Well, it's finally happened!!!!

[dolphinatic]

Just got a call from the bank notifying me that my account has been cleaned out by a "website billing company" out of Portugal. Apparently, my account number was generated by some sort of scam program. When the "scammers" found the working account number, they went to town billing me for all kinds of stuff And to think, this happened to me the day after the "Home Depot Scam" reported first here on this site Maybe there's a connection (due to the items purchased). I'm trying to find some humor in this, but it's a bit difficult.

Do any of you use any type of identity theft protection? If so, has it worked? I know that Dave Ramsey pushes a company on his site, but don't know anyone who has used it. Any input would be great.

[GAJOEY]

I hate to hear that. It seems like no one is safe from the BS scams these days.I try and go ahead and give all money to the bill collectors that way no one can take it from me. Or let my wife have it if someone is brave enough to take it from her they deserve it.

[Chalk]

The bank should be able to get ur money back or most of it - I'm with GAJOEY, ain't never got enough for them to take

[wevans]

We use these folks "through our mortgage company" and they send us an alert when there is any type of change to our credit don't know that any of them could prevent what happened to you though
http://www.privacyadvantage.com/gs/english/index.asp

[Sir reel]

I assume that you were able to verify that IT WAS THE BANK that called to give you the news...... and no account info was provided to them... just a thought.

[dolphinatic]

The bank should be able to get ur money back or most of it - I'm with GAJOEY, ain't never got enough for them to take

The bank is going to take care of it. The crappy part is that they have to wait for ALL the charges to post to the account before a dispute can be filed. So, till then, I got the change in my pocket

[Sir reel]

Good deal!

[Reel Cowboy]

I try and go ahead and give all money to the bill collectors that way no one can take it from me. Or let my wife have it if someone is brave enough to take it from her they deserve it.

That's how I roll.

[dolphinatic]

I assume that you were able to verify that IT WAS THE BANK that called to give you the news...... and no account info was provided to them... just a thought.

Yep. Caller ID was a dead give away and the return phone call I made to the extension left sealed the deal

[Barhopr]

damn, thats scary.

[CrispyFishin]

I use a credit watch service offered from equifax, but it keeps up with credit only, not personal bank accounts. And, there's a delay between when an account gets opened or modified and when it posts.

You can "locK" your credit, so it can only be used when you turn it on; however, this again does not apply to personal bank accounts.

Lifelock advertises constantly, but I don't know anything about it.

It DOES sound like you have a very customer friendly bank, and that's the good news.

They say our money is better off in banks than under the mattress, but these episodes make you wonder!

[jsuber]

I use a certain bank and they investigated some charges on my account and put my money back immediately after my call with the stipulation that if I defrauded them they would take it back.