Average Jane is Displeased

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On Wednesday morning, I logged into my bank account just to have a look before my paycheck went in. Imagine my dismay when I saw a debit of about $48 at a Shell gas station in San Bernardino, California. It immediately caught my eye not only because it had cost me TWO $25 "courtesy pay" charges (one of which was applied to a debit that would have been covered by my balance if not for the fraudulent charge), but because anytime I do buy gas at Shell, I use my Shell credit card. Then, of course, there was the fact that I haven’t been to San Bernardino.

I called my credit union the instant they opened and had them cancel my debit card. All I needed was to have the accursed thief steal a big chunk of my paycheck once it went into my account.

Then I had to go to the credit union and fill out paperwork disputing the transaction. It was all very familiar because the same thing happened to me back in March.

I don’t know what it’ll take to keep my debit card number out of the hands of thieves. Stop buying online? Stop using it altogether? I don’t have a credit card, so it’s pretty much my only option for most transactions. Maybe I’ll just have to go back to carrying cash and hope I don’t get mugged.

On top of that drama, I’ve been sick for two days. Things can only get better from here…right?

Update: The credit union credited back the amount of the fraudulent charge and one of the $25 fees. I did some research and found a credit card that offers one-time "virtual numbers" for use in online transactions. I applied for it and was approved, so now I’ll have it available for future web purchases and travel. I guess the lesson here is that you can’t be too careful.

Comments

7 responses to “Average Jane is Displeased”

November 2, 2007

The Misanthrope

Feel better. The whole debit card thing alone is sickening

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November 2, 2007

Gymrat

I say the credit union may or could be the trouble maker.
I also think a gas card may not have the security as visa or
mastercard. How about seeing about local banks in your area.
They maybe more secure.
Things could snowball in these matters.
Since this has happpen before with
the credit union, being the place that has your money, I would use
caution dealing with them. Also
with the gas card people.
Try to use only “1” card. This way
you have more of a handle of who
is the cuprit.
gymrat

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November 2, 2007

Huts

Some cards like Discover allow you to get a temp card number for online orders, though I don’t know if it applies to debit cards at your credit union.

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November 3, 2007

Keith

Sorry to hear about your card again. That’s about the only thing that hasn’t happened to me yet.

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November 4, 2007

Dustin

That stinks. I’ve had to cancel a credit card before but never a debit card. Our new strategy is to only use credit cards online and not debit, which is mainly Discover, but not everyone accepts Discover so every now and then we have to use our debit card online.
We have also tried to use cash for everything else. The goal there was more of a budgeting exercise, so that when the cash is gone we are done spending, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Have you thought about getting a prepaid Visa card that you can refill? Not all of them can be refilled and I think the maximum value that can be added is $500, but it might be something to look into. In most cases they carry the same security as a normal Visa. It may be more of a hassle, since there has to be extra money on there if you use it at restaurants or places that they authorize more than the bill, so you would probably have to track the balance all the time.

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November 4, 2007

mle

Wow, that’s really crappy. I’ve only ever had one fraudulent charge (on a credit card) and that was many years ago; somehow I think a clerk misentered a number or something because my card got charged for a cell phone and cell phone service about 2 years before I even got one. It took a quick phone call to the credit card company and the charges were reversed.
I think the temporary number thing is a good idea. Other than that, I don’t know how you might go about protecting yourself. Good luck!

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November 5, 2007

Rozanne

Not again! That sucks. Good thing you happened to check or it could have been a lot more money. I’m glad the credit union made good.
Seriously, I’m surprised I’ve never been victimized. I use my credit card a lot simply cuz I don’t like to carry cash. But when you think about it, it wouldn’t be hard at all for a Target clerk, a gas station attendant, or similar to steal the number. I always used to worry that if I carried a bunch of cash, I’d lose it, but I’m beginning to think that using a credit card actually makes me more vulnerable.
The credit card company that assigns a “one-time” number sounds like a very good thing.

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