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...this can happen even if you are still in the possession of your card.
Das kann auch auftreten wenn Sie noch im Besitz seine Kreditkarte befinden.
I've never lost my card and have never had it stolen. As a Linux user I also consider myself literate about security, yet one day I logged into my online banking and found my credit card balance to be -690 euro. The transaction log read:
The fraudster was quite clever to use the card on Friday evening, so that it would appear in the log on the second workday, Tuesday. Or was it me, did I have too many Friday drinks and unconsciously booked a flight to Kanada? I searched my e-mail for "ebookers", but found nothing: I have never used this (as appeared later, absolutely legitimate) travel agency.
Damn, my credit card was misused and I have to block it.
Step 1. Block credit card (Kreditkarte sperren lassen)
Option 1. Sperr-Notruf 116 116
There is a free Germany wide number 116 116 (+49 116 116 from abroad) just in case you don't know what to dial. They also have SperrApp for iOS/Android: it securely stores all your card numbers and allows to block them with one click. Note, that you can't use this app on your tablet because what it only calls 116 116 and transfers credit card data to the operator for you, so you're still required to talk to a human.
Sperr-Notruf also blocks mobile sim cards, electronic signatures and online function of German ID/residence permit (Personalausweis/e-AT).
Option 2. Call your bank
I opted for this one as I didn't have SperrApp installed anyway. I was stupid not to tell my customer number to the phone robot, so had to tell the whole long credit card number to the human operator instead. She also asked for my address and that was it. She didn't ask my name, just card number and address.
What if you don't remember your card number? I have no idea if your bank can just search for your card by name. I think it can as I dont think that all people who lost their cards have their card number written somewhere (in the purse which was stolen with the card, haha).
Important notice: after blocking there will be no more credit card transaction log in online banking (at least in my case) because a completely new credit card account will be created, while the old one will be deleted. That was bad because I couldn't show this log to the police officer. Well, they can still ask the bank, of course, but if possible, save the fraudulent transaction log somewhere before blocking your card.
Step 2. File a report at the police station (Strafanzeige erstatten)
Option 1. File Strafanzeige online
This is possible in 11 German states. This is not possible in Bavaria, Bremen, Rheinland-Palatinate, Saarland, Thuringia. Links to online Anzeige at http://www.online-strafanzeige.de
Option 2. Go to the police station
You can file a report at any police station (Polizeiinspektion) except maybe traffic police (Vehrkehrspolizei) but the best is to go to the criminal police (Kripo=Kriminalpolizei), they have people who deal with these cases on a daily basis. If you file a report at normal police station it will be transferred to Kripo anyway.
In Bavaria: At www.polizei.bayern.de type your city in "Dienststellensuche" search box (mind www! they dont respect no-www rule in Germany :(). In Munich what you need is Kriminalfachdezernat 7 and in Nuremberg Kriminalfachdezernat 4, they deal with financial crimes. In other cities there is usually just one Kriminalpolizeiinspektion, this is what you need.
Outside Bavaria: www.polizei.%statename%.de will usually lead you to the state police page. Note that there is no "FBI" in Germany (apart from small border&railway federal police) and there is no such thing as "federal crime" because state police is responsible for enforcement of both state and federal law, that's why universal Germany wide police web page does not exist. However, for you the only difference between states will be possibility (or not) to file a report online.
Describe everything in detail. As I've written above, I couldn't show transaction log to the officer, but I googled about ebookers and found that this is a big international travel agency present also in Germany at ebookers.de. This information I gave to the officer, so that they could contact this agency to get asshole's identity.
Ask for confirmation (Besheinigung über die Erstattung einer Anzeige, title can be different outside Bavaria). There you'll also find under which paragraph the case was opened. In my case it was §202a Data espionage (Ausspähen von Daten). This is because my credit card was not stolen, only credit card data stolen and misused. That doesn't mean anything, they can change this paragraph at any time.
I hope it's clear that names, addresses and phone numbers are not real for privacy reasons. However, general address and phone number of the police station in Bayreuth (5060) is real
English at the police: the most sad thing is that if you are suspected criminal interpreter will be provided for you free of charge, even from Swahili. But as a victim you are supposed to know either German or Fränkisch (Bairisch/Schwabisch or whatever dialect is spoken in your area). While most street patrols and autobahn police speak good English, the probability of so at the station varies from 0 to 70%. Take a German speaker with you if necessary. Always file Anzeige online (with a help of German speaker) if you don't speak at least basic German.
Step 2a. Contact the seller
This is who is going to suffer from this case because the bank will reverse the transaction. While not a necessary step, it is possible that the asshole has not used goods or services yet and can still be located and punished.
