OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
I have a friend who will not do anything online except check her emails and search for information she needs. She's afraid to bank online or place online orders. It took me a "minute" to get used to doing those things but I proceeded cautiously, making sure I had malware and now VPN protection. I also started using apps to be sure not to inadvertently click on fake sites.
Despite my friend abstaining from online banking, someone was able to cash a digital check for $33.63 using her Bank of America account. She lives alone and no one else has access to her check book. The bank rep knew of the company the check was made out to and said it's in India. When my friend did a search, she found the site for the company which seemed to offer a variety of services.
She had an appointment to sit down with a bank rep yesterday, but don't yet know how that went. I told her they'd likely close the account (the phone rep could not do it for some reason), but her concern is there are two checks outstanding.
I told her to call the parties, explain that her account was closed because she was a victim of fraud and offer to use another payment method. But now she's afraid that the same thing can happen with her other accounts. Having been the victim of fraud a couple of decades ago doesn't help.
She was clearly very upset and as she was telling me about it, I was trying to figure out how it could have happened. I thought perhaps her account number was chosen randomly on the dark web. It's pretty easy to get routing numbers for banks and I think account numbers start off with the same numbers (maybe 3 or 4 in front). Starting with that information and going through the numbers sequentially after those 3 or 4 numbers may have been how it was done.
Once I went to take care of a cable matter and when at the window, someone's check was clearly visible in one of the in baskets. I told the rep about it and she removed it. Maybe something that happened somehow with a check she sent out to an agency.
I've always maintained that whether you bank online, buy online or don't, your information is out there. If you pay taxes, go to doctors or hospitals and are not completely off the grid, it's out there. Any other thoughts on how this may have happened?
Despite my friend abstaining from online banking, someone was able to cash a digital check for $33.63 using her Bank of America account. She lives alone and no one else has access to her check book. The bank rep knew of the company the check was made out to and said it's in India. When my friend did a search, she found the site for the company which seemed to offer a variety of services.
She had an appointment to sit down with a bank rep yesterday, but don't yet know how that went. I told her they'd likely close the account (the phone rep could not do it for some reason), but her concern is there are two checks outstanding.
I told her to call the parties, explain that her account was closed because she was a victim of fraud and offer to use another payment method. But now she's afraid that the same thing can happen with her other accounts. Having been the victim of fraud a couple of decades ago doesn't help.
She was clearly very upset and as she was telling me about it, I was trying to figure out how it could have happened. I thought perhaps her account number was chosen randomly on the dark web. It's pretty easy to get routing numbers for banks and I think account numbers start off with the same numbers (maybe 3 or 4 in front). Starting with that information and going through the numbers sequentially after those 3 or 4 numbers may have been how it was done.
Once I went to take care of a cable matter and when at the window, someone's check was clearly visible in one of the in baskets. I told the rep about it and she removed it. Maybe something that happened somehow with a check she sent out to an agency.
I've always maintained that whether you bank online, buy online or don't, your information is out there. If you pay taxes, go to doctors or hospitals and are not completely off the grid, it's out there. Any other thoughts on how this may have happened?