Classic Beware of the Nook!

[Solicitous]

I have to agree with the responses here. What B&N did was responsible. If they had done nothing and your account was successfully hacked you'd be on here saying "B&N let my account get hacked and did nothing, now I'm out of pocket by $X".

I can imagine it being frustrating, but the small frustration of a locked reader far outweighs the frustration of an account breach and possible unauthorised credit card transactions. Only thing perhaps B&N could have done differently would have been to make phone contact with you when they were suspicious, but then again a regular Nook user would have noticed the locked account fairly quickly after it happening.

[bjones6416]

I'm gonna have to take the unpopular side here and say that I agree with the OP -- that is not how I would prefer to be notified if my account were hacked. I have a B&N account because I have the desktop reader, and if I remember correctly I had to supply a phone number to set it up. My credit card WAS hacked once with an online purchase, and my credit card company wasted no time in calling me to discuss it. If they had taken the same type action as B&N did in this case, I wouldn't have known there was a problem until the next time I tried to use it, and that isn't acceptable. B&N should have called him immediately if they were locking the account because of a hack attempt, IMO.

[clintbradford]

>> ... B&N should have called him immediately ...

So what has the consumer "lost" in this scenario? A few hours without his B&N account access.

Big friggin' deal - compared to getting involved in a credit card scam case.

And as another poster mentioned - if B&N did NOT whack off the account, the same poster would be screaming bloody murder that he had to now cancel and re-establish a credit card accountnumber.

B&N acted responsibly. There is absolutely no "fault" that can be attributed to them. They were looking out for their customer's best interests.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by compusolver

Apparently you are unaware that there are many, less obtrusive ways to handle a case like that, rather than suspending a paying customer's account.

You can selectively lock out the particular IP address of the suspected intruder for instance. Or they could have temporarily limited the account and immediately sent me an email notifying me and giving instructions of what to do from there.

Instead, BN waited until I was comfortably in bed and ready to read and instead of enjoying my purchases, I was hit with an unexpected and unpleasant situation.

Then, even after providing requested id information, the situation wasn't cleared up promptly and politely.

But, I can surmise that BN checks forums like these better than its own support messages, because my Nook was working again within thirty minutes of posting this message. Now that's some serious SERM work!

No, shutting down an account when attempted fraud is suspected is the most effective way of protecting your account and credit card information.

Isolating an IP address and locking it out does nothing, this person can just use another ip address.

And when id theft is involved, it may be a pain in the butt to have your id verified, but they did do the right thing.

[GreenMonkey]

This is why I strip the DRM from every book I buy and back it up somewhere. This kind of thing is also why I don't buy DRM'd books - I use mine for freebies and copyright-expired stuff, mostly. I still buy real books. Just bought a couple for $2 a piece at a used book store a few weeks ago.

So far, I haven't bought anything but freebies from B&N...haven't spent the time to figure out how to break their DRM yet (busy with classes/kids/work/etc). Won't do it until I know how.

I'm concerned though, it sounds like you couldn't get into your nook at all? Can you get into the it to access some things...or do you just get the warning screen and that's it?

[ProfCrash]

You can store the books on your home computer without stripping them. Then you can add them to your device. As long as you do not turn on the 3G or WiFi the books will stay on your device.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by bjones6416

I'm gonna have to take the unpopular side here and say that I agree with the OP -- that is not how I would prefer to be notified if my account were hacked. I have a B&N account because I have the desktop reader, and if I remember correctly I had to supply a phone number to set it up. My credit card WAS hacked once with an online purchase, and my credit card company wasted no time in calling me to discuss it. If they had taken the same type action as B&N did in this case, I wouldn't have known there was a problem until the next time I tried to use it, and that isn't acceptable. B&N should have called him immediately if they were locking the account because of a hack attempt, IMO.

Obviously you have either a better credit card company than I do, or it has been quite a while since you used your credit cards for a big purchase.

A few years ago I tried to used my credit card to buy a laptop. The card was refused by the company. Now my card had been shut off before because they had seen suspicious activity on my card, but usually I found a message on my home phone informing me when I got home and discovered that the card had been off for a day or two before I tried to use it again. Well this time I called up and they told me they refused my purchase because buying a laptop was outside of my normal purchase habits. In other words, they basically told me that anytime I tried to use it for a big purchase it was going to be denied! They told me I could have called them when they denied it and they would have allowed the purchase... but this of course happening after I experienced the embarrassment of having my card rejected... and knowing that it takes about 10 minutes to get the person I needed to reactivate the card.

So, should BN have called? Perhaps, but in the arena of poor customer service, their actions don't even get them in the top 100 (or is that bottom 100?).

--
Bill

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Obviously you have either a better credit card company than I do, or it has been quite a while since you used your credit cards for a big purchase.

