Debit Debacle

We hear about credit card fraud all the time; identity theft and unauthorized charges made on credit accounts are hot topics everywhere you look these days. Call me naive, but I thought that we had a little more say over what happens to our hard earned money that we trustingly deposit into supposedly secure bank accounts. My husband and I are learning the hard way that this isn't necessarily so.

We love that fact that we can access our money electronically and purchase things automatically with the swipe of our reliable debit card, and we understand that there is always a risk of someone deviously acquiring our debit information and gaining access to our account...BUT, when you catch a fraudulent charge in the PENDING phase and call the bank immediately to alert them to the fact that you did not initiate or authorize the charge, and say you want it stopped dead in its tracks...wouldn't you expect your loyal bank to honor your word, respect your ownership of the money you earned, and stop the charge?

Guess what. No such luck. Sorry! While it is true that you can't even get a representative on the phone to tell you what your balance is without reciting a grocery list of personal information to prove you are you, it only takes one stranger with your debit card number to withdraw any old amount of your money that he or she wishes to take. Nice. The bank will not stop a pending charge just because you say it isn't authorized; instead, they let the thief have the money first, then graciously allow you to fill out dispute paper work in order to hunt down the swindler and attempt to wrestle your money back out of his/her slimy grip. Fabulous.

For all of the convenience and ease debit cards provide, this one MAJOR caveat is enough to make me want to go back to the old days of cash-in-hand ("Keep my mind on my money and my money on my mind"). Well...sort of.