In my case I contacted ebookers through their German website, although I was not sure if it was used. Payment was in euro, no currency exchange fee, that's all I knew. They promised to reply in 3 working days. However, my message somehow reached right people, so I got a reply in a couple of hours (at 23 o'clock!) from Ebookers Revenue Protection Department (yep, they have something like this). I think that's because I used the word "Betrug" (fraud) in message title.
They confirmed my initial suspiction that someone booked a flight (this company also sells hotel stays and car rentals), but they can't cancel that reservation because the asshole already flew away. Well, this smartass booked a flight on Friday evening and comfortably flew on weekend. This is exactly the reason why some airlines ask for credit card at check-in (happened to me in Asia and USA). But Ebookers is not an airline, so there was no was to do such verification (which I hate because in most cases when you pay for a flight ticket to your friend/family, they are then in trouble).
Ebookers also asked me to proceed with my bank, so that correct department will deal with this case. And who said that bureacracy is only in the government? Any big organizations suffers from it.
Step 3. Apply for charge back (Zahlungsreklamation beantragen)
If you are with brick and mortar bank (with physical branches), you just go there. Bring confirmation of Strafanzeige from the police. While this is not necessary, it will definitely speed up the decision.
Note that your bank will not deal with it because in Germany credit card processing is outsourced to companies like First Data or Bayern Card Services. Your bank will fill the form for you, attach transaction log (they have access to it, of course) and a copy of your Strafanzeige. Then they will fax everything to processing company.
If you are with online bank (Direktbank) like Comdirekt or DKB, google for "MasterCard/Visa Zahlungsreklamation %bankname%" and fill in the form like this. At Reklamationsgrund tick the box "Der Umsatz wurde nicht getätig". This is the case when you still have your credit card, but someone stole its data and used for purchases. For bureacratic reasons you can't just reverse the transaction online, you have to sign this form and fax it together with Strafanzeige copy.
Step 4. Get your money back
I received mine within 2 days of faxing charge back application, although the bank said it would last 4-6 weeks. As my main account was still not charged (this is due at the end of the month) I didn't suffer at all. I did have to pay 20 euros for Ersatzkarte which noone is going to compensate me, though.
Step 5. Prevention
Well, if you use your credit card online, its data is transferred to the seller. While businesses are not interested in such frauds, some not so honest employees who gain access to data can do so. There is nothing you can do apart from reducing your credit limit and limiting online use of your credit card.
Please note that neither 3D-Secure nor CVV code doesn't protect you, they protect the sellers from fraudulent transactions and the following chargebacks! Because there are a lot of websites who require neither of this (Amazon) or only CVV code. Ebookers is probably the latter: while Expedia, CheapTickets etc uses 3D security, they have just lost 700 euro because they still dont.
The only thing which protects you is the possibility of charge back: any credit card transaction can be reversed, this is the point of using a credit card (apart from credit line).
I personally suspect that my data was stolen from one of the hotels I stayed in: they all had my name, address, card number and CVV code — everything transferred by booking.com. I have no idea which hotel employee did it (I only know which did not: nobody from recent Belgium trip, I stayed at small hotels run by nice and honest families). Someone who worked there for a year and decided that it's a good idea to get a free flight back home. Where can one fly for 700 euro? USA, India, Africa? Definitely this person has no intention of returning to EU: their passport and boarding card was checked at passport control, so it was most a genuine passport. Flying with fake identity and documents is only easy if there is no passport control, intra-Schengen. So, this person will probably never return to EU. Good luck!
There is nothing you can do to prevent such cases apart from using alternative credit card with low limit for booking. But then even if I have a card with just 100 euro limit, the fraudster would use it anyway, so I still would have to go through the process of charge back, police report etc. And then you will have inconveniences due to having too low limit.
I think I'll either do nothing (one credit card fraud in 10 years is low risk, it just happens) or apply for a card for "suspicious" hotels/other services with a low limit.
In Spain hotels always print all the card data on A4 paper and keep these papers at the reception. Then you just sign this paper to pay for your stay. Yet I've had no issue with them (unless an asshole somehow stole my data from 2 years ago, but I doubt).
I don't think that paranoia and tinfoil is a way to go (because then you must use cash which if stolen, does not provide chargeback). I fuck Privatbank-style totalitarian security.
Common sense, check account balance regularly, split money between several cards if traveling long distance, this is the only way to go.
Das kann auch auftreten wenn Sie noch im Besitz seine Kreditkarte befinden.
