# Hacked bank account, what to do?



## GTMOPC (Jun 5, 2009)

I just got a message from my bank telling me there was suspicious activity on my account. It was in fact true and someone had made two large purchases on my bank account effectively leaving me broke. I reported my account information stolen with the bank through their automated system. So now I'm sitting here wondering what will happen!?

I've never had this problem. What can I expect to happen? I can't seem to find much information on my banks website concerning what happens when your account is hacked or whatever. Can I expect my funds to be replaced? Should I have had some kind of insurance to cover such an event? Or isn't that the banks responsibility, to protect my money?

I'm headed to the bank first thing tomorrow morning to try to do something about this but would love to hear anybodies advice concerning this issue.


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## wendy (Jun 5, 2009)

I am unable to offer advice but truly my heart goes out to you. I could not imagine how to deal with such a thing, but I shall be praying for you.


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## AThornquist (Jun 5, 2009)

Dude. That sucks. ing you get it back and the thief is caught.


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## GTMOPC (Jun 5, 2009)

Thank you very much for your loving prayers.


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## AThornquist (Jun 5, 2009)

Of course, brother.


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## KSon (Jun 5, 2009)

Travis,

As someone who has had a similar situation occur, your path of action should:

*1. Identify the method of the breach*
Are you able to see if the purchases were made by a debit card # (which happened to me) or by check? If you bank on-line, the method of payment should be discernible. If you are able to discern that and it is a debit/atm card, you should immediately call the emergency # for your bank and report the card stolen (b/c in effect the # had been stolen). This freezes the account so no more fraudulent activity can occur. If it was done by means other than a card, I would still call that emergency # and ask them to advise.

*2. Find out the bank's policy on fraudulent reimbursement*
I was fortunate enough to have the amount ($500) reimbursed to me once they were able to validate that the charges were actually fraudulent. I cannot say for sure that this is a uniform banking policy.

Hope that helps. I would act on #1 immediately.


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## Hippo (Jun 5, 2009)

Although I am sure that this is not the case with you an e-mail report of suspicious activity on your account is often a phishing attempt itself. Always access your bank directly, not through intermediate links.

The key is to report your concerns to the bank directly, as long as you do so it really is their problem not yours.


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## GTMOPC (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks Kipp. I have completed #1. Actually the message I got from my bank was to inform me of the suspicious transactions _and_ to inform me they had already frozen my account. I still had to call the automated system to confirm that the activity was in fact fraudulent and report the last authorized transaction I made. I'm hoping based on this information they will honor the fact that I had no part in the transactions and return the funds.

The transactions took place at K-Mart at a store location so I think they must have made a duplicate card since I have the original. Tomorrow morning I will definitely take care of No#2!


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## MrMerlin777 (Jun 5, 2009)

Also I would contact law enforcement. Identity theft is a serious crime.


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## GTMOPC (Jun 5, 2009)

Hippo said:


> Although I am sure that this is not the case with you an e-mail report of suspicious activity on your account is often a phishing attempt itself. Always access your bank directly, not through intermediate links.
> 
> The key is to report your concerns to the bank directly, as long as you do so it really is their problem not yours.



I have always contacted the bank over the phone with issues, so thankfully I didn't fall into any type of phishing scam. 

I hope it is their problem!


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## Berean (Jun 5, 2009)

I don't know if this is technically identity theft, but here is a resource that includes guides for victims and also fact sheets.

Identity Theft Resource Center | A Nonprofit Organization


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## NaphtaliPress (Jun 5, 2009)

A couple of years ago Mastercard had their accounts database hacked and I got some fraudulent charges a week or two later, for maybe a total of $2K. I hadn't done anything; it was the hack. MC covered it. Maybe it's an internal problem with the bank and you are not the only one?


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## jogri17 (Jun 5, 2009)

I have had the same thing happen to me. Luckily it was caught before the guy made a large purchase. Most likely you have an automatic assurance to some degree. My aunt has 10k stollen and she managed to get 9k back.


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## GTMOPC (Jun 5, 2009)

NaphtaliPress said:


> A couple of years ago Mastercard had their accounts database hacked and I got some fraudulent charges a week or two later, for maybe a total of $2K. I hadn't done anything; it was the hack. MC covered it. Maybe it's an internal problem with the bank and you are not the only one?



