OT: Credit card fraud.

I just got a call today from Providian about my credit card. They suspected some fraudulent charges the last few days. About 5 or 6 charges that she mentioned in the range of $1,000 to $2,500. It's kind of strange since they just sent me a new credit card less then 2 months ago because of some fraudulent charges. Those were less then $100. The recent charges were from Brooklyn, N.Y. (Nigerian scammers?).

Any thoughts on how they got my c.c. information so fast? I only had one internet transaction and that's with my internet provider. I have a few other credit cards from other banks but I've never had a problem with them. Could it be an inside job or is Providian not a secure enough web site? Computer virus?

They said they were going to send me another card. I was going to cancel it altogether but I think I may just reduce my available credit from over $10,000 to about $1,000. Kind of freaked me out when they called me about fraud when I have such a high credit available amount. None of the charges they made went through so that was a relief.

I usually pay off my credit cards in full each month so I like using my credit card rather then cash or my debit card. Not sure if I'm protected if they clean out my checking account.

I believe that with debit cards its up to the bank if they want to protect you against fraud... ie compensate you for the lost funds..

Reducing your credit limit won't protect you or reduce your liability..
I'm not sure if the same amount of people would be surprised how easy it is to accomplish with ID theft..
euros over here on visas just go back home when the heat comes down