Don't worry, the bank told me when it froze my debit card after a thief managed to drain a couple thousand dollars from my account.
Here's a consumer tip: When your bank says don't worry, you should begin worrying. What I'm about to tell you is a cautionary tale, so pay close attention, and with any luck, you won't get ripped off like I did.
My bank's friendly customer service rep explained by phone that the stolen funds would be restored to my account while the bank conducted an investigation.
Sounded great, and indeed, the funds were restored. But how had the money been withdrawn from four different ATMs, at $500 a crack, if I still had my debit card?
Someone might have managed to steal my PIN number and create a bogus card, the bank explained.
As I would later learn from the U.S. Secret Service, local police and the Identity Theft Resource Center, the business of ATM fraud is booming. Crooks are using video cellphones, surveillance cameras and old-fashioned shoulder surfing to eavesdrop on you while you punch in your PIN. On top of that, there's an occasional inside job in which a crooked bank employee swipes the information.
My thief was a busy little derelict. In four days ending Nov. 3, he managed to hit the jackpot at ATMs in Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Sun Valley and Lancaster.
As instructed, I filled out the necessary forms and even called my bank to say I had a hunch where the original theft might have occurred. I'd had a suspicious encounter at a gas station, where a clerk watched me try to use a pump that had rejected my card. Within a few days, my account was tapped.
Four weeks after filling out forms, my bank sent me a letter.
"After conducting a thorough investigation ... it has been determined that ... the transaction activity in question was authorized and posted correctly to your account. Therefore, the temporary credit for $2,020.50 that was previously applied to your account will be reversed on December 16, 2005, thus closing this dispute."
First I had steam coming out of my ears. After a few minutes, my head caught fire.
And that was before I read the following line:
The bank "appreciates your business and values you as a customer."
The reason I'm not divulging my bank's name -- as much as I would love to -- is that it wouldn't be right for me to use the influence of the newspaper to get my money back. The average Joe can't do that. And besides, I want to see if in the end, my bank (a large national operation that will no longer have my business when this is over) does the right thing for the right reasons.
