I Actually Tried to buy an Altinay

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didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
10,727
37,708
SE WI
As careful as I am, those bastards get me like every couple of years. I usually wake up with some small bogus charge on my account, such a pain in the ass. I wish I could get to the bottom of it, I’m not one to let things go easily.
Luckily my bank can print me a new card in a few minutes. But I have to go through a 30 minute interview first lol "Did you shop here? What about here? "
 
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MattRVA

Lifer
Feb 6, 2019
4,672
42,133
Richmond Virginia
Luckily my bank can print me a new card in a few minutes. But I have to go through a 30 minute interview first lol "Did you shop here? What about here? "
No, I don’t know where it’s coming from but it’s probably some random store with a skimmer, gas station or grocery store… if not it’s coming from online somewhere, which is weird because I hardly buy anything, online transactions are usually the culprit. I don’t use a credit card and using a debit card online is too risky these days. I’ve been warned but I try to keep things simple to avoid the headaches. I think I’ve had three charges in as many years, always something small to test the account I presume. I just contact the credit union and get a new card issued. You’re right about the 30 minute ordeal, it sucks. It just happened recently so it’s a fresh wound. 😂
Edit: come to think of it… maybe receiving a PayPal payment if your debit card is attached to the account leaves you open to attack?
 

didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
10,727
37,708
SE WI
No, I don’t know where it’s coming from but it’s probably some random store with a skimmer, gas station or grocery store… if not it’s coming from online somewhere, which is weird because I hardly buy anything, online transactions are usually the culprit. I don’t use a credit card and using a debit card online is too risky these days. I’ve been warned but I try to keep things simple to avoid the headaches. I think I’ve had three charges in as many years, always something small to test the account I presume. I just contact the credit union and get a new card issued. You’re right about the 30 minute ordeal, it sucks. It just happened recently so it’s a fresh wound. 😂
Edit: come to think of it… maybe receiving a PayPal payment if your debit card is attached to the account leaves you open to attack?
Yeah my last one was 2 weeks ago lol.
 
Nov 20, 2022
2,775
27,997
Wisconsin
Foreign transactions are usually denied automatically for good reason. When I purchase or travel abroad I try to use Apple pay or PayPal because they do not use your actual credit card number so that it cannot be stolen for additional purchases. If they don't take it, I am not sure that I would trust them with my credit information.
 
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BarrelProof

Lifer
Mar 29, 2020
2,701
10,601
39
The Last Frontier
For the people that call ahead of time to make a purchase overseas realize you can call your bank and tell them that you will be making purchases overseas and have them remove the hold on your card for six months to a year? I’ve done this with two different cards because I got sick of dealing with it every time. Capital one does the thing where you make a purchase and they send you a text asking if you made the purchase and you click yes in blah blah blah goes through but it’s easier to call them and say hey I’m gonna be doing this for a few months, so please remove the hold from my card.

If you ask nicely, you can have it removed permanently. That’s what I did.
 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
10,041
16,098
If you ask nicely, you can have it removed permanently. That’s what I did.
This isn't how it works for me. The "hold" isn't a function of my card...it is coming from Altinay's payment processing program. I have made other overseas purchases without any issue. In fact I have never encountered this "3D security" thing anywhere except with Altinay.
 

BarrelProof

Lifer
Mar 29, 2020
2,701
10,601
39
The Last Frontier
This isn't how it works for me. The "hold" isn't a function of my card...it is coming from Altinay's payment processing program. I have made other overseas purchases without any issue. In fact I have never encountered this "3D security" thing anywhere except with Altinay.

I don’t mean Altinay’s deal - I mean the travel holds. Foreign transaction flags. Not meant to imply that it’d cover his site’s thing because I don’t have any experience with that.
 
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AJL67

Lifer
May 26, 2022
5,491
28,119
Florida - Space Coast
If you ask nicely, you can have it removed permanently. That’s what I did.
Depends on issuing company. I don’t mind it completely, i like the visa setup where they forward you to a portal to approve the purchase, buying gray market cigars overseas can be dealing with questionable people at best 😂
 
Dec 3, 2021
5,539
48,061
Pennsylvania & New York
No, I don’t know where it’s coming from but it’s probably some random store with a skimmer, gas station or grocery store… if not it’s coming from online somewhere, which is weird because I hardly buy anything, online transactions are usually the culprit. I don’t use a credit card and using a debit card online is too risky these days. I’ve been warned but I try to keep things simple to avoid the headaches. I think I’ve had three charges in as many years, always something small to test the account I presume. I just contact the credit union and get a new card issued. You’re right about the 30 minute ordeal, it sucks. It just happened recently so it’s a fresh wound. 😂
Edit: come to think of it… maybe receiving a PayPal payment if your debit card is attached to the account leaves you open to attack?

There's a gas station near us we avoid using in PA—the few times we've filled up there, the credit card that was used has been compromised. It took awhile to detect the pattern.
 
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Apr 26, 2012
3,619
8,475
Washington State
The few times I purchased a meer from Turkey, I used PayPal, so there were no issues. The rest of my meers were bought from ebay or Meerschaum Market.

If my bank thinks anything is suspicious they freeze my account. Went to a Brick Expo (Lego) in Portland, OR. I paid using my debit card. I then bought an item from a vendor out of California. I tried to buy a second item from a vendor out of California and my card was froze. Bank believed it was fraudulent as I made a purchase in Portland and a short time later had purchases coming in from California. So I know that if I'm traveling out of state or country I need to inform my bank ahead of time.