I was sitting minding my own business, enjoying my morning coffee and catching up on the news when the phone rings. So, I pick it up and say, “Hello.”
A rather loud, authoritative voice says, “This is your credit card verification department. We have noticed two unusual charges on your card this morning. One was the transfer of one thousand dollars to a person in Eurasia and the other was for an online purchase of eight hundred dollars from Shirlee’s Banana Bread Emporium. If you didn’t authorize these transactions, please press ONE to talk to one of our agents.”
Holly Moly, I thought, eight hundred dollars sounds like a whole lot of Banana Bread. What am I going to do with it all when it arrives? Wait a minute I thought, someone is using my credit card so they would have it delivered to their house not mine. Which would mean no banana bread for me. Maybe I should talk to this agent. So, without thinking I pressed one.
Some woman came on the line and said we have some questions to ask you so we can verify that this is really your account and credit card. My mind screamed “this is a scam, don’t answer personal questions over the phone.” So, I hung up.
I must admit I was a little rattled and maybe hyperventilating just a bit. Was the phone call a scam or was someone really running up debt on my credit card. I thought I should phone the credit card company and find out. So, I dialed the number on the back of my card for customer service. And what did…
