Fraud!
There is some jerk in California pretending they are me and buying lots of gas and having their clothes cleaned.
The other day I noticed in our checking account that there were some charges that neither of us had made. This mystery person was at the same gas station twice in Bakersfield, then a cleaners in Richmond and last another gas station in Oakland.
Here is the even weirder part: I have my debit card. And these kind of places you need the actual card to make the purchases. It's not like they are buying things online or with the Home Shopping Network.
I first noticed the charges late Monday night. I called Tuesday. The transactions were still pending so a claim could not be filed yet. They asked if I wanted to put a hold on my card and I decided to wait. (Last night I tried to use my debit card at Target and it wouldn't work.) This morning some of the charges had cleared. I called the bank. I mentioned my Target incident and I was told there had been a hold put on my card. I am working with some smart people here. Then I worked with the claims department. The money will be back in our account tonight. Talk about fast service. There is one more fraudulent claim still pending. Once that clears I can call the claims department again and get that one taken care of.
I will get a new card next week.
We are lucky that this identity theft was so minor and easily fixable. But man, where does this person get the gall to pull crap like that? It makes me angry that people think they can do this to hard-working people. And the idiot didn't buy anything good.
And thank goodness for online banking and my obsessive nature to check our accounts very often. If I had waited for a paper statement to show up we coulda been bouncing checks.
The other day I noticed in our checking account that there were some charges that neither of us had made. This mystery person was at the same gas station twice in Bakersfield, then a cleaners in Richmond and last another gas station in Oakland.
Here is the even weirder part: I have my debit card. And these kind of places you need the actual card to make the purchases. It's not like they are buying things online or with the Home Shopping Network.
I first noticed the charges late Monday night. I called Tuesday. The transactions were still pending so a claim could not be filed yet. They asked if I wanted to put a hold on my card and I decided to wait. (Last night I tried to use my debit card at Target and it wouldn't work.) This morning some of the charges had cleared. I called the bank. I mentioned my Target incident and I was told there had been a hold put on my card. I am working with some smart people here. Then I worked with the claims department. The money will be back in our account tonight. Talk about fast service. There is one more fraudulent claim still pending. Once that clears I can call the claims department again and get that one taken care of.
I will get a new card next week.
We are lucky that this identity theft was so minor and easily fixable. But man, where does this person get the gall to pull crap like that? It makes me angry that people think they can do this to hard-working people. And the idiot didn't buy anything good.
And thank goodness for online banking and my obsessive nature to check our accounts very often. If I had waited for a paper statement to show up we coulda been bouncing checks.
5 Comments:
My friends Claudine and Michele had similar things happen. Theirs were both internet situations (presumably). How does the credit card company think they got your number and used it at the gas station if they didn't have an actual card? Did they apply for a new card using your numbers and name? That is really, really scary.
Another thought...did the credit card company give you any suggestions on how to avoid this in the future? I know that you shred credit card applications, etc (I saw Curt shredding when we visited you in CA!). I recently got a shredder for that exact reason. And, I signed up on several websites to have my name pulled from their lists. As a new home owner my name is put on tons of lists...lower mortgage rates, approved for platinum credit cards, etc and I don't want to receive any of it. I have the names of the websites if you would like them.
I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've had my identity stolen not once - but TWICE!! Once when someone stole my purse and wrote checks out the wazoo (thanks to all the stores that approved them because they had my driver's license) and the other in something major. It just sucks all around.. what a mess. I'm so sorry.
It is a good thing you caught it early.. now if they can just catch the people who did it!! Jerks!
Apparently they don't even need your card these days. My mother-in-law had her account wiped out in Portland. Turns out, someone had installed some type of card reader IN the ATM and was getting access to all kinds of accounts! HOW is this possible?! She also had to go through lots of hoops to get things set straight with her bank and ended up switching banks. I was recently hacked through my eBay, with items listed as being sold by me and hundreds of dollars of insertion fees, etc. Luckily I noticed it early, and eBay took care of it, but it's really scary and an invasion. Glad you got it settled!
I have heard that people actually take pictures of your debit card at stores with their freakin' cell phone cameras when they are near you in stores or such. We are living in some wierd, scary times huh!?!
Aunt Gen
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