Welcome To The Real World

Snaggletiger · « **on:** September 29, 2015, 09:23:04 PM »

Over the years, we've had the occasional incident where someone came in the garage and ripped off something or broke into a car in the driveway and pilfered-n-pinched shit out of it. The most expensive thing being an iPad a couple of years ago. Loss of material stuff doesn't chap my ass that much. Just replace it or file on your expensive ass insurance. But what does make me want to stab a mofo is the fact that you feel like you can just walk on my property and take my shit. Had one time years ago when someone broke in my car and didn't get anything but some cheap ass sunglasses. But that absolutely made my blood boil. I felt violated like a child touring the Penn State Athletic Facilities.

Tonight, we got a call from our bank saying they had received a security alert on one of our accounts. The wife and a couple of other ladies recently started a business where they restore antique furniture, do chalk paint, sell pictures etc. A home dÃ©cor thingy. They only open a few days a month to start out with and they're only in the 3rd month. She opened a business account and got a debit card. Used it for the first time in 2 weeks at a shop in Miami while down there visiting our daughter. Heard the alert...pulled up the account and BAM. Cleaned out. Overdrawn. She's just getting started so fortunately, we're talking $3K tops here. But the point is, some low-life, scum-bag, piece of shit mother fuckers think it's okay to blatantly rip someone off. Turns out, they're over close to Russia. What the hell do you do?

So,,,having said all that, do any of you use protection agencies like Lifelock? How expensive is that? Anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? I hate this world sometimes and I hate that I'd have to pay to protect myself from the lowest scum of the earth.

Godfather · « **Reply #1 on:** September 29, 2015, 09:41:01 PM »

Quote from: Snaggletiger on September 29, 2015, 09:23:04 PM

Over the years, we've had the occasional incident where someone came in the garage and ripped off something or broke into a car in the driveway and pilfered-n-pinched shit out of it. The most expensive thing being an iPad a couple of years ago. Loss of material stuff doesn't chap my ass that much. Just replace it or file on your expensive ass insurance. But what does make me want to stab a mofo is the fact that you feel like you can just walk on my property and take my shit. Had one time years ago when someone broke in my car and didn't get anything but some cheap ass Maui Jim sunglasses. But that absolutely made my blood boil. I felt violated like a child touring the Penn State Athletic Facilities.

Tonight, we got a call from our bank saying they had received a security alert on one of our accounts. The wife and a couple of other ladies recently started a business where they restore antique furniture, do chalk paint, sell pictures etc. A home dÃ©cor thingy. They only open a few days a month to start out with and they're only in the 3rd month. She opened a business account and got a debit card. Used it for the first time in 2 weeks at a shop in Miami while down there visiting our daughter. Heard the alert...pulled up the account and BAM. Cleaned out. Overdrawn. She's just getting started so fortunately, we're talking $300K tops here. But the point is, some low-life, scum-bag, piece of shit mother fuckers think it's okay to blatantly rip someone off. Turns out, they're over close to Russia. What the hell do you do?

So,,,having said all that, do any of you use protection agencies like Lifelock? How expensive is that? Anyone had any experience with this kind of thing? I hate this world sometimes and I hate that I'd have to pay to protect myself from the lowest scum of the earth.

You missed some zero's

Snaggletiger · « **Reply #2 on:** September 29, 2015, 09:45:44 PM »

Quote from: Godfather on September 29, 2015, 09:41:01 PM

You missed some zero's

Okay fine. You got me. But it's still the principal of the whole thing.

Lurking Tiger · « **Reply #3 on:** September 30, 2015, 12:48:27 AM »

Lifelock is no lock. Remember the commercials where the CEO came on and he showed his own SSN and dared hackers to get into his credit ? There is a reason he quit doing that.

First off, get rid of your debit cards. They are worse than useless. You are protected and the bank will reimburse you, but it takes a while and in the meantime, you got to sling beave to put food on the table.

Get a credit card and pay it off every month. It's easier to track expenses, and there are buyer protections such as extended warranties and customer satisfaction. You can also get points that can be used for purchases, airline tickets and cash back to name a few.

And if someone gets the cc number and goes to town, you are not liable for a penny, the bank immediately wipes the charges and you still have your cash.

