My Experience when my Credit Card was Hacked

Several months after I graduated from school I had my first credit card and I’m very careful in using my credit card. I’m not fond of online shopping because I’m not comfortable entering my credit card details and I only use my card in booking airfare tickets, hotel reservations, and renewal of the domain. 

After 11 years of using my credit card, I became a victim of bad guys. Exactly a year ago I was awakened by a call, I was hesitant to answer the phone because I don’t know who is calling. Good thing I answered it because it is from my credit card company. 

September 1, 2014 

The customer service rep asked me if I’m using my credit card, I said no and I told them that I’m not using the credit card for a few months already (I’m using another card). They told me that there are unusual transactions in my credit card and they will block and replace my card. 

I asked the CSR, how much the charged and she said, it was just a small amount CAD 1.63. She started to verify all my personal details like address, birthday and mother's maiden name and she advised me to call after 3 days to dispute the charges. 

After the call, my husband tapped my shoulders and asked me, sino daw kausap ko at binibigay ko lahat ng details ko. I was alarmed and nervous kasi baka hacker mismo tumawag sa kin. So I immediately checked my credit card online but I can’t access it anymore. I called my credit card company and I felt relieved na taga HSBC nga tumawag sa kin. 

I can hardly sleep at night because I never thought that it would happen to me. I have no idea how they got my information and how they were able to access it because I have enrolled my credit card in a “verified visa” where I have to type my password to confirm the purchase. 

September 5, 2014 

I called the credit card company to check the charges so I can dispute it but no posted charges yet. 

September 15, 2014 

I called to follow up on my replacement card and I was advised to wait till Friday. Since I can’t access my credit card online, I asked the CSR about my charges and he said “pag-nablock po usually no charges”.

After a few hours, I received a text regarding my balance of P3,027.86. I was shocked because as far as I know, the only charge was CAD 1.63. Waah! I called again to verify all the charges, the CSR informed all the charges from Canada and Moscow. Grrrr, I don’t even know those websites and I thought my card was already blocked bakit may mga sumunod na charges pa.

I was advised to file a dispute form. I checked the website, printed the form and filled up the necessary details. I thought I will just call and they will just credit all unusual transactions but I was wrong I have to file a dispute and email HSBC if they have received the form. 

September 16, 2014 

I faxed the dispute form. 

September 18, 2014

I received my credit card pin but it was not in good condition so I called the credit card company about it and they replaced it. I asked the CSR again about my replacement credit card and rush delivery na daw status. 

September 20, 2014 

Verified if they received the dispute form. 

September 24, 2014 

I called again to follow up on my credit card replacement, “redispatch as of Sept. 23.” I also filed another dispute for foreign exchange loss. They credited the CA USD 1.63 but there was a P5.04 difference. 

September 29, 2014 

Finally, I received my credit card so I called the credit card company again to activate it. I told the CSR to decrease my credit limit. At last, I can use my online account because I’ve been spending money on calling the credit card company. #longdistancecall 

September 30, 2014 

I thought the dispute form is already enough to fix the problem but I was advised to send a formal letter to (email) including the name of the cardholder, transaction details, and signature of the cardholder. 

October 11, 2014 

For the very first time, I received calls from the collection. They are asking me to pay my bill. I told them that I will not pay anything because it is not a valid charge and it is still under investigation.

October 13, 2014

From October 11 until 13, I’ve been receiving calls from collections telling me to pay my balance and I can’t use my credit card because it was blocked due to non-payment. I don’t care about the block credit card but I was so irritated to receive calls.

From P3,027.86, the amount due is already P3719.19 because of late charge assessment and finance charges.

So I emailed the collection regarding my concern and finally, they stopped calling me.

Investigations till November 10, 2014

October 16, 2014 

I received a confirmation email that they have received my dispute letter.

November 5, 2014 

The collections stopped calling me but I received a letter from collections. Again, they are telling me to pay my balance. 

November 6, 2014 

I emailed collections again to verify the amount because everything should be back to 0.42CR if everything was reversed. 

November 7, 2014 

All invalid transactions were reversed. 

November 12, 2014 

I checked my online account and I’ve seen a balance due again. So I emailed HSBC again. I received a call and they will fix everything. 

November 14, 2014 

I checked my online account again and finally, everything is back to normal.

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It took them more than two months to fix everything. It was really a loooong process. 

I was thankful that they discovered the unusual transactions and was able to block my card. The amount is not that big but it causes me so much stress and time to fix everything. I did not pay anything for all invalid charges but I spent money on long-distance calls. 

It was not a good experience and it seems a nightmare. After that incident, it took me a long time to use my credit card again. I do hope it won’t happen again and I hope you will not experience it.