Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Winning: Credit card fraud alert this morning...

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
...since I have not frequented a gas station in years.

Unfortunately, I have an ICE-loaner this week while my Tesla is in for repairs. Chase reached out re: a fraud alert when I was forced to (inconveniently) stop to refuel.

I love my Tesla even more now.

--Tim
 
Last edited:
Yep. Everytime I have a rental car for some reason, or a borrowed gas car I return with a full tank, my cards get shut off.

Clearly purchasing gas is outside my profile after 3 years of LEAF driving. Can't wait to lock that down with my S.
 
Problem is, stolen cards are frequently 'tested' to work at gas stations. So that's a prime test for shutting off CC's. IMO it's really a stupid test. The CC companies really should see, there's a rental car charge so that means the gas purchase pattern will be radically different. And since rental cars check drivers licenses, they are really pretty reliable.
Of course, with a Tesla ICE-loaner, there is no charge to help with that check either.
Another frustration about the 2% credit for gas purchases that is popular these days. I love going to the bank and getting pushed for a rewards card... '2% cash back on gas purchases.' Reply: "I do not by gas. Give me a better offer."
 
Problem is, stolen cards are frequently 'tested' to work at gas stations. So that's a prime test for shutting off CC's. IMO it's really a stupid test. The CC companies really should see, there's a rental car charge so that means the gas purchase pattern will be radically different.
Perhaps, but as EV-only drivers are discovering it means we get quick turnaround on fraudulent card use detection.

The OP phrasing suggests it's a Tesla-provided loaner and, as such, there is no "rental car charge" for them to key off of.
 
Credit card fraud alert pisses me off... They aren't protecting me by shutting off my card, I get that money back anyways... They are only protecting themselves.
I had so many problems with my BofA Visa card that I finally cancelled it. Every time I travelled away from home, they would block the card. It was useless for anything beyond my local grocery store.
 
My BofA Visa was completely dumb. Even when I told them I was traveling, they still blocked my card. AmEx seems to be a bit smarter.
I was in Taiwan last month for a month. Used my Amex for tickets and purchases with no problems. I brought along my BofA Visa and had called them before leaving, giving them the dates of my travel. I have no problem using the BofA Visa. As a matter of fact, I was able to use it via ApplePay at a restaurant. My TD Ameritrade bank card also worked to do a cash withdrawal at an ATM.

It's still a mystery to me as to the CC company's algorithms for fraudulent transactions. About 80% of the ones the CC has flagged as fraudulent for my wife were legitimate - a phone call or online access cleared most of this up. For me 100% of the flagged fraudulent transactions were really fraudulent. Aside from the hassle of being issued a new credit card and having to update my online bill payments, it has been really been quite helpful.
 
With American Express, if you purchase your travel tickets with your card, they automatically know that you are traveling and are more forgiving with your purchases.

Unfortunately it's not always the case when I buy gas at two different gas stations within one day: first is OKed, second is usually blocked. Especially if those stations are in different states/countries. Doesn't matter if the second gas station is within a mile from the airport I fly back from (and AmEx of course knows my itinerary since it's booked on it), meaning I'm buying gas before returning the car -- AmEx still blocks it.
 
Credit card fraud alert pisses me off... They aren't protecting me by shutting off my card, I get that money back anyways... They are only protecting themselves.

I would rather criminals not have a instant blank check, making credit card and identity theft even more worthwhile, just because we all feel a bit too lazy to call the Bank every once in a while.
 
The fraud alert is generated by a computer software program algorithm which tries to detect unusual purchase patterns based on your card usage history. Every time it happened to me, it sure was fraudulent usage that was detected. So, I do not complain about the inconvenience.
 
I carried a Discover card for a while for their cashback program. About every week they would call or send something encouraging me to use the card more. When I would use it, I would get a call from the Fraud Department. I finally got so tired of the nonsense on the last Fraud call I said "either stop the fraud alerts or stop calling/sending promotions for me to use the card - you decide, but pick one, not both". I have not had either kind of call since.

Of course traveling internationally Discover is useless, and Amex works great.
 
Since I so infrequently use a credit card for gas now; I simply go into the station to avoid any card skimmers that might have been installed on a pump which seems to be where most of my cards have been hacked recently.

Also used to take my airplane cross country and I would call before I left to let them know that I was traveling and would be making charges in multiple states.
 
I would rather criminals not have a instant blank check, making credit card and identity theft even more worthwhile, just because we all feel a bit too lazy to call the Bank every once in a while.
Its the US credit card companies who are too lazy (and cheap). US credit card companies have been too cheap to use good security and are reaping the "rewards". The rest of the world uses chip and pin cards and these are much more difficult to use fraudulently. The problem is the weak security which is now starting to cost them a lot. They are putting the burden on us to jump through hoops instead of them biting the bullet and switching to chip and pin cards.
 
Its the US credit card companies who are too lazy (and cheap). US credit card companies have been too cheap to use good security and are reaping the "rewards". The rest of the world uses chip and pin cards and these are much more difficult to use fraudulently. The problem is the weak security which is now starting to cost them a lot. They are putting the burden on us to jump through hoops instead of them biting the bullet and switching to chip and pin cards.

You will likely see this change greatly as October 2015 closes in. At that point, there is a liability shift to the merchant for fraud. Basically, if a financial institution issues chip and pin or chip and sign cards, then a merchant must process 70% of these using the EMV chip standards or else they will be liable for any fraudulent charge at that merchant by a card from the FI. Thus, merchants now have an impetus to get these installed (I noticed them just tonight at my local Costco), and with a higher number of merchants now (or soon) carrying them, FIs have begun replacing them. Half of the cards I carry have been replaced in the past 6 months with EMV cards.

But otherwise, I agree with you. It was "cheaper" for US FIs to "write off" certain losses than deal with more secure setups.