Originally Posted by
Steve M
Don't be so sure. I had a card compromised that had never been used and sat unactivated in a desk drawer prior to the bank calling one day and asking about suspicious charges. I think the most likely source of compromise was a lucky random guess.
Watchdog (a consumer programme here in the UK) did an article on card fraud a few years back. All you need is a number and an expiry date. CVV codes, addresses, PINs etc aren't needed to process a transaction.
I had two flight tickets (in business class, on Aeroflot) purchased by Russians on my credit card a few years back. It was a card I very seldom used (and only then with a certain computer components supplier), so I suspect it was the target of a card number generator. It took me £1,000 over my credit limit and it took a couple of weeks for them to sort out.
As luck would have it I'd checked my balance online the day after the charges went through - hopefully the fraudsters ended up stuck at an airport somewhere!