MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Hi fellow Hogs. Just want to put out a warning about using apps when in the store to pay for purchases while in the store. Night before last, hubby & I were in Sam's club. Picked up 3 items and used the Sam's Club "Scan & Go" app we installed on my phone. We scanned & paid at the front of the store. Got home & printed out the receipt as usual. Mid-morning the next day, I got an extremely odd looking email (timed & dated that same AM) purportedly from Sam's Club confirming an order I placed. Email included an order number as well as a notation that my CC would not be charged until the order was shipped. At the very bottom of the email was a green arrow to swipe right to "place your order now". Hmmmmm? Well, we never placed an order, nor did our son. Plus, the $ figure noted on the confirmation was NOT the amount we spent the previous evening. Red flags went up big time. Then I noticed that the email to which the "order confirmation" was directed is the ONLY email I have on my cell phone. At that point, it seemed pretty obvious that someone nearby when I used the "Scan & Go" app somehow captured the info from my phone. We logged onto the credit card account associated with that app and were relieved to find NO unauthorized charges. If I'd been dumb enough to swipe that green arrow in the email, we're pretty sure that would have definitely compromised our credit card. To be extra cautious, I contacted the CC company, reported what had occurred, and requested a new card. My husband contacted Sam's club to report the situation, and got absolutely nowhere. The CR's attitude was "not our problem" even though it's pretty much certain that this happened in their store while using their app.

We have been using that "Scan & Go" app from almost the first time it became available with absolutely no problem. It's really convenient - especially when the check out lines are long. The only difference between the night before last and our usual method of use is that THIS time we were at the very front of the store near the registers. In the past, we did the "scan & go" somewhere well away from the registers - usually in the middle of the store.

Just wanted to alert UHH members to be aware of what happened to us so they can avoid the aggravation. If you receive an email such as the one I received - DO NOT SWIPE THE ARROW!

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Very interesting! I use Sam's and Costco. My Costco visa was compromised, as was several other people I know and I've never had a problem before. You have to check your statement every month because these scammers are everywhere.

DRam11 Loc: Polson, MT

Our CFO (otherwise known as the wife) checks our bank statements at Least weekly. It has paid off, we have been nailed at least five times in the last year. Each time we caught it quickly cancel the card and the money was restored to our account.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

We have email alerts set up on all of our credit cards. It can be a nuisance if we're charging several times, but we feel the extra security of being made aware of a problem "in real time" is worth the emails. When my husband and son were in Italy couple of years ago, I was getting alerts several times a day. Sam's Club has the "Scan & Go" app, but Costco doesn't. We don't have either a Costco or Sam's credit card.

seahawk505 Loc: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Thanks for the heads up! I use Sam's "Scan & Go" every time I'm in the store, and love it...never had a problem. I will be extra diligent from now on to make sure no one else is near when I'm scanning something.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

I'm our CFO, and hubby & I have email alerts set up for all our credit cards. No need to log in to the accounts. Also, CitiBank has a really good system for detecting fraud. If they detect an unusual pattern, I get a phone call on the home phone as well as a text to my cell phone.

Ollieboy

I get an immediate text and email when my cards are used. It's a very useful feature.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Extremely so!

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

The key to your situation is that you said you were near the front of the store. Scammers will set up a capture device in their car and try to capture activity in the area. It most likely will not reach far into the store. These scammers often hang out at gas stations but will hit just about anywhere credit cards are used. I’m not sure what you expected Sam’s to do, there isn’t anything retailers can do about this as these thieves operate outside the store. Best thing you can do is have alerts set up on your cards as some responders have mentioned.

big sky montana Loc: Great Falls Montana

And that's why I still use CASH !

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

My credit card has been hacked so many times from various businesses we shop at that I check it every morning and also pay for Lifelock.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thanks for confirming what my husband and I thought had happened in our situation. That was the first time we used the app at the front of the store. We do have all manner of alerts set up for our credit cards. The interesting thing with our situation is that it was NOT our actual credit card that was "cloned" or whatever the term is. It was the actual Sam's Club app on my cell phone that was compromised. We have temporarily removed that app from our phones. To clarify yet gin - it was NOT that our credit card was compromised directly. It was the Sam's Club "Scan & Go" APP on my phone that was breached. The credit card number is stored IN the app itself. Something else that I'd noticed & mentioned to my husband was that the app had always previously required that the 3 digit security code be inputted directly during the checkout process, but that THIS time, NO code was requested.

As for what we "expected Sam's to do" - we simply wanted to alert them as to what had happened, since it was a "hole" in the security of their own app that caused the problem with the hope that their cybersecurity department would "plug the hole". When my husband called Sam's 800#, he asked to speak with either a supervisor or to be put in touch with the appropriate department so that he could report what had happened. He called twice and was basically told BOTH times that there was no one there who could take such a report.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Bill, it wasn't the credit card that was hacked. It was the Sam's Club "Scan & Go" app that contains the credit card number. We hd been using the app since it was first introduced, but will not be using that app again in the future. The inconvenience of having had the app hacked is not worth the convenience of not using the register lines, and using the app.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've never used that app. Just playing it safe. If your card is with Synchrony Bank, they are very cautious about misuse of their cards. Several times they have contacted me about possible fraudulent of my card. Most times, there's no problem, but occasionally, they quote a charge I didn't make. They cancel the card and send me a new one.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Jerry, it wasn't the card. It was the app!! My banks have always been proactive when it comes to fraud prevention.