The road goes on forever
Mar. 31st, 2026 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrIn the past week and a half, we've changed our bank account numbers three times; we've gotten and shredded two sets of debit cards, reordered checks twice. (Didn't even get to use the first set.) We've added verbal passwords for the call center--the last break-in was over the phone, trying to authorize a $6000 wire transfer.
Through it all, the credit union has been amazing. They've caught and stopped every incursion, helped us get new numbers, new cards, new username. I now have direct-dial numbers from two members of their fraud team, and am on a first-name basis with several of the folks at our local branch.
Meanwhile, my cell phone is finally locked down, after three SIM swaps, which means my email is also secured. Discovered a shortcut through the phone tree: say Fraud instead of Technical Support. Really hoping I won't need that information again soon.
First Tech, the Portland credit union where they started a fraudulent account, sent me a debit card Friday. Talked to them Monday and they assured me the account was frozen without any balance while they worked their investigation, so I could cut up the card and unsubscribe from their automated new-member emails. I put the pieces of the card in a bag of used cat litter, put the PIN number that came Monday there as well.
My credit card company caught them trying to add an Apple Pay to my account, went through it step-by-step removing the fraudulent transactions. I have a shiny new verbal password and security questions there.
I've opened a fraud investigation with CashApp after I started getting text notifications from them. Still have to look into another online lender to make sure the email I got from them isn't a sign of something worse.
I'm slowly reconstructing my online payments, though I'm afraid I may miss my April 1 Patreon payments. Will have to do KoFi, maybe.
This is so hard, y'all.
Through it all, the credit union has been amazing. They've caught and stopped every incursion, helped us get new numbers, new cards, new username. I now have direct-dial numbers from two members of their fraud team, and am on a first-name basis with several of the folks at our local branch.
Meanwhile, my cell phone is finally locked down, after three SIM swaps, which means my email is also secured. Discovered a shortcut through the phone tree: say Fraud instead of Technical Support. Really hoping I won't need that information again soon.
First Tech, the Portland credit union where they started a fraudulent account, sent me a debit card Friday. Talked to them Monday and they assured me the account was frozen without any balance while they worked their investigation, so I could cut up the card and unsubscribe from their automated new-member emails. I put the pieces of the card in a bag of used cat litter, put the PIN number that came Monday there as well.
My credit card company caught them trying to add an Apple Pay to my account, went through it step-by-step removing the fraudulent transactions. I have a shiny new verbal password and security questions there.
I've opened a fraud investigation with CashApp after I started getting text notifications from them. Still have to look into another online lender to make sure the email I got from them isn't a sign of something worse.
I'm slowly reconstructing my online payments, though I'm afraid I may miss my April 1 Patreon payments. Will have to do KoFi, maybe.
This is so hard, y'all.