Scammers Empty out Personal Finance Author’s Bank Account
December 15th, 2008 Posted in Personal Finance
Scam Alert – Beware of Bank/Credit Card Skimming at Gas Station
As you know, I always talk about how to protect yourself from various scams and ask you to be extremely cautious. This implies that I am a person who is always cautious when I am exposed to banking and online transactions; however, there are times when you are unable to protect yourself from these scams, regardless of how careful you are. My bank account was recently emptied out by scammers and I will tell you what happened with a screenshot of my bank transactions.
On November 19, 2008, I went to a Chapters Indigo bookstore and attempted to pay with my bank card at the checkout. Instantly, to my surprise, my bank card was declined. This was simply impossible to me, as I always have some cash and overdraft protection on my checking account. I called my bank right away and was told that there were four withdrawals of about $200 each on November 17. Once the bank’s system found out that it was a possible scam, my account was blocked to prevent any further withdrawals.
I did not have any access to my bank account for about seven days. In the meantime, my bank performed an investigation and returned the money that the scammers took from my account. I got a new bank card in the mail and my account was operational again.
I am posting a screen shot to show you how things went:
- Nov 17 – I paid at a Petro Canada gas station with my bank card
- Nov 17 – Someone somehow got a hold of my personal information and withdrew money four times. Notice these amounts scammers withdrew. A regular bank machine in Canada lets you withdraw amounts in multiples of $20 such as $20, $40, $60, etc. I am not sure how they possibly withdrew amounts like $201.50, $202, etc.
- Nov 27 – Bank completed investigation and returned $812.50
Although my bank did not tell me if the hackers got my banking info from the Petro-Canada electronic terminal, I will never use a bank card or credit card at a gas station again. In turn, I would ask you to be extremely cautious using a bank or credit card, especially at a gas station.
Some hand-picked posts you may want to read:
Scam Alert – Beware of This Canada Revenue Agency Letter
Scammers Are Personalizing Emails
Beware Of This New Credit Card Scam
West African Letter Fraud – A Perfect Example
4 Responses to “Scammers Empty out Personal Finance Author’s Bank Account”
By Quick Lunar Cop on Dec 16, 2008
Sorry you got scammed. At least you didn’t lose any money.
The reason why the amounts are for $201.50 and $202 is because the thieves took out money from a ATM that was not affiliated to your bank and thus also charged a service fee (on top of the $1.50 that your bank charged).
By A.D. on Dec 16, 2008
Thanks for clarifying that. Cheers.
By Aman on Dec 20, 2008
Wow. Similar thing happened to a friend who used his debit at a Petro Can in Scarborough.
Ofcourse the bank did refund the charges, but it was not without a hassle of phone calls and him having to cancel all other cards before going away for vacation.
Personally, I pay outside at the pump with a low credit-limit card just to minimize potential risk.
By A.D. on Dec 20, 2008
Gas station mentioned in this post is in Scarborough as well.
I know what you mean! It’s not about the money, but the hassle, inconvenience, and feeling down on yourself make things worse.