Master Card Calling

[kishgo]

This morning I had a call from MC asking if I had been to India in the last 24 hours. (Immediately I thought...here we go, another scam.) However, without even asking for me to verify my address etc, they told me of the purchases I had made in the last week, places and amounts and said that someone had made a cash advance on my MC from India. The transaction was flagged right away as this posting was way out of my usual pattern. MC agreed that this was a fraudulent transaction, cancelled my card and will send me a new one. Not once did they ask for my card number. Way to Go Master Card!!! Thank goodness I have a VISA for emergencies such as this.

And then today, as I shopped for Christmas (sorry, the Bay and Bombay had the most incredible sales!!), all BMO banks and their Mastercards were down. Worse yet, reason unknown according to the news. Oh no...maybe 'my guys' from India have gone Big Time!

[Ruby Tuesday]

I've had the same type of response from MC. They do watch your pattern of usage. I have used my card globally with no issues. Hubby goes to Buffalo and uses his and they lock up the transaction and won't let it go through - not typical activity for his card. Message from MC on the answering machine instantly when ths happens.

One day I filled up my car with gas at lunch. After work I took the van to Simcoe and it needed gas too. Locked up my card - message for me at home indicating suspicious activity. I guess more than one fill up per day is considered suspicious, which makes sense.

I keep the MC 1-800 # on my cell phone address book now. I travel too much to have them freeze it up. They are very good with monitoring activity.

[observer]

Heard on the news that all BMO activity was having problems - M/C, online banking, debit cards etc.

[growler]

i had similar things happen with my mastercard and my t/d banking card to !
i also had it do it with a us based card i used for fuel in my truck (got cash from the atm to pay for my fuel purchases).
they were very good and as i had preset caps on daily purchases they kicked in many times and saved me and others lots of money and troubles !
and i'm not sure if ontario followed through with it or not,since i have been unable to work,but the us banks were trying to get it set up that your drivers licence strip,could be used as id for atm's in the us,for withdrawels over $500.

[retired2]

When we go on holidays I always phone the card company and let them know we are going away, where to and how long

[kishgo]

We notify MC as well Retired.
BMO was having serious difficulty on Friday. Not one card would work, either debit or credit. Even at the bank, there was a limit of $100 withdrawal. Did that deter me from my shopping for Christmas mission? Hehehe, not at all . I used our backup VISA card that was meant for such emergency situations!!

[observer]

"I used our backup VISA card that was meant for such emergency situations!!"

NOW - that is the proper definition of an emergency! LOL

[kishgo]

LOL Agreed Observer! And exactly the reason for VISA! We figured that either could go down but the odds of both going down at the same time were slim. Perhaps. Maybe!

[retired2]

What no American Express????????

[kishgo]

Nope not for us. We use RBC for our daily banking and BMO for my deposits. I learned how to do an etransfer so that the $ in BMO can be electronically transfered to RBC and access to our funds in the US without paying really high rates and exchange. At least that is our goal. All in theory works well until it is tested. However, I did do an etransfer. Easy and painless. WOW Technology has taken us soooo far.
Now, if I could just learn how to manage hubby's cell phone, I'd be laughing!

[growler]

I USED ATT FOR CELL SERVICE FOR MANY YEARS !

ALWAY A LOT CHEAPER ! ALWAYS SAVED 65% OR MORE,HAVE A BUDDY THAT USED IT TO UNTIL ABOUT 09 OR SO THEN WENT TO VERIZON ! SAYS IT'S EVEN BETTER ! BUT IF YOU NEVER TRAVEL TO THE US,I'M NOT SURE WHICH WOULD BE BEST ?
BUT ABOUT CARDS,I ALWAYS LIKED AMEX IF IT WAS JUST FOR ANYTHING THAT I WOULD PAY FOR WITHIN THE MONTH, BUT IF I WAS UNSURE I USED VISA,IN CANADA,AND A US$ VISA IN THE US. THEN I COULD PAY IT WITH US CASH THAT I GOT FROM CUSTOMERRS ! I DETESTED PAYING EXCHANGE !

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