My $3608.86 Mistake

Apparently I dropped my ATM card after getting cash from the bank's ATM in Tops Market on Sunday. This was a Visa/ATM card, but we never charged anything with it, we only used it to withdraw money from our checking account. I was unaware that I had lost this card until I got home from school yesterday and there was a phone message from our bank's fraud department. This representative said that there was suspicious activity with that card and the bank made the card inactive.

I was stunned when I heard all this because I have never lost, misplaced, or mishandled a credit card or ATM card. There is a place for every card in my wallet and every card is in its place, until Sunday. The bank rep told me the procedure for disputing all the purchases and I have started that ball rolling. Today I had to call the police to report the fraudulent activity with my lost card and the officer wrote it up as grand larceny.

There were 32 fraudulent purchases made, totaling $3608.86. It looks like the criminal, low-life, scum-bag who found my card and could not do the right thing and turn it in, traveled up and down Ridge Road spending money at the mall and the Walmart plaza.

The good news is that the bank said that they insure against crimes like this and we should get all of our money back after the bank investigates these purchases. It shouldn't be hard to prove that I didn't make these purchases because I was probably at school when most of these purchases were made and like I said earlier, we have never used this card as a charge card.

So, I am feeling a bit like an idiot for letting this happen, but I am also mad as h*ll that there are people in the world that would spend so much money that did not belong to them. I guess they will have very exciting Christmas morning, but I hope all their purchases haunt them. When the police officer was writing up the crime report, I was telling him that I didn't understand how people could do such a thing and he looked at me and said, "Ma'm, you don't have a criminal mind."

So, in the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, please take an extra minute with your cards and cash and make sure everything is secure. You might as well learn from my mistake.

Bless Jim's heart, when I told him about what had happened, he said, "It's only money."

I cannot write anymore, because I am too upset.