Oh dear, here we go again...
No, I'm not prepared to answer security questions until they prove they're actually MBNA.
But they're only going to ask for partial information, like the first two digits of my mothers' maiden name instead of the whole name.
I don't care, I'm not answering their questions.
This conversation is at least shorter than usual, as the bloke on the other end offers me the options of ringing the number on my card and asking to speak to security, or ringing a direct dial number he gives me. I take the former.
When I ring them back, the person I talk to mentions before clearing down that I'll get a letter through the post, because they were unable to contact me.
Eh ?
Apparently, at the point at which I refused to go through the security clearance, I was logged as uncontactable and a letter automatically dispatched to warn me of possible fraud. In case I didn't call them back. By the time I returned the call fifteen seconds later the letter was irretrivably sent.
Surely credit card companies, banks, etc ought to be encouraging people to behave like I did, not treating it as a strange anomaly. "Keep your personal information safe", they tell us. "Don't give out to anyone... unless they claim to be your bank. Which criminals never do. Oh no."
I understand that it's way more convenient for my bank to be able to ring me, rather than having to ask me to ring them. It's cheaper and more efficient. However, I do wish that the person who rings me would at least be able to grasp the reasons for my objection to the process.
Instead, you're made to feel like a paranoid loon for not giving out... well, exactly the kind of information someone would want if they were going to use your card fraudulently.
And yes, it seems my card has been off having fun at iTunes and Napster. Not a huge amount of fun, though - three songs, which totals about £3.
What I want to know is how did the credit card company spot it as suspicious ? Admittedly, I don't buy music from iTunes but it's the sort of thing that I might very plausibly do. I do buy downloadable music online occasionally, and MBNA probably don't know that I'd rather eat my own foot than use iTunes.
I've no idea what information iTunes (or any other online retailer) might log which would make it possible to deduce the purchaser wasn't me. And if they thought the transaction suspicious, wouldn't they stop it at the point of sale ?
I guess the heuristics used are kept secret by the credit card companies, just to make it harder to work round them. But does anyone have a clue how it works ?
However, while I've been lying in bed, whinging, my credit card's been off having fun.
MBNA rang me yesterday, and explained there were some suspicious transactions on my card. Before going into details, they'd need me to answer some security questions. Oh dear, here we go again...
No, I'm not prepared to answer security questions until they prove they're actually MBNA.
But they're only going to ask for partial information, like the first two digits of my mothers' maiden name instead of the whole name.
I don't care, I'm not answering their questions.
This conversation is at least shorter than usual, as the bloke on the other end offers me the options of ringing the number on my card and asking to speak to security, or ringing a direct dial number he gives me. I take the former.
When I ring them back, the person I talk to mentions before clearing down that I'll get a letter through the post, because they were unable to contact me.
Eh ?
Apparently, at the point at which I refused to go through the security clearance, I was logged as uncontactable and a letter automatically dispatched to warn me of possible fraud. In case I didn't call them back. By the time I returned the call fifteen seconds later the letter was irretrivably sent.
Surely credit card companies, banks, etc ought to be encouraging people to behave like I did, not treating it as a strange anomaly. "Keep your personal information safe", they tell us. "Don't give out to anyone... unless they claim to be your bank. Which criminals never do. Oh no."
I understand that it's way more convenient for my bank to be able to ring me, rather than having to ask me to ring them. It's cheaper and more efficient. However, I do wish that the person who rings me would at least be able to grasp the reasons for my objection to the process.
Instead, you're made to feel like a paranoid loon for not giving out... well, exactly the kind of information someone would want if they were going to use your card fraudulently.
And yes, it seems my card has been off having fun at iTunes and Napster. Not a huge amount of fun, though - three songs, which totals about £3.
What I want to know is how did the credit card company spot it as suspicious ? Admittedly, I don't buy music from iTunes but it's the sort of thing that I might very plausibly do. I do buy downloadable music online occasionally, and MBNA probably don't know that I'd rather eat my own foot than use iTunes.
I've no idea what information iTunes (or any other online retailer) might log which would make it possible to deduce the purchaser wasn't me. And if they thought the transaction suspicious, wouldn't they stop it at the point of sale ?
I guess the heuristics used are kept secret by the credit card companies, just to make it harder to work round them. But does anyone have a clue how it works ?
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no subject
Date: 2007-10-10 01:01 pm (UTC)At that point, they can have more confidence in me (I'm answering a phone they know to be mine) than I can in them (they're calling from a withheld number).
Someone once pointed out that my objection was foolish, because both DOB and mother's maiden name are fairly easy to find out about someone, and thus I didn't need to worry about giving them away. They didn't understand why that made me crosser - if they're that bloody easy, why are you using them as security questions ? Hmm ?
no subject
Date: 2007-10-10 01:14 pm (UTC)Some places have ridiculous policies on security. The people that run the Debenhams card thingy (GE Money?) would never talk to me, as a subsidiary card holder, despite the fact I was the one making 99.9% of the transactions, but I could get all sorts of information from their automated phone line by the simple measure of knowing my husband's birthday [and our shared card no.], something I think most people could manage to recall if pushed.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-12 06:40 am (UTC)A little worried by the subsidiary cardholder thing, too. Surely they do have your details on record, so they should be able to check 'em...
Unfortunately, I have a Debenhams card. *Sigh* Not impressed.