A few years ago I tried to used my credit card to buy a laptop. The card was refused by the company. Now my card had been shut off before because they had seen suspicious activity on my card, but usually I found a message on my home phone informing me when I got home and discovered that the card had been off for a day or two before I tried to use it again. Well this time I called up and they told me they refused my purchase because buying a laptop was outside of my normal purchase habits. In other words, they basically told me that anytime I tried to use it for a big purchase it was going to be denied! They told me I could have called them when they denied it and they would have allowed the purchase... but this of course happening after I experienced the embarrassment of having my card rejected... and knowing that it takes about 10 minutes to get the person I needed to reactivate the card.

So, should BN have called? Perhaps, but in the arena of poor customer service, their actions don't even get them in the top 100 (or is that bottom 100?).

--
Bill

Yes, I've had pretty good luck with my cc company in that regard. I actually DID buy a laptop, from another country no less (Canada), but I contacted my credit card company ahead of time to give them a heads-up and ensure there wouldn't be any problems. Good communication works both ways, I've found.

[Meemo]

Originally Posted by bjones6416

I have a B&N account because I have the desktop reader, and if I remember correctly I had to supply a phone number to set it up. My credit card WAS hacked once with an online purchase, and my credit card company wasted no time in calling me to discuss it. If they had taken the same type action as B&N did in this case, I wouldn't have known there was a problem until the next time I tried to use it, and that isn't acceptable. B&N should have called him immediately if they were locking the account because of a hack attempt, IMO.

Nope - I just checked my account info at B&N and there's no where to even put in a phone number. You don't even have to give them your address (I haven't). Credit card companies have your phone number. B&N doesn't.

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by Meemo

Nope - I just checked my account info at B&N and there's no where to even put in a phone number. You don't even have to give them your address (I haven't). Credit card companies have your phone number. B&N doesn't.

Well, it's true that I don't even have a Nook, so maybe I don't even have the same kind of B&N account, in fact probably not. Mine is this kind -- this is from the q&a where I set up the account:

What personal information is needed to become a Member?
We ask you to supply your name, mailing address, phone number, and email address. By providing us with this information, we can deliver exclusive Member-only special offers and discounts and we can provide the best possible service. If you lose your Member Card or require other assistance from Member Services, we will be limited in the help we can provide without this information.

And I'll bow out of this thread now. It sounds as if I'm trying to be argumentative, and truly I'm not. Moving on...

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by clintbradford

So someone tried to access your ACCOUNT WITH CREDIT CARD for charging without your permission, and B&N caught it before you incurred any losses.

And this pissed you off?

Would you have preferred working with your credit crd company to reverse a couple hundred bucks of unwanted charges?

Barnes & Noble performed exactly how *I* wish they would.

I would be extremely happy to have B&N limit or stop *further* charges through my B&N account.

But yes, I can understand why he's unhappy that they *also* stripped out all his previous purchases.

The first action deserves all praise. The second? Not so good.

Derek

[simplyparticular]

Could the whole thing have been handled by B&N better? Yes. Even a message on his Nook that said - "For your protection, we have suspended this Nook account due to suspected fraud. Please contact Customer Service with your account information" would probably have gotten things off on a better foot, rather than waiting on hold, being quizzed, etc.

However, given that the OP said he hung up and threw his $259 Nook, I suspect that there was no resolution that would have made him happy

[boswd]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Obviously you have either a better credit card company than I do, or it has been quite a while since you used your credit cards for a big purchase.

A few years ago I tried to used my credit card to buy a laptop. The card was refused by the company. Now my card had been shut off before because they had seen suspicious activity on my card, but usually I found a message on my home phone informing me when I got home and discovered that the card had been off for a day or two before I tried to use it again. Well this time I called up and they told me they refused my purchase because buying a laptop was outside of my normal purchase habits. In other words, they basically told me that anytime I tried to use it for a big purchase it was going to be denied! They told me I could have called them when they denied it and they would have allowed the purchase... but this of course happening after I experienced the embarrassment of having my card rejected... and knowing that it takes about 10 minutes to get the person I needed to reactivate the card.

So, should BN have called? Perhaps, but in the arena of poor customer service, their actions don't even get them in the top 100 (or is that bottom 100?).

--
Bill

same thing happened to me on my honeymoon no less, forgot to tell my bank I was going out of the country and after using my debit card a few times it froze it for "suspcious activity" Embarassing, yes, a pain in the you know what to get it unfrozen yes am I glad I have this type of protection. OH YEAH

[boswd]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

I would be extremely happy to have B&N limit or stop *further* charges through my B&N account.

But yes, I can understand why he's unhappy that they *also* stripped out all his previous purchases.

The first action deserves all praise. The second? Not so good.

Derek

Actually the second makes perfect sense if you think about it. The books still have DRM on them and if they suspect theft, they are protecting the rights on the books.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by boswd

Actually the second makes perfect sense if you think about it. The books still have DRM on them and if they suspect theft, they are protecting the rights on the books.

Which, of course, totally ignores the original *theft* imposed by DRM.