Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Dodging a Bullet

Got a letter today from Citibank saying there was suspicious activity in my account and I should call them immediately. I had deposited some money, paid bills on line, etc. and I hadn't noticed anything. I also get "alerts" when a check I've written is cashed. Even though I got the letter today, it's dated September 6.

I went to my online account and the relative amounts in various accounts looked accurate so I started looking at my checking account -- and decided I'd go back to August 1. Well, I didn't have to go back that far. Everything looked kosher and then on September 4, I saw the problem. I had gotten cash from an ATM on the Outer Banks... and a North Carolina ATM (at a gas station) withdrawal would certainly be suspicious. That never occurred to me that it could kick off a problem.

So I called the number in the letter and the Citibank woman said that yes, that would be the culprit. We went through various things -- and then she thanked me for being a Citibank customer and said something like "and I see you've been a customer for a very long time -- I don't often see that."

Yes, it's true. I opened my Citibank account when I first moved to New York in 1974. I said to her that I am so old I remember Citibank when it was First National City Bank and that my first PIN was three numbers. She said, "You were a customer before I was born."

I then told her to shut up and that when Citibank sends me an email about how I was treated, I am going to note that the woman was rude and my problem wasn't resolved. Of course, we were both laughing.

I said I appreciate Citibank's vigilance, and I do. What I am happier about, though, is that unbeknownst to me, I had a "fraud alert" on my Citicard and couldn't use it. It's now lifted, but I told her I had used the card to make a deposit and get cash bank at a Citibank branch -- she said that would still be possible, but if I tried to get cash from a non-Citibank ATM, it wouldn't have worked and I would have stood there totally puzzled as to why.

3 comments:

mary mc said...

I guess we should all be more vigilant but it feels like one more chore added to my list

Barbara said...

So does that mean they put a block on your account every time you travel? That sounds over-vigilant to me!

Pat said...

I rarely use my Citibank card when I travel. So I don't know how it works. I agree with them that my using a gas station ATM is North Carolina is "suspicious" for me so, in a way, the bank was right.

I did question the "since we've been unable to reach you by phone..." which seemed impossible to me... well, it's a robo-dialer and if a live human being doesn't answer, it disconnects -- and they don't try again -- no voice mail. So if they called on the 4th or the 6th when the letter was dated, of course I wasn't home.