Among Americans who’ve had a credit or debit card transaction flagged because of suspected fraud, roughly 7 out of 10 said at least one of those alerts was a false alarm, according to a new CreditCards.com study.
The survey of 1,000 adults, taken between April 30 and May 3, also found that 53% who’d had a purchase declined or flagged said most or all of those transactions were in fact, valid.
High-profile data breaches at businesses such as Target, which affected tens of millions of customers, may be making card issuers extra cautious, says Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst with CreditCards.com.
But banks are also highly motivated by the fact that when fraudulent charges do occur, they’re on the hook financially, not the card holder.
“By and large it’s the banks and card networks that absorb the costs, so it’s definitely in their interest to keep a watchful eye out for fraud,” says Schulz.
While false alarms may be a bit irritating or even embarrassing to the consumer whose purchase has been blocked, the upside might outweigh the inconvenience.
“I think ultimately it could be a good thing, because it means that your bank is keeping a close eye out for you and may be more likely to notice when the bad guys really do strike,” he says.
Card issuers’ antennas go up if they see a card holder based in New York suddenly buying a piece of artwork in Paris, or making some other expensive or out-of-character purchase.
“What the banks are really looking for and keying in on are patterns of your spending,” he says. ”A purchase that is not typical of your usual buying patterns, whether it’s strange because of how much it is or where it is, or some other aspect.”
So, if you know your shopping pattern is going to be slightly out of the norm, it’s best to…
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