Barbara J. Hamby

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Fraud in the City

My daughter called early this morning to say: “my identity has been stolen.” Wow, apparently she must have used an ATM that was rigged with reading equipment because she hadn’t lost her card, but someone was using her number. Fortunately, a store called to verify a large purchase and her husband was still at home. He called her at work and she went home to put the wheels in motion for a counterattack. After wasting a vacation day on phone calls, a trip to the police station and a trip to the bank, it seems the situation is under control and they probably won’t lose any money in the long run.

Later, I learned of an ATM deposit that was made last weekend of several checks. The bank reported to the depositor that a $1,000 check listed on the deposit slip was not received.

I’ve read that banks are losing big bucks on ATM scams. I hope they’re spending a few trying to make them more secure. Twenty-four hour security guards could cost less than they’re losing. There must be a way to secure ATM’s so that an alarm would sound if someone tampered with them. I hope someone with more technical know-how than I can figure something out soon. In my own little circle, I know of four or five people who’ve been victimized by identity theft. Some had to deal with it for several years before it was straightened out. Not all of them involved ATM’s, to be fair.

I haven’t used ATM’s for at least five years. I do use my debit card, carefully. I always shield the keyboard with my hand if it doesn’t have a shield. Generally, I use it in crowded stores where there are many people around, which may or may not be a good idea.

Well, today we got about 50% of the work done in my office that I had in mind. The rest of it isn’t clearly enough defined in my mind yet, to “do something even if it’s wrong.” It’s already feeling less claustrophobic and more ergonomic. More tomorrow.