My Fan Club

Saturday, June 19, 2010

An Open Letter to my British Hacker

Dear British Hacker,

It seems to be a curse of mine that hackers have mistaken me for someone who has a lot of free floating cash and who therefore won't mind having over $800 deducted from her account.

I decided to put this out there for all of you hackers to read...

  • First, and foremost, I. HATE. YOU. Get a job. Stop taking things that aren't yours. What would your mother think? Why do you think it is okay to take something that doesn't belong to you?
  • Second, why do you keep targeting me? What am I doing wrong? Where are you getting my debit card number from?
  • My husband thinks this is all my fault. Maybe he's right, but that is unlikely. I don't regularly shop online. I don't buy merchandise on the telephone. I'm simply at a loss as to how you bastards keep getting my number. This is the third time in three years.
  • Apparently, my oh-s0-secure bank thought they would "reassure" me by telling me that the hackers "just seem to be one upping us on the technology front."
  • That is not reassuring.
  • Bank teller No. 1 said that they can easily swipe your number right out of the gas pump if they happened to come up behind you. "It's all very random."
  • There is something about three times that doesn't make this feel random. The first time I changed banks. The second time I blamed PAYPAL for their idocracy because AFTER informing me of the fraudulent charge the let it go through on my back up funding source.
  • You've gotta be f**king kidding me, right?
  • This time I log in online to check my balance and to see if my deposit has been credited only to find someone has a hold on $827+ dollars. I went to Wendy's to eat that afternoon with the kids but felt like this charge seemed a little high. Turns out it is some VISA company in England. Conveniently I cannot call them.
  • I call the after hours number of my bank to tell them that this is fraudulent. please stop it. Please take the hold off. Please don't let it leave the premises.
  • The banks response..."I can't do that. The best I can do is cancel your debit card."
  • So the best you can do is cancel my card so that I can't use it. You have gotta be f**king kidding me, right?
  • Feeling as if I'm about to vomit, I canceled my card. I was told to go to the bank in the morning and fill out a complaint.
  • This morning, Teller No. 2 informs me that now that the form is filled out they will investigate the matter and IF they conclude that it was indeed fraudulent then I could expect to see the money credited to my account BY JULY 2nd.
  • Are the f**king kidding me?
  • The only consolation that they can offer. "Hacker didn't get your bank account number so at least you don't need new checks and new direct deposit forms."
  • I'm trying to feel optimistic that this is going to turn out okay and that sooner or later justice will prevail but I'm struggling with my patience.

I'm seriously considering returning to hiding-the-money-under-the mattress-type of banking.

Pissed off in Pennsylvania,

~KISA~

4 random thoughts:

Gina said...

Oh, girl, that sucks. The same thing happened to my friend! Once I read an email saying that if you hit "cancel" after your transaction is complete at the gas station, you are safe. I don't know if it's true or not but I always do that just in case. Hope you get to the bottom of this.

septembermom said...

That really does stink. How frustrating. Hope you get a resolution to this mess soon.

Becca said...

Wow. I cannot believe this has happened to you again. It is nuts that they don't take full responsibility and not allow transactions like that to go through.

Jenners said...

Jeez ... that sucks big-time. And to have to go through this THREE TIMES???? I can't imagine what is happening that this keeps reoccurring. Good luck.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

About Me

My Photo
kisatrtle
I'm a 41 year old (gasp) freelance writer, school cafeteria manager, wife and mother. I have three children and one anxious and overweight beagle. I use my blog to make others laugh, to share some cool crafts, to document my lunchlady adventures and to lament about the challenges faced by us all on the journey called life. Thanks for visiting. Please leave some crack...um...I meant some comments.
View my complete profile