You've Been Hacked

I work three jobs, and I am paid for each of them via electronic direct deposit. And until recently, this has worked out splendidly.
 I would work my normal hours for each job, submit my timesheet, and once payday arrived, I just checked my online banking statement to make sure that I was accurately compensated for my work. I didn't have to wait in line at the bank on Friday afternoon in an attempt to get my check cashed before the weekend. It was a pretty good gig.

Recently, however, there was an incident with using my debit card.

I went to the store to pick a few things. These weren't "Emergency Items" that I absolutely had to have at that exact moment, but they were things that I would need soon. Thinking this was an easy errand, I just grabbed my wallet and car keys, not bothering to take my entire purse.

So I'm at the store, picking out what I need, and making my way up to the cashier so that I can pay for my items. Everything is scanned and the girl behind the counter says that my total is $23.18. I slide my card through the machine and enter my pin number the same way I have for three years. But this girl behind the counter looks confused, and calls a supervisor over for assistance. He makes the same confused face, pushes a few buttons on her machine, and asks me to slide my card again. I slide my card through, slower this time thinking that it simply didn't register the first time. But still the cashier and her supervisor had an odd look on their faces. Once again he pushes a few buttons and asks me to slide my card one more time. Trying to convince myself that I accidentally entered the wrong PIN number, I slide my card a final time. The confused look still on their faces, I know that my card has been declined for a third time.

I don't get cash anymore because everything is online through Direct Deposit, so I can't pay for my items that way, and I left my purse at home, which had my checkbook in it. The cashier and supervisor start apologizing to me for not being able to help, I apologize to them for this happening in the first place. Needless to say there was a lot of embarrassment and apologizing, especially on my part. I was dumbfounded and nervous because I had been confident that there was money in my account for this purchase.

Driving home I'm having this mini-heart attack: Had I accidentally overdrawn my account? Did I use my college PIN number mistakenly? Was there a way that I could reactivate my card after it had been declined three times? My heart was pounding and my mind was racing like this until I finally got in touch with the bank.

I get home and talk to someone in charge at my bank. To make a longer-than-intended-story shorter, I'll just say that she told me my information had been compromised and that someone had tried to steal my account/card information, and, as a result, my card had been canceled to prevent them from accessing my funds. Okay, at least now I know that it wasn't something that I had done. But then I think about how terrifying it would have been if this had gone unnoticed: some random person could have spent all of my money (granted, it wasn't a lot, but it was all mine), and used my information to rack up more debt and purchases in my name. And there was nothing I could have done about it. I didn't have the $20 in cash it took to buy the basics at the store, I sure didn't have the cash to do things like pay my bills or buy food. I would have been completely out of luck.

The point of my story (which is longer than I planned, sorry) is to say that I'm STILL not a huge fan of this electronic age we are in. Because of modern technology, many of us could potentially be without any source of money, and therefore without many other essentials for living. If I didn't live in a small town where the bank teller knows my name, has seen me grow up, and keeps tabs on typical financial purchases, I could have lost a significant amount of money (*a significant amount to me*)

Have you been a victim of identity theft or credit card fraud? How did you feel? Was it resolved before any damage was done, or did the perpetrator get away with it? How do you feel about the all-electronic age that we live in?

Starting the New Year

The New Year.
A lot of people make resolutions for how they intend to make themselves better people once the new year starts. Others see this as a time to start over with a clean slate. Some people continue to live their lives as if nothing but the date has changed. Celebration (or non-celebration in some cases) is completely individualized.

Personally, I am typically one of those people who only see New Years as a change of the calendar. I can't remember a time when I made resolutions, or when I thought of January 1st as the beginning of a new era for me. For the purpose of this blog, though, I'm considering an alternative route.

A significant number of people I know are doing the "Truth is" posts, or "Ask me anything" questions on Facebook. This will be my version. To start the new year, you can ask me something you've always wanted to know. About my experiences, beliefs, quirks. Whatever you're curious about. You can ask and I'll answer.

So, this is my clean slate. Anything you want to know, comment and ask your question. I can't wait to see what kind of questions you come up with for me to answer.

Good luck to all those who made resolutions!