So that's where my money went...
Well I get to spend the night filling out Loss Management forms pertaining to unauthorized purchases made using my checking account. In other words someway, somehow someone got a hold of my checking card number and made $150 in purchases online last Saturday and this Monday. I know I'm not the one who made the purchases because I made a point to use cash during the week because my biggest bills are due at the start of the month and the middle of it. So much for me saving up comfortably pay those bills this time around.
I actually got wind that something might of have been amiss with my money a few days ago, but I foolishly decided not to act on it. On Monday or Tuesday my mom called me and told me how much I had in my checking account, I found it odd since the account seemed to be short over $150 dollars and I didn't buy anything over the weekend with my card. I figured that it was a check that I sent out being cashed late, since my car insurance had not been paid yet. I'd meant to call the bank but I never got around to it, and I don't bank online.
Today was the kicker of sorts since I'd gone out to the store to buy a few things. I had considered stopping at the bank first but decided to just buy what I needed using my check card. When I actually went to buy what I needed I found out that my card was declined, this has never ever happened to me before. I was short on cash but luckily I had my credit card on me, so I was able to buy what I needed using that. I decided not to wait any longer and called the bank as soon as I reached my car.
I feared that I wouldn't have anything in my account, but the balance didn't seem to be off. Still not comfortable with that I called customer service and found out that my card had been suspended due to suspicious activity. I then had to go over recent purchases over the phone with the representative which confirmed the bank's suspicions. I'm pretty sure that I'd remember if I sat down last Saturday and brought electronics for $120 something and brought things on iTunes (which I don't even have an account on).
So at the moment I'm filling out those forms and I'm without a checking card for the second time within a year. (I lost my other one in July.)
My mom was also notified of authorized activity on her account last Saturday morning via a phone call from the bank. That prompted me to check my account but it seems I missed those unauthorized purchases by a few hours and days. Could it be a horrible coincidence? At that point I'm not really sure. Nor am I sure how our information was compromised, I do make it a habit of painstaking separating and shredding documents and data before tossing them out. I suppose it's time to change my spending habits online, I'd had been toying with the idea for quite some time. I guess I'm getting a less than gentle shove in that direction now.
Lastly, I'm thankful that I wasn't cleaned out and that my money will be returned to me. It could have been much worse than what happened.
I actually got wind that something might of have been amiss with my money a few days ago, but I foolishly decided not to act on it. On Monday or Tuesday my mom called me and told me how much I had in my checking account, I found it odd since the account seemed to be short over $150 dollars and I didn't buy anything over the weekend with my card. I figured that it was a check that I sent out being cashed late, since my car insurance had not been paid yet. I'd meant to call the bank but I never got around to it, and I don't bank online.
Today was the kicker of sorts since I'd gone out to the store to buy a few things. I had considered stopping at the bank first but decided to just buy what I needed using my check card. When I actually went to buy what I needed I found out that my card was declined, this has never ever happened to me before. I was short on cash but luckily I had my credit card on me, so I was able to buy what I needed using that. I decided not to wait any longer and called the bank as soon as I reached my car.
I feared that I wouldn't have anything in my account, but the balance didn't seem to be off. Still not comfortable with that I called customer service and found out that my card had been suspended due to suspicious activity. I then had to go over recent purchases over the phone with the representative which confirmed the bank's suspicions. I'm pretty sure that I'd remember if I sat down last Saturday and brought electronics for $120 something and brought things on iTunes (which I don't even have an account on).
So at the moment I'm filling out those forms and I'm without a checking card for the second time within a year. (I lost my other one in July.)
My mom was also notified of authorized activity on her account last Saturday morning via a phone call from the bank. That prompted me to check my account but it seems I missed those unauthorized purchases by a few hours and days. Could it be a horrible coincidence? At that point I'm not really sure. Nor am I sure how our information was compromised, I do make it a habit of painstaking separating and shredding documents and data before tossing them out. I suppose it's time to change my spending habits online, I'd had been toying with the idea for quite some time. I guess I'm getting a less than gentle shove in that direction now.
Lastly, I'm thankful that I wasn't cleaned out and that my money will be returned to me. It could have been much worse than what happened.