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One of the downsides of being a well-known travel blogger for the better part of two decades is that a lot of my personal information is out there. Also over the years, I’ve picked up some haters, including one charming individual I’ll call “TK,” who I wouldn’t be surprised was behind what happened next.
The other day, I was working in the garage when my wife came in and handed me my phone. American Express fraud prevention was on the line. The agent asked me whether I had requested that a replacement card for my The Business Platinum Card® from American Express be sent to an address other than my mailing address.
Yikes!
I said no, absolutely not. She then asked if anyone else had requested it on my behalf. Again, I said no. I told her I had the card right there in my possession and had never requested a replacement.
So someone had gotten hold of my Amex Business Platinum card number and called in pretending to be me. They had my card number, my name, my phone number, and were asking for a replacement card to be shipped to a different address under the guise of a lost card. Thankfully, Amex fraud prevention thought that was a little fishy and called me to confirm before processing anything. A very smart move on their part.
Amex really came through for me here. They overnighted me a new card via UPS and recommended I change my login password, which I did (and honestly, it was overdue anyway). Just think about what could have happened if that card had been shipped off to who knows where. Random charges, a potential hit to my credit — it could have been a real mess. So thank you, American Express. Your fraud protection saved my bacon this time. – René
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
I’ve had AMEX for years and they’ve always been on point reliable and protective of my interests.
When René told me about this not long after it happened, I recalled to him an instance when Amex called me. “Are you in Columbia right now, trying to buy gas in Bogota?”
“Uh, no.”
“Because we also noticed charges today from a Ralphs grocery store and a Shell gas station in Woodland Hills, California.”
“Yep. THOSE were me.”
“We figured. We’ll get you a new card tomorrow.”
And THEY apologized for the inconvenience. Amex customer care is generally exceptional — and this is part of the annual fee.
Same with us.. They usually come thru..But Rakuten and United did no this week.. I realized this was happening when both contacted me that my password was changed….
This happened to my wife just this past weekend.
My wife inadvertently got sucked into a phish for T-Mobile rewards, but thankfully she used our AmEx Platinum. She told me she thought she “effed up” about 5 minutes it happened and I checked our account but no charge appeared. The next day I got a text and then a call from AmEx fraud protection asking if someone using my wife’s card number charged $20 to some business (that I didn’t recognize). I told the person I was talking to that my wife got a T-Mobile phish and she took the bait. According to the person I spoke with, my wife interacted with a ChatGPT phish, which was the first I’ve heard of.
Anyhow, charge was reversed and all is well. Just one of many reasons why my AmEx cards are my primary cards.