The Beast Has A Major Problem.....

I haven't talked about the Beast and his cc problem.  It seems that his cc# somehow made it into the hands of an online thief.  This guy was smart.  He tried making a couple small purchases (a couple inexpensive software items and a cheap game cd.  The Beast had also, around the same time, made a purchase of his own.  Our bank was suspicious, however, that the cd (the least expensive of the items), was to be sent to an address not ours.  They DID try to register it as our new billing address by giving that as the shipping address and stating it was a recent move.

So, our bank called and asked the Beast which items were ones he had ordered.  They recited the list and he told them, no, no, no and yes.  They then said that they were going to cancel that card and send him a new one.  A few days later, the new card arrived and...the nerve of this guy.  He calls the bank wanting to know why his card was cancelled and demanding a new one be sent to the new address.  When they asked him for his SS #, he actually HAD it!  Which led the Beast to believe that either someone at this one doctor's office had taken down the number or the drs office had been hacked.  That is the only way he could have gotten the Beast's SS #.  It was also the only way he got the NEW card # because the Beast had used the new card to pay the doctor's office visit (towards his deductible on Medicare).  But...since the new number had been used AFTER the old card had been refused and he had been told that the new card had been sent already (he didn't know it had been already activated and used by the Beast), the guy AGAIN tried to change the billing address AND get a new card sent to it.  The bank took care of reporting all the information they gathered to the police as attempted fraud.  I gather they do a lot of  that in instances where THEY  catch the attempt.

However, it made the Beast do several things.  He reported it to Lifelock (since he subscribes to it) and set up a lock on any future credit without his being directly contacted by THEM to his cell phone number or mine.  He cancelled one credit card entirely.  He set up passwords for our bank credit card, his Chase credit card and we both set up passwords for our debit cards.  The Beast then went down to SS to make sure that no one applied for HIS SS card or tried to deflect the funds for his monthly check (or mine).  So now, if we HAVE to make any changes, we must go in person and they had copies of our drivers licences on file with a notation on both our files that the licences MUST be compared as well as our signatures.  

Since my signature had gotten a bit shaky unless my whole arm is supported, that could be a major problem...LOL.  But I don't anticipate any problems like the Beast has.  I primarily use cash or my debit card and that debit card is 99% of the time within my arm's reach.  Since they wouldn't have the security code, even if they did get the card #, it wouldn't matter.  If I buy something online, I always use the Beast's credit card and there's no reason to put the security code on for those purchases.  I've changed my debit card within the last three months due to a different problem I had (with a monthly billing that didn't stop after I had cancelled it TWICE) but I did get the money back, thankfully.

I didn't have to worry about my Medicare supplemental insurance because that's tied to our checking account and not any cards, thank goodness.  But what a headache that some damn hacker can make for you.  All this was not taken care of in one day, as you can see by the account above.  It's time  consuming even if you just are dealing with phone calls.  The SS one had to be dealt with in person so he could explain the whole thing to them and the reason for his concerns.  It's actually faster....as long as you aren't dumb enough to go into the office on the first of the month.  LOL!  But the Beast didn't even think of that.  I was in shock when I realized he had gone today of all days.

I can't even imagine the headache that someone who stole your identity could make for a person.  It's why I told the Beast to keep his LifeLock.  If anyone gets their identity stolen, it would be him.  He makes so many damn online purchases and at so many different stores, that it makes my head spin at times.  But, hopefully, at least THIS episode is over.  

I love our bank because, a few years ago, they caught another questionable purchase with the Beast's credit card.  Only the two purchases were expensive electronics that were being shipped as a *gift* to someone that happened to be here in Alabama when we lived in Florida.  They called as soon as the billing came through electronically and they put a hold on it then called the Beast to *check*.  That saved us the first time.  Now this is a second time and it was really minor purchases that were attempted.  Probably before they would take the chance and try to buy something big.

Just one funny thing about the chickens tonight.  I was standing at the sink, washing a few small items and noticed one of the hens we call *Frantic Fran* because she never walks calmly anywhere...she runs.  She seemed to be bullying this hen that is a bit smaller than she is.  The hen put her head down low and slowly walked away and Fran started to strut a bit.  That's when the rooster came running over to her like he was pissed (and I think he was)..she tried running off but he cornered her and gave her a couple pecks (not gentle ones) and SHE hung her head like she had been read the riot act for picking on the other hen.  Then he went over to the one she had bullied and just walked beside her, pecking at the ground but definitely keeping her company for a bit.  I thought it looked so cute.  I was telling the Beast about it as he sat at the table and he only caught part of it.  But I had to share that.  I guess he IS king of the roost now....LOL.

Other than that, I did spend a couple hours over at Cee's house.  We always enjoy our time together.  We even ate some peel-and-eat shrimp that she used her microwave steamer to cook them in as a little snack.  It had been a long time since I ate them and she cooked them perfect.  I waited for Michael to get there to install her DVD player on her TV along with some other gidget so that she could stream her Netflix and Hulu on her TV instead of on her computer.  Since she uses a laptop for her computer, that can be a real pain.

Well, love  you all.  Be good.  Stay dry.  I wish everyone good weather and no tornadoes.  Be kind to everyone.  Your small act of kindness could be the best thing that happens to them all day.  You never know.  ***Hugs***