my identity was stolen.... sort of!

Well, they say it happens a lot, but it finally happened to me! :mad: I got a call Monday night (on my answering machine) saying that "possible fraudulant activity has been reported on my card." BUT, the caller didn't identify themselves or which card, etc., so I thought it was a scam! Later that same night, I decided to google the phone number, and sure enough, it was from my bank. Well, this could be real, I started thinking. Then I tried to access my account online, and my password was frozen! When I called my branch Tuesday morning, I was told that I needed to call the "fraud line". After making certain I was who I was saying I was, the lady asked me if I had been in Italy Monday! (Uh, no!) There was a charge on my debit for $32.19 in Italy! I had eaten at an Italian restaurant for lunch on Monday, and I used my debit card, but I didn't spend $32.19! So now my debit and ATM cards are closed and I am waiting for new ones. And I use my debit for so much! I have to watch to see if the charge actually posts and the money is taken out, and if it is, then I have to file papers and go through a whole process! What a pain! I am very glad, though, that the charge was flagged! That says a lot. The lady at the "fraud line" told me that when something like this happens, the theives usually try to charge smaller amounts to see what they can get away with, and then if nothing is noticed, they charge it up! Well, they won't get very far with my account! I am broke!

OMG, how scary!! I hope it stops right here!!:)

It's a pain in the butt when you lose your cards. I also use my debit card for EVERYTHING (I hardly write checks anymore except for my rent). When my wallet was lost, I had to call everyone including the bank. I couldn't access any of my accounts unless I went into the bank.

I'm glad your bank is on the ball. Identity theft is getting out of control.

That is an excellent bank. Thank goodness it was discovered before the BIG charges started.
Bruce had something similiar happen a couple months ago. The amount was a bit larger though, but it was resolved fairly easily.

Good catch!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It could have been worse!!!!!!!!! Glad they caught it in time. I think I'll go balance my checkbook :)

Something like this happened to my mom, she got charged $40.00 from I forgot where. The bank resolved it quickly though :).

That's great that your bank put a stop to before it got out of hand!

Boy, are you ever lucky! And kudos to your bank for their vigilance. The criminals weren't so cautious w/my son's bank account last year. They charged several thousand dollars worth of airline tickets to England. The bank reimbursed him immediately; he closed the account and opened another one and it happened again the very next day! So get this: the bank tried to hold my son responsible because it happened twice. He said "Uh, hey! I told you to flag my account for any suspicious activity, especially after it just happened to me once already. This is not my fault." They actually made him send them a copy of the papers that he had to sign in order to close his first account and they told him that if they didn't receive it w/in 24 hours by certified mail, they would hold him responsible. Of course, he complied but begrudgingly, plus he had to close that account, too, and go through all the hassle. At that point, I would've changed banks but he said that he feared that it would look suspicious on his part. Nice. He was victimized twice, then again by the bank by being made to feel like he had done something wrong when he clearly had not.

Did you notify the police? It just seems extremely coincidental to me that your card was used in Italy on the same day that you used it in an Italian restaurant. Maybe I am overly suspicious, but I would think there has to be some connection there. First I would check to see if perhaps the restaurant made a mistake in submitting their payment request, then I would see if the police had received previous reports of fraudulent credit/debit card uses that can be traced back to this same restaurant. Your amount may not seem like it is worth the police involvement, but someone else's may have been.

I am with Ginger's Mom. Seems a bit coincidental, and probably more of an honest accident than anything else. I have never heard that the criminals start off 'small' to see what they could get away with, since it is nearly within days that a card is discovered stolen. And, why would someone bother to steal a such a small amount? Who would bother to steal $30 worth of food at a restaurant? Hope this is just all that it is.

They need stiffer penalities for the ones they catch. A slap on the wrist for stealing someone ideninty only encourages them to keep doing it and nobody actively chases down these people. Let them get 10 years for the first offense, 20 for the second and life for the 3rd!

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Originally Posted by Laura's Babies

Let them get 10 years for the first offense, 20 for the second and life for the 3rd!

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I LIKE your thinking!!!

Well, the charges never posted to my account! The charge stayed in the pending, and have now dropped off. Thank goodness it got caught quickly and I was alerted. My new debit card is on its way, and nothing else is compromised. I know it could have been sooo much worse than just this! Wow, was I ever lucky! :eek: