Released: October 09, 2007

Blocking the card sharks

Source: Diane Ryder, News Herald [Ohio]

Pam Gear of Newbury Township [Ohio] is an avid bargain hunter who scours off-price stores on a regular basis for top-quality, low-priced merchandise. And during a recent shopping expedition, she was stunned when one of her favorite import stores declined her credit card.

“I thought something was wrong with their machine, so I used a different card and went on to the next store,” Gear said. “But the card didn’t work there either, so I knew there was a problem.”

When she contacted her credit card company, she was told that the bank had frozen her card because it had been compromised - that is, someone had tried to use her card number without her authorization.

“They had tried to charge $1,000 through Western Union somewhere in the U.K.,” Gear said. “They had also tried to charge something in Bulgaria.”

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