That is possible. Twice in the last three or so years I have been notified that the banks databases had been compromised to some degree. I remember at those times they stated they would cover any fraudulent action, which of course I think is proper.


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## KSon (Jun 5, 2009)

Well, at least you can rest knowing that no further access to the account is available, although it does not erase the feelings of violation. Banks have an "investigative" department, which are very skilled at isolating the particular method(s) of committing the fraud. Knowing these methods benefit them as well as you, the customer. Due to the growing rate of occurrences such as this, they are usually extremely aggressive and competent, in terms of remedying the situation.


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## ClayPot (Jun 5, 2009)

Hi Travis,

I have no idea if this is true of most banks, but if I inform my bank of fraudulent activity within two days of discovering it (not two days after it actually happened within two days of finding out) then I am only liable for up to $50. I hope that your bank has something similar.


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## GTMOPC (Jun 5, 2009)

jpfrench81 said:


> Hi Travis,
> 
> I have no idea if this is true of most banks, but if I inform my bank of fraudulent activity within two days of discovering it (not two days after it actually happened within two days of finding out) then I am only liable for up to $50. I hope that your bank has something similar.



Thanks for that tip. I am going to explore all options to recoup my money believe me!


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## Brian Withnell (Jun 5, 2009)

One other thing you might want to consider. If the person that did this has more than just your debit card information, they might be able to start working toward stealing your identity. If you register an alert with the 3 main credit bureaus (I don't remember the details) but you might be able to stop anyone from opening new accounts (which is what can kill your credit quickly).

If your bank reported problems in the past, they might be the source of the problem, and you might be able to have them pay for credit monitoring for your account.


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## GTMOPC (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks for that info Brian. I was reading about alerting the credit agencies at the identity theft link provided above. That sounds like a good idea.


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## Webservant (Jun 5, 2009)

Travis, if your bank called you about this, there is between a 99% and 100% chance that you will get your money back. They may even give you provisional credit for the amount taken from your account until they complete their investigation (that's what always happened at the bank I have worked at for 20 years). As indicated above, you really should pay for a credit monitoring service of some type, at least for a few months. 

It's scary because the bank never takes it for granted that you didn't make the transactions, and they let you know that. In the 20 years I have been in retail banking, I have never seen anyone have to eat unauthorized transactions, unless they failed to report the activity within 60 days. your mileage may vary, but I think you'll be ok.


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## historyb (Jun 5, 2009)

That happened once to me and my wife, someone stole our new cards with our picture on them out of the mailbox and charged a bunch of money at chevrons. We went to the bank to report theft and when we were they the crooks used the card again. The lady called the store and told the manger to stall them because this was fraud and then she called the police and they got them right then.

We got all our money back.


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## GTMOPC (Jun 5, 2009)

Webservant said:


> Travis, if your bank called you about this, there is between a 99% and 100% chance that you will get your money back. They may even give you provisional credit for the amount taken from your account until they complete their investigation (that's what always happened at the bank I have worked at for 20 years). As indicated above, you really should pay for a credit monitoring service of some type, at least for a few months.
> 
> It's scary because the bank never takes it for granted that you didn't make the transactions, and they let you know that. In the 20 years I have been in retail banking, I have never seen anyone have to eat unauthorized transactions, unless they failed to report the activity within 60 days. your mileage may vary, but I think you'll be ok.



That's reassuring Rich, thanks for your input!

Doug-That's amazing they were trying to use your cards while you were at the bank! How providential.


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## BJClark (Jun 5, 2009)

praying..


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## Edward (Jun 5, 2009)

KSon said:


> Travis,
> 
> As someone who has had a similar situation occur, your path of action should:
> 
> ...



Excellent advice. The law actually is different based on how the money is taken out of the account. For example, I won't use a debit card - you don't have nearly as much legal protection with one of those as you do with a credit card (or even a check forgery). 

On the other hand, some banks extend greater protection than the law requires to encourage debit card use. 

In any event, one shouldn't rely on a telephone notification - look at the documents governing the account, and follow the procedures to the letter to safeguard all of your rights. 

When someone apparently stole an ATM card out of the mail and hit my account, the bank replaced the money taken very quickly, but we had to wait several weeks to recover the out of network ATM fees.


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## Idelette (Jun 6, 2009)

I didn't read the whole thread, but have you already contacted the three credit bureaus to put a flag on your credit?


