Do You Know Anybody in an Orange Jumpsuit?

I recently found some charges on my bank statement that I know I didn't make. Two were for airline tickets on airlines I'venever flown on and the third charge was for what looked like a telecommunications company. I thought this third charge might have been mine at first. Then I checked into it further and discovered that the company provides telephone long distance services to prison inmates. AH HA!! Gotcha. I called the bank and told them I didn't make these charges, and they TRUSTED ME. They immediately took them off my account. Now, I'm sure there'll be an investigation, but's it's pretty cool that they trust in their customers enough to take the charges off right away while they look into it. I guess banks aren't all bad.

It's such a feeling of violation when someone compromises your bank account. It's amazing how brash these people are...don't they worry about being caught? I have a pretty good idea of how my credit card number got into a Florida prison. I recently made a moderate charge, using my debit card, to someplace in Florida. It must be from that charge, and I'm forwarding that information on to the bank.

This entire experience was something I thought happened to "someone else." But now that it's happened to me, I realize that it can literally happen to anyone. No matter how careful you are with your credit card numbers, it COULD happen to you. The best thing to do, to nip it in the bud, is to keep a CLOSE eye on your bank account and at the first sign of something that doesn't look quite right....call your bank.

Will Johnson

[photo courtesy Tim Pearce Los Gatos' photostream]