Saturday, July 19, 2008

I'm an identity theft victim - ugh!

Ugh! I'm an identity theft victim. I was paid yesterday from the day job and also my TEB check finally cleared and went in, so I thought I had plenty of money in my account to pay my bills plus have a little left over for fun and groceries. This morning DD2 and I went to the Flea Market, bought a few things, and then we bought groceries with no problem. But when I went to fill up my empty gas tank, my card declined. I knew I had well over a thousand dollars in the account, so I was flabbergasted. I drove home on fumes instead of to my original destination in case I wouldn't be able to get gas and not be able to get home later. Then I called my bank. It turns out that they blocked my account bcause some bozo tried to buy electronics worth $761.09 this morning while I was still sleeping. Oi! Now my bank has to close my account to protect me. Since it's the weekend my bank's already closed and won't reopen till Monday so I can't get a new card for my new account number until then. As we're so crazy at work and I can't possibly take time off there, I just had the bank express my card to my house but that means I may not get it till Tuesday or Wednesday. I called the electronics company and they said they'd noticed the transaction was fraudulent so they already canceled it. I have to applaud both the bank and the merchant. I'm grateful for the diligence of both. However, I'm just a little stressed from all the hassle. The lady at the bank opened my card long enough for me to fill up my gas tank and get some cash out of the ATM before closing it permanently (well, the old account - I'll still get the new one in a few days.) I normally don't post twice in one day, but I had to get this off my chest. I had planned to write all day, but I tend not to be able to write when I get upset. I know everything has been settled as well as can be expected so I'm settling down. I need to write my blogs and schedule them for the week anyway and to visit my usual blogs and maybe hop around to a few new ones. Then hopefully, I'll get in the mood to write after all. I started a new story this morning that I'm excited about and I wanted to make some headway on it this weekend. I feel like hitting some heavy chocolate. I NEED chocolate. I have to have chocolate. I want to dive in a big vat of chocolate. On a brighter note, I took DD2 to see "Mama Mia" last night and it was laugh out loud funny. We both loved it and DD2 usually doesn't like musicals. I don't know why the sight of Pierce Brosnan singing - I mean singing in a musical where he was dancing around - struck me as so funny. He was a comedian of sorts in Remington Steele, but in a quieter way. Anyway, I laughed so hard I broke out into a coughing fit and began choking. At the end of the movie, everyone in the theater stood and applauded. I've not seen that happen in a long time. So at least I had a spot of fun this weekend. It wasn't a total waste.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I love Pierce Brosnan and I love it when people do the unexpected,

Identity theft...these people need to have their arses kicked hard

Unknown said...

About both, I totally agree.

Shelley Munro said...

At least the bank was alert, although I know what a hassle it is to have cards etc replaced. Go eat that chocolate!
I've seen the stage show of Mama Mia and absolutely loved it. I can't wait to see the movie.

Kati said...

Dang!!! Sorry to hear about the identity theft. I hope the cops catch whomever took off with your numbers. And I'm glad to hear that the money did not get actually taken, that the merchant and bank were diligent in keeping the theft from officially taking place. But, I am sorry that you've now got to deal with a weekend without $$-access.

I'm glad to hear that you and your daughter had a good time at the movie!

Anonymous said...

The same thing happened to me 6 months ago. It has been a total nightmare. A friend of mine told me that I should sign-up to an identity theft protection company so that this doesn't happen again. All my friends recommended ShieldSafe and I signed up with them last month. They are great, the company is run by professionals that all have law enforcement experience. My mom signed up last week and used the promotion code "shield" to enroll at a 25% discount.

And I love Pierce Brosnan too!

Molly Daniels said...

OMG! At least there were alert people on the job who knew your spending habits BEFORE the theives got away with it!

I want to see Mama Mia...My mom saw the Broadway show and brought me the soundtrack...can't hardly wait to see it in person:)

Anonymous said...

I guess all the identity theft hype has finally caught up to me. I looked the ShieldSafe ID theft company mentioned above and they seem to offer teh same as the rest of them, but for only 49 dollars. If that discount code works, then that's a hell of a bargain. I guess i'm in.

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