Why doesn’t HSBC send an email every time your credit or debit card is used? Wouldn’t that reduce fraud? Wouldn’t immediate email monitoring make you feel better and more secure? Of course it would. Here is why HSBC will not do implement the idea:
When you make a payment by phone the $15 charge is a new purchase, so you would get an email. While you thought you paid off the balance, HSBC does not quote the payoff amount plus $15. Whether the $15 fee is called a phone payment fee, expedite fee, or just a plain “screw me” fee, is hidden either by an act of omission or commission.
If you got an email it would negate the scam. Any time HSBC applied a new purchase it would trigger an email thanking you for your purchase. If you applied for a Best Buy store card, and the employee signed you up for a service you did not request, the scam would be blown if you received an email.
Email notifications would greatly reduce credit card fraud. PayPal sends emails any time their PayPal card is used for any reason. It does add a layer of security. It does make me feel better about fraud. Emails help law enforcement catch dumb crooks. For instance, if my card is stolen and used for a motel room the thieves can be immediately located. If it is used for gasoline purchases the thieves can be tracked. You get the idea.
It is HSBC’s own self-serving desire not to be caught that prevents HSBC from implementing this important step. HSBC would be the fraudster caught in their own security web, and we certainly can’t have that, can we?
Real Life Example of Unauthorized Charges
DC in California said: “I kept finding charges on my card I did not authorize. They were headed by TLG. When I called to tell them to take them off, I also found out that they were associated with HSBC!”
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