Anger! Frustration! Today, three months after I laid my baby girl down for the last time makes this already a rough day. Thoughts of Millie have been in my mind all morning. How can it already be three months? How can life be speeding along, forgetting that our world came to a screeching halt such a short time ago? How can the cares of this world stack up even further? This sounds like I’m depressed, but honestly, I’m not…. Today I AM MAD! Not at GOD, but at man.
I’m going to share something that happened to me today so that hopefully it will not happen to you. This morning while the children and I sat doing math class, my phone rang. It was my bank. I have their name saved as a contact, so when it rang it I knew it was them. As I answered, a man Eric greeted me from the fraud protection department. He informed me that they were concerned about charges outside of our home area being made today. He questioned if we were traveling? The answer is no, we are not. He then informed me that my debit card ending in XXXX had received a transaction for $110 at target in Atlanta GA using Samsung pay and my pin number.
****I am very cautious anytime it is an incoming phone call***
Eric stated that he would need to cancel my card and issue a new one. My first question is “How do I know this is really XXXXXX bank?” He assured me they use a secure server that will not allow the bank’s phone number to be used (Spoofed). He then confirmed that my address was XXXXXX. He also confirmed the card’s full number, expiration date, and CVC code on the back. While it all sounded correct, I was not sure of the full card number he provided. It seemed that the first 4 digits and last for were correct, but the middle sounded off. He said it so fast that I did not have time to get the card in hand before he was finished. He verified my phone with a number that was auto generated by text to me. He also informed me that the fraud alerts were turned off and did I want them turned back on?
Our next step was to walk through cancelling my current card and requesting a new one. At this point he wanted my PIN number to cancel my current card. I said no, cancel it without it. He said the system will not allow that because you can still access online banking with that pin number. I still refused. I told him I could access it another route, just cancel the whole card and I would call the bank later to request another card. He said I would need to go into a physical bank, rather than online. Then he stated the physical bank was located in California. I again said, just cancel and I will deal with it later. My GUT was SCREAMING FRAUD!!!! At this point he tells me he will put me on hold and get right back to me. He hung up.
Now, my card number really was stolen. Charges really were made. He WAS NOT from my bank. He wanted my PIN NUMBER so they could clean my account out. After calling my bank myself, they assured me that I did the right thing to refuse to give out info to an incoming call. So here’s some tips to avoid being scammed.
• It does not matter if they have your information and can tell it to you, they are trying to establish creditability.
• Even if they text you a code, do not believe that is credible. They have programs that will spoof (look like) the banks phone number AND they have programs to auto generate codes, again for creditability.
• Always refuse to share ANY INFORMATION on a call you receive. Hang up and call the company back on a number you know or can locate on the back of your card or bank statement.
• NEVER GIVE YOUR PIN NUMBER OUT. Your bank will NEVER ask for it. No one needs it except to spend money on your account.
They can say all the right things and still make you believe their lies.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Finally, I think it is atrocious that people behave like this. There will always be liars and thieves. Many will be fooled by them. Someone in my situation, sitting in the fog of grief will struggle even greater with this. It becomes one more THING to tear us down. GOD Forbid! Stand Firm!! I refuse to be devoured today Satan!
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