WAY OT:WARNING It CAN happen to you

I've gone around thinking for a long time that I wouldn't buy things of the internet unless I KNEW it was a secured site.....well apparently one of the "secured" Sites I purchased something from wasn't so secure. Someone stole my check card number and have stolen over $1500 from me! Please be careful if you ever give your personal information over the internet! I'm so in trouble till this gets resolved because it was all my money to get my car out of the shop.....any one willing to help a poor girl out now??? Dee Dee

OH MY GOSH!! I am so sorry that happened to you. I had the same happen to me a few years ago and I had to put a fraud alert on my social security number because they had accessed that with my bank info. It will all work out soon enough, I wish there was something I could do! Do you mind telling what site did this to you so we all know to watch out for it?? Kathy

Oh, DeeDee...I'm so sorry. What was the site, can I ask? I had something similar happen to me. It is rough when it is your check card. How long will it be before you get the money back? I wish I could help. I'm in McDonough...I could give you a ride somewhere if you need it.

Thanks for the offers...but I'm HOPING this will be solved rather quickly....but since you mentioned the social security thing - I'm thiking I should gall them and alert them of the issue. I believe it was Ticketmaster.......I ordered some braves tickets on line and that's the ONLY thing I did on line in the last few weeks.....so it's all I can trace down. I'm not 100% positive - but I THINK that's what it was. I promise you I will NOT be ordering anything else off the on-line stores.....I've had my wallet stolen years ago and it has taken quite a while to get that straightened out. I guess I'm going to have to look to God for assistance and hopefully I can get my money back......with out too much pain! UGH.....if anyone knows of any other things I need to cover to make sure things are secured again PLEASE let me know!

Dee Dee: Sorry to hear about your loss but Clark Howard has stated over and over to never use the check card on the internet since it is very easy to get the funds from. Sometimes the bank will only reimburse you a certain amount back and not all but the credit card will reimburse you all back. Sorry again this happened to you and hopefully it will work out to the best for you. Mary

Okay - after MUCH Drama I have narrowed it down to the site was ticketmaster, and I did get my money back because the people who I contacted where transactions had taken place understood my situations and allowed things to go back into my account without problems. I can only imagine that it was a wake up call for me to bit a bit more careful with my funding. Just so you all know what I've had to go through - I've had to file a police report, call the bank and put a hold on all my funds, cancel my check card, have them re-issue one to me, call the places where funds had taken out, have the funds replaced, called social security to find out what pre-cautions needed to be taken, called the credit reporting bureaus to get a notification put on my account that I'm a victim of fraud. I still have to go by the police station and pick up a copy of the police report so I can mail it to the credit bureaus and have a 7 YEAR block (that's what they called it) on my credit so if any thing comes up I have to be contacted for ANY credit applications that are run under my social. *UGH* this is my wish for everyone...... PLEASE if you can do something in person or use cash - protect yourself at all costs. I'm greatful that I'm being re-imbursed but I wouldn't wish this hassle on anyone! Much and thanks for listening to me! Dee Dee

Hiya~ I know this is now after the fact, but it may help you and some others in the long run....I just got my car and renters insurance from AllState, they now have an insurance coverage for identity theft. Its only $30 a year (I believe for $25,000)......not alot to pay for peace of mind. They dont cover the money lost, but any legal fees (if necessary) and any other costs to get the problem taken care of. I have it and im getting my girlfriend to get it too. I was a victim several years ago, they so much as had a drivers license in my name and had warrants. So if I had ever been pulled over, id have gone to jail. My mom was another - she had A1 credit and they got her info from her place of work and sold her SS# over the internet for a tune of over $100,000. Took 2 yrs and $7000 to get it cleared up, she now has a flag on her SS#, and unfortunaltley her and my aunts house was just robbed and all her Identity Theft info was stolen once again. The insurance is great if you ask me......just thought I may offer the info I had. Have a great day, Sheri

A few months ago I went through a similar situation. My account was negative $3000. I called the bank who advised me to contact an Atlanta detective who had been trying to reach me. Guess what? I used my debit card at The Avenue a year earlier. They had an imprint of my card which was on file for a year. They dumped a boat load of receipts in the dumpster and a thief checked into the Ritz Carlton Buckhead on my dime. Well, my bank issued a tempory credit on my bank account until they completed their investigation. I eventually got everything settled after a few days. Good Luck on this....