Bank Person: Were you in Australia and Poland on the same day?
Me: Hmmm…..AAUUGGHH
Rewind 15 minutes. I opened up my email to find over 50 emails from my bank. Subject? SECURITY ALERT! Luckily, I didn’t have the heart attack I was worried about. And I suppressed the urge to take my heart medicine at the wrong time of the day. “If you dispute these withdrawals, please call 1-800-bla-blah.”
Identity theft. I thought how could this possible happen? I called and the Bank Person asked me that question. My answer? A nervous giggle followed by OF COURSE I WASN’T IN AUSTRALIA AND POLAND ON THE SAME DAY! Nor, in response to the next question, was I in either of those countries the previous week.
How does this happen? It wasn’t on the Internet. It was probably in the grocery store. Whaaaaaa????? I guess there are nefarious people lurking near the cashier with card readers in their bags/pockets/purses/pantyhose. Okay maybe not pantyhose. At some point I swiped my debit card and Cha-Ching! Thieves off to the races.
The first couple of withdrawals were $.99, $2.99 etc, Then $599.00, $1,299.00 etc. Unbelievable.
My lesson learned? I now pay in cash and furtively look around. And I don’t book flights to Australia and Poland on the same day.
saneteachers 
Sounds a little scary. I hope you can get your money back. ID thieves have apps on their cell phone cameras that enable them to take infrared pictures of the warm, glowing buttons your fingers just touched on a keypad, where you entered your PIN. Who knows, maybe that’s how your debit card was compromised.
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Yes, I got my money back on the withdrawals that already went through. They stopped the others. And could be the way you suggested. “Card reader” was the expression the bank gave me. Infrared sounds cooler but scarier.
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Having be there I can sympathize. The individuals who do this and make our lives miserable are very slick. Maybe one day they’ll let us spend a few minutes in a room with them so we can discuss cause and effect. 😊
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