Wednesday, January 03, 2024

Straightening up after credit fraud

It's a good thing I didn't make that New Years Resolution not to be critical (for one day) because here she blows.

We're trying to straighten out an ID/credit fraud, so yesterday we had cancelled our credit card, but it was a recording, and I decided I'd like to check with a live person. I waited until 1 p.m. thinking today's young [anyone under 55] professionals all do lunch at the same time. When I got there only 1 teller was at the window, and a number of retirees waiting. He explained to the line that some people called in sick and everyone else was at lunch (I saw about 5 empty offices from where I'm standing).
 
Someone wanders in from the back room to assist me, very casually dressed. Not even supermarket cashier level. I give him my ID and credit cards and explain the problem and asked him to check if indeed the account was closed. He goes to the back room (seems the upfront computers only do math) and comes back a few minutes later and says it wasn't cancelled and hands them back to me with no explanation. So I asked him to do it. He disappears again, comes back a few minutes later and says he can't do it. Someone else has to. When I ask who? He disappears again. Comes back. Someone can see you at 3 p.m. he says. I'll come back, I said, who do I see? He disappears again. Comes back and gives me a name. Where do I see her, I ask. and he waves his arm to the east. The other teller then gives better directions. And I return to the parking lot.
 
We do not bank there--they just do the credit stuff. We did Phil's banking there, but closed it after he died. My husband claims he's always had wonderful service there, but hadn't been inside since 2020.
Earlier in the morning I'd been to a branch of our bank to make sure they could flag anything unusual, since by this time our life history has been sold to the dark web. A very young [under 35] man, pleasant and eager to help, assisted us. He knew zip, nada, zilch. I explained how the bank handled it when my purse had been stolen in another county, smaller and tourist area. We don't do that anymore, he said (I doubt that, but big cities probably never did). He too was dressed very casually--a natty sweatshirt with the bank logo.

At the small dinner party we attended on New Year's Eve (most were over 80) we all had stories about our mothers going shopping wearing a hat and gloves.  Those days are long gone; in fact even 2010 has seen a big change in appearance.

Update: When I went back to the bank at 3 p.m. teller #1 was there to greet me instead of the woman bank officer. I asked him to double check the information on the cancelled credit card, and he showed me the screen.  It indeed had been cancelled yesterday, and the man I talked to hadn't clicked on the right place to show it.  Fortunately, I only live 1 mile away.

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