Bank Account Compromised: Our Journey to Recovery

[lockhartkitchen]

Please keep us in your prayers. We finally got back on our feet and were doing well. Last Saturday the bank called me and ask if I had made some purchases. No. Evidently my debit card number has been used for online purchases (nothing we've ever heard of) The purchases went through on the 29th before my automatic paycheck deposit, so I had a lot of fees. The bank took them off, and were cancelling my card and sending me a new one.

Last night my husband goes through the drive-up bank and we are -$500. Thank goodness we already paid rent. I had over $800 Monday, now I have none! We have to go to the bank when they open today. Trying to stay in good spirits. And no, I don't do online banking for this very reason.

 

[NooraK]

I'm sorry to hear that happened to you.

If you need help, let me know, that's what my 9-5 job is. If your debit card number's been stolen, it probably doesn't have anything to do with online banking. But if they canceled the card, there shouldn't be anything else going through.

Hope they get it fixed for you quickly.

 

[Jennie4PC]

someone from our church just had that happen. I am so sorry I hope you get it resolved quickly

 

[raebates]

Prayers said for a quick end to the problem.

 

[nikked]

Oh, Julie! Praying for you!!!

 

[lockhartkitchen]

Thank you. Went to the bank today. Nothing to do until Monday when the bank manager is there. They said after filling out paper work, it could take several weeks to get refunded. So for 3 weeks, I have to be creative with food. It's the gas money I'm more concerned about. I'm opening up a new checking account at another bank tomorrow, with my PC checks from my recent show, so I will be able to send that show off. My show this Thursday, I'm going to ask for debit/credit, or check written to the host, so I can get it in before the 15th. Uggh. I hate dealing with stuff.

 

[quiverfull7]

What about your direct deposit for Monday the 10th? Is that account available for that deposit to be put in ?

 

[NooraK]

Thank you. Went to the bank today. Nothing to do until Monday when the bank manager is there. They said after filling out paper work, it could take several weeks to get refunded. So for 3 weeks, I have to be creative with food. It's the gas money I'm more concerned about. I'm opening up a new checking account at another bank tomorrow, with my PC checks from my recent show, so I will be able to send that show off. My show this Thursday, I'm going to ask for debit/credit, or check written to the host, so I can get it in before the 15th. Uggh. I hate dealing with stuff.

If the fraud was done using your Visa or MasterCard debit card, it should NOT take 3 weeks to get your money refunded. They can give you provisional credit agains the fraudulent charges while they investigate.

 

[lockhartkitchen]

I will have better answers Monday.

 

[pampered1224]

Pat has had his card number "captured" twice in the last three years. Each time he caught it, the bank immediately closed the account, had him come in and sign a deposition, gave him ALL the money back including fees, issued him a new card, which did take a few weeks to get, and the bank was the one to find out what really happened. It took two days. That was all. And it would have been immediately except the charges were discovered after 6p.m. so he had to wait to go in to the bank. If your bank did not close that account immediately, you are not responsible for any charges you did not make after reporting it.

 

[chefsteph07]

Did your card get stolen or lost or did they use the numbers for online purchases? That is so scary! I"m sorry you are going through this!

 

[mrshamel3808]

Someone stole our CC number, and we hadn't even lost our cards! The crooks have computer programs that just run numbers trying small online charges to each one and if they happen upon a combination that goes through, then they use it! The part that freaked me out was that the charges were made IN restaurants in our area ($40 at Taco Bell & $25 at Baskin Robbins). They can take the numbers that they find to work, create fake cards, and voila! Your card is stolen! We reported it to our CC company and they refunded some of the charges immediately and placed others on hold. Then we got paper work in the mail that had us authorize the transactions we made in the past few weeks and the ones we didn't authorize didn't go through. They also canceled our cards and sent us new ones right away. I don't know if it works different for an ATM since the money actually leaves the account immediately.

 

[Sheila]

I was told a few years back that I should NEVER use the little ATM machines inside convenience stores. That those are individually owned and your card info (along with the pin #) can be obtained for fraudulent use at those machines if the owner of the machine is a crook. I was told to always use a bank ATM, where the people with access to the machine & the internal data are bank employees who (more than likely) are trustworthy. Not sure if it's true or not, but it's a method I used for several years before moving to Japan. So far I've been lucky & never had to deal with identity theft or stolen cc info. Not sure if it's coincidence or a proven fact, but I'm not willing to test the theory.

 

[Sheila]

Duh! I forgot to say that I'm sorry you are dealing with this! I've traveled from Okinawa to TX for vacation & I'm a little out of it right now ... super tired!!!

 

[NooraK]

Someone stole our CC number, and we hadn't even lost our cards! The crooks have computer programs that just run numbers trying small online charges to each one and if they happen upon a combination that goes through, then they use it! The part that freaked me out was that the charges were made IN restaurants in our area ($40 at Taco Bell & $25 at Baskin Robbins). They can take the numbers that they find to work, create fake cards, and voila! Your card is stolen! We reported it to our CC company and they refunded some of the charges immediately and placed others on hold. Then we got paper work in the mail that had us authorize the transactions we made in the past few weeks and the ones we didn't authorize didn't go through. They also canceled our cards and sent us new ones right away. I don't know if it works different for an ATM since the money actually leaves the account immediately.

Your situation actually sounds more like skimming. Crooks have little machine with mag-stripe readers that can fit into the palm of your hand, or can be attached to an ATM or something (you'll see a sign saying it's a "card cleaner").

There's some scary stuff out there. In the big picture, something like this is piddly stuff compared to the mess true ID theft can create.