I've never lost my card and have never had it stolen. As a Linux user I also consider myself literate about security, yet one day I logged into my online banking and found my credit card balance to be -690 euro. The transaction log read:
-690 EUR
EBK EBOOKERS am 6.02.2015 Buchung am 10.02.2015The fraudster was quite clever to use the card on Friday evening, so that it would appear in the log on the second workday, Tuesday. Or was it me, did I have too many Friday drinks and unconsciously booked a flight to Kanada? I searched my e-mail for "ebookers", but found nothing: I have never used this (as appeared later, absolutely legitimate) travel agency.
| Note: this article is about situation in Germany, so German terms will be used across this English language text. However, it can also be useful for any English speaking reader residing anywhere as MasterCard/Visa chargeback procedures are pretty standardised across the globe. The difference is that in some countries you apply for chargeback directly to Visa/MasterCard rather than to your bank. |
Damn, my credit card was misused and I have to block it.
Step 1. Block credit card (Kreditkarte sperren lassen)
Option 1. Sperr-Notruf 116 116
There is a free Germany wide number 116 116 (+49 116 116 from abroad) just in case you don't know what to dial. They also have SperrApp for iOS/Android: it securely stores all your card numbers and allows to block them with one click. Note, that you can't use this app on your tablet because what it only calls 116 116 and transfers credit card data to the operator for you, so you're still required to talk to a human.
Sperr-Notruf also blocks mobile sim cards, electronic signatures and online function of German ID/residence permit (Personalausweis/e-AT).
Option 2. Call your bank
I opted for this one as I didn't have SperrApp installed anyway. I was stupid not to tell my customer number to the phone robot, so had to tell the whole long credit card number to the human operator instead. She also asked for my address and that was it. She didn't ask my name, just card number and address.
What if you don't remember your card number? I have no idea if your bank can just search for your card by name. I think it can as I dont think that all people who lost their cards have their card number written somewhere (in the purse which was stolen with the card, haha).
Important notice: after blocking there will be no more credit card transaction log in online banking (at least in my case) because a completely new credit card account will be created, while the old one will be deleted. That was bad because I couldn't show this log to the police officer. Well, they can still ask the bank, of course, but if possible, save the fraudulent transaction log somewhere before blocking your card.
Step 2. File a report at the police station (Strafanzeige erstatten)
Option 1. File Strafanzeige online
This is possible in 11 German states. This is not possible in Bavaria, Bremen, Rheinland-Palatinate, Saarland, Thuringia. Links to online Anzeige at http://www.online-strafanzeige.de
Option 2. Go to the police station
You can file a report at any police station (Polizeiinspektion) except maybe traffic police (Vehrkehrspolizei) but the best is to go to the criminal police (Kripo=Kriminalpolizei), they have people who deal with these cases on a daily basis. If you file a report at normal police station it will be transferred to Kripo anyway.
In Bavaria: At www.polizei.bayern.de type your city in "Dienststellensuche" search box (mind www! they dont respect no-www rule in Germany :(). In Munich what you need is Kriminalfachdezernat 7 and in Nuremberg Kriminalfachdezernat 4, they deal with financial crimes. In other cities there is usually just one Kriminalpolizeiinspektion, this is what you need.
Outside Bavaria: www.polizei.%statename%.de will usually lead you to the state police page. Note that there is no "FBI" in Germany (apart from small border&railway federal police) and there is no such thing as "federal crime" because state police is responsible for enforcement of both state and federal law, that's why universal Germany wide police web page does not exist. However, for you the only difference between states will be possibility (or not) to file a report online.
Describe everything in detail. As I've written above, I couldn't show transaction log to the officer, but I googled about ebookers and found that this is a big international travel agency present also in Germany at ebookers.de. This information I gave to the officer, so that they could contact this agency to get asshole's identity.
Ask for confirmation (Besheinigung über die Erstattung einer Anzeige, title can be different outside Bavaria). There you'll also find under which paragraph the case was opened. In my case it was §202a Data espionage (Ausspähen von Daten). This is because my credit card was not stolen, only credit card data stolen and misused. That doesn't mean anything, they can change this paragraph at any time.
I hope it's clear that names, addresses and phone numbers are not real for privacy reasons. However, general address and phone number of the police station in Bayreuth (5060) is real
English at the police: the most sad thing is that if you are suspected criminal interpreter will be provided for you free of charge, even from Swahili. But as a victim you are supposed to know either German or Fränkisch (Bairisch/Schwabisch or whatever dialect is spoken in your area). While most street patrols and autobahn police speak good English, the probability of so at the station varies from 0 to 70%. Take a German speaker with you if necessary. Always file Anzeige online (with a help of German speaker) if you don't speak at least basic German.
