Readers, I had planned another BLOG for this week, but then Life happened. Or, maybe, I should say, the inevitable happened. Or, more accurately, stupidity happened.
The good part is that I’ve actually started painting the year-long project of the front covers of the free-standing closets. That is good. But, there is a LOT of work to do before it is presentable. Then, as I said, stupidity (with a capital “S”) arrived.
I generally (I wish I could say – never) do not respond to cold calls when I answer the phone. It was an Xcel Energy employee, she said, telling me that if my payment for gas and electricity was not received, I would not have power or natural gas. That sets in motion certain actions. I looked in my checkbook (yes, I still like to pay with a check) and found the date, check #, and the amount of $154.25. I told the caller that the check had been written and sent on September 7, and I was surprised that it wasn’t in the Xcel office by now.
But, I said, I do not want to have my power and gas disconnected with all of the problems that accompany reconnecting.
The caller assured me that she could give me an extension. No, I told her. I want this taken care of today. And, so, I took care of the payment, knowing that when my check payment arrived at the Xcel office, it would show up as a double payment. So, I thought that would be okay. I gave her the numbers for my debit card; we ended the call. That was the 16th.
I thought nothing more about it until I was talking with Daughter #1. She was appalled and began asking questions. Had I used my credit card? First, I thought that I had, but realized that I’d used by my debit card, not my credit card.
Daughter #1 was concerned about my card being scammed. This is something that scammers do, successfully, with unsuspecting (dare I say, unthinking) individuals.
When she returned to her home, she forwarded information from Xcel about scammers who are using the Xcel name to scam. They tell the person(s) they call that their power is about to be disconnected, requiring that the bill be paid. (Sound familiar?) The Xcel warning cautions that the callers may say other things. But, the discontinuous of my power worked for me.
Debit cards are related to checking accounts and draw money from the balance of those accounts. My first thought was to get in touch with my bank. So, I called. And, called. And, called. It’s Friday night. Nobody was there to take my call. Not at the bank. Not at the “help center number.”
The debit card has a telephone number on its back. The same number that I had been calling for the past ten minutes. No help there. I thought, I’ll have to wait until Monday to contact my bank and report the problem. Then, I remembered that the “help center” was open at 8 am on Saturday. That’s tomorrow! I would contact that center in the morning.
The problem was, if this is a scam, how could I protect the balance of my account before Saturday morning. Using my “fancy phone,” I was able to access my account and learned that the charge that I “approved” because of the call had cleared the bank on the day she called; the amount of $154.25 plus a fee because it was a card transaction (more salt to the wound!). I also learned that my check for the $154.25 had cleared my bank on the day after the call.
Still, I needed to figure out how to protect my checking account balance. And, then, it occurred to me. Even though I intentionally keep the balance of my checking account very low (just because of such a thing happening to me), I still did not want that small amount to be stolen from me. I determined that I would transfer all but $100 from my checking account to my savings account. Savings accounts are not accessible with a debit card.
Having decided to do that, I didn’t realize just how nervous I was about the whole business. I am rarely – really, rarely – nervous. But, attempting to make the transfer by phone, I found that I could hardly perform the actions. I couldn’t seem to get the numbers right. My fingers kept going to the wrong places on my phone. It took me about thirty more minutes to get the numbers right and the amount transferred. Then, the world seemed better because I felt that I’d protected my checking account, and I would be calling the bank’s service center on Saturday morning at 8 am.
Epilogue
Saturday: At 8 am, I called the service center. The service person (who, it turns out, is located, not in my town, but in the town where I grew up) said that the charge of $154.25 (plus fee) seemed to come from Xcel Energy. He recommended that I contact Xcel’s accounting department on Monday – which I will do.
So, maybe – just maybe – I didn’t receive a scam call. Time will tell. However, I’ve really learned a good lesson. Unexpected calls will, henceforth, raise a red flag. And, I will pay attention.
But, there will be no painting on the project, today
As I said in one of my past BLOGS, “It’s an ill wind that blows no good.” Well, this continues to be true for me. Here’s what I’ve learned with this mess. And, most of this is what we’ve been told and told and told. It just seems to take such an incident to make us listen.
-Never provide information to a cold call.
-Be cautious when talking with cold callers.
-Never provide information to a cold call.
-Think before responding.
-Never provide information to a cold call.
-Watch out for yourself.
-Always keep a few extra dollars in your wallet – just in case this problem arises. You may need them to buy a few groceries without your card. And, to otherwise, carry on your life.
-Never provide information to a cold call.
-Sometimes, kids do know best! Great thanks to Daughter #1 for putting me in touch with reality.
Be Safe and Be Well
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are appreciated.