# I'm The Victim Of Identity Theft Again



## BostonBob (Apr 24, 2010)

For the 2nd time I have become a victim of identity theft. Back in the summer of 2006 I received a letter from a local Collection Agency claiming that I owed almost $ 2950 to Telus Mobility and BC Hydro. Of course I fought these claims but it took a while to clear everything up and it was a huge PITA for a couple of months. So today I stopped by my CIBC branch to pay a couple of bills at the ATM. But I kept getting a message saying that I had insufficient funds which I knew couldn't be right. I went inside to talk to a teller and after bringing up my information on her screen she called over a Manager. This is when I knew that something bad was going on and I started to get a bit nervous. The Manager took me into her office and asked me if I had made any transactions with my Debit Card at any local Western Union stores. I told her that I have never even been in a Western Union store and that's when she told me what happened - on February 17th a total of 6 cash withdrawls ( each one was for $ 575 ) were made from my account through my Debit Card at a local Western Union. They couldn't take out any more since the last one put my account in the hole. The Manager apologized and I was given a new Debit Card but my accounts are now all frozen until somebody from the CIBC Fraud Department contacts me and I get credited back the $ 3450 plus all the service charges that were added. I was told that I would be contacted in a couple of business days but until then I have about $ 55 to my name.


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## Rajan (Apr 21, 2010)

Well that sucks. People so messed up now a days. On the bright side you have $55 more then me. I feel your pain


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## nigerian prince (Mar 8, 2013)

while unfortunate banks usually cover this 100% with insurance, with technology now a days there's almost nothing you can do to stop it. (chip cards are especially vulnerable)

so don't get too upset about it 

to a quick resolution


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Sorry this happened to you.


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## CeeZer (Jan 24, 2014)

Shred all paperwork before it goes to garbage. Know what garbage 'cycle' is. Don't use debit or CC at shady stores (cash is still accepted).
Change all debit and CCs.

Oh, and... ditch CIBC too... I did some 2 years ago for another reason, never looked back.


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## mcrocker (May 29, 2010)

Unfortunately it can happen even at stores that aren't shady. I used to live in North Vancouver, and my debit cart was compromised at the IGA in lower Lonsdale area.(a busy and reputable store) Apparently somebody had managed to slip tiny card skimmer units in between the handheld portion of the debit card and the cable. All it takes is a distracted cashier and one can be installed in seconds. Fortunately I didn't lose anything, they just locked all cards that had been used at that store during a period of time. I still had to go through a review of my recent transactions with the fraud department to get it unlocked.


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

Ive heard there are new card skimming devices that can capture credit card information especially with the tap technology to pay for goodies. Careful with someone goes near your bad or wallet. Or maybe have them disable tap technology on the card.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk


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## Trouble (Apr 27, 2010)

*Had it happen to me but they never got that much. I was told to look over where I had shopped in the last month and it was only at 88th wal mart so it isn't small businesses. Good luck. I wish my bank account had that much in it at anytime in my life.*


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

CBC did a segment where they had a hacker come in and show them the ropes. They sat outside a store in a van and the hacker was easily able to access all the credit numbers that have been used in the store with just a laptop. And mind you this was downtown, not some shady institutions in the middle of nowhere. You will be happy to know (I guess not really... ) that large thefts like these are quite rare. People sell these numbers for dollars each with most individuals that buy them buying 1000s at a time using only a dollar or two from each to avoid detection.


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## BostonBob (Apr 24, 2010)

So I finally got some good news - all the money ( including the overdraft fees ) has been put back into my account. I talked to the CIBC Fraud Department but they were not giving out any information as to whether or not the person(s) responsible were caught. Apparently a lot of people in BC with various financial institutions have had the same thing happen involving Western Union so I'm thinking that part of the problem might lie with Western Union's policies ( or lack thereof ) concerning how they give out money.


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## kacairns (Apr 10, 2012)

Did they tell you how you were compromised?


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## BostonBob (Apr 24, 2010)

kacairns said:


> Did they tell you how you were compromised?


No - and that kind of p*ssed me off. If I did do something wrong then tell me so I don't do the same mistake again.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

One time I was trying to pump some gas in the middle of no where in the middle of the night after a long drive in the US and the pump kept asking me to input my zip code, which I did not have. I went inside and asked the clerk to preauthorize the payment for me. After she preauthorized it she kept my card under her counter saying she had to do that for security reason. 
Everything seemed fine but then later on my card was compromised and I was being charged for things I did not buy.
They would not tell me how it happened. I suspect it was that gas station but I had no proof. I think they made a copy of the code on the back of my card and my name and things like that. Not really sure. 
Really need to be very careful these days. Paying by cash may be safer but you also need to watch out for counterfeit. I received some fake bills before in Canada, too.


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## gmann (Mar 26, 2013)

exactly how you got compromised fish rookie....

never let your card out of your sight. and in the US they do ask for your postal code extra security i suppose, not sure why it asked for yours system should have realized yours was not a local card


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