Under Siege --like Steven Seagal

Imagine my surprise when I checked an unrelated credit card account yesterday to find yet another fraudulent charge. This was one I hold with a local credit union, one that is only accessed by me and one that I rarely use. (Sigh)

So I called them and had my card deactivated and filed a claim on the fraudulent charge. It was only $10 but if these people are trying to "test" to see if someone will detect their naughty behavior, my answer is a resounding YES. I also obtained my credit report from all 3 bureaus. Did you know you can get that free if you go HERE? Just so you know, that link is referenced from the Federal Trade Commission (government) website. So it's legit.

The problem with credit reports is that they are about 1-2 months behind the current date. So while I can see if any errors about past reporting (which there are!), it doesn't help me with this situation which is not even a week old. I guess it gives me a baseline to know how many accounts I have open and their status. So I'm not sure what else to do about this. Ken thinks I should check all the balances on my store cards (all 3 of them) and just wait to see if this asshole is brazen enough to do anything else. And being that both my avenues to plastic money are shut down, I have all the time in the world.

Draconian-ly patronized

So it turns out that, yes, someone was using our account to purchase things. Specifically they bought international mailing labels to send, say, pirated copies of Happy Feet or fake Kate Spade handbags. And after a hard day's work of pilfering our checking account, he or she treated themselves to some stuff on Amazon.

First thing yesterday morning, I called USPS (which was showing on the ledger) and then the Bank. It was 7:15 am when I started the call and I didn't finish until 9 am. I just want to ask a question: is it considered best practices to transfer a customer who is reporting account fraud to 7 different departments and make her repeat the story to each representative? Do you have something in front of you that might be computer-like which you could input the information? Or even just write it down on a piece of paper and pass it to the customer rep sitting next to you. Between the transferring, recounting of the story and holding, I kept thinking: doesn't account fraud and identity theft happen every day all day long? Shouldn't this be a textbook exercise by now?

Each bank rep had their own role and personality flaw, kinda like the Seven Dwarfs. The most notable was the first who I'll call "Chipper". He was so hyperly-optimistic I began to get dizzy from all the forced pleasantries spilling from his every sentence. "You've been a bank customer since 2004! Isn't that great?! Thank you so much for banking with us!" I wanted to say, 'Easy now, don't go using it all up on me. You have a whole day of bullshitting ahead of you.'

And then there was the forth rep, "Yappy". I spent several minutes trying to figure out where she was going with this:
"You know, I attended law school but dropped out due to some unforeseen circumstances but I inspired my sister to go to law school and now my cousin wants to be a politician because she likes to argue."
"OK... so back to the breach of our account. What should we do about new ATM cards?"
"One time my dog ate my ATM card so I have to be careful where I leave it."

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The Bank knows that there is a certain way to treat people who "patronize" them. The word 'patronize' means either giving an organization your business OR acting in a condescending manner.

So in terms of my experience...Yeah, that's about right.

Someone is in Big Trouble

Seriously, if I find out that 8 unexplainable transactions on 2/02/07 totaling $295.91 worth of charges to "USPS Express Mail" are the result of someone stealing our checking card number, there is going to be hell to pay.
This explains why the card was getting rejected Sunday & Monday at various merchants. And of course all the customer service lines are closed for our bank and USPS now. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should

Many casual conversations between Ken, the Creative & Inspired Dreamer, and Kali, the Jaded & Doubting Realist, start out like this--
Ken: "Wouldn't it be cool if [insert a cockamamie idea that involves using a computer or technological substitute for something humans do innately]?"
Kali: "Now why do we need [above cockamamie idea]? That's so [adjective]."

The frustrating thing is, Ken seems to have a very good sense of what is to come despite it sounding scarily "1984" or "Matrix-esque". So either the government/big business is going to have a line on every possible aspect of your life OR the machines are going to become self-aware to the point they don't need us. Well, I exaggerate--but just a little. I actually think things are going the way of "oversharing". This blog could be an example that. But Ken told me about an application that allows you to note what websites you go to so you can share them with your friends. Because you really care what websites I go to. You can't go another day without knowing, can you? This is akin to my virtual bookshelf in the lower right corner of this blog that shows off what books I've read and have in my collection. Aren't I smart and hip? Look at my [fill in the blank]. MySpace, Flickr, Blogs, ratings/reviews--all this stuff is predicated on people caring what others think & like.

Ken & I continually contemplate the increasing role of technology in society and for future generations. We debate the convenience and the danger it brings. It is my opinion that the balance of the organic and the electron have become a very precarious thing. While the internet is a world-altering technological advancement that I can't live without, there are times when I want to turn it off. But just as working closely with technology makes me weary of what it changes, I've started to depend upon it that much more. Just today I renewed my driver's license online. This is the first time in my life I don't have to go to the DOL and stand in line for a new mug shot. I even get to keep the same cute picture from 2002 that I actually like. Everyone wins.

Now I wish we could have spared ourselves some human interaction and done this online today: we went into a CompUSA and bought a network hardware device. Perhaps I state the obvious but it seems that CompUSA's commission structure doesn't motivate the employees enough to value customer service as a long-term strategy for repeat business. I'm just saying that the people who we observed working for CompUSA are like the "C team" in high school sports. Not the people you want in the Big Game. What I wouldn't have given for us to skip the mind numbing insult of being handily ignored by three 20-something CompUSA employees so they could huddle together and chat about what movie they were going to see later. All the while, one lonely worker was left to service several waiting customers. To the Montlake Terrace CompUSA employees: I'm sorry our presence encroached on your social lives. Our mistake. Perhaps we'd be better served by the inhuman, unfriendly website--well actually, I'm sure of it.