Regarding my Discover Card...I think their security is compromised at the highest levels...
1) I left Virginia for P.R.C. (China) in Feb. 2008
2) Before leaving I called and advised them I would be out of the country until July.
3) I placed no charges on my Discover card since leaving the U.S.
4) My wife opens all credit card statements and calls me.
5) She called in late April or early May and said, "Discover wants $36.24."
6) I found this funny since (a) I left my Discover card in my dresser drawer in Virginia Beach and (b) I made no purchases on the card since February.
7) Sometime there after my wife opened another "reminder" from Discover and I thought it was time to see what was going on.
8) I got to the Discover account services site on line. I signed in using my customary user ID and password. It asked me a security question: "What is your mother's middle name?" I would never have used this as a security question because my mother did not have a middle name!
9) I got to the page that showed account activity and several hundred dollars were charged since May 15.
10) Using their internal communication email (I had never left the site at this point) I advised them of the fraudulent activity.
11) I never received a confirmation for this email.
12) I closed the site. I tried to re-open the site later in the day but could not.
The message was "mistake in the user Id or password" I was effectively being locked out of my account.
13) About a week later I tried to reopen the site to email the little buggers.
14) Again, could not access my account. I tried to re-register..to no avail.
15) I then tried to email them every way I could imagine. Nothing.
16) I called my wife and she called them. They told her they would put a hold on the account.
17) I have tried their "international" hot line 800 number to their fraud department...but, hey this is China.
18) Re-read that part about how I first got through using the very same user Id and password and then couldn't...all on the very same day.
19) Something is rotten in the state of Discover.
China Guy