Credit card skimming out of control?

I just got a call from my credit card company (BOA) that my AMEX credit card got swindled again and they are closing down the account and issuing me another new AMEX.  This has been the THIRD time this has happened this year.  I've spoken with their fraud department and they said that on all three occasions the perpetrators never had my physical card but buy multiple numbers from various sources and then encode their own card.  These fraudulent purchases have always been at a Walmart, Rite Aid, CVS.

They also say that when perpetrators try to randomize numbers, but they get "close" to the actual number, the credit card will also cancel itself..which was re-assuring.  I'm wondering as we are making online purchases more as a soceity than going out to an actual store, somehow, our numbers get more exposed on the 'net..?

Does this seem excessive or have you guys experienced as many occasions of having your credit cards re-issued?  The biggest pain has been calling my various utilities and other companies to update them on the "new" card.

On-line transactions pose some additional risk but there's just as much chance a waiter or store clerk will write down your information or an ATM has a skimming device and camera installed on it as a on-line database with credit card data gets hacked.

As a general rule, I use Paypal for all my on-line transactions and have a dedicated account that I use which I transfer money into when I want to purchase something.

Never let a website store your credit card in their database to ease checkout, this will reduce the chances of hackers of getting your credit card data since only the last four digits are supposed to be stored without your permission.  Also make sure any site you purchase from has a valid SSL certificate (lock shows up on your browser).

I'm very good when it comes to online purchases and never buy from places that are not legit or well established.  The last three times the perpetrators have been making purchases out of North Carolina, Georgia and just yesterday Pennsylvania..states that I have never been in or visited..I live in California.  The credit card representative said that CA is the largest "market" for the credit card fraudsters to take a bite out of.

Many of us are, and should be, careful about online use of credit cards and yet we hand our credit card to some stranger in a restaurant and watch him walk into the back room with it, come back a few minutes later, and think nothing of it. We've done this for years. Go to enough restaurants and someone will take your card number. It is higher risk than sitting in a room 5000 miles away. But it also takes almost zero technology.

Don't be too quick to blame the online people.

That said, use paypal whenever you are not 100% sure. In many cases, it is faster and easier so I use it even when there is no fear of fraud.

It really doesn't bother me if my credit card gets skimmed or cloned or whatever. I pay close attention to my bills and statements and the times when I have had an issue I'll just dispute it and it gets removed right away, job done. Chase and Amex have always treated me very well in this respect.

As it see it they're just stealing the bank's money and it's not my problem until it gets round to settling the bill at month's end. People who use debit cards are frankly fools in my mind.

..the fraudulent charge is not the problem, it's the hassle of notifying all the other companies/utilities you may be using as a direct pay..at least this has been my biggest PITA.

To show how stupid credit card companies are I got a call from my card provider asking if I had spent $400 ringgits (Malaysian money) on a flight in Phuket under the name of Shaun something ,since my name is nowhere close to this I asked how this transaction went through .....the answer we don't know!....my wife got a call asking if she had spent over AU$4400 on a stereo system in Italy on her card ,  since we were in Australia at the time naturally the answer was no...further questioning elicited the information that it was bought by someone called Luigi ..a male on a

female named card....and that they couldn't cancel the card until the item was picked up until then it was still on her statement liable for interest charges ...needless to say we are with someone else now.

Even our credit card representative was saying that the crooks are just getting more and more advanced..my sob story didn't phase her..just the norm, unfortunately, now a days.  I'm sure there are others here that this hasn't happened too..yet.  The first time it happened I felt somewhat violated..lol..so pissed..now, this being the third time, I just chalk it off and just deal with the outcome.  I'm curious at what "new" technology the credit card companies are trying to develop to thwart off this fraudsters.

That's why I only use Paypal. Not saying it's fool proof, but when some Saudi tries to spend my money, I know it originated from Paypal.

I think your crazy. The credit card protections are much better (IMNHO) than what paypal does. Google paypal horror stories sometime to balance out all the credit card stories you have read about...