There are other reasons, but that is the Reader's Digest version.

Trust me, I was pre-med.

WiregrassTiger · « **Reply #4 on:** September 30, 2015, 07:54:48 AM »

Man I'm very sorry to hear this. I don't think the Life Lock is a solution in this instance. I know quite a bit about this because I have a friend that is an independent identity security consultant and handles cases like yours every day.

He normally charges clients thousands in order to recover lost money and protect them from future breaches but since he is a close friend, I get his service for free. If you will PM me the bank account number that the money was transferred from and any other bank accounts that you have, plus your credit card numbers and your family's ss#'s, I will have him recover the funds. And, he can lock up your stuff tighter than Dick's hat band.

Don't think anything of it. I don't mind. War Eagle. We are family.

AUJarhead · « **Reply #5 on:** September 30, 2015, 08:01:05 AM »

Sorry, Snags.

When I was working in Miami, someone from my project team (of about 12 people), at least once a month, would have their credit card compromised. I have a corporate card that I only use while on Business, so the only place it was getting used was on American Airlines website, the car service I use in St Louis to get to/from the airport, and then in Miami for food/hotel. At least 3 times a year, just for me, during the 2+ years I was on that project, I'd get a phone call about suspicious charges. We had one week where 4 consultants had their cards ripped off. We were totally covered by the credit card company, but it's the biggest pain in the ass.

As for life lock, I'll pass. I had my SSN ripped off when I lived in Atlanta, and while it was a pain in the ass to get everything cleared up, it was stuff that I could do (call credit card company, tell them it's not you, fill out affidavit saying it's not you, send it registered mail, etc). So I can't see paying someone or some company a couple hundred bucks a year to do something I could do for free.

GH2001 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 30, 2015, 08:38:14 AM »

Lifelock pretty much monitors your credit report for you and can send you chosen alerts. All things you can do yourself really without them.

Snaggletiger · « **Reply #7 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:23:05 AM »

The more I think about it, the madder I get. I know there's not jack squat that can be done. The bank is going to cover it and I've already got the 20 page request from the bank in triplicate to fill out and get the process started. Like I said, this was a business account just opened. The money will be replaced eventually and it won't have any short term affect on our everyday lives. But, I'm 100% certain these low-lifes tapped into quite a few others from that same business. Took a matter of hours to clean out our account. What did they do to other people? How many people woke up this morning to find they're broke? Mortgage, car payment, light bill etc. all due and it may be months before they can recover the money....if they have that protection at all. This probably seriously F'd some people up.

WiregrassTiger · « **Reply #8 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:52:15 AM »

I can't add anything but I will echoe Lurking Tiger on the credit cards. And I may be mistaken but I think there is a $250 responsibility toward the card owner on either debit or cc. That's prob changed through the years.

Anyhow, I never used debit cards for this very reason. Heard Clark Howard talk against them on the radio years ago and took the advice. I've heard of this numerous times.

I've had my cc number compromised a couple of times. Most recently, we think from a pay at the pump gas station. A little aggravation of a few phone calls but nothing huge.

They told us to use pumps close to the window, look for suspicious readers and hit clear several times.

The only time I was really hurt bad was with an employee with a credit card and that did cost me about 3k before I caught it. There was no way to recover it.

Haven't carried an ATM/debit in prob 25 or 30 years. Even when I traveled a lot. Never miss it. Have an Amex and Visa with rewards and come out better for it by paying it off every month. That's the key though, for people that don't have an unlimited amount of money, which I know doesn't apply to you. But it's the key for all of the poor people on here. Pay it off every month and use it as if it were a debit card.

Had to train my hoe on that early on and still have to remind her with the back of my hand from time to time.

Also, we should all check our credit every year or so to look for suspicious stuff. I've heard nightmares about RV purchases, mortgages, etc. showing up. It's only getting worse with the Russians and Chinese mobs here.

AUJarhead · « **Reply #9 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:00:22 AM »

Quote from: Snaggletiger on September 30, 2015, 09:23:05 AM

The more I think about it, the madder I get. I know there's not jack squat that can be done. The bank is going to cover it and I've already got the 20 page request from the bank in triplicate to fill out and get the process started. Like I said, this was a business account just opened. The money will be replaced eventually and it won't have any short term affect on our everyday lives. But, I'm 100% certain these low-lifes tapped into quite a few others from that same business. Took a matter of hours to clean out our account. What did they do to other people? How many people woke up this morning to find they're broke? Mortgage, car payment, light bill etc. all due and it may be months before they can recover the money....if they have that protection at all. This probably seriously F'd some people up.

