The I Shing's Journal: Identity theft... now I know what it feels like

It can happen to you
It can happen to me
It can happen to everyone eventually

You know those commercials with the old lady talking with the voice of the guy who stole her identity? Well, that commercial has a special meaning for me now.

Imagine me talking in the voice of some guy in the Philippines who's walking around buying gas and, apparently, noodles, with my Visa debit card number.

I check my bank account nearly every day, and, about an hour ago, after almost five years of using the card without incident, I noticed a series of mysterious transactions originating in a town called Makati, which a quick Google tells me is in the Philippines. One was a "service center," which I assume is a gas station, and the other was a noodle restaurant.

I immediately called my bank's toll-free automated lost card phone system and reported the card stolen, and got a confirmation that the card can no longer be used and a new one will be sent within one week.

Of course, where they got my number from is anyone's guess, but it's obvious that the person using it is walking around with a dummy card. The gas they must have bought at one of those pay-at-the-pump deals, where no-one sees the card, and the noodles they may have ordered over the phone or on the internet using the card number.

I'm going to give updates and share what happens just so anyone else this happens to can get an idea what's in store.

My next step, of course, is to go to the bank and get the two spurious charges, and any others that might show up, removed. That shouldn't be hard... I think they'll take my word for it that I wasn't in the Philippines yesterday buying gas and noodles.

Lesson learned: when using a debit card, watch that bank account every single day. One's account can be cleaned out in a matter of minutes. Use a local bank, so charges can be easily disputed in person.

I have mixed emotions about joining the legions of credit card fraud victims. I guess it had to happen sooner or later. One can expect to deal with it eventually, I guess, when one uses one's card, especially online, and now when the topic comes up I'll have a story to tell. I just hope the story is going to have a happy ending.