I had a not-so-fun experience with my debit card this week.
I was in a long checkout line buying several items when my debit card was declined.
The nice clerk tried three times, including keying in my debit card number, but each try was declined.
If there weren't 25 people in line behind me (really), I'd have tried to figure out what was wrong. But as the situation was hectic, I pulled out what cash I had and was able to buy almost everything I had in my basket.
As my wife and I made our way out of the store, worried that our debit card had been compromised, we sat down on a bench to see what I could find out using my phone.
It turns out I didn't have to call my bank, as my bank (Bank of America) had already contacted me.
It seems my purchase attempt minutes earlier had triggered a fraud alert and because I had signed up for fraud alert notifications via text, they had sent me a brief summary of my last three charges to ask if they were mine.
Two of the charges were approved, but the most recent transaction was declined. The text message from the bank asked me to respond with yes or no if the charges were mine.
I replied yes, and immediately received a message stating my debit card was unlocked and available to use immediately.
I was relieved that my account had not been compromised, but a bit put out that the text did not come as I was still at the checkout. I guess we can't have everything we want.
This was the first fraud alert I was able to answer with a text. I remember setting up those fraud alert preferences to add the text preference.
All my previous Bank of America fraud alerts were done over the phone. I much prefer the text method.
I guess my message today is to check with your bank to set up your notification preferences before you have a problem. Make sure your contact information is up to date.
