Comments on: Foil debit card hacking and balance inquiries

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:39:34 +0000

Well, I aslo learned how to get money from a debit card without a pin. All you do is just go to a local store and say oh “carp”, this is my sister’s card. Usually they will say “ok let me try this.” They will do something so you wont have to eneter a code. Thats it.

By: Barbara VanRossum

Barbara VanRossum — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:34:35 +0000

I use my debit card infrequently, and only for online purchases, which do require a pin#. My account was hacked and emptied. Calls keep coming
from an 800 service # claiming to be M&T Bank, seeking more account information. I was able to recoup the funds. Others may not be as fortunate. No agency seems to be able to track down who owns the 800#, as they all say that it’s too widespread. Am now afraid to use the (new) card. What’s needed is some form of bio-marker, or we are all perpetual victims.

By: Revanche

Revanche — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:58:38 +0000

And I’ve just discovered that Citi is encouraging this practice with a promotion of their own: use your card three or more times, reaching a total of $250, and they’ll give you $15. That beats the 1% reward I would earn on my credit card, so I might as well sign up for it and see if I actually need to spend that much between now and 9/15.

By: threadbndr

threadbndr — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:31:09 +0000

I think it has to be a ‘branded’ debit card – mine from my credit union has a VISA logo and provides many of the same purchase and fraud protections that a VISA credit card does.

My credit union has a high interest checking account that requires you to do 12 of these ‘run as credit’ or ‘sign for’ transactions a month to get the best rate, so I do this a LOT. Just tell the clerk ‘run this as credit please.’

But I didn’t know about the balance inquire part – good to know!

By: Money Hacks Carnival #73: Working For The Weekend Edition | Money Beagle

Money Hacks Carnival #73: Working For The Weekend Edition | Money Beagle — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:18:49 +0000

[...] presents Foil debit card hacking and balance inquiries posted at Funny about [...]

By: Terri

Terri — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:29:59 +0000

Thanks for this tip, I hadn’t known!

By: funny

funny — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:54:53 +0000

@ Manshu: Not certain: I don’t use debit cards, myself. The reason I checked nationwide for similar advice was to see whether the practice was regional or appeared to be happening across the country.

Debit cards, of course, are an international phenomenon. If you live outside the US, try googling a wordstring such as debit card signature transaction, plus the name of your country.

By: Manshu

Manshu — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:21:45 +0000

That’s a good tip, does that work on all debit cards or only certain debit cards?