Unhappy Weekend

photo via ffffound

Well, so much for my relaxing, carefree weekend. My boyfriend and I were eager to spend the day poking around the city - starting with mini golf. On our way across town, we stopped at a gas station and discovered that my debit card wouldn't work on the pumps outside. I popped in and asked the attendant to run my card. No luck.

Frustrated, I called my bank to learn there was a hold on my card due to potential fraudulent activity. As the customer service representative read through the list of yesterday's charges, my stomach kept dropping: three were mine, five were not, and another string of charges were attempted after the account was stopped. I have no idea when or how my account number was compromised. I never leave my wallet unattended and I only shop at trusted stores and Web sites. Yet it still happened.

Now I'm left feeling violated, sans my stolen money until my dispute paperwork is processed, and sans debit card for the ten days it'll take to send a replacement with a new account number. It just shouldn't be this easy for someone to access and tamper with an account.

Sigh.