I’ve never been a victim of fraud, until today.
Luckily I logged into my bank account today. I don’t normally, unless I’m cutting it pretty close, and trying to keep an eye on things. There was a charge for $950.20 from Dell. Uhhhhhh…. I also have a charge for $1.50 from a company I’ve never heard of.
Now I’m not one of those people that has zillions of dollars in my account, so of course this overdrew my account. Not to mention, I still have checks floating around (yeah I actually still write checks). I flipped out. I called my bank (accolades to Key Bank today!). They reverse the charges. I call Dell. Get India. I don’t think the guy understands that a transaction has gone through, that has rendered me utterly destitute. He says someone will call me back. So I wait a couple of hours, nothing. I call again. This time, I get someone who understands the gravity of the situation. I actually get one of those annoying emails with a 9 digit “Case” number. And another reversal on the charge. Woo Hoo, now I’m rich (until midnight anyway, when the second reversal drops off).
So my choices of course are to freeze the account, report the card lost/stolen, or do nothing. I do nothing (today). WHY you say? First choice, freeze the account. I have transactions that I KNOW are going through today. Freeze=Nightmare. The obvious choice, reporting it lost/stolen, and getting a replacement card, also a nightmare… especially since I’m travelling on Christmas day, and there is no way they could get a replacement card to me in time. No card = No rental car. Not all of us have an array of credit cards to choose from. 
If this had even happened Monday of this week, I would’ve taken the chance, and hoped that I could have gotten a replacement card. But today, no dice. I will get a replacement card when I’m done traveling.
The $1.50 charge? Someone apparently purchased a horse racing program from a website based in Kentucky.
Moral of the story, check your account. I’m now obsessively compulsively checking mine!
PS (if anyone wants to order something from Dell, just let me know, I have a credit card number to give you!)
by Steve Robbo, on December 21 2007 @ 11:45 pm
There have been a lot of issues locally, with credit cards being used. The Police have put it down to one petrol station, and it seems to have been going on for months.
Hope you get it sorted soon.
by Susan, on December 21 2007 @ 6:46 am
Ouch, that bites! Hope you get it all worked out.
by blueyes, on December 21 2007 @ 5:35 am
Yep, that’s happened to me too, not that much but it did happen and I closed my bank account and card and reopened. Then those scammers had the nerve to try to put something else through again on the old account after it was already closed.