Step 2a. Contact the seller
This is who is going to suffer from this case because the bank will reverse the transaction. While not a necessary step, it is possible that the asshole has not used goods or services yet and can still be located and punished.
In my case I contacted ebookers through their German website, although I was not sure if it was used. Payment was in euro, no currency exchange fee, that's all I knew. They promised to reply in 3 working days. However, my message somehow reached right people, so I got a reply in a couple of hours (at 23 o'clock!) from Ebookers Revenue Protection Department (yep, they have something like this). I think that's because I used the word "Betrug" (fraud) in message title.
They confirmed my initial suspiction that someone booked a flight (this company also sells hotel stays and car rentals), but they can't cancel that reservation because the asshole already flew away. Well, this smartass booked a flight on Friday evening and comfortably flew on weekend. This is exactly the reason why some airlines ask for credit card at check-in (happened to me in Asia and USA). But Ebookers is not an airline, so there was no was to do such verification (which I hate because in most cases when you pay for a flight ticket to your friend/family, they are then in trouble).
Ebookers also asked me to proceed with my bank, so that correct department will deal with this case. And who said that bureacracy is only in the government? Any big organizations suffers from it.
Step 3. Apply for charge back (Zahlungsreklamation beantragen)
If you are with brick and mortar bank (with physical branches), you just go there. Bring confirmation of Strafanzeige from the police. While this is not necessary, it will definitely speed up the decision.
Note that your bank will not deal with it because in Germany credit card processing is outsourced to companies like First Data or Bayern Card Services. Your bank will fill the form for you, attach transaction log (they have access to it, of course) and a copy of your Strafanzeige. Then they will fax everything to processing company.
If you are with online bank (Direktbank) like Comdirekt or DKB, google for "MasterCard/Visa Zahlungsreklamation %bankname%" and fill in the form like this. At Reklamationsgrund tick the box "Der Umsatz wurde nicht getätig". This is the case when you still have your credit card, but someone stole its data and used for purchases. For bureacratic reasons you can't just reverse the transaction online, you have to sign this form and fax it together with Strafanzeige copy.
Step 4. Get your money back
I received mine within 2 days of faxing charge back application, although the bank said it would last 4-6 weeks. As my main account was still not charged (this is due at the end of the month) I didn't suffer at all. I did have to pay 20 euros for Ersatzkarte which noone is going to compensate me, though.
Step 5. Prevention
Well, if you use your credit card online, its data is transferred to the seller. While businesses are not interested in such frauds, some not so honest employees who gain access to data can do so. There is nothing you can do apart from reducing your credit limit and limiting online use of your credit card.
Please note that neither 3D-Secure nor CVV code doesn't protect you, they protect the sellers from fraudulent transactions and the following chargebacks! Because there are a lot of websites who require neither of this (Amazon) or only CVV code. Ebookers is probably the latter: while Expedia, CheapTickets etc uses 3D security, they have just lost 700 euro because they still dont.
The only thing which protects you is the possibility of charge back: any credit card transaction can be reversed, this is the point of using a credit card (apart from credit line).
I personally suspect that my data was stolen from one of the hotels I stayed in: they all had my name, address, card number and CVV code — everything transferred by booking.com. I have no idea which hotel employee did it (I only know which did not: nobody from recent Belgium trip, I stayed at small hotels run by nice and honest families). Someone who worked there for a year and decided that it's a good idea to get a free flight back home. Where can one fly for 700 euro? USA, India, Africa? Definitely this person has no intention of returning to EU: their passport and boarding card was checked at passport control, so it was most a genuine passport. Flying with fake identity and documents is only easy if there is no passport control, intra-Schengen. So, this person will probably never return to EU. Good luck!
There is nothing you can do to prevent such cases apart from using alternative credit card with low limit for booking. But then even if I have a card with just 100 euro limit, the fraudster would use it anyway, so I still would have to go through the process of charge back, police report etc. And then you will have inconveniences due to having too low limit.
I think I'll either do nothing (one credit card fraud in 10 years is low risk, it just happens) or apply for a card for "suspicious" hotels/other services with a low limit.
In Spain hotels always print all the card data on A4 paper and keep these papers at the reception. Then you just sign this paper to pay for your stay. Yet I've had no issue with them (unless an asshole somehow stole my data from 2 years ago, but I doubt).
I don't think that paranoia and tinfoil is a way to go (because then you must use cash which if stolen, does not provide chargeback). I fuck Privatbank-style totalitarian security.
Common sense, check account balance regularly, split money between several cards if traveling long distance, this is the only way to go.
