Sooo … My Debit Card Was Hacked

Yesterday, I went for a couple of meetings and came home tired and pissed. Tired because it was so hot outside, and I just don’t function so well in the heat. And pissed because I waited for over an hour for the client and he did not show up. He could have at least given me a courtesy call, no? Anyway, I went home, took my pants off, and threw myself on the bed. About an hour later, I woke up feeling very refreshed. My phone was next to me, although on vibrate, and I picked it up to check what I had missed. That was when I saw the emails from my bank.

I read the emails over and over because you know how it is when you first wake up and for a while, you don’t know what day or time it is. I was disoriented, so I needed a little more time to process what I read. I had received three emails from my bank about suspicious activity. The body of the email stated that I had used my card three times at a Food Lion grocery store. Huh??? I don’t usually curse, but I literally said, What the f*ck??? as I sat up in bed to read the emails yet again.

Indeed, I was not seeing double. Someone had used my debit card at Food Lion for three purchases of $162.30, $161.44, and $150.00 respectively for a total of $473.74. Egba mi o! In this time of austerity, who needs this kind of stress?? First thing I did was log into my online banking because surely this had to be a mistake. Vera Ezimora does not get her debit card hacked. And there it was in my account, they really did use my card. I concluded that I must have lost the card, and I checked my wallet to confirm it. And there it was. My card was sitting pretty in my wallet. So I had another WTF moment. How’s that even possible???

I called the bank immediately and reported the incident. I was told that they would stop the card from being used, and send me a new card. I was so freaked out because I couldn’t figure out how on earth they used my card when it was sitting in my wallet. And was my identity stolen? Did I need to change all of my cards? So many questions. I asked the lady, how did this happen? She said, “There are many ways this could have happened.” I don’t know if she didn’t know the answer to my question or if my question was too loaded to be answered at that time.

At first, I felt pity for the person/persons who did this because I figured that if they used the money to buy stuff at Food Lion, then certainly they must have been hungry. But then I thought about it some more and became angry. So what if they’re hungry? Why did I have to be put in this situation? And then, this crook probably isn’t going to eat/use everything he/she bought. He/she will probably sell some for money to do God knows what. I don’t know whose financial loss this is, but it better not be mine. Maybe it’ll be my bank’s loss. Maybe Food Lion’s loss. Maybe the insurance company’s loss. It just can’t be mine.

Also, why would my bank send me emails about suspicious activity and not block the transaction? What’s the point of sending an email and not doing anything. Meanwhile, I wonder why they stopped spending without depleting the account? Did they get tired? Or bored? Or scared?

I used to pride myself as one of the people that this would not happen to because I have always been so careful with my personal information. I shred everything with my name on it and I mostly shop with cash when I go to the African store or other small businesses. No, I don’t think the African store will steal my information just because they’re African, but most African businesses I have had experience with do not pay much attention to customers’ personal information. They may not be trying to jeopardize my finances, but their lack of attention to detail is unsettling with me.

Have you ever experienced this?

I called Igwe at work to complain and he told me that it happened to him years ago. I told Solachi, and she said it happened to her husband, too. Someone somewhere shared my information – deliberately or not – and my debit card was cloned – I’m assuming. I hope the perpetrators get hungrier with every bite! Bastard babies.

P.S. The card was used at the Food Lion in Salisbury, Maryland. I have never been to Salisbury.

P.P.S. I wish I could find out who did this.