Just recently, I became a credit card fraud victim and even though I was protected by the company, I was also extremely annoyed by the situation and how it went down exactly. Matter of fact, the credit card company wasn’t too helpful but it looks like in the long run, I’m somewhat protected.

I’m sure you guys are wondering why I’m writing about this credit card fraud, well, nowadays everyone has a credit card. And if you’re an online entrepreneur, it’s almost guaranteed that you have one. This is how we purchase things online and save.

For instance, if you have a credit card that you use to purchase ads with Google Adwords for affiliate marketing and your credit card gives you rewards back of five percent on your spending, you’re saving quite a lot of money in the long run.

But then again, you also have to be cautious on where you use your credit card as well. And if this happens to you, I hope you don’t have to go through the same hassle I went through.

Anyways, let me tell you what happened to me and how it went down.

This past Saturday, I decided that I would check how much I racked up in my spending for the past few weeks. But when I tried to log onto my online banking system, it was giving me an error message of:

“There are no open eligible accounts to display for this Online ID. We are unable to to service your request. If you need further assistance, please call…”

I found it weird that I couldn’t log into my account, especially the fact that I used my credit card just the previous night. So, I decided to chat with an online representative. The first one was useless, couldn’t tell me anything but informed me that I should contact the number provided to me.

So, I was forced to because at this point I was a little worried that there was no “eligible accounts to display” so what happened to it? How am I going to pay for the balance?

When I called, the entire thing was an automated voice messaging system. After being frustrated for a while, I was trying to get a hold of a live person.

No such luck.

When I finally thought I got through to a live person, it contacted me to a invalid number. So, I went back to chat online with a different rep and they basically told me the same crap as the previous person – they couldn’t help and I needed to call for further assistance.

But this time I was given a different phone number. So, I called it and basically asked what happened to my account and why can’t I log in.

The live person on the phone responded like “Well, if you didn’t cancel your account, more than likely there was fraudulent activities going on so the fraud department probably canceled it for you.”

And then he transferred me to the fraud department.

When I spoke to the gentleman on the phone, he wasn’t very helpful but at least I figured out what happened. Apparently, some “merchant” that I used a credit card with was compromised and all credit card information was taken from them. That’s what the person on the phone told me.

He didn’t tell me which “merchant” or any other information besides the fact that they are issuing me a brand new credit card. And he basically told me they were going to give me more information when they find out more.

Are you serious?! I laughed a little bit especially the fact that no one informed me till this very day. It was just a coincidence that I tried to check my account online on the day it was being canceled.

For the record, this was through Bank of America and honestly, I’ve never been a fan of theirs. Unfortunately for me, I had this credit card for years before they were bought out by them so I just kept it.

So, in a way, I was protected by the company which is always a good thing. Unfortunately, the downfall to all of this is the fact that I had to find out on my own, I went through the frustration of dealing with all this (especially the bad customer service), I now need to change anything that my credit card is linked to, the company probably won’t give me any incentive for inconveniencing me and issuing me a credit card and now I won’t have one for the next 5-7 business days if I need to purchase anything.

Thanks a lot to the hacker, the merchant who still remains unknown and thanks to the lovely credit card company. (I’m being sarcastic, of course!)

Have you guys been through such hassles before?