patrick.barnes

Sounds like the OP failed the first level verification so they sent the code to the phone number on his/her CR.

Might want to check those and remove any that aren't yours.

ChicagoKev

I've noticed all the banks have much more of a hair trigger to decline charges lately, sometimes it'll be a half hour later that I finally get a message. I had to try 3 different bank's cards before I could buy plane tickets via IcelandAir's website.

In my experience, Chase fraud prevention has been much better to deal with than Citibank. Better automated notifications, easier to deal with on the phone.

I don't know if either bank treats Gold/Platinum customers better in terms of fraud alert handling? Citi fraud department certainly doesn't seem to have any special handling for Prestige cardholders.

mia

Did the transactions fail at the Verified by Visa / MasterCard SecureCode stage? That's an extra layer of security chosen by the merchant, and USA card issuers vary in their support. That's really a different problem than declines for in-person transactions.

ryandelmundo

My return calls were with the correct number. Regardless, why can't I call with any phone (say my home landline or work #, or heaven forbid I'm abroad!) and do the proper verification. The only solution was a code from my sister. Imagine if we were estranged, she was out of the country, or even more likely, they had the wrong number for her.

Strange stuff. I sent them a strong complaint including my privacy concerns and got a "this has been forwarded up to a specialist" and of course never heard back.

Twitter maybe?

jsk1973

Are you sure you never used your sister's number for anything? Did you ever call Citi from that number? Were you ever an AU on her account or her an AU on your account?

ryandelmundo

I think I added her as an AU for my United Card. But we're talking Citi here, not Chase.

Speaking of customer service, love my Sapphire card customer service. Sapphire is a keeper.

sdsearch

I logged into my Citi (AA) account the other day and got an alert for "possible fraudulent charge" that they were asking me to verify was mine.

It was about my $120ish payment to the California DMV for my auto tag renewal. C'mon, how many times a year must they see these from a California resident (which they know I am)? Of all the things to consider possible fraudulent?

At any rate, I didn't get any other kind of alert on this (though any other medium), and they didn't block an in-person transaction I made hours after that online payment to DMV. I told the website yes this my transaction, and it was happy after that.

NDN

Well, it took us reporting a fraudulent charge in Mexican Pesos to get that message on my wife's account.

CurbedEnthusiasm

I recently opened the Citi AAdvantage card to get the 50K bonus offer. The fraud department is already working my last nerve.

My very first purchase ($60 at a restaurant) was flagged as fraud. I called to clear it, and they said the fraud hold would be removed, but my card was still blocked. So I called again, and was told "this time it's cleared." However, the online portal still showed it as blocked. It took a third call to finally get the hold cleared, even though they told me on call #1 and #2 that everything was fixed. Very annoying!

Now on to my trip to the UK. After making several purchase with no trouble, I see that I have an email from Citi's fraud department asking me to call. Interestingly, the email just says that merchants may ask for extra verification; it doesn't say that there's a hold on my account. The email has a collect number, and the restaurant I'm at kindly lets me use their landline, since my UK SIM card won't let me dial the number.

So I call the fraud department. They verify all my personal information, including my security word, and then ask for a verification code that they say they texted to my US phone number on file. I explain that I can't access that number because I'm using a UK SIM card, a concept which I don't think she understands. The rep says that without the verification code, there's nothing they can do and that my card will be blocked until I'm back in the states. I ask if they can email the code to me, and she says no. That's when I get very frustrated. The rep then suggests that she text the code to a relative, and that they email it to me (side note - how on earth is that a sound idea since they have no way of knowing who I claim is family). I tell her that I don't have any family, and I kid you not, she suspiciously says, "you don't?" My frustration level is now at a 10. No I don't have any family, and I ask her if she would like my life story, to which she says no.

At this point I ask for a supervisor. I never get one. Instead she starts furiously typing and then asks me how I placed the travel notification. I tell her I did it online, and she asks for a reference code. I'm able to find it in my emails. Two seconds later, I hear her say, "well that worked, you're all clear."

Yesterday I got back to the States, popped in my US SIM card, and was there a text message from Citi with a verification code? Nope!

What a bunch of incompetent fools.

satman40

I call before I leave the country, and so should you.

Always a good idea,

First time...

CurbedEnthusiasm

As I said, I put in a travel alert online, and they sent me a confirmation that it went though, so I'm not sure what calling would have accomplished.

bodiddely

I've also had a bear of a time with Citi's fraud department on several occasions. They wanted to text me a verification code, but they have some database where they look up cell numbers, and because my cell is employer issued, it wasn't showing up in my name. So that was out. They ended up having to call my mom (thankfully her cell is in her name - they checked the database) and giving her the code which she sent to me. All of this takes about 15 minutes with a cashier patiently waiting. After all is said and done, I ask if a note can be made on my account about my cell number being valid and that I can get verification texts on it in the future - "no problem."

Fast forward a month, another fraud hold had been placed since I had added an AU to the account and had them send the card to a different address than mine. And contrary to what the previous rep had told me, they still couldn't use my cell number for the text, ended up having to call my mom again, etc. Pretty frustrating, but I think the computer finally recognizes my cell number as belonging to me - recently got a fraud alert text for a large transaction, replied "1" or whatever to confirm I was trying to make the purchase, and transaction went through on next try.

jsk1973

Citi extended you unsecured credit and they'll eat fraudulent charges. Little issues like this are nothing. Frankly, I'm surprised the big CC issuers haven't clamped down even more on fraud.

satman40

I have had 2 FA in the last 2 years with Citi, Chase has done 2 FA, in the last 2 years also....

Not a problem, they gave me a decent LOC...

Nothing personal, just a business decision...I have more than one card, so never a problem...

CurbedEnthusiasm

I think my point is getting missed. I'm not complaining about the existence of fraud alerts. I'm complaining about inept service by Citi. Like having to call three separate times to clear one hold, and being told each time my card was cleared when it wasn't. Or being told that "there's nothing we can do" to clear your hold, when in fact they were able to clear it with my travel alert confirmation number.