More bank shenanigans
Let's analyze a letter I got from the bank today:
We have been advised by VISA that a retail merchant has inappropriately stored magnetic strip data on certain credit and debit cards. One of those cards is your SMARTY Debit card ending in (my last four digits).Yes, it's really called the Smarty card. It's a teachers' credit union, and Smarty the Owl is their mascot. My debit card has a big Smarty on it, and more than once I've had cashiers ask me, "So, you're a real smarty, huh?" Clever. I've never heard that before.
No fraud has taken place on your card.To make the sentence super-believable, we put it in bold.
The only information that could possibly be compromised appears to be your name and card number. No compromise of your personal information such as address, social security number or birth date has taken place.Phew -- they only stole my card number. For a moment there, I was afraid they'd found out my birthday, too.
This is not a high risk compromise, but the potential for compromise is present. In this situation, we close the card for your protection and reissue you a new card. We do not know the name of the merchant in this case.And that's a good thing too. This is the -- hmm, is it the third or fourth? -- time in the last couple of years in which my debit card has been "potentially compromised" and I've been issued a new one. Last year, I nearly blew a gasket. Frankly, if I knew the name of the merchant in this case, I'd have a few choice words for them ... probably starting with a great big What the hell?!
Smarty, you're such a card! As I said in my post last year, if I wasn't so lazy, I'd look for another bank. They're benefitting from my complete lack of motivation.
posted by Kate at 8:34 PM
Copyright 2001-2009, L.K.C.S. It's MINE, all MINE. If you wanna use it, gimme credit and a link, okies? And don't run with scissors, because you're just going to poke somebody's eye out with that thing. No, really. 
4 Comments:
i would say first tennessee, but having two accounts at the same bank makes me nervous.
We could also restock my old suntrust account <_>
[[gives Kate the incredulous look]]
lots o' calmness, u got there.
i'd immediately assume someone was trying to dig up stuff on me on purpose. then again, im a paranoid boy
[[wry smile]]
A teachers credit union? Maybe the pipefitters credit union would be more secure, what with the teamsters guarding your money.
And FDIC insures your money in the bank up to $100,000 at each bank, so unless your two accounts would equal more than that, you're fine having two accounts at the same bank. (But choose a real bank, maybe something with more than three branches!) If your two accounts DO equal over $100,000, I'm jealous you have such thrifty genes.
Does Smarty the Owl wear pants?
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