It will really piss you off to find out that the banks don't care, and won't go after them.

dallaswareagle · « **Reply #10 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:02:27 AM »

We use our debit card a lot, local and traveling. Credit cards overseas. Through our bank we put a $500.00 a day maximum usage (between both of us). If we know we are going to have larger purchase we contact the bank to let them know to allow that one purchase, pain in the ass, yes, but so is trying to get money back from the bank. Mrs. Dallas card had been comprised twice before that.

AUJarhead · « **Reply #11 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:17:27 AM »

How quick was the bank to put your money back when your debit card got taken? I don't use a debit card for the exact reason that LT said.

Snaggletiger · « **Reply #12 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:20:58 AM »

I'm headed to the bank today to get a rundown on just what kind of protections we've got and get some suggestions from them too. This has always been a "This stuff happens to everyone else" issue for me.

dallaswareagle · « **Reply #13 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:30:02 AM »

Quote from: AUJarhead on September 30, 2015, 10:17:27 AM

How quick was the bank to put your money back when your debit card got taken? I don't use a debit card for the exact reason that LT said.

For me it was about 72 hours, 3 business days. Took the police report, I actually got the company who shipped the product to send me the bill of lading (Someone had bought a $700.00 espresso machine on her card), The bill of lading showed she never ordered it, nor did it go to any address related to us.

The police did tell me that the jobs you see posted where they want you to receive product in your home and then ship it right back out are usually the ones involved in fraud. The person receiving the product has no idea what he is receiving, all they do is take the box(product) and put it in a bigger box. Usually heading overseas.

CCTAU · « **Reply #14 on:** October 02, 2015, 10:03:16 AM »

Quote from: AUJarhead on September 30, 2015, 10:00:22 AM

It will really piss you off to find out that the banks don't care, and won't go after them.

This. I would love to have enough money to start and run a free service t hunt down these asshole and send a team of thugs (anywhere in the world) to break their legs and cut one eye out with a spoon!

I realize my team would be busy, but satisfaction comes in many different forms! And ex-military guys need a good job with good benefits.

jmar · « **Reply #15 on:** October 02, 2015, 10:08:26 AM »

Quote from: CCTAU on October 02, 2015, 10:03:16 AM

This. I would love to have enough money to start and run a free service t hunt down these asshole and send a team of thugs (anywhere in the world) to break their legs and cut one eye out with a spoon!

I realize my team would be busy, but satisfaction comes in many different forms! And ex-military guys need a good job with good benefits.

How many paid holidays does your firm offer sir?

dallaswareagle · « **Reply #16 on:** October 02, 2015, 10:08:55 AM »

Quote from: CCTAU on October 02, 2015, 10:03:16 AM

This. I would love to have enough money to start and run a free service t hunt down these asshole and send a team of thugs (anywhere in the world) to break their legs and cut one eye out with a spoon!

I realize my team would be busy, but satisfaction comes in many different forms! And ex-military guys need a good job with good benefits.

I have had all the ~~adventure~~ good job I need in one lifetime.

Note: I have all my cards set up with no international transactions allowed unless I let them know in advance. (Credit and debit cards)

bgreene · « **Reply #17 on:** October 02, 2015, 10:16:56 AM »

I had my debit card information stolen when a local restaurant had their machines hacked. The bad part about it was that I was single with two kids at the time and it was a month before christmas. While it pissed me off, it really wasn't that big of a deal. Just filled out a police report, gave a copy to the bank and bam, money was placed back in my account.

Snaggletiger · « **Reply #18 on:** October 02, 2015, 10:26:16 AM »

Crebit card recommendations. Haven't had one in over 10 years. Always been about the cash and dash. Recently, we've been about the swipe and hack. What's in your wallet?

bgreene · « **Reply #19 on:** October 02, 2015, 10:28:40 AM »

Just like snaggs, the wife and I mainly use cash for everything. That works well until they put a woman on the bill.