Yesterday morning, July 4, 2008, I received an email from my bank telling me that my Visa/Check/ATM card was suspended due to suspicious activity, and that I should call a toll free number immediately.

I have received similar emails from my bank in the past so I did not think anything of it. I am cautious by nature when it comes to identity theft and credit card fraud, both crimes of which I have been the victim of in the past. However, my bank is usually gung ho when it comes to suspicious activity, and up until now, there was never any real problem.

The first thing I did was check the telephone number I have stored in my cell phone, with the telephone number in the email. You see I am cautious, the email I received could have been a fake or spoof to get me to call and disclose my credit card information to some criminal in Eastern Europe, Africa, or even here. The toll free number in the email did correspond to the toll free number stored in my cell phone, so I knew it was accurate.

I then checked my banking activity via the banks online website to see if there were any inaccurate charges; there were! I saw one transaction pending for $1.67 which was charged on July 4, 2008. I then saw another transaction pending from the European Union for $100.00 which was charged on July 4, 2008. Both of these charges were not only not mine, but they were fraudulent. I was pissed off to say the least.

I then called my bank’s ATM department. After the usual security checks to verify that I was their real customer, they told me about the suspicious charges before I could even tell them about the charges. As it turns out, the $1.67 charge came through and was authorized, and then second’s later four $100 charges came through from the European Union. One of the $100 charges was authorized, the others were flagged as suspicious by my banks system, and they suspended my card automatically.

The fraud analyst had a name for the scam that was used, however I do not remember it.

Now I will tell you, in the past when I have taken long motorcycle trips out of State, or trips to Las Vegas, my bank has suspended my card just from my normal usage. They have told me that numerous small charges will flag their system, among other things, etc. It has sometimes been a real inconvenience because I had no number to call on the weekend to get my card going again. Luckily in all of these types of circumstances, I had enough cash on hand to hold off until I could get to a bank and/or call them to tell them the charges were mine and to release the card. As a matter of fact I got quite upset on a few occasions at my bank for suspending my card.

I now know to call my bank before I travel to let them know when and where I am going so that they will not automatically suspend the card unless I call.

Anyway getting back to the subject of this article; I was the victim of credit card fraud to the tune of $101.67. Thank goodness that my bank has instituted checks and balances in their system to spot fraud otherwise I could have been out for much more money. I was told by their fraud analyst that I was lucky and they have seen this scam before. My card would have kept on being charged until they cleaned out my bank account.

This is the danger of Visa Check/ATM/Debit cards; they are tied to your bank accounts! I myself do not like using credit cards, but I like to use a Visa Check/ATM/Debit card because it is much more convenient then carrying or using cash. I do not believe in Credit. I think that you should only buy what you have cash on hand to afford. Anyway this is a subject for another article.

I wish to thank my bank for saving me from having my accounts wiped out. They have told me that once the charges go through their system that all I need to do is call and dispute the charges and they will reverse the charges. The analyst told me that since they approved the fraudulent charges there was little chance that they would get the money back from the criminals that took it.

I asked the fraud analyst how this could happen. She told me of many different schemes that could be used to get your credit card information.

As for me, I am now strongly suggesting to everyone that they bank with a major bank that has systems in place to protect you from fraud, and that has an online banking website that allows you to check your account in real time. Above all, you want to be with a bank that will give you your money back when you have been victimized like I was. If they don’t give me my money back I will do a follow up article, however I trust my bank.

You may be wondering why I am not mentioning my the name of my bank; it’s simple, I am not going to disclose my bank to the world to protect myself from fraud!

With respect to the criminals that are doing this type of thing, all I can say is three things; (1) Notwithstanding the fact that I am a California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer, I would love to grab you by the neck and kick the living shit out of you; (2) I would love to be present when you are busted by the cops and hopefully roughed up; and (3) I want to see you in jail as you are gang banged by a big dude named Bubba and his cell mates. No I am not kidding; I do not like being ripped off. No red blooded American likes to be ripped off.

The bank tells me there is a small chance that these criminals could be caught. I think that the credit card authorization system needs to be revamped so that a bank authorizing a charge can get its money back within a window for fraud.

Check your accounts people; there are sophisticated scum bag criminals that want to rip you off!

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, © 2008