Credit Cards

Randy's credit cards and bank cards have been hacked and stolen. He uses different companies. Did they steal his card numbers because of shopping online? Leo says to look at the common thread. Leo says to look at the common thread. Someone clearly got to where Randy keeps all those numbers stored. So they may have hacked into his Amazon account or his Google account. Make sure those numbers are blocked. The good news is, that his credit card companies will be monitoring it and will warn him. They will then lock the card and reissue them. 

Harriet's husband passed away recently, and Skype keeps charging their credit card and won't stop. What can she do? Rich says to dump the credit card company. If they refuse to chargeback the fees, then it's not worth having. Another thing to do is to contact Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft. He'll direct it to an assistant to address the issue.

Mike needs to buy a new hard drive. Leo says they've gotten really large and really cheap. He could get a 5 TB hard drive for under $150. And SSDs have dropped below $1 a GB.

Back in 2013, Mike noticed he's had several negative dings on his credit. Leo says to check out his credit report to see if there's fraud or other inaccuracies it. If so, he can challenge them. But if he's a victim of identity theft, it's a hard thing to convince not only the credit agencies, but also the credit card companies and the IRS that he's had his identity stolen.

Larry has gotten a new credit card and it has a chip on it. Leo says that America has finally gone to the chip and PIN system, and we are now in the process of transitioning to it. The problem though, is that he didn't get a PIN with it, and he wants one. Leo says it's a steady transition. First chip and sign. Then we'll get PINs within a few years. But it's odd that American Express, which has a worldwide presence, wouldn't go with a PIN for it.

Peter had his credit cards stolen. Leo says it's a very common thing. The good news is that in the US, the banks take all the liability, and this Fall, a new credit card will come out with chips and PIN numbers to guard against theft. Another option is to sign up for one time use credit card numbers, or numbers that can be used with just one merchant.

Joe wants to know how Google Wallet works. Leo says he has to tie it to a credit or debit card, and then it charges the credit or debit cards when he makes purchases. He can also reload the wallet ahead of time to debit it. It's like EasyPass while driving.

Check out Google's AntiFraud Theft policy here.

Cassie wants to know if putting her cell phone next to her credit card would demagnetize the credit card. Leo says that there probably isn't enough magnetic power in the cell phone to demagnetize a card. They're moving away from that technology anyway, so this won't even be a concern for too much longer.