(sigh) - Orchid Board

Angurek · #1 05-13-2010, 12:48 AM

Just thought I'd vent a bit.

I've become a victim of bank account fraud. I had just finished a final last friday when I received a call from my bank's fraud department. Apparently, someone had gotten ahold of my credit card number and performed a number of fraudulent transactions on my account. All of them were for a French phone company called Manifone, and whatever idiot did this to me just stole about $250 from my checking account. What's worse is that the check for my rent hadn't cleared yet, so it overdrafted. I had to cancel my credit card and ask for a new one. I just hope my account and routing number weren't compromised, or I'll need a new account. I'm not even sure how this happened. I always play it safe when I shop online and stuff, so I'm guessing it may have something to do with the ATM's I've been using.

On top of this, I'm having family problems, and a bunch of my orchids are sick. Such is my life. Sometimes I feel that 100 bad things happen for every good thing in my life. Just when things look up, something happens.

I realize that there are solutions to all these problems, but it really sucks when a ton of bad things happen all at once.

stonedragonfarms · #2 05-13-2010, 01:08 AM

Sorry to hear it Carl, but keep the chin up. Hopefully your bank and the phone company will be able to straighten things out for you. Remember, karma is a great wheel; keep us posted on how things progress and keep us in mind if you need to further vent.
Adam

WhiteRabbit · #3 05-13-2010, 01:29 AM

Wow - that's awful. Fraudulent charges should be credited back to you I believe. The party accepting the card number did not verify identification - a common practice in our high tech world - but thats a risk they take doing so. I had a similar issue several years ago - and fortunately the bank credited me for all the fraudulent charges. I actually called a couple of the merchants myself and they reversed the charges quite easily. For the few I couldn't reach I wrote a statement at the bank, was credited by them, and I guess they reversed the charges. I did get a new card/number. I hope it goes as easily for you.
I'm sorry things are piling on - I have been there. Hope things look up soon!

natasha · #4 05-13-2010, 01:30 AM

i know you life sucks now, but be strong and keep the head above water... bad things happens, but the good ones will follow soon... best wishes!

Brotherly Monkey · #5 05-13-2010, 02:11 AM

it's much easier to scam an e-commerce system than an ATM. And even if you trust the merchant you are dealing with, that doesn't guarantee that parties they are dealing with are secure or legit

Swamper · #6 05-13-2010, 06:47 AM

When it rains it pours huh Carl? I'm sorry man, I hope things clear up and get better real soon.

snakecharma · #7 05-13-2010, 07:33 AM

well, what a bummer.
Card skimming happens here a bit (that's where people steal your data from your card when you swipe it at an eftpos terminal or an atm, if anyone didnt know that term). Having a chipped card helps greatly.

sorry you're having such dramas.

cb977 · #8 05-13-2010, 08:07 AM

Well, that certainly sucks!!!

I hope it all works out, not just the fraud stuff but all of it

Stay strong, my friend...things will be alright

Tindomul · #9 05-13-2010, 10:10 AM

Nothing stays bad forever. Bad times always pass.
One thing to watch out for is using credit cards at the gas pump. My wife was a victim of this a few years back after she used her credit card to fill my gas tank. The idiot that stole it got an airline ticket to California, 1000 dollars worth of chocolates and some other stuff. Eventually she got reimbursed for it all, but not without a fight.

quiltergal · #10 05-13-2010, 03:46 PM

Carl that's really a drag. Was it your credit card or your debit card? If it's a credit card most banks will reverse the charges, and issue you a new account number and card. This happened to us just last year. The twit that stole it charged $250 worth of i-Tunes.

The bank was all over it the first day, and froze the account. They called and left a message about what was going on.

Debit cards aren't quite as easy to resolve as credit cards. It's pretty amazing how quickly these low life scumbags can drain a bank account. I have smacked my husband upside the head a number of times for using the debit card to pay for online purchases. I think I finally have him trained now.

Another good thing to do is call your credit card company if you plan to be traveling or going out of the country. They monitor your spending profile and anything that looks out of the ordinary gets put on hold until they can verify with you. There's nothing worse than being out of the country with a frozen credit card!