 

[AJPratt]

I am sorry this happened. My husband swears this stuff only happens on the weekend, when we can't really do anything about it.

 

[NooraK]

I am sorry this happened. My husband swears this stuff only happens on the weekend, when we can't really do anything about it.

I wish... I still have to go to work every day during the week, though.

 

[AJPratt]

I wish... I still have to go to work every day during the week, though.

I bet!

And that's the thing I don't understand with my bank. They can accidentally debit my account money on a Saturday, but I have to wait until Monday to talk to someone who can put it back.

 

[NooraK]

I bet!

And that's the thing I don't understand with my bank. They can accidentally debit my account money on a Saturday, but I have to wait until Monday to talk to someone who can put it back.

I never could understand why the bank has 24/7 service for credit cards, but not for the debit cards and deposit accounts.

 

[esavvymom]

I always think it's rotten when they say "you get the same protection as with Visa/MC credit cards" for debit, and then pull the stunt of "you'll have to wait weeks" to get your money back. I'm sorry this happened to you Julie! You guys just can't seem to get a break! I hope it works out. I certainly would raise heck with the bank manager about not giving you any funds for the weeks! Don't let them pull that.

 

[AJPratt]

I never could understand why the bank has 24/7 service for credit cards, but not for the debit cards and deposit accounts.

Me too! Strange.

 

[AJPratt]

Did you hear anything?

 

[scottcooks]

How outrageous! Someone definitely does not 'get it' and this just isn't OK. This is a little bit edgy, but gets results: I would try going in the bank and making a stink. Make it dramatic and maybe involve other customers... make it someone else's problem that you need to put gas in your car, need to feed your family and they're not helping you...who thought that just because you were a customer at XYZ bank that that meant, when your debit card was stolen, a thief gets free use of your account and free reign over your money, while your family goes hungry. Out loud, point to another customer and ask if their money is safe in the bank. Ask if this is corporate policy and for the name, fax and phone number of an individual to contact, and don't leave until they give you one with the statement, if you are unable to help me, please give me the name and contact information of someone who can. Be loud, emphasize the lack of customer care.You can do it without being demeaning - just keep re-presenting them with the logic that their investigation policy means your family doesn't eat.Is it by any chance WF with a green logo?

 

[Sheila]

Hey, it's been almost 2 months since you posted this. What was the outcome?

 

[lockhartkitchen]

OMG! I thought I posted. thanks for asking. I filled out the paper work needed. While I waited, I had NO money. We have great friends. One loaned us money for food and another, who owns a nut farm told us to come and fill up with gas at his farm anytime. That was a God send! The local bank was great! They stopped the daily fees I was accumulating. I got a letter in the mail AFTER I got my next paycheck that said the main office had done a review and they determined I DID approve the purchases. What? So no money returned. It would have put us tight for the next month, except for the fact I get all my summer paychecks at once in June.

 

[NooraK]

What proof do they have that you approved the purchases?

If the transactions were made online, they must have gone through the Visa system (can't do PIN online), which means you have zero liability for fraud. It is on the bank to prove the charges were made by you. Insist on seeing what proof they have showing you approved the purchases.

 

[pampchefsarah]

OMG! I thought I posted. thanks for asking. I filled out the paper work needed. While I waited, I had NO money. We have great friends. One loaned us money for food and another, who owns a nut farm told us to come and fill up with gas at his farm anytime. That was a God send! The local bank was great! They stopped the daily fees I was accumulating. I got a letter in the mail AFTER I got my next paycheck that said the main office had done a review and they determined I DID approve the purchases. What? So no money returned. It would have put us tight for the next month, except for the fact I get all my summer paychecks at once in June.

I'm sorry Julie, but that is not acceptable, and you need to demand your money back! If I read your original post correctly, you are out over $1300.00. Why would you let the bank keep this money? Even if it was only $1, it's YOUR money, and you should fight to have it returned.

Look at the fact Noora, who deals with these situations for a living, is telling you something is wrong. Demand the 'proof' they have you authorised all these charges. Who knows, maybe they're right, and you did authorise something and forgot. It happens. It's unlikely, though, you'd forget something for this large an amount!

 

[lockhartkitchen]

I had to reread my first post. Here's the rest, sorry. The unauthorized purchases were for $21 and $37, one through a paypal account and the other some company we had never heard of. neither did we authorize as we don't purchase online and I didn't have a pay pal account at the time. These were the charges the bank did not repay us for. When my husband went and we were negative, there was a charge for $800 that was not specific of where it came from. We couldn't think of anything. The bank could not answer why. The bank manager we checked with the next day and we figured the $800 error. I had a payment plan for a loan set up. It did not come out automatically. We had to pay in the bank each month. Somehow we missed paying it in April, so according to the agreement, the full amount would be due. The bank took the $800 from my checking account. This was what caused us to go in the negative. The unauthorized charges,however, were never ours. To be honest, I just don't have to "fight" in me to dispute it. The good news: my loan is all paid off!

 

[NooraK]

I can understand it's frustrating. For me, it'd be the priciple of the thing. I'd still want to see the proof.

 

[cookingwithlove]

Julie,

I think there is a branch for Columbia State Bank. They are locally owned and very freindly. No hidden fees anywhere. I left the "big" banks 8 years ago when we had our checks stolen. US Bank worked with us, but it was hard and long process because there were too many people involved on the Bank side from the local branch to National. US bank ended up charging us for over draft fees from online bill pay that were supposed to be honored and transferred to a new account. I was charged on the bank side and on the utility side because my payment bounced. Any way, get out of the big banks and move to a smaller bank.