Theft victim
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“Shelly” found it odd that the automated teller machine (ATM) was taking so long to process her transaction, but that was about as much thought as she gave it – until the next day.
That’s when she discovered she had become a victim of debit card fraud.
Shelley, who didn’t want her real name used, had $500 stolen from her account, and it took almost two weeks for the money to be reimbursed.
The incident occurred about four months ago in Abbotsford. Shelley was having dinner with a couple of friends and wasn’t comfortable paying for her meal with the hand-held debit machine the server brought to the table. She opted instead to withdraw cash from the ATM in the restaurant.
The next morning, she went to her online savings account to check her balance. She had been using the account to save for a plane ticket to Ontario to visit family.
She was shocked to see a $500 ATM withdrawal that she hadn’t made.
Shelley called her bank, and they were able to determine that the transaction had been made at about 3 a.m. Her debit card was cancelled, and she was told to come into the bank for a new one.
Two or three people in line behind her were there for the same reason.
Shelley said she was fortunate in that her stolen funds hadn’t been set aside for rent or food, but it was still bothersome.
“It was inconvenient and very frustrating, and I felt like I was being penalized for something I didn’t do,” she said.
She said the experience has altered the way she uses her debit card. She now withdraws cash only from ATMs at her bank, but she acknowledges she still uses her debit card at point-of-sale terminals.
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