So, my buddy apparently dropped his debit card when we were hanging out the other day. He finds out it's gone today, calls the bank, gets his account frozen. He checks his balance to make sure nothing went wrong, only to find out he's a thousand dollars short. He's planning on filing a dispute, but he's not really sure if anything can really be done.

What can we do, TL?

IzzyCraft

United States4487 Posts

March 31 2009 03:10 GMT

Ask his bank what to do...

Track

United States217 Posts

March 31 2009 03:13 GMT

We are, I was simply curious if anyone has had this happen to them and have any advice/tips that the bank wouldn't tell.

LosingID8

CA10835 Posts

March 31 2009 03:22 GMT

although i didn't physically lose my debit card i've had my identity stolen before and they took out like $300 out of my acct.

you have to sign a bunch of legal documents saying that you didn't purchase those things etc and eventually you'll get your money back. also, open a new account. it goes really smoothly if they made a bunch of purchases that are uncharacteristic of you. ie i was in california but whoever stole my identity was buying a bunch of drinks and stuff from a sports bar in toronto.

Typho0n

Canada276 Posts

March 31 2009 03:24 GMT

how do they withdraw money with a debit card? don't they need to know your pin number?

Track

United States217 Posts

March 31 2009 03:29 GMT

It was a debit/credit card.

So, you're saying he will eventually get it back?

iSCOUT4u

United States327 Posts

March 31 2009 03:30 GMT

This is why i only keep $100 in my checking account for emergencies....like if my credit card doesnt work lol...Credit cards are so much easier to avoid this stuff...for example...obviously the money doesnt get taken out of ur account instantly without u being able to do anything...

Also credit card companies are required to some extent to be responsilbe to make sure this stuff doesnt happen. My creidt card is through my bank...and if there is any unusualy charge...out of my normal patterns...i get a phone call making sure it was me...kinda cool imo.

Also to the post above me...if u swipe a deibt card and select "credit" at almost ALL places it will go through as a normal credit card purchse...for example is u eat at a restaurant..and give them ur debit card...they arent gona have u walk to the register..and enter ur pin lol..they just swipe it as credit.

fanatacist

10319 Posts

March 31 2009 03:40 GMT

Tell him to report it immediately, there is a 1-800 number for some banks that allows you to cancel your card. But if he finds it later he is going to kick himself in the ass.

I just found mine today (: The ATM at the bank fucked up and ate my card, and I thought I put it in my wallet since it never gave it back to me and I didn't notice. Bank manager got it and held it for me n_n

Track

United States217 Posts

March 31 2009 03:43 GMT

It's not really that there's a chance of him finding it later, since whoever took it withdrew a thousand bucks from his account. But yeah, he cancelled it. It was his student loan card.

Deleted User 3420

24492 Posts

March 31 2009 04:01 GMT

#10

they withdrew 1000$ with it?

how long did it take him to react to this situation?

I've had several debit cards, but all of them had a limit much less than that for a day.

Physician

United States4146 Posts

March 31 2009 04:03 GMT

#11

it's always my buddy, my friend, my brother etc...

LumberJack

United States3355 Posts

March 31 2009 04:07 GMT

#12

must of been 1000$ in purchases, almost ALL banks limit 500$ per 24hr unless you specifically change that. All he has to do is prove he didnt do it and the bank will cover the loss. The idea of a card is that its the merchant's responsibility to verify that is infact you who used the card. I'm speaking in legal terms ofc. Banks are the medium and will cover you and they usually bust up the merchant for the $$ afterwards. So tell him not to worry, though some banks are dicks and make you do some of the legwork, but its 1k, im sure he wont mind talking to the merhcant. I did over 300$. I had a pizza guy steal my shit, i called the cops on him b/c he spent the shit over the internet and i called the merchants and asked them for 'my ip address'. They log it ofc. So if he spent the money online then i'd strongly suggest doing that route and finding the fucker. It's satisfying, i still have the caselog in pdf format on my computer to giggle at when i'm feeling lonely.

fanatacist

10319 Posts

March 31 2009 04:15 GMT

#13

^

LOL

Ingenol

United States1328 Posts

March 31 2009 04:35 GMT

#14

I had heard a few years ago (not sure about the status of this currently) that banks are NOT necessarily legally responsible for refunding fraud from stolen debit cards (they generally will still refund the money), but credit card companies are. I heard this on some NPR finance show advocating the use of credit cards over debit cards, and in general keeping a smaller debit card balance.

iSCOUT4u

United States327 Posts

March 31 2009 04:55 GMT

#15

On March 31 2009 13:35 Ingenol wrote:
I had heard a few years ago (not sure about the status of this currently) that banks are NOT necessarily legally responsible for refunding fraud from stolen debit cards (they generally will still refund the money), but credit card companies are. I heard this on some NPR finance show advocating the use of credit cards over debit cards, and in general keeping a smaller debit card balance.

This is what i said lol...except i said it like a 5th grader.

Grobyc

Canada18410 Posts

March 31 2009 06:29 GMT

#16

On March 31 2009 13:07 LumberJack wrote:
must of been 1000$ in purchases, almost ALL banks limit 500$ per 24hr unless you specifically change that. All he has to do is prove he didnt do it and the bank will cover the loss. The idea of a card is that its the merchant's responsibility to verify that is infact you who used the card. I'm speaking in legal terms ofc. Banks are the medium and will cover you and they usually bust up the merchant for the $$ afterwards. So tell him not to worry, though some banks are dicks and make you do some of the legwork, but its 1k, im sure he wont mind talking to the merhcant. I did over 300$. I had a pizza guy steal my shit, i called the cops on him b/c he spent the shit over the internet and i called the merchants and asked them for 'my ip address'. They log it ofc. So if he spent the money online then i'd strongly suggest doing that route and finding the fucker. It's satisfying, i still have the caselog in pdf format on my computer to giggle at when i'm feeling lonely.

You must be very proud of yourself haha

TheosEx

United States894 Posts

March 31 2009 06:49 GMT

#17

First, you don't need the PIN number to use someone's debit card. You can use it as a credit card. Even still, it's fairly easy to use more than the "limit." A lot of banks implement that limit per day. So, if you purchase $500 (or whatever the limit is) at 11pm, you can spend another $500 at 12:01am. To be honest, this really shouldn't be that big of a deal at all. Unless the bank sucks, all you really need to do is file a dispute, and sign an affidavit. The bank will probably give you 100% back. Each bank might have a slightly different policy. For example, you might be limited to $500, IF reported within 48 hours of reporting the card stolen, etc. Some banks are a little more lenient. But basically, I would call your bank up ASAP. The sooner the better. Banks expect these things to happen, so they should be more than happy to help you. The bank is not your enemy.

Zzoram

Canada7115 Posts

March 31 2009 10:08 GMT

#18

My cousin just had $1650 ($50+2x$800) taken from his bank account. He thinks some little store might have cloned his debit information and gathered some more through social engineering. Apparently the culprit phoned in to get the money transfered, first by doing a test amount of $50 to see if it would work.

Stories like this are why I never use debit anywhere, and never put much money in my chequing account.

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