Crinkled Oranges

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Theft

seems to be common topic of conversation lately.  Recently several cars in our neighborhood have been broken into and items stolen from them.  That has happened as the car sits right in their carports and garages. Yesterday, I got a message to call the "Fraud Alert" number for my credit card.  When I called back in, they asked me if I had made an Internet purchase of $1200 dollars. Obviously, that is not a usual expense for me, so they were checking to see if I made it.  I did not!  They told me the name of the site that was ordered from, and I did not recognize it at all.

I'm very grateful they called.  Many times when we are traveling out of state, Gary's credit cards won't go through after they have been used a few times.   He always has to call the card company and tell them that it is him using the card and that he authorizes the charges.  I won't mind that inconvenience any more.  Had they not called me, I probably would not have noticed the charge until I got the bill.  That would have been a shock.

I did not lose my card, so obviously someone has gotten access to the number and tried to use it.  I wonder if it was someone from a restaurant or store in St. George?  Or maybe someone got the number from another Internet site that I have ordered from.  I have no clue, but it is quite disconcerting.  Anyway, they immediately closed my account and will not charge me for it. 

I think I'll make a habit of checking my credit card charges online a little more often.   I'm also now locking my car (even in the carport) and not leaving anything valuable in it.  

3 comments:

Tom Anderson said...

Welcome to my world. Modesto is one of the top car theft cities in the States. Few things make me more angry than theft. People work hard for what they have and then lose it to lazy people who could care less.

Becky said...

Getting phone calls just like that is another thing that you have to be watchful of. The newest "scam" is to call people and tell them that they have an outrageous charge and THEN ask for their account number (credit card number) which they then steal. Everytime I get a call like that, I just ask for their number and call them back (like you did) then I can tell if they are legit. You just can't trust anyone these days.
Sorry your number got stollen. Luckily, you aren't being charged.

Nat said...

I haven't had my card stolen...but I have lost 2 debit cards within a months time. Mostly of my own doing...I threw one away on accident...hmm...I wonder who I inherited that from. Throwing money away...*ehem* sound familiar mom? :D