Ever had that moment when you are standing in the checkout line, you try to pay for your purchases and your debit card is denied? It's not fun, is it?
You flush with embarrassment -- and anger. You are sure you have money in your checking account. Now all these people behind you in line think you are a deadbeat and can't afford $21 in groceries!
That happened to me this week. Twice. Once at the pharmacy and once at Wal-Mart. When I got to the bank the next day and tried the ATM, it also denied my card. It was after banking hours so I had to wait for resolution. For some reason I couldn't get on the bank website to check my balance, so I figured maybe it was just a cyber fluke that the stores couldn't connect with my bank.
Not so.
Finally called this a.m. and they explained to me that they were alerted to suspicious activities on my account so they had to block it. As in, block any further purchases, including mine. Not sure if they sent me a letter in the snail mail or what, but it would have been nice to know this.
What was suspicious? Well, apparently I couldn't be shopping at Nordstrom's in California the same time I was picking up supplies at The Home Depot somewhere in Texas.
Remember that big Target debit-card scandal during the holidays? Well I had shopped at Target one time in 2013 -- and it was in that time frame. It wasn't until now, though, that they (the cyber thieves) started using my card info. This according to the bank.
I was so grateful they recognized this right away and put a stop to any further shopping sprees around the country. I can deal with the inconvenience of waiting for a new debit card (with new number!) as long as I know the bank is giving me MY money back in my account.
I guess I could have warned the thief they weren't going to get very far on my checking account anyway. I wish I remembered what I got at Target that day. It must have sounded pretty upper-class expensive!
Sigh... Who can we trust these days?
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