I was rudely awakened last Saturday morning by my cell phone ringing. Being far away from home, I react to an untimely phone call with a sense of dread. Luckily it was my bank...wait a minute, it cant be...what they are saying cant be true....looks like someone has been trying to use my debit card repeatedly in the ATM and it was now blocked! Like any decently married (and employed) professional, I use my ATM card only to deposit money into my account. All the spending happens from Sathiq's side. So I told the person on the other line that it definitely wasnt me. And he calmy informed me that I m a victim of fraud....the biggest menace of our times
The operator then started asking me questions like my drivers license number and Sathiq was up in a jiffy, waving his hands no...I was even more confused and he had his laptop open and was showing me an article on how people claiming to be from the bank call you up and ask you for your confidential info....I immediately hung up. God, who do you trust!
Well I logged into my account and immediately found that the call was true...somebody had made a transfer from my account...luckily it was into one of my other accounts. I understood the reason for this when I looked at the other transactions. I keep a very low balance in my checking account as I use it only in dire emergencies . Whoever hacked into my account must have understood the state of affairs. They immediately transferred money from my savings account ( the bank staunchly refuses to let me know how they allowed this to happen as it was a phone transfer) and started spending my money.
Well the whole incident has left me feeling so helpless. I dont know how I can trust any system again. I have been checking my account atleast 5 times a day and each time I log in I m keeping my fingers crossed. Well the bank has advised me of the following steps:
1. Close all my accounts - a real pain since some of them have auto-transfers/debits set up
2. Open new accounts - I have done it for the moment, but I m not really sure I want to keep my money in this bank anymore (they are the nation's number one, I hope atleast number two has better security measures)
3. File claims for the fraudulent transactions - another pain and I m yet to do this
4. File a police complaint - this was advised by my friends, since it seems there might be a good chance I can expect more of this since my identity has been compromised now.
I still cant figure out how this happened. I do not use my CC or debit card online unless I m very sure the site is a secure one. And contrary to what Sathiq believes, I do not go around reciting my SSN to anyone who calls me up. The only way I can think of is either somewhere the internet connection was insecure or somebody has got hold of my SSN.
As a part of employment, we are mandated to submit a hard copy of the employment verification form which asks for your full SSN alongwith all the other critical info. This we hope gets stored securely and are not accessible by anyone. But how can any of us ensure that. Being a consultant, I work with a new client every 6-12 months. How can I be sure that my information is secure. I believe it is high time that this is be reformed considering that technology has improved so much that if somebody gets your key data, then you are finished... be it anywhere from getting access to your medical history to your bank account.
Well I hope I have succesfully put a stop to my problem. But the reality, there is no way I will be sure. I have to live in constant fear of when and how it will strike me next.
