Steal You Blind

Last night was one of those evenings where everything seemed normal, but something was a little bit off and threw everything into a pattern of near-chaos.

Barry went to get money out of the ATM and while the machine did dispense the amount he requested, the receipt slip stated that his account was negative. Funny, since yesterday was payday and he has direct deposit. I chalked it up to a glitch with the bank and to check his online bank statement when we got home. Barry agreed and we went on our merry way.

Our merry way was to dinner with his family. It was much more pleasant than I imagined. I don’t know why I do this to myself… Generally when we got out with them, we have a pretty good time. But beforehand, I always imagine that we’re practically martyrs for going out with them. I suppose it’s because he grew up with them and there wasn’t always good times. And since both my parents are gone and I lack siblings, I kinda feel like an island sometimes.

But his parents are always warm and gregarious. His brother always has something funny to say. His sister-in-law is always asking for advice. And his sister is completely different from me, but we seem to be in sync with most of our hobbies.

So dinner was amusing, even if the restaurant was loud and dark. I have a mental list of pet peeves and while loud, dark restaurants don’t annoy me enough to rank in the top ten of my list, I have to wonder why bad lighting and lack of good acoustics seems like a good idea to restaurant owners. I mean, the food was good. But not great. Certainly I could get the same quality at a place that is better lit and has a quieter environment.

After much good-bying, Barry and I headed home. His car was needed a fill, so we swung by a BP to fuel up.

Only, his card kept getting rejected.

I finally swiped my card, we got the gas, and then we headed back to the homestead to see what the heck was going on with Barry’s bank account.

There are very few things in this world that scare me as much… and that I really am ignorant in the ways of…

Barry is the victim of identity theft.

Charges were pending for things that just didn’t make any sense. It would be almost comical to imagine what it was they were actually buying if it wasn’t happening to us.

Immediately, he called the 24-hour fraud line and was told that they had planned on contacting him in the morning.

Since I wasn’t in on the conversation, I have to wonder if the account would have remained active long enough for even more damage to have been done. I’m glad to know that they were aware that A LOT of money had been transactioned within a 48-hour period on his account, but it did bother me that the bank was going let it happen all night long, too.

So glad that Barry called when he did.

Because of the amount – over $500 – the feds are now involved. I presume that the feds are involved in almost every case because I can’t even begin to imagine that a stolen credit card number would be used to only buy one thing.

Of course, I’ve been known to be wrong before.

But it’s a scary world we live in. I hem and haw about actually wanting to bring children into it. I cry when I watch and read the news.

But I’m one of those people who think that things will never happen to me…

…until they do.

Or in this case, to Barry.

Which somehow wounds me worse.