PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Credit card companies track customers' spending habits to try to cut down on fraud. But have they gone too far?

Cynthia Santilli thinks so, according to WJAR-TV in Providence.

Santilli recently took her new Visa card on rapid-fire shopping spree.

"So, it was like, bang, bang, jewelry department. Then it was off to the expensive designer colognes for another gift. And then it was a mini-CD system. And I did all these things really quickly because I knew what I was going to buy first," Santilli said. "And that's when my credit card wouldn't go through."

She called Providian, the San Francisco-based bank that issued her credit card.

"They said, 'We're going to have to transfer you over to fraud protection.'"

Santilli's purchases triggered a fraud alert. Providian froze her account to verify her identity.

"And they said, 'In order to get your card reactivated and take the fraud protection off, we're going to have to ask you some questions.' And she said, 'I want to warn you that some of these questions might sound a little unusual,'" Santilli said.

Unusual and, according to Santilli, invasive.

"Well, the first question was the age group of a former husband of mine," Santilli said. "But then the next question that came up was about my former husband's sister. And they asked me, 'In which county is she likely to live,' and they asked her name specifically."

"I said, 'I can't believe you're asking me this.' And then she apologized again," Santilli said.

Santilli answered the questions; Providian removed the fraud alert. But the experience left Santilli shaken.

"I was expecting to be asked my mother's maiden name, my Social Security number, maybe what I purchased that day and for what amounts. Anything else but questions about a past relationship," Santilli said.

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WJAR-TV contacted Providian. It reported Providian uses a security system that gathers information about card holders.

"When the customer calls in, we use an electronic system. It automatically generates verification questions using public sources," Providian spokeswoman Beth Haiken said.

Where do they get that information? The station reported that companies like Providian can get it at city and town halls or anywhere else public records are available. It's all legal because they're public records, according to the station.

City and town halls are converting public documents such as property records, marriage licenses and birth certificates to electronic databases, making the records easier to access. The station reported that Providian's security company uses those databases to collect information.

"I thought it was a violation of my privacy. I never dreamed they would ask me questions like that," Santilli said.

Providian sent Santilli a letter of apology, which stated, "The identity verification service used is in compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which governs the use of public information. This act specifically allows use of such data for identity verification purposes."

Santilli said she would cancel the credit card.

As for its fraud alert procedure, Providian said, "In certain isolated cases, it can be troubling."

But the spokeswoman pointed out that the system works.

"We do have the lowest fraud rate in the industry, and we're proud of that," Haiken said.

No matter which credit card company you use, be aware that the following could trigger a fraud alert:

• You open a new account.
• You make a large number of transactions in a short time.
• You make transactions that vary from your usual spending patterns.