Friday afternoon, I got a text from my bank asking if I had withdrawn $82.50 from my account. I immediately texted back and called. While I was on the phone, I pulled up my account on my computer. Yep, there it was, an atm withdrawal for $82.50. Oh, wait — there were two for the same amount. The really odd part is that both withdrawals were done in Arlington, Texas. I live in Florida and am not in Texas.
Luckily, the bank fraud department cancelled my debit card and refunded the missing money. I was able to go to my local branch and get a replacement card yesterday morning.
I also called the Arlington, TX police department and made a report. I know that $165.00 is not a lot of money and I am very glad that’s all it was. But, I really hope that the police department is able to obtain the video surveillance and find whoever did this and prosecute as hard as they can. Yes, I know it’s not enough for a felony charge, but he/she should pay.
I know big banks get a bad rap, quite deserved in a number of instances, but this time, my big bank came through for me. I have an account there for one reason — my son, who lives in Washington state has an account with the same bank. When he needs or I want to send money, its a click of button.
Going forward, I will be withdrawing cash from the bank for my day to day expenses and limit the use of the debit card, particularly when it comes to buying gas. I suspect that’s where this all started, at a gas station.