Some POS emptied my accounts

[Sava]

Yup... I found out today.

About two weeks ago, I lost my wallet while moving stuff from my parents house to my new apartment. I didn't think anything of it because I often lose things. Today, I get 6 "insufficient funds" notices from my bank. I had an ATM card in my wallet that was linked to a savings account. I added up the charges to find a little over $1,000 dollars gone from my checking and savings accounts. One charge was for $490.06 at a K-Mart. Jesus christ, the person could have at least stolen my money and shopped at a better store.

Anyways, I need to go to my bank tomorrow and find out where all the charges were. They said after I fill out dispute forms and stuff, I should get all my money back. I also spoke with my local police station; they said that the locations where the charges were made had cameras so they have a good chance of finding the person. This is the only time I wish I lived in some Islamic country. I want this f8ckers hand cut off .

[Skanky Burns]

Don't they need a PIN to get to your funds?

[notyoueither]

They said after I fill out dispute forms and stuff, I should get all my money back.

You should double check that, and don't hold your breath.

[JohnT]

Well, Sava, ravaged by the blight of poverty, I'm sure the thief had no choice but to resort to stealing in order to barely survive in this oppressive capitialist society. You oughtta put another grand in your accounts for the guy, you big hearted Leftist, you.



(But seriously, I'm sorry. That sure sucks. )

[Sava]

Thanks John, a little humor is nice.

Skanky - No, it works like a credit card. They just sign my name and poof. The PIN is only needed to withdraw funds from an ATM.

nye - The lady at the bank said I should get all my money back. I just need to look at the statement and pick out which charges weren't authorized.

The good news is that my new credit card wasn't in my wallet. That thing has a huge limit and if someone got a hold of that, I could have been really f8cked. Also, the police said that since none of the charges were on credit, only debit, I won't have to deal with the *sshole credit card companies.

[Felch]

I've been robbed a couple of times, and both times the bank reimbursed me for what happened.

Neither case was for as much money, mostly because I don't tend to keep very much in my account at any one time.

[Skanky Burns]

Yeah, you will more than likely get your money back then. Good news at least.

[Swissy]

This shows the danger of the "check card". While very convienent, they leave you open to short term financial ruin. Unlike a credit card where you can catch the fraudulant transactions in the monthly statement before they cost you anything. The "check card" removes the money from your account in aywhere from 1-4 days, depending on the quality of the stores credit card transaction processing. I've had a friend find out sombody had gotten a hold of his Debit/Visa card number and was charging downloaded software purchases, when he tried to get $20 from an ATM and it said funds unavailable. Luckily he never writes checks, so he didn't get capped from any NSF fees.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Sava
Thanks John, a little humor is nice.

Skanky - No, it works like a credit card. They just sign my name and poof. The PIN is only needed to withdraw funds from an ATM.

nye - The lady at the bank said I should get all my money back. I just need to look at the statement and pick out which charges weren't authorized.

Ahhh. One of those. Good news then. The Card company will most likely eat some, and any merchants who did not follow proper procedures will eat the rest.

[Timexwatch]

Sava:

How long did it take for you to notice that your wallet was gone? You should've canceled your card immediately.

Second, shouldn't the stores have checked ID? Isn't it policy in most places to check ID on credit and debit?

[DarthVeda]

Keep us updated if they catch the ****er

[vovan]

It might be the policy to check the ID, but I know most stores don't do it. Just before coming to college, I bought a new printer at Best Buy, which is a fairly expensive thing, and even then they didn't check my ID... Then again, this one time I bought a $3 adapter from CompUSA, and they did check my ID. So, I think it all depends on the pperson at the cashier.

Now, there are those new cards, that have your picture on them. You can even use them as your ID. But the point is that the person can verify it is you without even asking for an ID, so you might want to get one of those next time. (Although I don't know if all baks do it: I know Bank of America, and Chase Manhattan do.)

[Urban Ranger]

Sava,

Did you report the loss of your bank cards and credit cards?

[Swissy]

Stores are not required to check the customers ID. The store is only required to check to see if the credit/debit card is signed and to aquire an approval code for the transaction. American Express is the only company that will require customer ID, and that only if there is unusual card activity. Merchants are fairly insulated from loss in these cases and only a merchant who does not aquire an approval would be out anything. You see the merchant pretty much funds the cedit card process, they are charged a small percentage of every transaction. The credit card companies aren't going to stick it to them.

It is pretty much upto the consumer to safeguard themselves. Reporting a card missing will automatically prevent an approval code from being issued.

[Lonestar]

A chekcard, huh? You should have reported it the instance you lost it, then.