Well, kids, it’s been an interesting couple of days. (don’t know what I’m talking about? start here!) Before I get into the story update, there are a couple things that I’ve learned:
- My supremely awesome brother sent me a task list of things to do after you’ve been a victim of fraud, and there’s a similar list provided by the FTC. Check it out– very, very helpful.
- On the preventative side of things, I’ve learned:
- from a woman at Citibank: don’t put your address on your checks. I’m not sure why, but it’s better.
- from my brother: schedule getting your annual free credit reports throughout the year — i.e., Experian in January, TransUnion in April, and Equifax in October.
Okay, now for the update. I went back to Citibank in Park Slope earlier today, and since there was no one at the little info desk, the security guard had me sit in a row of seats to wait for someone to be free to help me. After a few minutes, a woman who worked there walked by and asked, “Are you being helped?”
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Let me tell you a little story about a goofy ol’ worldwide bank that you might’ve heard of: Citibank.
It’s Friday night, I’m having drinks with my comics instructor, the illustrious (pun intended) Tom Hart. I go to pay for the drinks with my Citibank debit card, hooked up to that silly li’l thing I like to refer to as my “checking account.” The bartender informed me that it wasn’t going through, which was a bit of a surprise… I have a tempestuous relationship with my dough, sure, but I should be able to eek out $20 for cocktails.
Logged into my online account, where a very bright red font did its job of getting my attention: I was overdrawn by four thousand dollars. Hmmmm. I quickly ran through the past week: yes, it’d been an insane week with lots going on, and yeah, there were a coupla fuzzy spots in my memory, but I was, um, pretty sure that I couldn’t have spent all the money in my checking and my overdraft and then still have been overdrawn by… let me repeat… four thousand dollars.
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