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## kalawine (Jun 6, 2009)

Relax.. I had this problem last year and my bank (in fact most banks I believe) was on it like white on rice. I discovered that most banks these days are so used to this kind of thing that they have an entire dept. set up and ready. Within twenty minutes of sitting with an employee of the bank they were on the phone with the said dept. and knew where my money had gone to. (The other side of the world in my case - Finland and an island off the coast of Italy - I live in Mississppi ) Anyway... the bank put every cent of my money back in my account immediately and the only "catch" was that if it was determined that if I had actually spent some of the money myself it would be taken back out of my account. (This didn't happen)


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## GTMOPC (Jun 6, 2009)

Thanks Kevin, I'm pretty relaxed about the whole issue now.

Yvonne, a few people have recommended flagging my credit. I plan on doing that also.

Thanks a bunch to everyone who contributed to helping me through this. I'll post back once I find out what's going on.


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## PresbyDane (Jun 6, 2009)

I have had this problem once and I was not reimbursed, the bank said that the amount was to small, that could indicate that they will pay you your money back, since this is a big amount.

I wil be


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## Robert Truelove (Jun 6, 2009)

Regarding protecting oneself from identity theft...I recommended lifelock.com

It won't help in protecting against people debiting your banking account, but it does make it difficult for a criminal to take out a loan or credit card in your name (even after you go through all the trouble to get such violations resolved, your credit rating will take a serious hit).


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## turmeric (Jun 6, 2009)

I hear that these people are good. If your identity gets stolen while insured by them, they do all the legwork and get your money back.


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## JonathanHunt (Jun 6, 2009)

I know I'm in the UK, but I had my new three-yearly bank card stolen in the post a few years back. I had no idea as my current card was still valid. The day the new one was valid, I got paid and thieves emptied my account with a succession of transactions.

The police couldn't care less about it, the banks didn't seem to really care about the crime, either. But they refunded every fraudulent transaction. Took about a week, and I had no money in the meantime. Since that time I have always had two accounts, one with some emergency cash in.

In those days you just signed for things, there was no PIN number on transactions.


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## GTMOPC (Jun 6, 2009)

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I was blessed to have had a backup account which I use only for savings and college cash. I'll be able to make it till my other account is fixed. Otherwise I'd be up the creek!


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## GTMOPC (Jun 6, 2009)

Just got a call from the bank. Apparently my debit card, which is issued by Visa was on a long list with other people whose cards were "compromised." The debits that were made have not technically cleared with K-Mart although the funds do not appear on my account. So at the moment my card is frozen (canceled), the money is gone, and K-Mart thinks they are getting paid. The bank was on it right away I guess and had already issued me a new card when they called me. They just had to have confirmation that I in fact did not make the purchases at K-Mart. Monday I have to file an "Error Resolution" report and should expect my money back within 7-10 days. The compromise was through Visa, which I have now learned has a zero liability policy. They are supposedly trying to return the funds early if they can since this problem affected several people.

So I am feeling a lot better now! One last time, thank you to everyone who gave advice or support in my time of trouble. I will be taking several proactive/preventive actions in the next few weeks to protect my credit, accounts, etc. from this type of situation in the future. Maybe this was a wake up call for me to get my private information in order and secure!


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## Romans922 (Jun 6, 2009)

I had this happen via my debit card, when i went to the bank to talk about it, they cancelled my card, got me a new one. They said that banks typically have people who work for them that only investigate these situations. Bank usually refunds money to the victim, and then goes and sees if they can find out who did it and get their money back. And they notify authorities upon their investigation. 

It always helps if you can give information to them. I was able to. I knew I had gone to a particular gas station and the person at the register is the only one who took my card, and someone used my card 2 more times at that gas station. I told them that it had to be the cashier. HA. how dumb of someone to use it the same place it was stolen. If they had done it somewhere else, I would have no clue where they would have gotten it from me.


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## Edward (Jun 6, 2009)

GMcClain20 said:


> The compromise was through Visa, which I have now learned has a zero liability policy. They are supposedly trying to return the funds early if they can since this problem affected several people.



Again I would urge everyone to avoid debit cards - particularly the new ones that don't even have to be swiped to be read. If you can find a bank that issues secured credit cards, that is a safer option. 

If you must go with a debit card, shop for a bank that will offer full protection. BofA, for example, used to (I don't know if they still do). 

And finally NEVER let a creditor draft money out of your bank account. Always initiate all payment transactions.


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